Thoughts on the Silverstone Fortress 2 (FT02)?

[CurseTheSky]

I've made several of these posts in the past. To sum it up quickly, I love my P182 SE, but I'm finding that it's just not what I want any more. Finger prints are a common problem (and inevitably you're going to get finger prints somewhere on it when you work with it), it's heavy, and you can either pick decent cooling or good acoustics (even with aftermarket fans).

I'm a BIG fan of brushed aluminum, and I prefer cases that sort of blend in with the rest of the furniture. I don't want something that screams "HEY, I'M A COMPUTER!" The U-shaped design really appeals to me, as does the external cable management (they'll all be bunched together, coming out from a single point at the top of the rear panel).

Unfortunately, while the exterior is made of 4.5mm aluminum (sexy), the interior is steel with some plastic bits. Ugh. At least on the black version of the case they painted the interior. On another note, while the cooling and cable management looks to be very well thought, there isn't much room left for a water cooling setup without a lot of tinkering. I'm not going that route any time soon, but it's always nice to have the option for the future.

So, what do you guys think? Should I make this my next case or pass for something better?

Edit: some reports seem to say that only the unibody piece (front, bottom, and rear) and 5.25" slot covers are aluminum, everything else is steel. I'm wondering about the side panels; if those are steel (or at least if they don't have a nice brushed texture) I think I'll pass. I can't find a definitive answer, though. I'd also like to know if the top removable panel is metal (steel? aluminum?) or completely plastic.

 

[NYHoustonman]

I have the RV-02; posted about it in several threads, and it's very similar functionally. I would have waited for the FT-02 if not for the delays.

The cooling will blow your P182 SE away (at least on air). I came from a P180, and my current system is faster, uses more power, and yet is still quieter. You'll likely be able to run all three of the bottom case fans on low (even on high they don't produce much noise), which makes for about as silent a build as you'll find given high-end components. Cable management was easy, and because of the positive air pressure and filters there isn't nearly as much dust buildup (at least in my case).

These definitely aren't the best water-cooling cases... If you've seen pictures, they recommend you mount larger radiators on the bottom of the case, which is counter-intuitive as you end up blowing warm air up through and out. But for air cooling, particularly with noise in mind, I don't think there's much better out there.

Side note, especially in this case I don't understand why people (not you in particular) are so set on having an aluminum case that they'd pass on the RV-02/FT-02. If the case does its job, why worry?

RV-02 review:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1002-page8.html
FT-02 review:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1015-page1.html

 

[PCTC2]

My FT02B build. Core i7 860, eVGA P55 FTW, and GTX 260 SLI.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46885339@N04/sets/72157623278242226/

I haven't turned it on yet, but I have a SSD in the back, in the provided mount behind the 5.25" bays. I have a storage drive in the racks below. Overall, I like the quality of the case. The orientation is interesting. The PSU intake in the back is not large enough for smaller PSUs that don't expose their fan enough to the vent. Then the PSU has to intake from the case, defeating the purpose of that vent. Otherwise, it was straight forward.

 

[mozartrules]

I just got my FT02 (black, no window) but I am waiting for other parts before starting the build. The top is plastic, not sure about the sides. What is clear that it all looks like brushed aluminium so I would not be concerned. It is really beautiful in real life.

I am building a general purpose machine and I want it to be pretty silent. I accept the absurd size for the benefit of future changes and ability to run with just the bottom fans (I hope). It will look almost empty with a micro ATX H55 board, an i5/660, an Intel 160Gb SSD, a 1.5Gb Samsung F2, a blu-ray drive and a Seasonic X-650 but it will be a general purpose machine and I wanted to make sure that it can handle future expansion.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Side note, especially in this case I don't understand why people (not you in particular) are so set on having an aluminum case that they'd pass on the RV-02/FT-02. If the case does its job, why worry?

Generally I insist on aluminum for the weight benefits. Of course, if the case is made of super thin aluminum (and easy to bend) I'll pass. In this case (no pun intended), I think I'll make an exception if the overall build quality is top notch.

The top is plastic, not sure about the sides. What is clear that it all looks like brushed aluminium so I would not be concerned. It is really beautiful in real life.

I'm extremely happy to hear it all LOOKS like brushed aluminum. Appearance to me is everything for this build.

I'm not happy to hear the top is plastic. Is it flimsy or feel like any tabs will break easily? Does it lock securely in place, or is there a lot of room for movement?

Thanks.

 

[Rubycon]

Silverstone needs to catch up on the times with front panel ergonomics. The power and reset buttons are very poorly placed on the RV02 and feel about as sturdy as some $29 bargain basement case (including 300W ATX PSU!)

The new FT02 looks better (not as gameboyish as the RV02) and button placement is a little better. Still only two USB ports, no ESATA (I never use it anyways) or 1394 (which I use daily). For a $250 case it seems lacking in that regard.

I don't care for the HDD carriers in the front. At least the RV02 lets you remove it and use your own freeing up 5.25" bays. The FT02 loses this ability.

