Conclusion:
The silence of the system installed in the Serener case was surprising. Being so accustomed to the din of fans, when there was no noise but the faint hum of the hard drive, I was actually concerned something was wrong. After a few seconds the system was booting up, and I was a little more relaxed. A bit of thermal monitoring and stress testing, and I was fully confident in the abilities of the Serener GS-L01.
The layout of the case is well planned, and I appreciate the serious engineering effort required to make it so compact and convenient. The special board used to install the optical drive and hard drive is genius, as it not only makes installation a breeze, it eliminates any cables usually required for power or data transfer.
Another engineered feature that works well, but could possibly use some refinement, is the heatpipe cooler for the CPU and northbridge chip. The processor and chipset on the VIA EPIA M10000 used in the review didn't have great contact with the stock coolers, but it was a bit worse with the Serener cooler. Being a universal design means that it might not be ideal for any one board, but (hopefully) good enough for all of them. The thermal results weren't that bad, and considering the passive nature of the system and the M10000 CPU's high tolerance for heat, they were definitely acceptable. Replacing the plastic spring-loaded pins with steel bolts improved the situation greatly, but I think having separate heatsinks for the CPU and northbridge would be the best bet. That way neither chip would be affected by a misalignment by the other. It might take some creativity to make this happen, but the thermal results would definitely improve.
My only other negative comments regarding this case are rather minor. The first comment would be that one can not expect to rush through the installation. There is a good deal of work required to install a system in one of these cases, and the good part of a day should be blocked out for stripping the motherboard, testing the fit of the heatpipe cooler, installing all the other components, and monitoring the system for a while after completing the installation. For those who don't have the patience for such an involved build, Logic Supply offers systems preassembled (and tested) in the Serener cases.
The next negative would be that the reset button is slightly recessed, and too small to actually use without help. I used the stylus from my 7" Lilliput display, but others may want to whittle themselves a resetin' stick for convenience. Other than that, just make sure the screws used to mount the optical drive aren't so long that they keep the door from opening, and everything should go well.
The Serener GS-L01 case sells for $179 (US), so it is not a minor investment, but the engineering and features included in the design can't possibly come cheap. Shopping around won't get you very far, as Logic Supply is your sole source for Serener cases in the USA, with three styles to choose from. In addition to the GS-L01 covered by this review, they also have the GS-L02 and GD-L01. The GS-L02 sells for $185 and could easily be mistaken for a cable box or other electronics device as it has nothing but a power and drive LED on the front face... No optical drive, no power button (intended to be always on or powered by Wake-On-LAN), and no peripheral connections... Perfect for appliance computing. The GD-L01 is much wider, and allows for the use of one PCI device, two hard drives, and an optical drive for a price of $315. Definitely a major investment for any of these cases, but the styling is sharp, the features are well thought out and useful, and the silence truly is golden.
The features of the Serener cases from Logic Supply make them well worth consideration for use in a home theater environment, as a "set-top box", as an internet gateway or other network device, or anywhere that flexibility and silence is needed. The possibilities are limitless, as the compatible motherboards are powerful enough for typical business and personal applications, while the silence, style, and somewhat dust-free appeal of the Serener cases lets the systems fit in anywhere. Maybe a recording studio? A restaurant? Or industrial applications that don't quite require the investment of a full indsutrial class computer.
Given the quality, styling, and silence I award the Serener GS-L01 Fanless Mini-ITX Case a final score of 4.5 out of 5 stars... "Readily Recommended".
Final Rating (4.5 out of 5 stars):  
Pros:
• The silence is actually surprising
• Extremely stylish, looks a high-end consumer electronics device
• Well designed case, with excellent attention to detail
• No drive cables required for data or power
• Compact and lightweight
Cons:
• Involved installation (to be expected, and hardly a con)
• Heatsink is not a perfect fit, should use separate block on the CPU and northbridge
• Price may be for serious enthusiasts only
• Reset button too difficult to access
Special thanks to Logic Supply for providing the Serener GS-L01 Fanless Mini-ITX Case to Bigbruin.com for review!
Please drop by the Bigbruin.com Forum and feel free to discuss this review.
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