Copyright 2010 - K.S. Studios - All rights reserved
Accessories
| Model No. |
SST-FT02B (black)
SST-FT02S (silver)
SST-FT02B-W (black + window)
SST-FT02S-W (silver + window)
|
| Material |
4.5mm aluminum unibody frame, 0.8mm steel body |
| Color |
Black |
| Motherboard |
SSI CEB, ATX (maximum 12” x 11”), Micro ATX |
| Drive Bays |
External - 5.25" x 5
Internal - 3.5" x 5 , 2.5” x1
|
| Cooling System |
Top - 1 x 120mm exhaust, 1200rpm, 19dBA |
| Bottom - 3 x 180mm intake fan 700/1000rpm, 18/27dBA |
| Expansion Slots |
7 |
| Front I/O Port |
USB2.0 x 2
Audio x 1
MIC x 1
|
| Power Supply |
1 x Optional standard PS2 (ATX) |
| Expansion Card |
Support 12” or 12.2” (with fan grille removed) |
| Net Weight |
15kg |
| Dimension |
212mm (W) x 497mm (H) x 616mm (D) |
SilverStone has quickly earned a reputation for incredible high end cases, so the Fortress 2 (FT02) has been highly anticipated since it was first announced. The FT02 is SilverStone’s follow up to the popular Fortress (FT01) case. The case has been completely redesigned and looks little like its predecessor. It does, however, have striking similarities to the Raven 2 (RV02) case. SilverStone definitely got high marks for the RV02 design. For those who haven’t seen it yet, check out the RV02 review.
The FT02 takes the unibody aluminum exterior design from the Temjin TJ07 and combines that with an interior that shares a lot with the RV02. The front, bottom and back are made from one solid U-shaped sheet of aluminum. The 90 degree rotated motherboard mounting is back, as well as the right panel side mounting. Thankfully, not everything is taken from the RV02. The removable hard drive cage (a major point of frustration) is gone and replaced with five 3.5” hard drive trays, including a CP05 hot-swap bracket in the first slot. They have also included a tray for mounting a SSD or 2.5” hard drive. The FT02 has five 5.25” drive bays, but only four of them have quick latch buttons. The top bay, without the quick latch, can be used for optical drives but may be a little cramped due to the expansion card slot placement. The slot doesn’t have to be left empty though because there is plenty of room to install a fan controller or other 5.25” panel device. SilverStone also decided to remove the holes for water lines that were present in past enclosures. This is not really a con, as they have included brackets for mounting a radiator internally, if necessary.
Silverstone has brought back the sound dampening foam on the inside panels, a very nice touch. The FT02 has three 180mm filtered intake fans on the bottom and one 120mm golf bladed exhaust fan on the top. This positive pressure and stack effect cooling design is one of the best features to come from the RV02 and is what makes the cooling both effective and quiet. The design actually works even better in the FT02 due to gap between the fans and the bottom of the case (the RV02 didn’t work well on plush carpeted floors). Another feature to return is the motherboard back plate opening by the CPU area to make swapping CPU coolers possible without needing to remove the board from the case. ATX motherboards up to 11” wide can be installed and video cards up to 12” long (12.2” with the fan grille removed). The interior is completely black with a very nice finish.
The outside of the case is amazingly simple by design. With no front intake fans needed, the drive bay slots are all you will see. The back of the case has one opening for the vented PSU intake. The 5.25” bay covers are brushed aluminum, while a textured finish covers the rest of the exterior. This finish does well to resist fingerprints while giving the case a very nice look. The 4.5mm aluminum unibody frame gives the FT02 a super sturdy feel while also making it sleek and sophisticated. Front ports include two USB 2.0, one mic and one audio.
Cable routing in the FT02 is good, with multiple spots for attaching cable ties. The space between the motherboard tray and the side panel isn’t very big, so smart cable management is a must. This is made even more necessary due to the foam on the side panels. The time spent wiring the case is worth the effort because the finished build is absolutely beautiful. The Fortress 2 is one of the nicest cases I have ever worked on.
Features
Packaging
The packaging was as good as usual for SilverStone. The case is actually packaged with the backside facing down. Large foam blocks protect the top and bottom and a plastic bag covers the entire case.
The accessory box includes all the necessary case screws, a SSD mounting bracket, a PSU mounting bracket, a PSU velcro strap, a set of radiator mounting brackets, a molex to three fan plug adapter, and some wire ties.
Conclusion
The FT02 was a pleasure to work with. The temperatures set record lows while remaining quieter than most of the recently reviewed enclosures. There also wasn’t much of a difference in noise between the high and low fan settings. I had no trouble installing any of the parts in this case. A little more room for cable routing behind the motherboard would be great, as well as a couple more USB ports. For the price, one would expect SilverStone to include at least two of the hot-swap CP05 brackets too. The tool-less drive locking buttons were a little temperamental in our tests. The buttons are a rocker type and had to be broken in a bit for them to function properly. Finally, where are the thumb screws? The expansion card slots are not tool-less and use regular case screws. Minor issues aside, the FT02 is a definite win for SilverStone. They have taken the best features from a couple of their best cases and successfully merged them to create the Fortress 2. Their attention to detail is incredible, making the FT02 a top pick for builders of any type of system.
1/22/09 -Keith Soreghen-
Thermal tests were run using Speedfan 4.40. Two instances of Prime 95 were used to max out each CPU core for max load. 3DMark06 was used to stress the GPU for testing. Ambient room temperature is 73 Degrees Fahrenheit. The numbers are absolutely amazing. Even on the low fan settings, the Fortress 2 beats the HAF922 bench system in every thermal test.
