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Ahh great tip! Umm, whats the point of the hard drive to be in that position? It looks like it blocks the fan.

Also, does adding more sound dampening foam actually help?

The HDD is horizontal because it's a lot harder to suspend it in a vertical position. There's really nothing above the HDD that the fan should be cooling anyway.

When applied to the inside of empty 5.25" bays, extra acoustic foam helps with the sound coming from the gaps around the face plates.
 
I am looking into buying this case for my new build.

I tried searching around for this info but it's not clear for me.

They say that the case is made from aluminum unibody frame and steel body.

So does that mean that all the exterior is made of aluminum (including side panels, rear of the case bottom and top) and only the interior (mobo tray etc) is made of steel?

Thanks
 
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So does that mean that all the exterior is made of aluminum (including side panels, rear of the case bottom and top) and only the interior (mobo tray etc) is made of steel?

Thanks

Nope, only the u-shape is of alu. The top cover is plastic. The rest is steel :)
 
So I got the case! it looks really nice , but the ends of each of the windows somehow have the paints chipped off........... :mad: I dont know what to do about this and i just had it for a few hours. Is the silver like this?

Also i have weird temps on my i7 920 4.0 ghz. The temp idle is like almost 60C. What the hell? I reseated my h50 twice and i put new paste and everything. Im really scared.
 
I have my SSD attached to the back of my FT02 with the plate the case comes with, and a single HD in the HD bay, is the NoVibes worth it? I'm a silent computing enthusiast myself.
 
I have my SSD attached to the back of my FT02 with the plate the case comes with, and a single HD in the HD bay, is the NoVibes worth it? I'm a silent computing enthusiast myself.

To me it certainly was worth it. Seek noise is barely audible. SPCR forum has a whole section on suspending HDDs.
 
I just finished my build of the ft02. Coming from a series of Lian-Li's I was hesitant to switch, but I'm glad I did as its cooling is incredible and it's so quiet.

I've not played with the OC settings too much, but right now I have my 2600k OC'd to 4.5gHz @ 1.3V. For temperatures, it's running ~30C at idle and averages about 60C running mprime.

To make it quieter, I've added some dampening foam, installed a NoiseMagic Novibes III and am using Q-fan on all three case fans and my two Akasa Apache CPU fans. At idle, the hum from my UPS is louder.

Overall it's great, but there are a couple of really minor issues I have with the case: I don't like the badge (and don't want to remove it), wish there was a stock aluminum optical drive bezel I could buy for it, and wish it had USB 3 connections.

Obligatory pictures:*SNIPPED PICS FOR SPACE*

I have what I get the feeling is a stupid question but here goes:

In this photo, you see I've drawn a red and blue circle to illustrate my question. Is the onboard audio blocked by this support strut or is the strut removable? Is this just the angle of the shot or is there no access to those ports on this case? Is it just that this motherboard is off and shifted to the right (in this photo)?

Thanks for all of your great information in this thread along with everyone else. Nearly sold on this case now after lots of reading tonight. Killer thread.

ft02_top.JPG
 
I have what I get the feeling is a stupid question but here goes:

In this photo, you see I've drawn a red and blue circle to illustrate my question. Is the onboard audio blocked by this support strut or is the strut removable? Is this just the angle of the shot or is there no access to those ports on this case? Is it just that this motherboard is off and shifted to the right (in this photo)?

Thanks for all of your great information in this thread along with everyone else. Nearly sold on this case now after lots of reading tonight. Killer thread.

It's just the angle of the shot, audio ports are perfectly accessible. That strut doesn't go all the way down to the I/O shield.
 
It's just the angle of the shot, audio ports are perfectly accessible. That strut doesn't go all the way down to the I/O shield.

Thank you! Gonna order at the end of the week. You guys have been awesome in this thread. Thanks a ton.
 
are there any good deals on this case? what's the best place to order from?
 
Good deals, I've hardly seen any good deals since its release. Best bet is to lurk on ebay or maybe through the FS threads and see if anyone is selling and would be willing to ship.
 
So are the three 180mm fans set to turn on at a certain temp threshold? They never seem to run.

I have them plugged into my psu through the provided splitter and the fan controller set to high. My power settings in Windows 7 are set to balanced.
 
So are the three 180mm fans set to turn on at a certain temp threshold? They never seem to run.

I have them plugged into my psu through the provided splitter and the fan controller set to high. My power settings in Windows 7 are set to balanced.

No they are not. But I had a problem with one of my fans not spinning on low. I found an old bottle of synthetic teflon based lube and applied a bunch to the fan. Just gently remove the sticker and the cap underneath. It helped, and now the fan is spinning as it is supposed to.

BTW, do the motor of the fan get very hot? Mine was quite hot before I applied the lubricant.
 
