Silverstone FT03... matx

eK-XL said:
I should have some pics later tonight. I won't be putting much in it until the weekend though. I can give some quick impressions... I was surprised with how much plastic was in the case. The brackets that allow you to attach 3.5" HDDs are both black plastic, as is the SSD bracket. Attaching the SSD to the bracket was very difficult to get on. I first tried screwing my SSD from the side, but I found I had to screw it in from the bottom, it just didn't work otherwise. Once I did that it was very easy.

I was planning on installing a large amount of acoustic foam in the case, but after opening it up and really looking around I found that there wasn't much room for it. I also decided against putting acoustic foam on the HDD side because of potential heat issues. The manual had a lot of information in it. The part that jumped out at me the most was that you can't secure the top cover on if you have a standard DVI->VGA adapter that comes with most video cards. I happen to still have a CRT 19" monitor (which as of this week is finally dying) so I won't be able to use that top until I get it replaced.

Even though I was surprised by all the plastic inside the case, it feels like a much more considered and refined case than my SG01, though perhaps a bit more fragile.
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Cool, can you take a picture FT03 together with any other case you might have, so we can have a feel how big the FT03 is? :)
 
I also thought I should mention that the fan filter on the bottom attaches with magnets, which is really cool. I was really confused as to how to stick it on at first!
 
Thanks for the shots. Please post more as I have a really bad itch to jump on this and build a new micro atx SB build ;)
 
Tony Ou said:
I don't think a self-contained water cooler like the Corsair H50 or H70 will necessarily perform better (for cooling and noise) than a high-end cooler inside the FT03, but it will fit. A guy in China has already installed one:

http://www.chiphell.com/forum.php?mod=redirect&goto=findpost&ptid=152533&pid=3338683
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Tony, you probably don't know, but I'm going to ask anyway:

Do you know when Amazon.com will be getting the FT03S in stock? All these little online stores like Sundial Micro, Performance-PCs and FrozenCPU have it in stock already. It's already on Amazon.com, but it still says, "This item has not yet been released.".
 
I pre-ordered on Amazon as well. I chatted with a cust serv rep yesterday, and she said no date is in the system yet. I read somewhere that retailers should get them on 27th, but who knows.
 
Thanks for the pics. I have one unanswered question about this case and the layout. Where do the cables that come out of the top go? Are they routed back through the inside of the case somehow, or do they just come out of the side on top, and hang down?

For anyone who can take a good picture of how the power, video, USB cables, etc are managed, I would be grateful.
 
Cables are fed out the gaps around the top grilll panel (you can have them come out the sides or rear) and trail down the side or back of the case. They should sit fairly flat against the case since the connectors are not sticking out like a normal case.
 
I couldn't hold out for Amazon any longer (no doubt it'll be available to ship later today or this week) :mad: . I ordered the black version from Frozencpu. Was about $7 cheaper than newegg using 5% coupon code "PCAPEX". Plus newegg doesn't even have black in stock anymore.

I'll post pics when I get it. This case is the last component I need for new SB build.
 
Crimson Fury is correct. It's pretty unnoticeable, unless your cables stick up too high and you can't put the top on (which is the case for me because of my adapter). I'm glad the forum's back up, so I can post the next round of pics. I have everything up and running now.


FT03-S Build
 
eK-XL said:
unless your cables stick up too high and you can't put the top on (which is the case for me because of my adapter).
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You could always get a short DVI extension cable and then plug the adaptor on the end outside the case.

PS. Don't know if you did this intentionally, but you left a block of foam in the middle of your tower HSF. That gap is meant to be empty so the dead spot under the fan hubs doesn't heat up.
 
Are you talking about the pic before I put the motherboard in? I didn't put accoustic foam there. I thought about it, but decided not to. There's foam on the left side of the case (from a front on perspective) above the air intake and on the front above the slim DVD drive. Those are the only places I put it. I only used half of what I bought.
 
eK-XL said:
Are you talking about the pic before I put the motherboard in? I didn't put accoustic foam there. I thought about it, but decided not to. There's foam on the left side of the case (from a front on perspective) above the air intake and on the front above the slim DVD drive. Those are the only places I put it. I only used half of what I bought.
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I mean this, it looks like packaging material to stop it getting damaged during shipping:

foaminhsf.jpg
 
Ha, good catch, for some reason I hadn't noticed that!

