Silverstone FT03... matx

I'm tempted to dremel if the holes of the Max 4 GENE don't line up..... I had this issue with the P8P67-M Pro, too, and I am unwilling to put up with it again.
 
Iratus said:
On the cable holes it's not the first time Silverstone messed up. The TJ07 is a pain too, the cutouts in the bottom section don't line up properly for the power supply and the hard disk mounts.
Click to expand...

The difference is that TJ07 was released a ton of years ago and FT03 is brand new product. You know, sometimes I ask myself wether the case-makers really test them thoroughly before releasing them cause most of the flaws come as soon as you start building something into it.

Its not that we use uber complicated hardware on that case, damn it, but could have thought about SATA facing and thus making the hole as big as needed, and the same could be said for on of the holes beneath those SATA ones: why ain't it big enough so you could fit the power cord?

And lets not talk about the slippery-sides: all the damn case is full of screws yet the side panels, the ones that won't see a ton of movement, haven't. And its not that they couldn't have thought about a better system, they just were lazy: nothing is userfriendly on the inside and then on the outisde is too much.

Seriously, do they beta test? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:


Kirinji said:
prava

I totally agree with you on SATA cable holes. At least your SATA ports are facing down toward the bottom of the case (which mobo is that btw? I see it's an ASUS. Mine is H67M-Pro). Mine are facing toward the side panel, plus 6 ports are oriented in such a way that if I used 90-degree angle latch, it would interfere with other ports right next to it.
Click to expand...

Its a P8P67-M PRO. And yes, SATA placement is horrible, more so if the ports are facing toward the panel :rolleyes:


jeremyshaw said:
I'm tempted to dremel if the holes of the Max 4 GENE don't line up..... I had this issue with the P8P67-M Pro, too, and I am unwilling to put up with it again.
Click to expand...

Bad news for you, mate:

pr-rog-maximus-iv-gene-z-motherboard-with-box-479x590.jpg


asus_p8p67_m_pro.jpg


I can see from the photos that Z68 SATA ports are further away from the corner of the board and thus:

a) The SATA closest to the ram will be easier to plug and use, so you may be able to use a 90º one on the lowest one...

b) but the ones on the outter side will be even more of a pita than they used to be.

So, it will all depend on how many SATA you will use: if you use a ton, then crap; if you use just a few ones it may be better, but you will have to check it once you got it there.

Good luck :cool:
 
shylock said:
prava, you arent kidding about the mess of cables. lol.

i mounted my ssd facing out, and ran the cables underneath/behind it. much cleaner that way.


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=18141508&l=48097e9c88&id=697965296
Click to expand...

How is temperature on your WD Black after playing for a while? And gpu temps?
I ask because your VGA exhaust directly outside the case and I wanna see the effect of that (my HDD on idle sits at 30ºC and when I'm gaming full load peaks at 41-42ºC. I may have to change the VGA if doing so will improve overall temps.
 
prava said:
How is temperature on your WD Black after playing for a while? And gpu temps?
I ask because your VGA exhaust directly outside the case and I wanna see the effect of that (my HDD on idle sits at 30ºC and when I'm gaming full load peaks at 41-42ºC. I may have to change the VGA if doing so will improve overall temps.
Click to expand...

mine is actually a lot warmer that that. 41 idle, about 46-47 on load. i dont have it in the hot swap bay where the side panel with that block will passively cool. I wonder if that is making the big difference. the vga in mine exhauses right out the top, but the two stock ref 6870's still like to burn up on their own. they idle at 48, and peak as high as 91 when killing it. i notice when dropping out of a game, they will drop rapidly, and visably so i know the fans are doing their jobs.
 
shylock said:
mine is actually a lot warmer that that. 41 idle, about 46-47 on load. i dont have it in the hot swap bay where the side panel with that block will passively cool. I wonder if that is making the big difference. the vga in mine exhauses right out the top, but the two stock ref 6870's still like to burn up on their own. they idle at 48, and peak as high as 91 when killing it. i notice when dropping out of a game, they will drop rapidly, and visably so i know the fans are doing their jobs.
Click to expand...

For me, actually, that block into the hot-swap bay gave me far worse temperatures.

Look:

prVF4.jpg


The ST 7200.11 is on that hot-swap bay, so go figure.

