Silverstone FT03... matx

davewolfs said:
How is noise in one of these? Plan on using built in Z77 graphics.
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Compared with an Antec 300 that I had my setup in before, the noise is about 1/5th of what it was before, minimum... just on account of needing less fans overall. The solid panels, layout and limited openings also help muffle the sound a little bit. I wouldn't call it silent, but I'd definitely call it unnoticeable. My space heater is louder.
 
@techrat: Nice compilation of images you picked :)
@davewolfs: Overclocking intended? If not: Something like a Noctua NH-D14 should be able to deal with an idle CPU at very low fan speeds.
I am waiting for the 29. and will order either a 3570K or 3770K and cool them with the Noctua. I am excited to see how well it will go...
 
My FT03T arrived today. Unfortunately I still have to wait for the PSU (wenn for a BeQuiet Straight Power) so I have to see when I will have it completely up and running.
 
Johnny McEuter said:
My FT03T arrived today. Unfortunately I still have to wait for the PSU (wenn for a BeQuiet Straight Power) so I have to see when I will have it completely up and running.
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And it is just sitting there. Taunting you. ;)
 
R3MF said:
do they still rattle?
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I put extra dense sticky foam pads on the side rails from the day I got it. The panels did loosen up slightly the more I removed them/put them back on. But I've never had it rattle probably because the foam pads keep it fairly snug.
 
Just an FYI for anyone wondering:

The Thermalright Archon fits with the EVGA P67 SLI Micro and with the Asus P8Z77-M Pro. I read that someone was saying different boards/different layouts, blah, blah, blah, so I am just letting you all know that it worked for those two at least.

Side panels do not rattle, but I hear my girlfriend's Spinpoint F1s humming and the WD Caviar Black 1TB churning away. The two fans we put in there are nearly dead quiet.
 
my side panels don't rattle but the little door for the swappable hd did rattle once, just pressed on it and the noise stopped.
 
Can't say anything about rattling yet, but at least they shipped the PSU today.
But I noticed that Silverstone improved something: There were complaints in several forums about blank/open contacts at the internal power socket. In my Titanium version they added an additional layer of isolating shrink to make sure that there is no blank metal exposed.

Old: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Silverstone/Fortress_FT03/images/installedpsurear.JPG
New: http://www.vortez.net/index.php?ct=articles&action=file&id=14901
 
Johnny McEuter said:
Can't say anything about rattling yet, but at least they shipped the PSU today.
But I noticed that Silverstone improved something: There were complaints in several forums about blank/open contacts at the internal power socket. In my Titanium version they added an additional layer of isolating shrink to make sure that there is no blank metal exposed.

Old: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Silverstone/Fortress_FT03/images/installedpsurear.JPG
New: http://www.vortez.net/index.php?ct=articles&action=file&id=14901
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Yeah, I noticed that on my "newer" Black model as well. I also noticed they made it rather difficult for one to disconnect that cable from the socket if you wanted to route the power cable through the smaller hole along the edge. Hence why my power cable has that big loop going through the main body of the case. I'll probably end up shortening the cable sometime.

You'll also probably have the case that has the magnetic fan filter instead of a filter that slides into notches and is held in place that way. Mine has no notches at all for the filter and the magnets can't hold the filter onto the case under its own weight. (The filter, however, still has cuts as if you were using it on a case that still had retaining notches and now the filter doesn't really fit the bottom of the case.) So I ended up having to use gaffing tape to hold the filter in place and seal the edges against air getting sucked in elsewhere. Tolerated because you can't see it and I'm still down by 5 fans overall for the same cooling temps.

Also with the newer revisions (and mentioned earlier), the side plastic vent/filter is REALLY hard to remove compared with before. It's more seamless at the bottom since there's no giant clip to push in... but it seems like you have to flex the entire panel to the point to where it might as well be considered no longer removable.

The case has its flaws, but I still can say I love it now. My 300 wore out its welcome by this point.
 
