New Silverstone FT02

I'm planning to resurrect my FT-02 soon. Gonna throw a 280mm and 120mm rad in it and see how it goes. I will be waiting for 2090/2080 waterblocks due to the aforementioned length limitations.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, with some very simple tweaking they could re-make the FT-02 and re-purpose the drive bays and 5.25 bays for modern storage and watercooling, maybe shorten it a bit and go 3 x 140mm for the basement. Give it a little more height and width to better accommodate larger motherboards, graphics cards, and cable management..
 
That's exactly why I built mine!

I'm looking to reuse my FT-02 or find a replacement that fits all the same qualities/features in 2020/2021. Updating everything in a few weeks (once RTX 3070/3080 comes out)

I am anxiously waiting to do a new system but I will wait for the Alta F1, Ryzen 3 and video card still TBD. Probably NVIDIA 3080 but AMD might have better overall offerings. Tired ot putting them together though. I might try to hire someone from here to do it all neat and pretty.
 
From my perspective you are completely missing the mark on some of the main drivers of the FT-20

I doubt almost anyone on this forum buys a HP or Dell and a FT-02 has literally nothing to do with white box customers on any level so that is irrelevant. There are many many customers who simply never moved away from the FT-02 because nothing ever really replaced it. The Alta F1 looks to be the first in a while to cover the basic appeal of the FT-02.

Also most people who would want a revised FT-02 want it for air cooling not water cooling. Simply put it was the best built most versatile case with best air cooling and quietness ever built. Certainly a new version would not really need 5.25" drives, but the FT-02 was not about drives.

It was about the inverted motherboard, build quality, extreme air cooling capability and quietness. Sounds like you are not really a target for this. This thread has 2 million views, I would say there is plenty of built up demand for this sort of case.

Say what you will about the 5.25 bays, they allowed me to cram 8x 3.5" drives and 4x 2.5" into the FT02 and I still had room for DVD drive :p

So will this thing take a 3090 founders edition or is there not enough room?
There's not enough room.

3090 FE is 313mm and FT02 is limited to 304mm or 309mm (with fan grille removed) - https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=242&area=en
It also won't fit in an FT05 which maxes out at 310mm, but will work with the upcoming Alta F1 which can take up to 334mm.

It can be done, just not with the stock fans installed. You'll need to swap the Silverstone "air penetrator" fans for something smaller than 32mm thickness, Phobya made smaller 180mm last time I looked into this (a long time ago). Silverstone also made a 180x18mm super slim fan but I have never seen them in stock anywhere.

Anyway, smaller fan, lose the grill, and then I'd buy a magnetic dust filter of some sort for the outside bottom of the case.
 
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Just spotted this spanker for sale on ebay, used but looks pristine, many extras still in the bags, if I didn't already have one I would buy this one, UK only unfortunately but my God look at how beautiful it is.
It could be the finest specimen in existence, hard to see how there could be any better out there, unless there are some unused units hidden away someplace.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silverstone-Fortress-FT02B-ATX-Case/133499522337?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
 
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I finally put some hardware inside the case, I originally bought it to house my next build and that is still the plan, but with furlough boredom kicking in I couldn't resist transferring my old build over to it.
A lot of fun to build in although the cable management memes are correct.
Cleaned her inside and out, removed the old fans and fan controller switches, installed new AP183's and she's running like a new case, fair play to the previous owner who really looked after her.





DSCF1097.JPGDSCF1100.JPGDSCF1106.JPGDSCF1108.JPG
 
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Has anyone managed to remove the fan brackets from the bottom in a non-destructive manner? Talking about the pieces you can see on the bottom in the first picture above with everything removed.

I wanted to convert to exterior 140mm magnetic dust filters, 140mm fans, and gain a bit more vertical space.
 
Has anyone managed to remove the fan brackets from the bottom in a non-destructive manner? Talking about the pieces you can see on the bottom in the first picture above with everything removed.

I wanted to convert to exterior 140mm magnetic dust filters, 140mm fans, and gain a bit more vertical space.
Looks like they're just held on by little tabs (at least two on two sides, can't see the left and right sides). If you're gentle, you could probably take them out with a couple slotted screwdrivers, maybe some toothpicks. Pry the tabs so they're free (you probably won't be able to lift until at least half are free), and hold them in place with toothpicks. Work your way around, and once enough are free it should just lift out. Just do a little at a time, start with one toothpick, and add more if it doesn't come free.
 