Removing that dropped the temp of my cores by about 2-3 degrees. My processor is at 3.4 ghz right now, fans turned as far down as the bios would let me (wish I could turn them down farther) and 32 degrees at idle.
 
Does anyone know if the slimline slot load dvd housing for this case comes with the cables or connectors needed to connect the optional drive?

Something like this, I mean (or maybe the housing unit has an adapter built in?):

Cables-Unlimited-FLT-6020-18-rw-64013-75765.jpg
 
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yeah, i figured. looked at the pics and the manual, i just ordered one from amazon. thanks.
 
Hi People

Well the case in out in the UK, looking at the Asus P8P67-m Pro board just struggling with the cooler. I've seen the video of the H70 what do you think good idea or stay with an air cooler and if so which?

Thx
 
Finally got my case and put up some pics. Posed it against a Lanbox Lite and a CM 690 for size comparison. As far as temps, I didn't mess with OC yet, but I get about 25 idle and 50 load using megahalems with push pull (load at 4.1 on a 2500k on default bios settings...didn't touch settings yet).

Pics: http://img830.imageshack.us/g/img1181de.jpg/
 
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I notice you had to do the same thing with the PSU, routing the cable around. My PSU is a seasonic 650 watt.
 
anywho said:
Finally got my case and put up some pics. Posed it against a Lanbox Lite and a CM 690 for size comparison. As far as temps, I didn't mess with OC yet, but I get about 25 idle and 50 load using megahalems with push pull (load at 4.1 on a 2500k on default bios settings...didn't touch settings yet).

Pics: http://img830.imageshack.us/g/img1181de.jpg/
Click to expand...

Did you check that same system on any other case in order to compare?

Another thing, how about HDD temperature?
 
No, I didn't try another case for comparison. My ssd temp sits around 30, and WD green sits around 27 (I haven't tried stressing them though).
 
27ºC seems just fine. So, is the HDD in contact with the back panel? Directly, or there is something inbetween?
 
The mounts for the HDD are offset, so there's about a 3/4 to 1 inch gap between the motherboard tray and the actual hard drive. So no direct contact. The plastic ssd mount that comes with this case can only be mounted in one position (the gap for this is smaller [similar to the gap between a mobo and the tray, so around a 1/4 inch]). But, a 2.5 to 3.5 adapter bracket should give you much more flexibility to fit an ssd into any mount on this case.

http://img715.imageshack.us/i/img1187mo.jpg/

BTW, I found a refurbed slot loading 12.7 mm slim blu-ray drive that fits this case on ebay. This case comes with 2 screws to mount this, but they are extremely small and easy to lose. The case doesn't come with the cable to connect this optional drive. I found the cable on Amazon since I have prime: http://www.amazon.com/Connectland-CL-CAB40022-SATA-Mini-Cable/dp/B003NE5IUC (the link says 6 foot, but it's actually 6 inches for the molex cable, and about 40 inches for the actual sata connector cable).

Search ebay for Dell part # 5V759, or search for model # CA10N. This is for a Hitachi-LG blu-ray reader that also burns dvds. I installed mine today, and it works fine. Not sure how long it'll last....we'll see. Got mine for little less than $70 shipped.
 
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There are ways to make imageshack bearable, but those require a lot of work from the poster's side :(
 
EnderW said:
yeah I just wish it had a built in Intel NIC
spacing could be tight with a NIC, soundcard, and GPU
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Why would an Intel branded NIC be such a deal breaker? Just curious. I've been using non-Intel built in adapters for a few years now with no issues.

Yep, space will be tight. I've a Creative Fatality Plat sound card I could use but I'm not even running 5.1 speakers right now due to space, I'm forced to use my monitor speakers or headphones via my laptop so 2.0 via on board sound it is!

Based on the photos below, I think I'll be ok:

http://www.chiphell.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=152533&page=5#pid3338683
 
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What cpu coolers and RAM are you people using? I'm trying to decide on an aftermarket cooler that will fit over some Corsair Vengeance RAM...I was tempted to go the H70 route but if I can find something that will fit that may be equal in cooling i'd bite.
 
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