Yeah, the fan filter is hold in place by magnets. Btw, funny story (and I definitely read about it before, just don't know whether it was in this forum: I had my case taken apart and all the parts scattered on the floor in my living room yesterday. The living room is facing south and as the sun was shining all day yesterday here, the living room heating up quite a bit with all the windows closed. However, apparently it got a wee bit too hot for the dust filter and it got deformed quite a bit so I had to place some weights on it and let it heat up a bit again today to get flat again (I am by the way not talking about tropical weather conditions: this is still Scotland [even though Dundee is supposed to be the sunniest city in Scotland]).
 
Johnny McEuter said:
Yeah, the fan filter is hold in place by magnets. Btw, funny story (and I definitely read about it before, just don't know whether it was in this forum: I had my case taken apart and all the parts scattered on the floor in my living room yesterday. The living room is facing south and as the sun was shining all day yesterday here, the living room heating up quite a bit with all the windows closed. However, apparently it got a wee bit too hot for the dust filter and it got deformed quite a bit so I had to place some weights on it and let it heat up a bit again today to get flat again (I am by the way not talking about tropical weather conditions: this is still Scotland [even though Dundee is supposed to be the sunniest city in Scotland]).
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That's nuts. I did that with my fan filters for my Lian Li PC-X1000. Never thought it would happen with the FT03, but I'll keep that in mind and be careful with it, lol..
 
OK, everything built in and up and ready.

CPU: i5 3750K
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 (bought together with the NM-I3 mounting kit for LGA1155 to get PWM versions of the two fans; I have only the NF-P14 installed which runs in idle mode at 300 rpm :))
Mainboard: Asus Maxmus V Gene
VGA: AMD HD 7770
VGA Cooler: Arctic Accelero S1 Plus [passive]
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 2x 4GB
SSD: Crucial m4 128 GB
PSU: be quiet! Straight Power (E9) 400W (be quiet! --> nomen est omen)
ODD: Sony BC-5640H-03 Slim BD Combo
Fans: 2x Noiseblocker Multiframe M12-PS (the bottom one running at fixed 550 rpm, the top one running at fixed 500 rpm)

Not suffering from any vibrations and the fans are inaudible. Maybe I should do a stress test again with the window closed in the room to see whether I can hear something under load when the CPU-Fan runs a little bit faster (the environmental noise with the window open is definitely louder than the system :)). Very happy with the build :) Even though the big Accelero Heatsink was quite a beast to put into the case. Will try to take some picture soon.
There is still some undervolting of CPU/VGA to do to squeeze out everything from the system. Will post some temperatures once I am done with that. But even now the system is already Prime95 and Furmark stable :)
 
That metal lip at the top of the PCI slots makes it near impossible to plug in an HDMI or DisplayPort cable into my GTX 680. Have to loose the screws and apply downward pressure on the GPU while plugging them in. So far that and the non-useable front panel audio ports are my only complaints.
 
NickJames said:
That metal lip at the top of the PCI slots makes it near impossible to plug in an HDMI or DisplayPort cable into my GTX 680. Have to loose the screws and apply downward pressure on the GPU while plugging them in. So far that and the non-useable front panel audio ports are my only complaints.
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Is part of the plug itself obstructed or is it the width of the cable and its housing that causes the difficulty in plugging it in? If it's the latter, you could always try shaving some of the insulation off the cable.
 
techrat said:
Is part of the plug itself obstructed or is it the width of the cable and its housing that causes the difficulty in plugging it in? If it's the latter, you could always try shaving some of the insulation off the cable.
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It's mostly the placement, yeah the cable is thick but no more than a regular cable, that lip is clearly obstructing and sticks out. The DP and HDMI is high on the bracket on the gtx 680 tho which makes it impossible to plug things in without moving the gpu.
 
I'm torn between the FT03 (Titanium) and the V354B if anyone has some advice:

ASUS Maximus Z77
2600k with moderate OC (4.4Ghz for now - may go 3770k later)
GTX680 SLI
1000W SS Strider power supply
120GB SSD
2TB WD Caviar Black

I use optical out for audio and a USB headset when I want to play at night so front audio jacks are not an issue.

The FT03 costs more but I think I can use my existing TT Frio cooler - if I get the 354B then I need a new cooler so the overall cost will be close - I'm more worried about overall cooling than costs at this point.