Looks like they're just held on by little tabs (at least two on two sides, can't see the left and right sides). If you're gentle, you could probably take them out with a couple slotted screwdrivers, maybe some toothpicks. Pry the tabs so they're free (you probably won't be able to lift until at least half are free), and hold them in place with toothpicks. Work your way around, and once enough are free it should just lift out. Just do a little at a time, start with one toothpick, and add more if it doesn't come free.
Hmm. I was able to get the first set of tabs out, they came out just with a push. The set on the right side of the case, where the dust filters would pull out.

The second set on the left side looks like the bracket needs to tilt up more to accommodate removal but the motherboard plate is blocking it. It looks like the tabs are offset with a small piece of plastic on the inside, as if it needs to tilt up and then push forward. If I could trim that little offset piece of plastic off that would solve the issue and still let it go back in later.

I'll try to gently pry it up with toothpicks to shim like you're suggesting.
 
Hmm. I was able to get the first set of tabs out, they came out just with a push. The set on the right side of the case, where the dust filters would pull out.

The second set on the left side looks like the bracket needs to tilt up more to accommodate removal but the motherboard plate is blocking it. It looks like the tabs are offset with a small piece of plastic on the inside, as if it needs to tilt up and then push forward. If I could trim that little offset piece of plastic off that would solve the issue and still let it go back in later.

I'll try to gently pry it up with toothpicks to shim like you're suggesting.
Yes, I've just did a complete teardown/clean of my FT02 and basically it's a pry/lift and tilt motion that gets them out. I inserted a pry tool between the mobo tray and the brackets to help with moving them outwards (towards window)
 
Yes, I've just did a complete teardown/clean of my FT02 and basically it's a pry/lift and tilt motion that gets them out. I inserted a pry tool between the mobo tray and the brackets to help with moving them outwards (towards window)
Thanks, that's what I've started trying but I feel like I'm pounding my head against the wall.

I have a plastic, car interior removal kit that I'm using. I put the very tip of one of those plastic pry tools in, then I slowly lift the right/window side up, then I pry and attempt to pull and it's just like nope I'm gonna stay right here.

I'm scouring the internet for a video of someone doing this.
 
I have a pic, but I also have some bad news fellow FT02 friends.

The Strix 3080 card does not support being rotated 90 degrees. It was pegged at 90-99% fan and 79-82c when in normal orientation. I flipped the entire case over and ended up with 60-70% fan and 63-65c temperatures.

My legendary FT02 has reached the end of it's journey. I'm very sad.

D7931E6F-5843-429F-BFCC-D754032E9912_1_105_c.jpeg
 
I have a pic, but I also have some bad news fellow FT02 friends.

The Strix 3080 card does not support being rotated 90 degrees. It was pegged at 90-99% fan and 79-82c when in normal orientation. I flipped the entire case over and ended up with 60-70% fan and 63-65c temperatures.

My legendary FT02 has reached the end of it's journey. I'm very sad.

View attachment 289301
If you're not using those other pci slots, you could get a riser and vertical gpu bracket. They also make some which fit on a 120 mm fan, but looks like that would interfere with your cpu cooler or PSU. There are some which can be configured to sit over the PCI slots (so it wouldn't interfere, but you'd have to remove the bracket to add/remove cards), but they look a bit flimsy.
 
I have a pic, but I also have some bad news fellow FT02 friends.

The Strix 3080 card does not support being rotated 90 degrees. It was pegged at 90-99% fan and 79-82c when in normal orientation. I flipped the entire case over and ended up with 60-70% fan and 63-65c temperatures.

My legendary FT02 has reached the end of it's journey. I'm very sad.

NOOOO!!!! You got priorities mixed up man, you mean time to get a new video card :) Case closed!

As an aside, these video cards are just getting way too big. It's almost to the point where instead of a video card plugged into a motherboard, you have a video card and a "daughter board" hanging off of it. Just personal opinion, but "dual slot" cards are also misleading when they take up 2.5 or 2.7x slots, just label it 3 slots and be done with it if you're going to block 2 other slots.
 
If you're not using those other pci slots, you could get a riser and vertical gpu bracket. They also make some which fit on a 120 mm fan, but looks like that would interfere with your cpu cooler or PSU. There are some which can be configured to sit over the PCI slots (so it wouldn't interfere, but you'd have to remove the bracket to add/remove cards), but they look a bit flimsy.
I think I would have to heavily modify the case to make something like that work unfortunately.
NOOOO!!!! You got priorities mixed up man, you mean time to get a new video card :) Case closed!