Cooling is definitely good out of the box. No modifications needed unlike the ever popular Cosmos.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Well, it's on it's way. At the last minute I had a hard time deciding between it and the TJ-07, but the TJ-07's price and SCPR's complaints about rattling was the final deciding factor.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[corb01772]

I also had an Antec P182 SE and just upgraded to a Silverstone FT02. Aside from a few minor gripes mostly due to the unorthodox motherboard mounting, the case is amazing and absolutely beautiful. And its cooling performance outperforms the P182 much more than I predicted.

I recorded some comparison temps between the P182 and FT02 if anyone is interested: http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2886/ft02bp182se.jpg

 

[CurseTheSky]

Ok, so it just came in today.

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD IT'S BIG.

It's not very tall - about an inch shorter than the P182, and it's only half an inch wider. But good God is it deep. 24" deep, vs. 20" on the P182. That might not sound like much, but measure the depth on your current case and compare it to how deep a 24" case would be, you'll see what I'm talking about.

I was disappointed to see that the outer finish is NOT brushed, only the 5.25" drive covers are. It's more of a power-coated or sprayed finish (sort of like the black bezel around my 2408WFP) which still looks good and sparkles nicely when inspected closely, but a brushed finish would have looked much sharper. Perhaps that just gives me an excuse to cut into the side panel and add a window somewhere down the road.

The U-shaped unibody frame gives the case it's defining character, and the aluminum is very thick and sturdy. While it is very aesthetically pleasing with the rounded bends at the bottom two corners, I find that the seams for the removable top panel take away greatly from the overall design; I still prefer the TJ-07's construction over this one, though that opinion may change once I see all of the power, video, sound, etc. cords coming out neatly from one area. The case "feet" (a couple of rubber strips glued to the bottom) seem to make the case much more secure and less prone to tipping than typical case feet. The side panels feel like steel (given their weight), and are sufficiently thick given the strength of steel compared to aluminum. I would still prefer to see aluminum used for the side panels and their thickness increased to compensate, however. Despite their construction, the panels can still be bowed a bit, but it's certainly not as bad as some cases I've seen. The top panel is primarily a plastic frame, but it has metal (presumably steel) panels attached to the outside to make the exterior finish consistent. Though I'm not happy to see as much plastic used on a $220 case (and it's really not that much), if they had made the top panel strictly from metal, it would have been unnecessarily heavy and could scrape and damage the finish on other panels.

The interior is painted very nicely - there's no evidence of drips, finger prints, hair, etc. stuck in the paint anywhere. All areas of the case seem to be expertly painted, unlike cheaper cases that often have missed areas in corners or over-spray in other places. Most edges have a very smooth rolled lip, which prevents rough or sharp places for you to cut yourself or damage components (I sliced a fan wire once because of this). Some edges are't rolled in order to allow pieces to fit together properly - for example where the I/O shield attaches, where the PSU screws to the cases, and where the side panels screw to the main body. Those edges are a little rough, but not sharp, warped, or damage in any apparent way.

A lot of attention was paid to giving the case a good amount of air flow, and yet keeping dust out of the case. The 180mm fans in the bottom of the case are HUGE, and I can't imagine that they wouldn't provide a ton of air circulation (double negatives FTW). The only exhaust fan included in the stock case - a 120mm with golf-ball like dimples in the blades - means that this is a positive pressure case, drawing in more air than it expels, and hopefully giving the graphics card and PSU an easier time doing their jobs. Each of the intake fans has a plastic dust filter with a fine mesh material that slides out very easily, though it requires removing the right side panel. The PSU's intake fan, assuming the PSU is a bottom-fan-mounted style, has its own removable plastic honeycomb grill with a fine mesh dust filter as well. Dust will inevitably still get in, but I'm already foreseeing doing less cleaning with this one than other cases I've used in the past.

The HDD cages are entirely plastic, but the slide out and "snap" in very easily. I definitely wouldn't recommend them for anyone planning on transporting their computer regularly (and who would, with a case this size), as they may be able to unhinge themselves and slide out under certain conditions. However, for a stationary case they should be sufficient, and will hopefully reduce vibrations in one way or another. Silverstone ships the case with a single hot-swap back panel, and others are sold separately for about $5 each. The tool-less 5.25" bay mechanisms feel a bit flimsy for my taste, but again, with a stationary computer it should be an issue (and furthermore, I'm one of the few who still prefers to use screws wherever possible). The power and reset buttons have the same finish as the rest of the case (which blends in great), and carry a wonderful beveled edge that really makes them look sharp.

Overall, I do like the case, but the odd shape (depth) and the seams from the removable top panel detract from the aesthetics in my eyes. The functionality, on the other hand, seems to be top notch - lots of air flow, many convenient features, and dust filters / dampening everywhere. Given the price (or even for ~$50 more), I would have preferred to see less plastic (HDD cages, top panel, a few bits here and there), a completely brushed finished, more aluminum (side panels, motherboard tray), and USB 3.0 ports. It's a great case, but I think $160-180 would be a fairer price.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Here's a quick temperature comparison. The second post will be a follow-up after I migrate everything over to the FT02.