Also, I'll probably put the big drives in an external chassis at some point and just run SSDs internally - I don't run a lot of hard drives.

I need to get out of my big system and get something that will fit on my desk so either of these cases would work, just not sure about the overall experience.

While I don't need absolute silence, I strongly prefer a quieter, barely audible system (at least at idle)
 
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DoubleTap said:
I need to get out of my big system and get something that will fit on my desk so either of these cases would work, just not sure about the overall experience.
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Foot print FT03: 667.4 cm²
Foot print V354: 1029.0 cm²

Clear advantage for the FT03 I would say ;) I also have it standing on my desk and I am amazed how much more space I now have (especially compared to my old 17" notebook which I was using as an desktop replacement before)
 
I appreciate that the FT03 has a much smaller footprint on the desk - however, coming from the giant Level 10 GT, both cases will fit just fine on my desk.

The v354b seems to be more easily portable and have the USB headers, but I do like the look of the FT03 a little more and it seems to like big air coolers which is what I am most comfortable with.
 
Well, I ordered the FT03 Titanium from Amazon - $174 with cheap/slow shipping.

I also ordered the Maximus Gene Z77 from Newegg.

As far as I can tell, everything else I have should fit just fine.
 
DoubleTap said:
I'm torn between the FT03 (Titanium) and the V354B if anyone has some advice:
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You already ordered, but I just want to point out that I'd go with the FT03 anyway JUST for the reason of where the power supply is mounted in the V354B. You'd have to remove it every time you wanted to take the GPU out or need to add/remove other slot cards. No. Thanks. Cable management also looks like a nightmare with the V354B as well. You can get some really slick cable jobs done with the FT03. Plus... ports on top. I put my FT03 on a shorter table next to my desk so the case is about halfway bisected by the edge of my desk. makes it so easy to get to all the ports in the "back."
 
techrat said:
You already ordered, but I just want to point out that I'd go with the FT03 anyway JUST for the reason of where the power supply is mounted in the V354B. You'd have to remove it every time you wanted to take the GPU out or need to add/remove other slot cards. No. Thanks. Cable management also looks like a nightmare with the V354B as well. You can get some really slick cable jobs done with the FT03. Plus... ports on top. I put my FT03 on a shorter table next to my desk so the case is about halfway bisected by the edge of my desk. makes it so easy to get to all the ports in the "back."
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Thanks - that was actually a big part of the decision - all the "it's great if you set it up and leave it alone" comments on the v354 and of course what you mentioned about the power supply and cables.

I wanted an FT03 since before they were released but my previous 480 SLI build would not have worked well in the case.

I have space behind my monitor stand I should be able to run the monitor cables right to the screens without them being visible.

My new desk is a sit to stand type and while I have it working with my Level 10 GT, the case is basically sitting in the room, in front of a book shelf - kind of in the way of everything. The desk goes too low to put the current case under it (it would smash it) and it's way too big and heavy and obnoxious to go on top.

The FT03 will look nice on the desk and be out of the way with fewer cables to worry about when the desk travels up and down.
 
DoubleTap said:
The v354b seems to be more easily portable and have the USB headers, but I do like the look of the FT03 a little more and it seems to like big air coolers which is what I am most comfortable with.
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USB headers? I also have a FT03 (Titanium) and an ASUS Maximus V Gene. I use this USB3.0 adapter from Bitfenix and rerouted the USB3.0 cables for the Front-USB3.0-Ports along the side and back of the motherboard, so they are not visible from the outside at all. The Bitfenix adaptor is just the exact length to connect to the front connectors.
 