SilverStone Fortress Series FT02 Case
Exterior
The exterior unibody design is amazing to see in person. The aluminum has some serious strength to it. There is no bending or flexing when handling the case. The rear has a spot to route cables through that can also be used as a handle when moving your PC. Not the typical brushed look here. There is a texture to the body that also helps to resist fingerprints. The back has a filtered vent for the PSU fan if needed.
The top of the FT02 is where all of the typical rear ports are located. All of the heat from the case is vented through the top. The power and reset buttons, LED's , USB, mic and audio ports are on the top front of the case. The top panel and removable cover are made of high quality plastic that blends well with the rest of the enclosure. The cover is lifted off by grabbing the cover from both ends and pulling straight up. The ports have a sliding cover to protect from dust (a feature added since the case debut at the Computex Taipei show in 2009).
Here is a look at the top of the case with the cover removed. This is definitely something that takes some getting used to. All of the usual rear ports are on the top of the case. This is not the first case to do this though, but SilverStone did invent it. The Raven (RV01) and the Raven 2 (RV02) use the 90 degree motherboard design as well.
The side panels are removed by thumb screws that are under the top cover. The I/O ports have vented covers to allow hot air to pass through the top of the case.
The exterior design is minimalistic with a smooth, sleek look. The fit of the parts and finish of the exterior are top notch. The inside of the case is painted black and does not interfere with the mounting of the motherboard standoffs. You can clearly see the gap between the bottom of the case and the bottom intake fans. This change from the design of the RV02 makes a hugh difference in airflow. When testing the RV02, we had to move the case to a tiled floor due to the carpet blocking the intake fans.
All of the interior surfaces that can accomodate sound dampening foam have been covered. The use of the foam, especially in cases with aluminum, definitely helps to control noise. The application was clean and precise.
There are a lot of hooks to help with cable routing behind the motherboard tray. The slim design of the case does require some serious cable management skills as there isn't much room for larger cables. If time is taken, a great cable job is possible. The bottom of the case features two rubber pads.
SilverStone continues using the rocker style tool-less drive locking buttons. The buttons work well, but in testing they seem to require some breaking in before they work smoothly. The hard drive trays are vertical, with the first one equipped with the CP05 hot-swap bracket.
The FT02 has switches that can be used to adjust the fan speeds. The FT02 comes with only one CP05 hard drive hot-swap bracket. Additional brackets can be ordered if needed. We would like to see at least two of these included for a case of this quality.
The three bottom 180mm fans are the same ones used in the RV02. The filters can be easily removed for cleaning. The fans have adjustable speeds and can be controlled by switches on the top of the case. Fans can be set for 700/1000rpm, 18/27dBA.
The top 120mm exhaust fan is one of SilverStone's new golf bladed fans. This design allows quieter operation even with increased fan speeds. This fan is 1200rpm, 19dBA. To the right of the fan, you can see the fan switch cables for the bottom case fans.
The interior is very roomy, even when using large CPU fans. The parts were all easy to install and no sharp edges were found anywhere. The case is heavy, weighing over 30 lbs. There was no bending or flexing of the parts while working with the Fortress 2.
The opening behind the CPU area may not line up perfecly with all motherboards, but my test board, an ASUS Rampage Formula, works very well. The hard drive trays have rubber grommets for the screw holes to control noise.
There is plenty of room for larger PSU's in the FT02. We used SilverStone's new Strider Plus ST85F-P modular PSU for this build. We do recommend going modular to make the most out of the cable routing space available in this enclosure. The velcro strap can be used to help secure the PSU. The bottom left photo is the adjustable PSU mounting bracket that is included. There is plenty of room for large CPU coolers with the PSU installed.
The Fortress 2 can accommodate graphics cards up to 12" in length. The BFG GTS 250 used in this build has plenty of room to spare. The hard drive bays have room for routing the power and data cables without too much trouble.
Here is a look at the final build. The cable routing, while a little tedious, looks amazing and was completely worth the effort. The Fortress 2 receives the highest marks for craftsmanship. The bottom picture shows the SSD bracket installed in the 5.25" drive bay area. This is the perfect spot for this device.
The final build is a beautiful thing. The FT02 was a dream to work with. Notice the DVD drives installed in the second and third bays. It is possible to install one in the top bay, but the expansion slots limit the space available for the power and data cables. This is a small trade-off for the 90 degree motherboard design.
Thermal Tests
We installed a Corsair H50 CPU cooler to test clearances and record temps to see how a setup like this would fare with the unique airflow design of the FT02. The device fit perfectly attached to the top 120mm fan and had plenty of room. The H50 cooler works better with an intake fan than with an exhaust fan. We installed with the fan blowing out so as not to disrupt airflow in the case. The temps were exactly the same as with the Zalman air cooler. Had we set the top fan as an intake, CPU temps may have been better but the rest of the components would have suffered. Users looking to use a water cooled setup in the FT02 would be better off utilizing the radiator mounts supplied with the case and mounting a standard radiator to the bottom case fans.
The Parts Lineup
Case - SilverStone Fortress 2 (FT02) enclosure
PSU - SilverStone SST-ST85F-P (850W)
Board - Asus Rampage Formula (socket 775)
Processor - Intel Core2 Duo (E8400) 3.0GHz Wolfdale core
CPU Cooler - Zalman CNPS9500
Memory - 4GB Corsair DDR2 800
Hard drive - Western Digital WD3200AAJS
Optical drive - Lite-On SHD-16S1S
Video Card - BFG Geforce GTS 250