Any of the rest of you guys have trouble with your wireless Logitech mice or keyboards when you have the dongle plugged into one of the motherboard's back USB ports on top of the FT02? I don't know if it's electrical interference from the PSU or the case is blocking reception or what but seems like mine are about unusable plugged in there even though the case is on top of the desk and only about 3 ft from the devices.
 
Any of the rest of you guys have trouble with your wireless Logitech mice or keyboards when you have the dongle plugged into one of the motherboard's back USB ports on top of the FT02? I don't know if it's electrical interference from the PSU or the case is blocking reception or what but seems like mine are about unusable plugged in there even though the case is on top of the desk and only about 3 ft from the devices.

Logitech's transmitters/receivers are pretty weak...I have issues if I dont have my receiver within about 1-2 ft of the mouse though the keyboard seems to be much stronger transmitting. i would assume that there are some interference issues if your plugging the receiver into the motherboard's back panel. If I recall, the mesh cover on the top of the case is a great design at cancelling out weak RF.
 
Any of the rest of you guys have trouble with your wireless Logitech mice or keyboards when you have the dongle plugged into one of the motherboard's back USB ports on top of the FT02? I don't know if it's electrical interference from the PSU or the case is blocking reception or what but seems like mine are about unusable plugged in there even though the case is on top of the desk and only about 3 ft from the devices.

I've had trouble before with lag and a few seconds of no control (horrible while playing) so I put it on the front usb port where there's direct line of sight. I have the dongle that's about a little over an inch long, not the new one that's shorter.
 
Hey guys, so I switched to the silver case. It has much better paint on the side panels. Black paint on this case chips for no reason. I am glad that I will be returning the black and keeping the silver. Feels industrial and super sleek. Best choice in color I made!
 
I know Ive posted this before but I couldnt get the photos working. Still love the case. Got some new cable extensions off ebay that match the blue accents on the mobo. Will upload pics when I can get my hands on the GF DSLR.

Thanks.

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[/url] New Build by Fletch2008, on Flickr[/IMG]

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[/url] New Build by Fletch2008, on Flickr[/IMG]

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[/url] New Build by Fletch2008, on Flickr[/IMG]

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[/url] New Build by Fletch2008, on Flickr[/IMG]

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[/url] New Build by Fletch2008, on Flickr[/IMG]

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[/url] New Build by Fletch2008, on Flickr[/IMG]

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[/url] New Build by Fletch2008, on Flickr[/IMG]

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[/url] New Build by Fletch2008, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
After selling my FT02 PC Build a bit ago, I noted that the TJ11 is out... I'm getting an itch to build again :)

Yes its expensive, but logic rarely works on me. The TJ11 looks too dam awesome! I also saw that the CM Cosmos II is coming soon. I think more Corsair stuff is afoot... Finally, new cases I care about!

But I'm waiting for Ivy Bridge for the core parts.

I noted a double rad Corsair all in one water CPU Cooler came out, could I run that with 4 fans in push pull on the TJ11? Space wise? More important, would the performance beat a Prolimatech Super Mega CPU Cooler in push pull?
 
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I'm putting together a system for a friend. It's a pretty costly build, and my attempts to convince him to wait for Sandy Bridge-E have failed. So I'm going to try to make the most out of the situation.

Silverstone Fortess FT02
i7 2600k + Noctua NH-D14
EVGA Z68 FTW
MSI GTX 580 Lightning SLI
16GB Corsair Vengeance LP
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Corsair AX1200

Other than that he's also running with a harddrive for storage and an SSD for the operating system and a few applications. I've seen that a few people in this thread have cards with the Twin Frozr III cooler on their graphics cards. I don't think I've seen anyone report what temperatures they're getting though. I have high hopes for this build.

I selected the Fortress because of the cooling, the EVGA board because of the extreme auxiliary power supply (24+8+8+4), the Lightning cards because they're probably the best 580's for SLI and the AX1200 not because he needs it, but because it comes with a 7 year warranty and he can use it for the next computer he builds, and probably the one after that as well.

Any thoughts? I plan to give each Lightning one free slot of breathing room. It's actually almost more than that. The configuration goes 2 slots (Lightning #1), one slot for airflow, the next slot for the Xonar, the two slots after that one for Lightning #2. What kind of temperatures should I expect? I hope to push both cards to a core clock of 950, we'll see about the rest. The processor is obviously getting a high OC as well but that's less of a cooling issue.
 
I would go with a Corsair H80 over the Noctua NH-D14. It will allow for a cleaner install without having a large heatsink taking up a lot of room and it's easier to take on and off the CPU when upgrading.
 
I'm going to get this case for my next build. Which I will order as soon as I've decided on graphics card. Will be a 6950 2 GB but... which one? What should I look for to find one that's well suited to the FT02?