Also, keep in mind that I was playing a game that was running form the WD6400AAKS...so the 7200.11 was doing nothing.
 
ah, I guess 7200RPM drives are just hotter?? I'm only running 35C on my WD 2TB Greens, and I haven't shut down the system in several days :eek:
 
Going to attempt my first build with the following components (ordered today):

Case Silverstone FT03
Fans 3 x CoolerMaster 120mm & 2 x Zalman 80mm
Processor Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz
Cooling Corsair H70
Motherboard ASUS P8P67-M PRO
Memory CORSAIR DDR3 1600MHz 8GB 2x240 DIMM
HD 1 250GB Intel SSD 510 Elmcrest series
HD 2 1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache)
Optical Sony Optiarc Blu-ray SATA BC-5600S
PSU SilverStone STRIDER PLUS GOLD 1200W
Cables 1 SilverStone (SST-PP05) Short Cable Set for Silverstone Strider
Cables 2 3 x 15cm SATA cables
Adaptor SlimlineS-ATA cable

Can anyone see anything missing (aside from the GPU)?

I am going to be running a 30" monitor at 1600p, what GPU should I be looking at?

Trying to decide between: 2x6990, 2x590, 2x6970 or 2x580.

Also, what's the best 30" monitor out there (for gaming)?

Finally any advice to a first time builder would be very much appreciated...

Cheers,

Tom
 
taveston said:
Going to attempt my first build with the following components (ordered today):

Case Silverstone FT03
Fans 3 x CoolerMaster 120mm & 2 x Zalman 80mm
Processor Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz
Cooling Corsair H70
Motherboard ASUS P8P67-M PRO
Memory CORSAIR DDR3 1600MHz 8GB 2x240 DIMM
HD 1 250GB Intel SSD 510 Elmcrest series
HD 2 1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache)
Optical Sony Optiarc Blu-ray SATA BC-5600S
PSU SilverStone STRIDER PLUS GOLD 1200W
Cables 1 SilverStone (SST-PP05) Short Cable Set for Silverstone Strider
Cables 2 3 x 15cm SATA cables
Adaptor SlimlineS-ATA cable

Can anyone see anything missing (aside from the GPU)?

I am going to be running a 30" monitor at 1600p, what GPU should I be looking at?

Trying to decide between: 2x6990, 2x590, 2x6970 or 2x580.

Also, what's the best 30" monitor out there (for gaming)?

Finally any advice to a first time builder would be very much appreciated...

Cheers,

Tom
Click to expand...

Looks like a really nice setup, Tom. As far as what GPU to go for, any of those selections will run quite well. However, you want to look at heat output since your build is in a smaller case. Whatever throws out the less heat will be the best option.

Also, as far as a monitor goes, I recommend the newest 30" Dell monitor, or even the 27" Dell monitor.

For a first-time builder, just go slow and be patient. It's better to take the extra time to get things right now rather than having to backtrack to fix them later. Enjoy!
 
Great setup Tom!

For my FT03 build, I opted for dual 6950s paired with a Dell U3011- no regrets!

BTW note that with the H70 installed you cannot fit the fan that would normally blow down towards the cards as there isn't enough room (which I wish wasn't the case as mine get HAWT!).
 
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InternalMachine, UrbanSmooth thank you!

I think I'll go with the Dell U3011 with GeForce 590 Sli

As the H70 blocks the top fan am I right in thinking I can still fit: 2x120mm Coolmaster and then 2xZalman 80mm to replace the bottom 120mm fan that I'll have to remove to fit the two video cards?

Is there anything else I can do to improve the airflow/reduce heat in the case with this set up?

Also, I have read a few generic build guides but I was hoping that you could take a look at the order below to see if I have got the process right:

1. Remove all case fans
2. Install PSU to case
3. Fit CPU to MB
4. Fit first stage of cooler to MB
5. Fit RAM
6. Fit MB to case
7. Fit second stage of cooler to case/MB
8. Fit the rest of the fans
9. Install the GPU
10. Install the HD and optical drive
11. Install all the power cables

Does that sound about right?

Does the case come with the necessary ties to tidy up the cabling or do I need to buy anything else?

Thanks for your help

Tom
 
Yeah, wait until the newly polished GTX 590s come out in a month or so!

The case should come with everything that you need. Make use of YouTube to check out other builds with this case. Going by reviews on NewEgg, this case doesn't seem to be the best, though. I sense a revision coming for it soon.
 
UrbanSmooth said:
Yeah, wait until the newly polished GTX 590s come out in a month or so!

The case should come with everything that you need. Make use of YouTube to check out other builds with this case. Going by reviews on NewEgg, this case doesn't seem to be the best, though. I sense a revision coming for it soon.
Click to expand...
Indeed, it is still somewhat of a prototype at the moment, so hopefully they'll fix all of the shortcomings.
 