As an aside, these video cards are just getting way too big. It's almost to the point where instead of a video card plugged into a motherboard, you have a video card and a "daughter board" hanging off of it. Just personal opinion, but "dual slot" cards are also misleading when they take up 2.5 or 2.7x slots, just label it 3 slots and be done with it if you're going to block 2 other slots.
ASUS advertises this as a "2.9-slot design." It is big, but it's also very quiet. In the past I purchased the FT02 to keep my GPUs of that time cool. I'll miss the FT02 but it's time to repeat the process with something new.
 
Agreed, I'll trade space for noise. I'm was j/k about the case of course, unfortunately I haven't seen anything that has caught my eye so far and would prompt me to change. New cases are basically just flashy boxes without drive mounts mostly
 
But what 3080 does work more or less as intended in 90 degree oriented cases such as this one? And it is shorter than 304mm. MSI ventus is 305mm long so idk if it would fit. I have MSI 980ti gaming atm which was doing fine temp wise (mid 70's while overclocked) until one of the fans broke and other one is on its way out so i'm in a market for upgrade.

Here comes the crazy/desperate question, how would FT02 behave if i used a card which works optimally in horizontal orientation and rotated the case as in Potatochips's picture ? Any comments and advice would be appriciated, thanks!
 
Well, it's been fun. I've had my RV02 technically since before the "E" version even existed, although mine is the E (air penetrator fans) version without the sideways mounted hard drive bays. Just ordered a Phanteks P500a and four NF-A14's to get me started. Just needed something more modern. Possibly looking at an AIO as well.

I have been debating between the Lancool 2 Mesh and the P500a. It really just came down to 140mm fan support and more flexibility with radiators. Pretty excited. I'll probably pass this case onto a family member.

Crazy to think though, two of the three 180mm fans are original. The one under the hard drive cage basically exploded a couple months ago.
 
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Well, it's been fun. I've had my RV02 technically since before the "E" version even existed, although mine is the E (air penetrator fans) version without the sideways mounted hard drive bays. Just ordered a Phanteks P500a and four NF-A14's to get me started. Just needed something more modern. Possibly looking at an AIO as well.

I have been debating between the Lancool 2 Mesh and the P500a. It really just came down to 140mm fan support and more flexibility with radiators. Pretty excited. I'll probably pass this case onto a family member.

Crazy to think though, two of the three 180mm fans are original. The one under the hard drive cage basically exploded a couple months ago.
Great choice, I've been looking around as well - not that the FT02 has any issues with my usage but just to consider future possibilities. Over the years I've had numerous Antecs, CoolerMaster, Lian-Li and Silverstones, now my assessment is Silverstone/Phantek will probably be my next case as their style, layout design, and premium built quality appeals to me
 
I have a pic, but I also have some bad news fellow FT02 friends.

The Strix 3080 card does not support being rotated 90 degrees. It was pegged at 90-99% fan and 79-82c when in normal orientation. I flipped the entire case over and ended up with 60-70% fan and 63-65c temperatures.

My legendary FT02 has reached the end of it's journey. I'm very sad.

View attachment 289301

Why would it not work in it's normal operation?
 

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I jinxed myself. Another 180mm fan just had a blade give out. Not as bad as the last one, but it's done.
 
Gravity and certain types of heatpipes in specific orientations. Not all 3080s are like this and the info is mentioned on Silverstone's FT02 page under the Q&A.

https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=242&area=en#undefined4

Photo of Strix 3090 cooler (same as 3080) from TPU - https://www.techpowerup.com/review/asus-geforce-rtx-3090-strix-oc/images/cooler2.jpg
Thanks for that. I had a hard time understanding the Silverstone page. Do most graphics cards use heat pipes or is the 3090 FE cooler unique? I have always had such awesome temps in the FT-02 and never heard anyone mention this. Gamer's Nexus says it is the best cooling case ever.

Also wouldn't the horizontal orientation mean that a CPU cooler like the one you have should be rotated 90 degrees so the fan blows side to side on the cooler. It's confusing because I have always gotten the best temps and lowest noise with this orientation. Do most video cards use heat pipes that are perpendicular to the length of the card? That would make sense because the heat pipes would be horizontal in both standard and 90 degree orientations, but that would also mean that people using risers for horizontal mounts for their video cards are now running most of them vertically.

If the heat pipes run along the length of the card then it would work in either a test bench/horizontal riser orientation or standard motherboard orientation. If that's true then wouldn't lengthwise oritentation for heat pipes be preferred?

I looked at the exploded view of the 6800XT which I plan to get and it looks like it doesnt even have heat pipes.