Just migrated from an Antec P180 mini to the FT03. Just some quick observations:

  • Side panels come off a bit too easy, especially when moving the unit about.
  • Following the manual when installing your components is a good idea hehe.
  • I have an evga x58 micro sli with a Thermalright Ultra-120 extreme 1366. While the heatsink fit, I had an issue in installing the fan and fan holder. One of the little plastic "fingers" of the fan holder was getting in the way of properly mounting the holder as the finger hit the chassis, so I had to break it off.
  • The fan holder also got in the way of installing the included angled 120mm fan that screws into the chassis which forced me to leave it out for now.
  • The FT03 is louder than the p180 mini, but not nearly as much as I was expecting. I'll probably be switching out the included 120mm fans for some quieter ones (Noctua?) in the near future. This is at idle though, not sure about load yet.
  • Finish was pretty good on the case I got, which is the titanium color. No scratches on the unit, but strangely enough it was pretty darn dusty inside and out.
  • No alignment issues with the top buttons/ports

It's a really great case and I'm very happy about making the switch. Much smaller footprint than the P180 mini.
 
jakuum said:
Just migrated from an Antec P180 mini to the FT03. Just some quick observations:

[*]Side panels come off a bit too easy, especially when moving the unit about.
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If you have some thin foam strips, maybe 1/16th thick but dense, cut some narrow strips and put them on the rim of the case in thirds. The panels will be more snug and less likely to rattle and shift too much when you move the case. The case probably came with some foam strips on them... add more.

The best way that they can fix this issue is to weld a 90 degree bracket onto each side panel that screws into the top of the case. When I took the 92mm fanmount out, there's two holes near the riser slots. The more center hole of the two would be perfect if I could find a bracket to JBWeld to the case panel. Hope they consider this for v2.0

jakuum said:
[*]The fan holder also got in the way of installing the included angled 120mm fan that screws into the chassis which forced me to leave it out for now.
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Yeah. The exhaust 120mm fan is also rather near a corner support bit. A bit tricky when installing the Corsair Hydro H60. Had to rotate the radiator with the tubes away from the front. The CPU/Memory 120mm fan would be a lot nicer if it didn't have those (*^#@ing tiny assed screws holding it in on the front, too.

jakuum said:
[*]The FT03 is louder than the p180 mini, but not nearly as much as I was expecting. I'll probably be switching out the included 120mm fans for some quieter ones (Noctua?) in the near future. This is at idle though, not sure about load yet.
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The included fans are noisy at 12v. I already had a fairly quiet high RPM Rosewill fan in my case and replaced another 120mm with the Corsair one that came with the CPU cooler. That left one Silverstone fan. I had a different 3x3Pin to Molex adapter that split them by voltages. 12, 7 and 5. I hooked the Silverstone up to the 5v lead and can barely hear it now. It STILL circulates a good amount of air. Might want to consider wiring up your own adapter for 5v.

jakuum said:
It's a really great case and I'm very happy about making the switch. Much smaller footprint than the P180 mini.
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It's quite something to find a case that despite all of its flaws, you're still happy to use it... flaws that would be unforgivable in other cases, even. But, personally, I love the topside backplane mount and the lack of exposed drive bays.
 
Is any one running SLi/CF in this case? If so, are you going reference models, non reference models or one of each?

- kyNiSk
 
kyNiSk said:
Is any one running SLi/CF in this case? If so, are you going reference models, non reference models or one of each?

- kyNiSk
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I'll be running reference 680s in SLI once mine is finished in a couple days.

My main dilemma right now is whether to keep my 2600k or go 3770k.

I'd be happy with a mild OC on the IB chip (4.4 ish) but that seems far from certain using air cooling.

I have someone who wants to buy everything I'm not migrating, but the 2600k is such a good chip that I think I would rather keep it and let my son use it even if I get an IB cpu.

Maximus V Gene
8GB Corsair Vengeance 1866
680 SLI
Strider 1000W
TT Frio (for now)
2600k or 3x70k ?

This is the stuff that I get stuck on. What to do...


Edit / update:

The case arrived and I opened it up.

This is definitely a case that can't be fully understood until you get your hands on it.