Has anyone with an H50/60/70 attempted to fit a fan to the left of the rad to blow onto the GPUs? The bracket for the fan can't fit with the Hxx installed and my cards are getting toasty and I'm wondering if a little dremel work to the bracket could see an 80mm fan in there, probably held on by one side?
 
taveston said:
I think I'll go with the Dell U3011 with GeForce 590 Sli
Click to expand...

I also commented on your similar bit-tech forum post, but would like to hear feedback on my comments from the people in here.

2xGTX 590 with no spacing in between. How is a center placed fan ever gonna breathe on the first card. And if it is this design How are the front GPU going to breathe. I don't have experience with dual card configs, but can't see anything working other than 2xcards with fan designs similar to the gtx 580 reference.

My suggestion in there was either 2xGTX 580 or 1xGTX 590. Both make compromises, with GTX590, the CPU is gonna run hotter, with 2xGTX580 I believe the first GPU would run hotter than the second.
 
This review puts a gtx580 next to a gtx 590, there is more room for air intake than I thought.
Might work anyways then. dunno, looking forward to hearing your observations when you get it all :)
 
AHeilemann said:
I also commented on your similar bit-tech forum post, but would like to hear feedback on my comments from the people in here.

2xGTX 590 with no spacing in between. How is a center placed fan ever gonna breathe on the first card. And if it is this design How are the front GPU going to breathe. I don't have experience with dual card configs, but can't see anything working other than 2xcards with fan designs similar to the gtx 580 reference.

My suggestion in there was either 2xGTX 580 or 1xGTX 590. Both make compromises, with GTX590, the CPU is gonna run hotter, with 2xGTX580 I believe the first GPU would run hotter than the second.
Click to expand...

maybe the 80/92mm bracket with a nice, fast fan on there blowing in towards the center fans on the GTX590s

And reverse the 120mm fan on the bottom.

As for the PSU, only option is the HCP 1200, which fits (I have pics somewhere, if you want).
 
jeremyshaw said:
maybe the 80/92mm bracket with a nice, fast fan on there blowing in towards the center fans on the GTX590s

And reverse the 120mm fan on the bottom.

As for the PSU, only option is the HCP 1200, which fits (I have pics somewhere, if you want).
Click to expand...

But the HCP1200 appears to be larger than the Silverstone Strider 1200w (which I have ordered)

I have just ordered a 92mm 2000 rpm fan for the top as you suggest

So I have 2x80mm pushing air out at the bottom and the top fans sucking it in? I thought it was meant to be the other way round?

Thanks for continued input
 
The HCP1200 fits. My own pics :)




Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Reason why I had a HCP 1200 was I wanted GTX590 SLI at one point, lol.... anyhow, it was the only PSU listed on nVidia's official compat. list, and given [H] and Jonnyguru's slight nudge for this PSU (barely the best PSU ever reviewed by either, but the best nevertheless), I eventually went with it as it was the most powerful PSU capable of being fit into this case :)

Silverstone's recommended PSU limit is 180mm for modular PSUs, and I agree with SilverStone's assessment.
 
AHeilemann said:
I also commented on your similar bit-tech forum post, but would like to hear feedback on my comments from the people in here.

2xGTX 590 with no spacing in between. How is a center placed fan ever gonna breathe on the first card. And if it is this design How are the front GPU going to breathe. I don't have experience with dual card configs, but can't see anything working other than 2xcards with fan designs similar to the gtx 580 reference.

My suggestion in there was either 2xGTX 580 or 1xGTX 590. Both make compromises, with GTX590, the CPU is gonna run hotter, with 2xGTX580 I believe the first GPU would run hotter than the second.
Click to expand...

Everything has been ordered now and, as I live in Japan, will be hard to return... so I will try and make 2x590 work if at all possible. According to some benchmarks I saw 2x580 can't cope with 1600p at max settings (inc. AA). Lt alone 3x1600p which I want to go too eventually.

I got the Zotec cards btw

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...ds/zotac-nvidia-geforce-gtx-590-937805/review

Thanks for all your help - I'll post pictures of the build when I get started
 
taveston said:
Everything has been ordered now and, as I live in Japan, will be hard to return... so I will try and make 2x590 work if at all possible. According to some benchmarks I saw 2x580 can't cope with 1600p at max settings (inc. AA). Lt alone 3x1600p which I want to go too eventually.

I got the Zotec cards btw

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...ds/zotac-nvidia-geforce-gtx-590-937805/review

Thanks for all your help - I'll post pictures of the build when I get started
Click to expand...

