SilverStone FT03: Nothing Else Like It
by Dustin Sklavos on April 28, 2011 12:25 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- SilverStone
Assembling the FT03
While most enclosures based on traditional design principles are pretty easy to figure out just by eyeballing them, SilverStone includes an instruction manual with the FT03 for a reason. Much like the GD04 we reviewed before it, there's a specific order you'll want to put the FT03 together in, but thankfully the order at least makes sense and the assembly is as painless as possible.
With this review we're experimenting a little and I've added something different. Below is a time-lapsed video of my scrawny, hairy Greek arms assembling our testbed inside the FT03 set to Chu Ishikawa's music for Tetsuo: The Bullet Man. We know video isn't for everybody (I personally like listening to music while I read reviews so something like this isn't necessarily my cup of tea), but it should be illuminating for those of you who want to get a good feel for how the FT03 gets put together.
The basic assembly of the FT03 involves removing the two intake fans and the extra fan mount at the top first, and the computer gets built essentially from the ground up. Mounting the motherboard is easy enough given the surprisingly copious space inside the case, with standoffs for at least a Mini-ITX board already built into the backplane. What's interesting is that while SilverStone recommends removing the case fans first and indeed that's what I did, it doesn't seem to be strictly necessary (at least removing the bottom one isn't). This isn't a toolless design by any stretch of the imagination, and the tiny screws used for securing the optical drive are pretty easy to lose, but it's as simple as it could be.
Installing the power supply is incredibly simple, too, although the plug used to route to the power supply (thus depriving you of access of the master switch) can have a tendency to bunch and get in the way of sliding the side panel back on.
Where I was really impressed was with the way hard drives are installed; the drive mounting standoffs actually glide into place on the case instead of making you hunt and carefully line up screws. I was admittedly a little puzzled initially with how to install the 2.5" drive tray (though that may have been 1am talking to me), but eventually it locked in exactly where it ought to go. You'll want to install the 2.5" drive with the connectors facing down towards the bottom of the case; the 3.5" drives can't be installed in any orientation other than with their connectors facing inward and down, thus helping with cable routing.
Routing cables is also handled about as well as it can be, but woe betide anyone who tries to install a non-modular power supply in this case. While it can probably be done, routing space for cables is at a premium in the FT03. There are pretty specific places the cables are supposed to route through and I found they worked as well as they could. While you can use a PSU from any vendor, if you're planning on building in this case it might be wise to cough up for a SilverStone Strider power supply specifically so you can buy short modular cables specifically designed to fit inside this case.
Honestly I'm left with few complaints in terms of the assembly of the FT03. SilverStone includes all the necessary screws along with cable ties, and their shorter modular cables fit perfectly. My only major issue is an old hand: there are three 120mm case fans included, but Micro-ATX boards with three fan headers are rarefied at best.
From there I have a series of minor gripes. First, as I mentioned before you pretty much have no choice but to use a modular power supply with the FT03, and SilverStone's shorter cables make a big, big difference. Second, you're stuck using a slot-loading slim-line optical drive. I can't complain too much; putting any other type in here would definitely ruin the aesthetic, but it does incur additional expense and I have to wonder if there wasn't another way. Maybe finding a way to mount a standard slim-line drive at the top of the case? Finally, the side panels are keyed and slot in easily enough (with some pressure, but nothing you haven't experienced assembling a hundred other cases), but they don't snap in and tend to feel a bit loose. When you move the FT03, you'll want to lift it from the front and back; the sides will slide right off.
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Rick83 - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
Actually, it's 140€Which is still as much as STC cost, and much less case, but - it looks sexy, runs on 120mm fans and allows a very clean build.
Some people pay more for a certain piece of furniture, others for a certain car...For me, it's something desirable, mixed with a use, and thus I see no reason not to pay a price that the market bares - the first batch of these was sold out pretty quickly, so the price obviously isn't too high.
RagingDragon - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
I like Silverstone's rotated motherboard designs. I like the tall and shallow design. If I were looking for a micro-ATX case this one would be contender. A case with full or extended ATX support and similar tall and shallow rotated motherboard design would definetly make the shortlist for my next case. At the moment this is my favourite:http://www.lian-li.com.tw/v2/en/product/product06....
Though to get *exactly* what I want I'll probably have to build my own case.