Initial impressions:

1. Love the color - it also matches my new desk like it was made for it - just amazing.
2. The optical slot is perfectly positioned so that when I put this behind my 3 screens on a stand, the slot is easy to access.
3. There is a slight gap near the top on the left rear corner. Could be that the panels need to be re-seated
4. Lately I am pretty concerned about running hard drives in this case. I'm wondering if I can position my 2TB Caviar Black near one of the 120mm fans to sip some of the airflow. Possibly after I replace the GPU fan with some 80mm fans? Mountain Mods has some hard drive brackets that mount directly on a 120mm fan - I wonder if one of these could be tweaked to fit a single drive without restricting airflow too much.
5. I use a lot of USB devices - seems like they could have given an extra port or two up top. Not a huge deal because I mostly run some extensions to some USB ports hard mounted to my desk.
6. Oh yes - the magnets on the bottom filter seem to be very strong and secure - +1 to their QA/sustaining team
 
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@DoubleTap

I'm thinking of building the same build, unfortuantely it looks like FT03 is about to go out of sale in my country. I'm personally going for Ivy Bridge as I've been waiting so long for it and I'm not that much of an OC'er(though I want a mild OC like you 4.5ish)

What colour is your case? :) I'm loving the Titanium one, unfortunately that's the least available of the cases in my country.

How come you're going for 1866 ram btw?

- kyNiSk
 
kyNiSk said:
@DoubleTap

I'm thinking of building the same build, unfortuantely it looks like FT03 is about to go out of sale in my country. I'm personally going for Ivy Bridge as I've been waiting so long for it and I'm not that much of an OC'er(though I want a mild OC like you 4.5ish)

What colour is your case? :) I'm loving the Titanium one, unfortunately that's the least available of the cases in my country.

How come you're going for 1866 ram btw?

- kyNiSk
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Hi kyNiSk,

I bought the Titanium model from Amazon. It looks really nice - even my wife was impressed and she usually just rolls her eyes :rolleyes:

I was also considering the black model as well - I didn't care for the silver because the white and silver look does not really match up with most enthusiast computer gear and looks a bit more Apple.

I bought the RAM last year when I bought my P8P67 WS Revolution because it was 1.5V XMP compatible RAM and was the best 1.5V memory I could find at the time for a reasonable price.

The motherboard should be here in about 5-6 hours, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to start putting it together - probably later tonight.
 
Wow this case is kind of a pain to put together.

I ordered the Silverstone short cable kit to make it a bit easier.
 
I got everything installed and the cables reasonably tucked away but I'm going to need to redo it properly once I'm sure everything is running right.

The TT Frio fits on the Maximus V but it interferes with the side intake fan. I'm looking for an adaptor to let me use a 92mm fan but most are for 80mm fans. It seems to run cool enough at idle but temps have been slowly creeping up and I'm not sure it will work if I really push it.

GTX680 SLI will fit with the angled 120mm GPU fan.
 
The GTX 690 is only 11 inches long so it'll fit in the FT03 without any problems.

The FT03 can fit up to 13.77 inches, which is longer than any consumer graphics card ever released. :)
 
I uploaded some pics of my FT03 build:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49421614@N00/sets/72157629957170084

So go easy - this is a functional build - no wire management or anything and there are some outstanding issues:

1. Top fan is very unbalanced and makes the whole case vibrate (can feel it in the desk) AP-15s en route.
2. SS short cable kit has very bad sleeving - it pulled out of the shrink in a few places but I plan to eventually sleeve everything.
3. The side intake fan will not fit due to the low position of the TT Frio. Seems to be OK, but I am considering an ALC solution if I need it (also worry about negative pressure without that side fan)
 
Looks like Newegg dropped the price of their Sony Optiarc slim / slot blu ray drives:

Reader is $110 FS (burns DVDs)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118070

Writer is $176 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118072

I use an optical drive about 2-3 times per year. Still, I can't help but wonder if I would find a Blu Ray burner useful and I have a hard time not just maximizing every component.

The DVD burner is $46 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118051


If I had time to watch a Blu Ray at my computer, I would probably just play games instead...
 
DoubleTap said:
I use an optical drive about 2-3 times per year. Still, I can't help but wonder if I would find a Blu Ray burner useful and I have a hard time not just maximizing every component.
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I was tempted when I saw a DVD Burner on sale... but decided to go without. There's virtually nothing I can't do with an external USB DVDRom instead. Seems better to use what I already have considering how rarely I use it.
 
Does anyone have a lot of buzzing when using the front audio ports? It's especially bad when using the front panel mic.
 
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