Silverstone Fortress FT01
by Christoph Katzer on November 10, 2008 5:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Exterior
As mentioned, the main frame of the chassis is made out of one piece of aluminum. That makes this case look a little similar to the G5 from Apple, just without handles and perforated front panel. The front has a large cutout in the bottom covered by a metal grille with a Silverstone logo in the middle. The first 180mm intake fan sits behind this grille, and the power button is just above the grille in the middle of the front. The upper part of the front has five 5.25" covers, behind which you can install optical drives or other components.
The top of the chassis features a recessed I/O panel that also sports the reset button. There is no plate/door blocking access to the I/O panel, providing easy access, but whether that's better will depend somewhat on personal opinion. Access is certainly easier, but it's also one more cranny where dust can build up, and if you have children in the house, it's sometimes nice to hide access to things like reset buttons. As far as dust is concerned, Silverstone angles the ports so that they are almost horizontal, so at least dust buildup inside of the ports will be kept to a minimum. However, during our tests we already noticed dust building up in front of the ports.
The back of the top panel has another large opening with a black grille. Behind that grille is the second 180mm fan, which will blow air into the case. You will want to make sure that you don't block this area, since that would obviously affect cooling performance.
The back of the case gives us some hints at the internal structure. The power supply sits on the bottom in this case. At the top are two openings covered by rubber, through which you can insert your external water cooling tubes into the system. We also find the lone 120mm exhaust fan on the rear panel, which of course will be supplemented by any power supply fans.
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billt - Monday, November 10, 2008 - link
Good looking case. But then I am partial to Silverstones; have a TJ09 and a SG03 (neither overheat). Wish they had made this case 1-2" deeper.MrX8503 - Monday, November 10, 2008 - link
I think antec might of been the first ones to have the psu at the bottom, but what silverstone did to their psu is ingenious!I like how the psu fan is flushed to the bottom hole of the case with a filter on it. This lets the PSU suck air from the outside of the case and is separate from the entire case air flow.
SilthDraeth - Monday, November 10, 2008 - link
What amazes me, is you can get a bling bling case for $50. But if you want a simple case like this it will cost you around $200.I know quality of craftsmanship is one thing, but there is no reason you shouldn't be able to get aesthetics like this in a $50 case. It could look similarly, but maybe have a few sharp edges that need to be filed by the purchaser.
Vidmar - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - link
That hard drive cage is a real problem with airflow. For what this thing costs I would expect a high end power supply as well.For my $$$ this Rosewill R6AR6-BK case has almost all of the features of that case, cooler performance and at 1/4 of the cost!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Sunrise089 - Monday, November 10, 2008 - link
The TJ-07 model from Silverstone is a popular case for watercoolers. Does this case replace the TJ-07, or is there an even larger 180mm equipped case in the pipeline?Cardio - Monday, November 10, 2008 - link
I have had 3 of their cases and while well made, they all had extremely poor thermal performance. Could only run one of their expensive HTPC cases with the top removed! Very poor engineering as far as I am concerned. Never again they must not even test these things!HOOfan 1 - Monday, November 10, 2008 - link
Looks a little like the Coolermaster RC-690HOOfan 1 - Monday, November 10, 2008 - link
also it is nice for a change to see a black case with a black back panel....strikeback03 - Monday, November 10, 2008 - link
For reversed fan flow measurements, did you reverse all the fans? So that the rear 120 would be the only intake, and most airflow from it would be sucked right back out by the 180 on top? How would a more Antec-like configuration, with front intake and both rear and top exhaust, work? Also, would the stock fan configuration have any negative impact on air flow around a larger tower style cooler?Also, you mentioned that you wouldn't recommend using a PSU with an 80mm fan, why is that?
Christoph Katzer - Monday, November 10, 2008 - link
No, just the large one on top (then according to ATX spec) to see the difference. No 80mm-fan-PSU because one with 120mm fan can get fresh air through the bottom.