I am building a PC now and will use the Alta F1 case which is 90 degree rotated just like the FT-02 and dont want to have this issue.

Is the 6800FE just a complete outlier?

Appreciate your responses.
 
Thanks for that. I had a hard time understanding the Silverstone page. Do most graphics cards use heat pipes or is the 3090 FE cooler unique? I have always had such awesome temps in the FT-02 and never heard anyone mention this. Gamer's Nexus says it is the best cooling case ever.

Also wouldn't the horizontal orientation mean that a CPU cooler like the one you have should be rotated 90 degrees so the fan blows side to side on the cooler. It's confusing because I have always gotten the best temps and lowest noise with this orientation. Do most video cards use heat pipes that are perpendicular to the length of the card? That would make sense because the heat pipes would be horizontal in both standard and 90 degree orientations, but that would also mean that people using risers for horizontal mounts for their video cards are now running most of them vertically.

If the heat pipes run along the length of the card then it would work in either a test bench/horizontal riser orientation or standard motherboard orientation. If that's true then wouldn't lengthwise oritentation for heat pipes be preferred?

I looked at the exploded view of the 6800XT which I plan to get and it looks like it doesnt even have heat pipes.

I am building a PC now and will use the Alta F1 case which is 90 degree rotated just like the FT-02 and dont want to have this issue.

Is the 6800FE just a complete outlier?

Appreciate your responses.
I'm not really an expert on this, but it would seem unless you're certain that a card/cooler has anti-gravity wicking in the pipes, the bending must not face upward/be above the heat source. You can see this in the CPU cooler 'bad orientation' and again in the photo of the VGA cooler below in Silverstone's examples on the FT02 FAQ.

Many cards use heat pipes. Moreover, the 3090/3080 Strix have almost all of the bends above the heat source as seen in the photo I linked to above. The Tuf 3080/3090 may or may not be a problem as well, as three of it's pipes do the the same thing. Most of the other cards I've seen seem to be okay, but it would be best to look at their coolers. For example, 3080/3090 FE and Gigabyte Master/Extreme look fine. For the 6800/6900 cards, perhaps they have vapor chamber cooling (I haven't seen the exploded view) and things are a bit different. From what you're saying it sounds like they should be fine, but I'll wait to conclude until after TPU or some other review website disassembles them.

As a comparison, my 2070 S Strix has two pipes that bend above and the rest are below the heat source, but for all I know my card could have wicking pipes. All I know is that the card I own is fine in this orientation inside an FT05 because it stays cool and never exceeds 60-65c while gaming. Link to this cards heatpipes - https://www.techpowerup.com/review/asus-geforce-rtx-2070-super-strix-oc/images/cooler2.jpg
 
I'm not really an expert on this, but it would seem unless you're certain that a card/cooler has anti-gravity wicking in the pipes, the bending must not face upward/be above the heat source. You can see this in the CPU cooler 'bad orientation' and again in the photo of the VGA cooler below in Silverstone's examples on the FT02 FAQ.

Many cards use heat pipes. Moreover, the 3090/3080 Strix have almost all of the bends above the heat source as seen in the photo I linked to above. The Tuf 3080/3090 may or may not be a problem as well, as three of it's pipes do the the same thing. Most of the other cards I've seen seem to be okay, but it would be best to look at their coolers. For example, 3080/3090 FE and Gigabyte Master/Extreme look fine. For the 6800/6900 cards, perhaps they have vapor chamber cooling (I haven't seen the exploded view) and things are a bit different. From what you're saying it sounds like they should be fine, but I'll wait to conclude until after TPU or some other review website disassembles them.

As a comparison, my 2070 S Strix has two pipes that bend above and the rest are below the heat source, but for all I know my card could have wicking pipes. All I know is that the card I own is fine in this orientation inside an FT05 because it stays cool and never exceeds 60-65c while gaming. Link to this cards heatpipes - https://www.techpowerup.com/review/asus-geforce-rtx-2070-super-strix-oc/images/cooler2.jpg

Thanks again. The wording is really bad on the Silverstone page and the pictures are not really very clear. But I did understand it the way you just described. I looked at the card I have and it looks similar to the Sapphire Nitro 6800XT I want to get so I will just hope it works and not have me forced into a new chassis. Like I said, I had never know there was a potential negative aspect of the 90 degree rotation. Always thought it was just the best for cooling period.
 
The new asrock 6800xt cards that I've been wanting were announced and they have a length of 3300mm. The ft-02 has a gpu limit of about 3000mm. Has anyone fit a longer card in theirs? If so how?
 