I updated my post above yours, the one with the PSU pics :)

As for the 1600p*3, it's not to do with GPU power, as the GF110 core has plenty, it's VRAM.... nVidia stupidly limited it to 1.5GB per GPU on the referecnce designs, despite having a larger memory bus than the HD6970 GPU :(

vega/callsignvega did some tests with his own setups (HD6970 2GB x4 / GTX580 1.5GB x4 / GTX580 3GB x4), and the HD6970 2GB barely edges out the GTX580 1.5GB setup at 1600p x3. So.... I don't really know what to write, as I am on a plane, right now, not tired at *all.*
 
taveston said:
But the HCP1200 appears to be larger than the Silverstone Strider 1200w (which I have ordered)
Click to expand...

The Sparkle 1250w is another option @ 175mm long.


taveston said:
I have just ordered a 92mm 2000 rpm fan for the top as you suggest

So I have 2x80mm pushing air out at the bottom and the top fans sucking it in? I thought it was meant to be the other way round?
Click to expand...

Normally, yeah, but the GTX 590 (like the HD6990) blows air out of both ends so if you've got the bottom fans blowing up they'll be running into the air coming out the front of the video cards, which is going to result in worse cooling and the fans working harder. Really, vertically oriented mobo cases like the FT03 and FT02/Raven work best with cards that exhaust entirely out the back; I wouldn't be too surprised if the GTX 590 performed worse, temp-wise, in this case vs. a standard case.
 
jeremyshaw said:
The HCP1200 fits. My own pics :)




Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Reason why I had a HCP 1200 was I wanted GTX590 SLI at one point, lol.... anyhow, it was the only PSU listed on nVidia's official compat. list, and given [H] and Jonnyguru's slight nudge for this PSU (barely the best PSU ever reviewed by either, but the best nevertheless), I eventually went with it as it was the most powerful PSU capable of being fit into this case :)

Silverstone's recommended PSU limit is 180mm for modular PSUs, and I agree with SilverStone's assessment.
Click to expand...


According to the manual the max for modular PSU is 160m, which worries me somewhat!
 
Necere said:
The Sparkle 1250w is another option @ 175mm long.




Normally, yeah, but the GTX 590 (like the HD6990) blows air out of both ends so if you've got the bottom fans blowing up they'll be running into the air coming out the front of the video cards, which is going to result in worse cooling and the fans working harder. Really, vertically oriented mobo cases like the FT03 and FT02/Raven work best with cards that exhaust entirely out the back; I wouldn't be too surprised if the GTX 590 performed worse, temp-wise, in this case vs. a standard case.
Click to expand...

So the best thing would be to have all the fans at the top sucking in and all the fans at the bottom blowing out?
 
Best thing to do would be to test both ways, see which gives better temps. You may still want the top and middle 120s blowing upward, with the GPU-side 92 and 2x80s (or 120) blowing down. I think you'll just have to test to find out which works best.
 
taveston said:
According to the manual the max for modular PSU is 160m, which worries me somewhat!
Click to expand...

the manual states 160, 180, and 210 mm.

I'm just stating real world experience, which is infinitely more useful then that manual :)
 
jeremyshaw said:
the manual states 160, 180, and 210 mm.

I'm just stating real world experience, which is infinitely more useful then that manual :)
Click to expand...

The manual I downloaded from the SilverStone website says 180mm (160mm for modular). But as you said, real world experience is key so I feel much happier now.
 
You want to forget about GTX590. You don't want any GPU that doesn't dump the heat outisde by itself, because you will wreck all other components temperatures.

I had a Gigabyte GTX480 SOC in my case (just one), and all my temperatures skyrocketed: HDD max temp peaked at 46ºC, and cpu temp was along 55ºC (gaming, no overclock). Now, I swapped it with a GTX295 (that at least dumps part of the heat outside) and the peak HDD temperature has been 40ºC and cpu temp was 47ºC (same game).

Now, If you keep in mind that the GTX590 only dumps half its heat out the case, then its a no-no because you only have one exhaust fan. 2 x GTX580 should work, imo, at least if they are reference cooled cards.
 
prava said:
You want to forget about GTX590. You don't want any GPU that doesn't dump the heat outisde by itself, because you will wreck all other components temperatures.

I had a Gigabyte GTX480 SOC in my case (just one), and all my temperatures skyrocketed: HDD max temp peaked at 46ºC, and cpu temp was along 55ºC (gaming, no overclock). Now, I swapped it with a GTX295 (that at least dumps part of the heat outside) and the peak HDD temperature has been 40ºC and cpu temp was 47ºC (same game).

Now, If you keep in mind that the GTX590 only dumps half its heat out the case, then its a no-no because you only have one exhaust fan. 2 x GTX580 should work, imo, at least if they are reference cooled cards.
Click to expand...

