• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Resolved.

Status
Not open for further replies.
So are the now putting in these fancy AP fans in the FT02 now or not? If so, how do you know if you are buying the original or the update?
 
only thing holding me back from getting another card..is the issue with eyefinity with trifire or quadfire.

In that case just stick with the 5970. No need to spend extra cash on 2GB 5870s.

So are the now putting in these fancy AP fans in the FT02 now or not? If so, how do you know if you are buying the original or the update?

I think the fans will be upgrades for the original FT02 not standard. Only the special red edition have these fans as standard so far. They may release a revised FT02 but we haven't seen anything at Computex so I wouldn't expect it.
 
WE,

Kinda off topic here..but for 90% gaming and 10%music, videos, movies... would Xonar DX be a decent choice? Hows your STX working for you?
 
I just bought the STX and it's not going to arrive until Wednesday from Ewiz.com. I'm not that much of an audiophile but I've seen rave reviews of the STX. I mainly got it because the ST model was a PCI card which will block my future CF/SLI setup. The STX is PCI-E. Some say that the ST model is slightly better than the STX. If your interested in a excellent second hand ST model I can forward some one in your direction. I wouldn't know which is better because this is my first sound card and I wanted one with the least amount of driver headaches and superior sound. The Sennheiser PC350's sound great with games, but I once I hook them up to the STX I will be transported into space.

As for the DX model. I don't see that many glowing reviews about it. I don't think it has an headphone amp either, which you will need for higher end headphones like the Sennheiser's models.
 
Last edited:
I don't think it has an headphone amp either, which you will need for higher end headphones like the Sennheiser's models.

Pretty much all soundcards have a headphone amp, it's just whether they're worth a dang or not. My EMU-0404USB has a pretty good amp for a soundcard, but I'm still running an external amp (RSA Hornet M) on it. You should be ok without an amp up to about 100Ohms. My HD580s are 300Ohms.
 
Pretty much all soundcards have a headphone amp, it's just whether they're worth a dang or not. My EMU-0404USB has a pretty good amp for a soundcard, but I'm still running an external amp (RSA Hornet M) on it. You should be ok without an amp up to about 100Ohms. My HD580s are 300Ohms.

See, I don't know what I'm talking about, lol. :p

But I do remember the ohms being around 300 for the Sennheiser models which need more juice than normal. That's why I bought the STX. I also do some minor recording and mixing. The STX supports up to 600ohms.
You don't want to buy a card that can't push your new headphones and speakers to it's full potential.
 
Not sure if SS is including the APs in the FT02 anytime soon. Email Tony?

I received a reply from Tony, and he states basically what I was assuming in my head, at least I feel a bit better. The response is below and hopefully will answer other peoples questions as well.

Re: Air Penetrator fans and the FT02

Hi indelible5, thank you very much for your interest in our cases. Our preliminary testings have shown the AP181 to have noticeable improvement in cooling performance when compared with our original 180mm fans included in the RV02/FT02. So we do have plan to eventually replace all 180mm fans with AP181. Unfortunately I don't have an exact time on when the transition will happen for the regular FT02 models (it may take until late Q4/early Q1 in 2011 for the switch to complete). So for now, the FT02 red limited edition will be the only case to have AP181 built-in with SG07 to follow this month and later TJ11, RV03, etc...
 
I wonder if removing the grates boosts performance of the original fans. Seems like the AP's don't really need the grates as much since they have that "vortex" thing going on at the fan backside, which would probably help keep wires and other little bits from falling into the fan.

I'm planning on a temporary shutdown tomorrow to do a few things, I'll take the grates off mine and report what the temp differences are (if any). :)
 
Here's the thing with the APs. They blow straight up and make sense if cooling a particular area with a single fan (spot cooling).

If you watched the video, you saw that normal fans such as the stock FN have a cone pattern that spreads out in a V with a single fan. What happens though when you have multiple V patterns in a confined space, and beside each other? Do the adjacent patterns create turbulence, usually good for cooling? Is any improvement in cooling with APs a result of simply increasing CFM?

I guess my point is these fans are not functioning independently of each other, which may negate some of the negatives of the typical V pattern. Numbers will tell the tale.
 
Very well said, and I agree Auraka.

Anyhow, I went ahead and ordered up the FT02 from Amazon this morning even though it doesn't have the AP fans at this time, knowing that if reviews come back stating the APs are indeed a nice upgrade I have that option open in the future. Someone be our Guinea pig, I know many of you love spending endless cash on your rigs :)

I am interested in the AP121 to try out on a True 120, although Tony has mentioned I might not see better results from one as they were designed more for intake case fans.
 
Gentle Typhoons are your best option. I like my CM Excalibur fans better but they can get a bit noisy above 1800rpm. I run them around 1650rpm which is very quiet.
 
I am interested in the AP121 to try out on a True 120, although Tony has mentioned I might not see better results from one as they were designed more for intake case fans.

Yeah I'm curious how well they'd do on a heatsink as well since they're supposed to have a good static pressure.

I run my Scythe GT1850s at 1570rpm for complete silence. I just purchased some San Ace H1011s from Jshay, so I'm going to see how much of an improvement I can get with those at the same noise level.
 
A question concerning the vortex fans. When the three fans are adjacent on line does not the center fan have to be counter rotating to prevent shire winds?
 