• 
  i7 860 - 2.8GHz (stock), auto voltage (1.192v at idle in CPU-z), C1E / SpeedStep / etc. disabled, hyperthreading enabled

• Stock Intel HSF

• Antec P182 SE with 3x Yate Loon L, 1x Scythe S-Flex F

• Temps measured by Core Temp 0.99.5, loaded by Prime95 (SmallFFTs, 8 threads)

• Amblient temp 70F (21C)

Idle: 46C, 45C, 47C, 47C
Load: 93C, 96C, 94C, 97C after ~30 seconds of testing AND CLIMBING (not good...)

• EVGA GTX285, stock clocks and voltages

• Stock heatsink

• Temps measured by GPU-Z (GPU temp), loaded by FureMark 1.7.0 (1920x1080 fullscreen, 16x MSAA, 150000ms test time)

• Amblient temp 70F (21C)

Idle: 51C
Load: 87C

I probably have a bad mount on my heatsink, but I'm going to leave it alone to see if the FT02 makes a huge difference or not.

 

[Rubycon]

Get rid of the stock cooler. I agree though those temps look more like 3.8-4.0GHz at 1.3V temps. Good mount may get you into the upper 70s with that stock cooler. They are weaksauce.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Get rid of the stock cooler. I agree though those temps look more like 3.8-4.0GHz at 1.3V temps. Good mount may get you into the upper 70s with that stock cooler. They are weaksauce.

No kidding. Megahalem or Megashadow on the way as soon as I can afford it. I might even go water, but I'd have to figure out where to mount the pump. Maybe if I can find a 5.25" bay reservoir and mount the pump on top of that...

 

[CurseTheSky]

Well, everything's in. It was a bit of a pain with a non-modular PSU, but the cables fit pretty well. Hopefully I'll grab one of Seasonic's latest offerings at some point (hey, my birthday is Feb. 25th... they're only $170 right now, any takers?! ) and solve that issue.

It's actually... kind of ugly. I mean, the finish looks nice and the curved unibody is a great touch, but the overall depth of the case just makes it look like some kind of alien ship. It somewhat reminds me of a xenomorph head from the Aliens trilogy. Perhaps when I put it on the floor it won't look so out of place.

Aesthetics aside, the cooling performance is DEFINITELY noticed:

• 
  i7 860 - 2.8GHz (stock), auto voltage (1.192v at idle in CPU-z), C1E / SpeedStep / etc. disabled, hyperthreading enabled

• Stock Intel HSF

• Silverstone FT02B, 3x180mm on high, 120mm on motherboard header

• Temps measured by Core Temp 0.99.5, loaded by Prime95 (SmallFFTs, 8 threads)

• Amblient temp 67F (19.4C)

Idle: 35C, 33C, 36C, 34C
Load: 63C, 63C, 62C, 64C after ~3 minutes of testing holding steady

• EVGA GTX285, stock clocks and voltages

• Stock heatsink

• Temps measured by GPU-Z (GPU temp), loaded by FureMark 1.7.0 (1920x1080 fullscreen, 16x MSAA, 150000ms test time)

• Amblient temp 67F (19.4C)

Idle: 38C
Load: 81C

I almost can't believe my eyes. These improvements are excellent. Clearly my P182 was starved for air, despite having two 120mm intake fans and two 120mm exhaust fans (plus the PSU and graphics card). The problem is most likely the fact that I was using slower, quiet fans and the case layout, which doesn't allow air to flow everywhere freely.

 

[CurseTheSky]

So in summary:

CPU Temperatures
P182 SE - Idle: 46C, 45C, 47C, 47C (46.5C avg - 21C ambient = 25.5 delta C)
FT02B - Idle: 35C, 33C, 36C, 34C (34.5C avg -19.4C ambient = 15.1 delta C)

P182 SE - Load: 93C, 96C, 94C, 97C (95C avg - 21C ambient = 74 delta C)
FT02B - Load: 63C, 63C, 62C, 64C (63C avg - 19.4C ambient = 43.6 delta C)

GPU Temperatures
P182 SE - Idle: 51 (51C - 21C ambient = 30 delta C)
FT02B - Idle: 38C (38C - 19.4C ambient = 18.6 delta C)

P182 SE - Load: 87C (87C - 21C amblient = 66 delta C)
FT02B - Load: 81C (81C - 19.4C ambient = 61.6 delta C)

All hardware and settings were maintained during both tests except for the ambient temperature and the case. I did NOT re-seat the Intel HSF between tests.

 

[NYHoustonman]

Damn, didn't expect to see differences that big. Good to see it worked out .

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Yea I got the Raven after talking to Ruby a while back. I like it a lot except for the stupid power and reset buttons on top. I wanted the FT02, but the wait was just too long and I got a good deal on the RV02.

Glad you like yours.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Yea I got the Raven after talking to Ruby a while back. I like it a lot except for the stupid power and reset buttons on top. I wanted the FT02, but the wait was just too long and I got a good deal on the RV02.

Glad you like yours.