SilverStone Fortress FT01 Mid-Tower Case Review

Interior Impressions cont.


Squeezed behind the 180mm fan and the 120mm exhaust fan are the water cooling grommets. It seems odd that SilverStone placed them this high up the case as they are very difficult to access in this area.

The 120mm exhaust fan is a SilverStone branded fan with the model number DF1202512RFLN but searches for more information on this fan turned up very little information. It appears to be a sleeve bearing fan used by SilverStone in some of their other cases as well and is rated at a relatively slow 900RPM speed and 18dBA.


The large 180mm exhaust fans are SilverStone branded with the model number DF1803212RFLN and are rated for 700RPM at 12V and only 18dBA.

SilverStone does state that the 180mm fans used in the FT01 can have trouble starting if used on a variable speed fan header or a fan controller so be careful. This is because since there is substantial weight to the oversize fins, a higher than usual start up voltage is required. More information on this can be found in SilverStone’s FT01 Q&A area. There are unfortunately not many 180mm replacement fans on the market so those interested in replacement models will have difficulty finding them. Because of this fact, it would have been nice to have higher RPM models that can be adjusted for quiet systems, or left at full speed for higher performance cooling. At only 700RPM, these fans are definitely tuned for silence.


SilverStone includes dust filters for both 180mm intake fans, as well as the PSU intake. They utilize a very fine mesh and should be pretty easy to clean. The front intake filter can be easily removed, but the fan at the top of the case must be removed to access the filter there. The same holds true for the PSU filter so if your PC is located in a dusty environment, you may find this to be an inconvenience. Those who dislike cleaning dust filters can remove the filters altogether and many enthusiasts remove them simply to maximize airflow.


One of the great features of the FT01 is the cable management grommets running along the back of the hard drive cages. Header leads and SATA connectors can cleanly enter into the main area of the case using these openings. However, they are a little tight for PSU leads, but are definitely a nice addition nonetheless.


On the other side of the case, the wiring access to the hard drive cages can be seen, as well as the opening for the PSU cables. SilverStone includes one CP05 hot-swap adapter with the FT01. Hard drives can be easily hooked up without them, but for proper hot-swap operation, they are required. The CP05 adapter has a pass-through Molex connector and not a SATA power adapter and additional ones are sold separately.