After reading so many times that the heat pipes need to be in a specific way I don't want to screw up. But I don't really understand how the heat pipes of the different models work. Fans should preferably blow towards the display ports too but I don't know how to figure out which way they blow. The manufacturers don't seem to think it's important information to list on their webpages ;)

Been looking mostly at the Sapphire Dirt3 Edition. Two fans, got good reviews from what I've seen and still doesn't cost much. Think it would work well with the FT02? What other 6950's will work well and how can I figure out this stuff myself?
 
From what ive read, the "under performing" of the aftermarket designs are like 1-3 degrees hotter then in a normal case. Honestly, I would say go with a reference design (which I have) as they work just fine and if by chance you get the desire to watercool you wont have to worry about waterblock compatibility.
 
makawbird,
With that setup you should be able to overclock just under 5.0ghz without exceeding 75C or going to high on the VCore. As burningngrave101 mentioned, I would personally look at a w/c as it will perform just as well if not slightly better than the NH-D14 and will make the case feel a lot less cluttered.

One last thing, you may want to look at the differences between the P67 FTW and the Z68. Since you are going to use a GTX580 and depending on the SSD size, there is no advantage over the P67. I just built a new rig within the past month and I decided on the EVGA P67 FTW after a ton of research.

Here's an article you may find helpful:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2157881

Here is a picture of my setup (EVGA P67 FTW, 2600k, GTX460 SSC+ x2, Antec Kuhler 920):
IMG_4514sml.jpg

IMG_4510sml.jpg

IMG_4515sml.jpg
 
Thank you for your input, TechSoldier.

My friend is not very interested in the Z68 chipset and I know that there are no differences. He's going to have a dedicated SSD, so there's no need for the caching technology. My only concern is that EVGA has tweaked their Z68 FTW.

http://www.theoverclocker.com/?p=3047

This is what I'm talking about, but I don't understand how those numbers make any sense at all. Magic?
 
I'm a big fan of the Prolimatech Super Mega over that big ass Noctua Cooler. Had both once, returned the Noctua. Fins felt thiner than the Super Mega, and the performance was only so different between the two.
 
Thanks for the input.

I'm starting to understand that it is impossible to find a single Lightning card in Europe.

I'm thinking EVGA reference cards, or Gigabyte's custom cooler 580's. Maybe Twin Frozr II cards? Any suggestions?
 
Hey guys, I'm about to order my parts (finally) and I will be getting an FT02 with a 2600k & 580.

My question for you is regarding the cpu heatsink. I've kinda narrowed the choices down to the H80 or Silver Arrow / D-14 or Archon. Also considering an HR02 Macho when it becomes available next month (but what do I use until then?).

I want it to be cool, but I'm also really trying to build this rig up as quiet as possible. Which one should I get?
I know this is a "cooler question", but it's more of a which works better / quieter in the FT02 type of question due to the design.

P.S. RAM will be Corsair Vengence
 
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Hey guys, I'm about to order my parts (finally) and I will be getting an FT02 with a 2600k & 580.

My question for you is regarding the cpu heatsink. I've kinda narrowed the choices down to the H80 or Silver Arrow / D-14 or Archon. Also considering an HR02 Macho when it becomes available next month (but what do I use until then?).

I want it to be cool, but I'm also really trying to build this rig up as quiet as possible. Which one should I get?
I know this is a "cooler question", but it's more of a which works better / quieter in the FT02 type of question due to the design.

P.S. RAM will be Corsair Vengence

My Corsair H60 has been doing a great job at keeping the P2 965 around mid 30s idle and mid 40s load.
 
Hey guys, I'm about to order my parts (finally) and I will be getting an FT02 with a 2600k & 580.

My question for you is regarding the cpu heatsink. I've kinda narrowed the choices down to the H80 or Silver Arrow / D-14 or Archon. Also considering an HR02 Macho when it becomes available next month (but what do I use until then?).

I want it to be cool, but I'm also really trying to build this rig up as quiet as possible. Which one should I get?
I know this is a "cooler question", but it's more of a which works better / quieter in the FT02 type of question due to the design.

P.S. RAM will be Corsair Vengence

SA/Archon/D-14 are all pretty close in cooling efficiency and noise, there's a lot of builds in this thread with all three in this thread. If you get a windowless FT02, Archon probably will be too tall to fit, but should just barely fit if you have the side window. SA fans would have to be in pull/pull config because of the RAM heat spreaders. Noctua has ugly fans :)

My SA gives me about 30-32C idle with PWM fans basically inaudible at 600rpm, and 50-52C load at barely audible 850rpm. I don't even let them spin up to the max 1200rpm. If you get a reference design GTX 580, the GPU cooler will undoubtedly be the loudest part of your system.
 
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