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SilverStone Fortress FT01 Case Review
Author: William West
Published: Thursday, January 22, 2009
Case Layout & Features
A part of the SilverStone FT01 that boldly stands out over anything is the top. With a very cool looking mesh top covering a huge 180mm intake fan. Yes, this is an intake fan not an exhaust like found in many other cases. The intake fan is part of the positive air pressure system that the FT01 has going on.
Keep in mind the FT01 is a heavily engineered chassis designed to provide the best cooling of any off the shelf computer case.
Keep in mind the FT01 is a heavily engineered chassis designed to provide the best cooling of any off the shelf computer case.
The front connections are actually located across the top of the case in a slightly recessed tray. Having the connections across the top allows us to connect our gear and not have to worry about where the cables will be. The tray also doubles as a convent place to store Flash Drives, or to lay our MP3 Players while they are charging on the USB.
Available connections include USB, IEEE1394 (Firewire), headphones and Microphone. (a must have for any gaming rig).
Available connections include USB, IEEE1394 (Firewire), headphones and Microphone. (a must have for any gaming rig).
The latch holding the side panel on is very neat and compact. To remove the side panel you will need to first remove the 3 thumbscrews and then pull up on this lever shown in the photo. After that the locks will release and door will pop open.
Not many times do we look at doors on a case and go "WOW". Well SilverStone did it again with the FT01 by covered the side panels in extra thick foam. As you know noise has typically been a problem with aluminum cases not really from a vibration standpoint but from ambient noises passing thru the large panels, this foam will help to dampen those noises and make things a little quieter.
With many cases being produced today the idea of being a “tool-less” case has become very common. The SilverStone FT01 offers that luxury, but only for the 5.25 drive bays. For these you get a huge push button to help make the optical drive switches quick and easy.
The SilverStone FT01 has stepped away from the tool less expansion card slots for good old fashion screws. This makes for a more secure install especially for those heavy graphic cards. Also notice that SilverStone is using open slits in the expansion card covers, this will allow more air to freely exit the chassis.