I have a pic, but I also have some bad news fellow FT02 friends.

The Strix 3080 card does not support being rotated 90 degrees. It was pegged at 90-99% fan and 79-82c when in normal orientation. I flipped the entire case over and ended up with 60-70% fan and 63-65c temperatures.

My legendary FT02 has reached the end of it's journey. I'm very sad.

View attachment 289301
You basically turned it into an FT04, which is still sold by the way.
I like it better than the FT02.
 

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I really like the look of the fe coolers. Almost makes me want to get one.
The 20 series FE looks just as good imho, plus this new one has that bad black paint that just feels like it wants to chip.


Got a message from Silverstone on twitter about the ALTA F1, I don't think it's unfair to share;
Hello, thank you for your interest and support! We're having production issues with the ALTA F1 now. But we'll make it available in a small amount before the end of 2020, stay tuned!
 
Been following the last few pages of this thread. I wanted to ask if anyone landed anywhere good with replacing a RV or FT?

I am upgrading an RV02 with new guts and now it looks like I need to worry about thermal wicking. To start my upgrade I removed my 3.5" cage by drilling out the mounting rivets, and moved my drives into a 5.25" adapter that I've mounted in the top bay.
Figuring it would free up airflow and just look neater.

Next I upgraded two of the three AP180's to AP183s. I really want to hold onto this case. Or at least repurpose the new fans.

Pic of my build below.

PXL_20201130_023353375.MP.jpg
 
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The new asrock 6800xt cards that I've been wanting were announced and they have a length of 3300mm. The ft-02 has a gpu limit of about 3000mm. Has anyone fit a longer card in theirs? If so how?
You have 309 mm room to begin with.

Stage 1: remove filter piece and slap in on from the outside with magnetic strips / if i recall that makes about 4-5 mm, yes?
Stage 2: remove the whole bracket and mount the fan directly onto the metall / uh i don't have the measurement

Btw an arctic freezer II 280 AIO does fit perfectly in there, if you are apt with a dremel.
IMG_20201103_175533_Bokeh.jpg



And here the most silent FT02 of them all:
IMG_20201206_150019_Bokeh.jpg

just for flex it is already prepped for a 280/360 GPU AIO

To all RGB padawans:

come to the dark side !
pump and coil whine are not an issue here :smuggrin:
 
You have 309 mm room to begin with.

Stage 1: remove filter piece and slap in on from the outside with magnetic strips / if i recall that makes about 4-5 mm, yes?
Stage 2: remove the whole bracket and mount the fan directly onto the metall / uh i don't have the measurement

Btw an arctic freezer II 280 AIO does fit perfectly in there, if you are apt with a dremel.
View attachment 306335


And here the most silent FT02 of them all:
View attachment 306336
just for flex it is already prepped for a 280/360 GPU AIO

To all RGB padawans:

come to the dark side !
pump and coil whine are not an issue here :smuggrin:

Is that a WRI????? But all covered up....and I've never seen something like this before.

I miss mine. Wish I never sold it. Actually I sold it twice, a local buyer was nice enough to sell it back to me the first time.
 
You have 309 mm room to begin with.

Stage 1: remove filter piece and slap in on from the outside with magnetic strips / if i recall that makes about 4-5 mm, yes?
Stage 2: remove the whole bracket and mount the fan directly onto the metall / uh i don't have the measurement

Btw an arctic freezer II 280 AIO does fit perfectly in there, if you are apt with a dremel.
View attachment 306335


And here the most silent FT02 of them all:
View attachment 306336
just for flex it is already prepped for a 280/360 GPU AIO

To all RGB padawans:

come to the dark side !
pump and coil whine are not an issue here :smuggrin:
Thanks, is it a lot of work to remove the brackets?

I was originally only going to use my ft-02 as a stopgap as I wait for the alta s1, but it has been put on an indefinite hold. So I might be using my ft-02 a lot longer. Oh how I wish it had a full tempered glass side panel and USB 3.x ports...
Seriously silverstone, if you're not going to make another high-end case, at least sell us parts to refresh your old stuff
 
Are there any aftermarket tempered glass side panels for the ft-02? Or what's the feasibility of trying to make one yourself
 
Are there any aftermarket tempered glass side panels for the ft-02? Or what's the feasibility of trying to make one yourself
Make one yourself. Any acrylic shop can cut one to size for you. I made a custom one for the FT02 before from an online seller.
Didn't use the screws because it could crack the sheet. So I just taped it.
 
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