SilverStone FT03: Nothing Else Like It
by Dustin Sklavos on April 28, 2011 12:25 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- SilverStone
Noise and Thermal Testing, IGP
We'll start with the tests run without the GeForce GTX 580 installed to get a general idea of how the SilverStone FT03 fares under the best of circumstances.
Right off the bat, the SilverStone FT03 is producing excellent thermal results with a lot of headroom to grow into. That's to be expected; as I said, this case is capable of supporting an overclocked Intel Core i7-2600K with a pair of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580's in SLI. Measured temperatures on the HDD were only ever maybe 2C at most above the SSD.
Given the relatively low thermal load and the low fan speed required to keep the components cool, there isn't a whole lot of difference here. The 45dB is definitely audible and the FT03 could benefit from a dedicated fan controller, but on the whole this isn't deal-breakingly obnoxious noise.
The takeaway here is that given the excellent thermal qualities of the FT03, at least early on in our testing, you could run the case fans at very low speeds and still keep the components at reasonable temperatures.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
81 Comments
View All Comments
Metaluna - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
The consensus over at SPCR is that the white plastic grilles make it look like a cheap clothes hamper :).Kudos to Silverstone for trying something unique. Sadly not every radical concept works out, but I hope they keep trying.
Egglick - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
I agree that the white plastic vents look terrible on the silver model. If you look at the Black version though, it's a huge improvement.bman212121 - Monday, May 2, 2011 - link
And one day you accidently overheat your computer when you mistakely throw your clothes on top of it...darkvader75 - Thursday, May 19, 2011 - link
I agree that it should be either clear plexi right there or just drilled holes in the alluminumTh-z - Monday, August 8, 2011 - link
That's the removable dust filter.---
AnandTech, you guys should mention any dust filter feature in your case review.
ckryan - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
This is far and away one of the most interesting case designs out there. Unique cases are not plentiful and Silverstone at least has a couple to offer. I like cases that are a little different, ones like the Lian Li A05 which reverses airflow and motherboard placement to focus cool air one the processor. In that way, the FT03 is not alone, but it's not a huge crowd either. With enough money to spend on the extras, the Silverstone seems like it would make a fantastic system. Too bad slim line ODDs are the devil.michael2k - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Mac_G4_CubeNot really that unique. Vertical square orientation, upward ventilzation, etc.
mados123 - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
Exactly. That was one of the earliest designs that I saw from Apple where my jaw dropped due to its creative thermodynamics and use of Acrylic.nubie - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
They took an idea that has been floating around in my head and made it work.Vertical cooling and square footprint (or nearly). Also access to all ports without going behind the PC.
I can't afford it, but it is nice to know it is out there.
Fantastic, very forward thinking. I hope this spawns more (Lian Li are you listening? Maybe Power Cooler too for those like me: short on the green stuff.)
SilthDraeth - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
I am guessing that was a strange attempt at a pun, or you were still hung up about noise levels!:P
Back to reading the rest of the review now...