Too late dude! As noted above everything has been ordered and I can't send anything back so I have to make this work or say goodbye to $$$

I will run all the high powered fans I can, have water cooling on the CPU and could even leave a side panel off (if that would make a difference?)

By the way - I am going to attempt 2 x 590 :)

What are the maximum idle/load temps on the CPU and GPU for them to have any hope of living to middle age?
 
If you go 590 route you wanna keep the side open and have the bottom intake fans as exhaust, as the GTX590 dump heat from both sides.

Otherwise you are going to fry your componentes no matter what kind of fans you put there, I'm telling you.
 
taveston said:
I found someone else who has the same setup!

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=3167296
Click to expand...

With proper fans I think it could work, if you accept high temps. Make sure the CPU intake fan (on the bracket) is powerful, it will blow a bunch of air over to the gpu's. You could even experiment with some cardboard to make sure the air is directed over there. you could use a 38mm thick Scythe "ULTRA KAZE". Don't think it gets more powerful than that.

On the PSU question, the advantage of the strider is the availability of the short cable kit. That's gonna reduce cable clutter and improve temps.
 
Ok I know now that my build will work as Origin have done something very similar:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/origin_chronos_review

What I need to do now is determine how I can ensure that the fan noise is tolerable!

Do you think some kind of wind tunnel (made of cardboard or plastic) from the bottom of the 590s to the exhaust fans at the bottom of the case would make much difference, i.e., reduce heat and allow the fans some breathing space?

Also, from the photo in the review it seems like they have the following fan set up:

2 x 80mm (assume exhaust but might be wrong)
3 x 120mm

Is there any room to fit more - seems not...

I am going to email Origin and ask if they managed to improve the Origin noise levels as a result of the review.

Will be building this once I have all the parts and am back in Tokyo - about one week. Depressingly, given the quoted Origin price, I save $0 on the build itself, but at least I save a good $1,000 at least on the shipping!


Tom
 
Looks like they may have added ventilation to the back panel, next to the GPUs.

It doesn't surprise me that it's so noisy; this case just isn't a good fit for that style of cooler. A duct to the bottom 80s might help, as well as utilizing the 92mm fan position.

There's always watercooling if you're feeling adventurous.
 
Here's the email I sent to Origin, no reply yet

Dear Origin,

I have not purchased a PC from you as I live in Japan and the shipping costs proved prohibitive; despite this, I was hoping you might be able to give me a few words of advice regarding a system I am attempting to build, which is very similar to the Origin Chronos?

Maximum PC praised the Origin Chronosfor its high performance, but lamented the fact that, under load, the noise made by the fans was intolerable. I was wondering whether, since hearing this feedback, any further attempts have been made to mitigate for this (minor) shortcoming?

Have you been able to fit extra fans, or improve airflow for example? Is there any chance you might provide a few pointers as to how the cooling system of the Chronos is set up – which fans are intake versus exhaust and, as the review mentions, how has the case been custom drilled to improve ventilation?

For reference, here are the specifications for the build I will attempt:

SilverStone FT03
3 x CoolerMaster 120mm & 2 x Zalman 80mm & 1 x Philip 92mm
Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz
Corsair H70
ASUS P8P67-M PRO
CORSAIR DDR3 1600MHz 8GB 2x240 DIMM
250GB Intel SSD 510 Elmcrest series
1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache)
Sony Optiarc Blu-ray SATA BC-5600S
2 x Geforce 590 & Sli bridge
SilverStone STRIDER PLUS GOLD 1200W
SilverStone (SST-PP05) Short Cable Set for Silverstone Strider
3 x 15cm SATA cables
SlimlineS-ATA cable
Dell 3011U
Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II
 
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They drilled holes in the back, I would further drill holes in the left side, right above the gpu fans and then mount a fan there. Think there's room enough.
 
I was going to order a lian-li v354 before seeing this case, now I'm definitely going to buy this one!

I just have some doubts, what do you say?

1) H60 or Antec KÜHLER H2O 920?
2) 2x6950 or 1x6990?
 
Francesco said:
I was going to order a lian-li v354 before seeing this case, now I'm definitely going to buy this one!

I just have some doubts, what do you say?

1) H60 or Antec KÜHLER H2O 920?
2) 2x6950 or 1x6990?
Click to expand...


1) In terms of temp Antec 920 (in extreme mode) will beat H60.

Choose what you like, both are good cooler. Your choice may depends on how far you will overclock your CPU.

2) If power is not an issue, 2x6950.

just my two cents ;)
 
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