Silverstone Fortress FT02 Case Review Comment Thread

[JMCD]

Love my RV-01 as well, but this case is very nice. Is this one of the few cases with a window on the other side of the case?

[slntdth93]

too bad BFG's custom cooler for 8800GT's would be terrible for this case (it blows from dvi header side of card to the inside)
That and the fact my mobo apparanly has issues with SATA dvd burners are stopping me from buying this case

[tri5cui7]

That is an interesting looking case. I really like, because its such a departure from your typical computer case, and it looks so open. The article picture did not do this case justice!

[SKYMTL]

We have received an update from Silverstone. The changes will be made in the review shortly but I am posting the info here as well:

- The 180mm fan mounts are adaptable to 120mm size if need be

- The drive trays are made out of industrial-grade nylon which makes them VERY hard to break. Basically, they look like plastic but they are not. ;)

[10e]

Great review guys,

The thermal dynamics of this case are awesome. I have 4 PCI-E double slot video cards in the Raven RV02B folding 24/7 that never even reach 70c, and in other conventional PC cases, have had issues staying below 85 celsius, so this 90 degrees thing really works. I can see with longer optical drives how cabling issues can arise too, but haven't had this problem with my more compact LG DVD-RW. Those bottom fans push a lot of air and make nearly zero noise, other than air woosh.

Other than a few compromises, these cases have super cooling capabilities. I think my only issue with the FT02 is that it's a bit heavy for an aluminum case. Even heavier than the more plasticky RV02b.

I would buy one of these in an instance having now used the Raven RV02B. The simple styling is great.


Thanks for that. Solid review.

[miggs78]

LemonLime is back is business, that was a very very good review.. Good to see Silverstone making good progress.. fixing a lot of issues from their previous chassis.. It's a pretty good functional case, I wonder how water cooling would work in it..

FixT.. maybe it's your turn for a video on radiator placements :p..

[johnjohn]

I was hoping that this was a VIDEO review, as quality video review that are honest enough to point out the bad side of a case (as no case is perfect) are getting lesser and lesser, now that you guys are not doing, it gets even lesser. Is a community lost really.

However, I get to see closeup shots from different angle that would never be seen in a video review, and its so much more informational and detail, great review

[poldo]

hi everyone, i just signed up to say that the honeycomb grills on the 180mm fans are there to consistently direct airflow upwards rather than the air move about the case, protection is secondary (holes are too big for screws not to fit in). there's a link about a study on using different fan grill designs and as far directing airflow, the honeycomb grill works best. 'can't find the link though. :(

ninja edit:

found it!

Nexus | BeamAir | Get the best out of your fans !!!

[DaveDSSI]

I really liked the review, just one comment. The issue about "longer optical drives" is valid, but it would be more helpful to us if you could tell us at exactly what the maximum length of drive would be that wouldn't have issues. That way, if we are thinking of buying the case, we'd be able to tell if our current drives, or possible future purchases, would be usable.

My only other problem is that there are too many really good cases out there, its almost impossible to choose - but that's hardly your fault!

Thanks!

[lemonlime]

Thanks for the comments, all! Glad you liked the review

Just wanted to answer the question on optical drive lengths supported. It really depends on the bay used. I'll just quote from SilverStone's product manual as they say it best:

"If the 7th expansion slot is used, the maximum depth for optical drive including the connector is 193mm. If the 7th slot is unused, the top two 5.25” drive bay can still only accommodate 180mm deep optical drive while the third, fourth, and the fifth 5.25” drive bay can fit slightly longer 185mm deep optical drives."

I'll get that added to the review.