Yeah I'm curious how well they'd do on a heatsink as well since they're supposed to have a good static pressure.
(not really on the AP topic but moreso on the static pressure idea)...
I used NF-P12's (@ 12v) for quite awhile based on the static pressure claims, and ended up dropping 5c at load by switching to high speed Yates (also @ 12v). Static pressure counts for something, but IMHO I think the idea is somewhat overrated myself. Granted, obviously a D12SH-12 has more rpm, CFM and noise than a P12...I'm just saying though, for heatsinks especially - static pressure isn't really a deal breaker when you can get a lower SP fan with higher CFM and end up with better results. P12's are nice fans, but good lord are they overrated.

I'll know later tonight whether or not the fan grates make a difference; I'd estimate that removing them will make somewhat of a difference, because the airflow can be more controlled instead of spitting out of a honeycomb in 200 different directions in a spastic way.
 
Whats the max length for a DVD drive that will fit in the FT02? My old DVD burner is too long to fit inside.
 
Wow that YT video is impressive regarding the airflow of the AP's... I can't wait to see what the temp differences are (big or small) with those.
 
Has anyone sleeved the 180mm fan cables on the FT02? Was wondering how to remove the connectors from the fan switch.
 
Grrr... I just realized that the Corsair Dominator fans are made for regular motherboards so that the fan clings length-wise perpendicular to the bottom of the case. The FT02 is made such that the fan can just slip right off if it wasn't for my ATX power plug stretching out of the motherboard like an eel coming out of its cave. I need to think of a way to make it more secure for when I move the comp around for LANing...
 
this thread is huge and informative...but can soemone answer a quick question...will it hold a 5870? thos things are long! My next case has to hold one.
 
lol I just realized the window is on the wrong side for me. OH well nothing I can do about that...... Window one was actually cheaper than the windowless one on amazon.
 
[drools at silver+windowed]
Ah the big negative of the silver though is it would be much harder to hide cables in there, they'd stand out like a sore thumb being black cables with the silver backdrop, instead of the black case with the black inside that sorta blends in everything.
 
bleh... also realized my 9800 GTX+'s are center fan so it's not optimal....
do you guys know if this will seriously affect my cooling?

my old card would have been fine tho =(
30178_391773974141_533879141_4168626_7605052_n.jpg
 
bleh... also realized my 9800 GTX+'s are center fan so it's not optimal....
do you guys know if this will seriously affect my cooling?

my old card would have been fine tho =(
30178_391773974141_533879141_4168626_7605052_n.jpg

I have a Sapphire Toxic HD5850 that has a center mounted fan. My temps are 38C right now. I am sure that it helps, but if the aftermarket heatsink is good, it doesn't make much of a difference.
 
I have a Sapphire Toxic HD5850 that has a center mounted fan. My temps are 38C right now. I am sure that it helps, but if the aftermarket heatsink is good, it doesn't make much of a difference.

k thanks for the info, I figured it wouldn't be too bad but they mentioned it in the manual.

trying to look for a silver DVD Burner, but that's proving to be quite difficult lol.... wonder if I should have just paid a bit extra for the black ver.
 
k thanks for the info, I figured it wouldn't be too bad but they mentioned it in the manual.

trying to look for a silver DVD Burner, but that's proving to be quite difficult lol.... wonder if I should have just paid a bit extra for the black ver.

Do a silver stealth mod with the lian li drive cover. I did that with my black and it looks so much better than plastic.
 
Do a silver stealth mod with the lian li drive cover. I did that with my black and it looks so much better than plastic.

hm, seems like I might. Got nothing to cut metal with though =(

Still kind of wish I bought the black one, guess it's not such a big deal. saved $13 too
 
Last edited:
hot damn, my case came in today o_O Amazon is quick.............
I didnt even pay for 1 day shipping

35749_402412404141_533879141_4451608_5273021_n.jpg


box is huge D:!

Just got home, installed the MB and PSU and some wiring. Man this thing is way better than mycurrent rig for wire management. My first time with holes in the mb tray and I likey :D

35749_402538149141_533879141_4454828_2419207_n.jpg


Just waiting for my new CPU to arrive to install the rest. So far so good, still wish I got the black but oh well. Build is solid like everyone says except for the HD cage. my last HD cage keeps on unlatching.. guess some of the cages are built worse than others.... any fixes?
 
Last edited:
Inspired by ZC1 and his FT02 build. Thank you for pointing out the Blue LED 180mm and Cooler Master Blue light specials.

I went ahead and ordered the FT02 and NZXT sleeved cables. I have no time to sleeve myself with two little ones around the house.

My only concern was the space for my 5.25 Bay 4x Raid Array; just barely fit. The LSI Controller is right in front of the 5870, it would not fit in the third PCI-e.

I'm now considering replacing the H50 with a full water loop. I removed my 1TB storage drive, so the 5 bay drive cage could come out. That would leave plenty of room for a reservoir and pump.

Budget was $3200

Silverstone Fortress FT02B-W
Corsair HX1000 PSU
Intel i7-930@ 3.80 GHz 1.184V
Corsair H50 Push / Pull (3000 Grit Polished) <---- Better performance than the Prolimatech Mega Shadow it replaced
Asus P6X58D Premium Motherboard
G.SKILL PI+ Turbulence 12GB
Sapphire 5870 2GB Vapor-X (3000 Grit Polished)
Crucial RealSSD 256GB SSD FW0002 <---- Read: 249.85 MB/s Write: 197.96 MB/s
4x 10k RPM 74GB SAS / Raid 0 <----- The bundle of cables leading to the LSI SAS Controller
Asus Blu-ray Drive
The Scythe Kaze Master Pro Fan Controller
NZXT Sleeved Fan, GPU and ATX Extenders (time savers!)









 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top