Jonathan Dum - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
Give me this case in an e-ATX size and we'd have an absolute winner.Sabresiberian - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
I think this pretty much says it about Silverstone, from the article:"He was upset because he felt like I gave the GD04 short shrift for griping about the noise levels, citing that once a fan controller is installed the case has exceptional thermal characteristics while being remarkably quiet. "
Man-up, Silverstone, don't whine and cry when someone says your case design is loud, and say it's the fault of the end user for not using a fan controller and turning down the fan speed. What if the components used NEED more fan speed? Idiot.
I have 3 Silverstone products. One is a PSU bought back when they were making their name and made some outstanding units, the thing is still powering a relative's machine today. The second is a high-end 1200W beast that has worked well enough, but had to be sent in for warranty because of a defect when I received it.
I had bought that particular PSU by reputation alone, and it's how I learned to never buy one by reputation - after sending it back I began to read articles about it. Turned out the issue I sent it back for had been documented in reviews many months before I bought my unit!! On top of that, instead of the unit performing at the top of the tests, it barely squeaked by some of them; it just wasn't up to the standards I expected from Silverstone.
The warranty service department snow-jobbed me very well. After being told that they were aware of the problem and had fixed it on their assembly lines, I requested a unit from that batch, What I got back was the same unit. When I called them, the word was "Oh, well, we don't have any of those." Okay, so, you've fixed the problem but you don't have any of the units with the problem fixed? Why didn't you tell me that when I requested a new PSU?
The other product I have is a case. It's a nice enough case, and has some features I like, and some I don't. Remember the brief flirtation with BTX? It's a BTX case One of the things it came with was a plastic shroud to help air move from the front of the case across the CPU to the back. Unfortunately, the shroud wouldn't work with any CPU that needed enough cooling that the shroud would be a benefit to, because it wouldn't fit around anything but a small stock cooler. It was essentially useless, and very fragile. The worst part though is that the case has started to corrode on the inside, on some of the steel edges. Not badly, but I have an Antec case twice as old that shows no sign of corrosion at all.
So, Silverstone is 1/3 for me, and the time I really needed them they failed. Well, I didn't believe they failed so bad that I refused to use the PSU, and it hasn't given me any trouble in 2 1/2 years, to be fair, but I'm not likely to buy anything else from them either. They are going to have to do something marvelous for me to change my mind.
This case certainly isn't it for me.
;)
DaveSimmons - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
SPCR reviewed this case too recently if you're looking for a second opinion Unfortunately they did NOT give it high marks for noise or cooling, apparently making the case this small meant using awkward fan placements that hurt the cooling and added noise.If you have the space for them, the regular ATX Raven RV02 / Fortress FT02 from SiverStone do offer excellent cooling with very low noise, and are about the best you can do for quiet air cooling of a gaming system.
Slayeristight - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
Or is it just me?SquattingDog - Friday, April 29, 2011 - link
That is the EXACT thoughts I had when I saw it at a reseller evening at the end of last year. This is a great little case, and I am looking to build a gaming machine around it using my two 5870's and either Bulldozer or a 2600K (depending on what is better once bulldozer comes out, and what motherboards are available). The Asus P8P67M-Pro has the perfect PCI-e slot placement for this case, however...:Ddarkfoon - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
I don't know if I am typical of the readership here at Anandtech, but I have been consistently reading reviews here since 2003.I like the new case reviewing process. I sort of wish there were more pictures of the system at various stages of being built, but that's what the video is for, I suppose. The testing methodology with the uATX/MiniITX and full ATX systems is also very welcome. I am curious about the shape of the room the acoustics are measured in, and the placement of the case in that room. Maybe this is nit-picking, but for example: my computer isn't terribly loud (I don't have any numbers to back this up) but depending on where I place it and my desk it can sound much louder or quieter. Right now, I have a corner desk and the case sits along one wall, with exhaust fans blowing back into the corner (with about 4 feet of space between the fans and the wall). This arrangement makes it sound louder than other places I've had it because the sound is reverberating off the corner and toward one ear specifically.
Since the acoustic readings for reviews are taken from one foot in front of the computer, I am curious if it is near a corner, or if the room is carpeted, etc.
I liked this review and it helped me to decide that this case is not the case for me. When I first saw the picture I thought, "Ooh! Pretty!" and continued to read on. The more I read, the more I learned that this case just doesn't meet my needs. Aesthetically, it does, but the size restrictions and the optical drive requirements have made it a no-go for me. I decide whether to read a case review based on the "Ooh! Pretty" response. If I get it, I read on. If not, I pass.
Keep up the good work with the new reviewing process!
Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
Thank you for the kind words. I love this case, too, but it just doesn't suit my needs either. Mercifully there's a Raven RV03 in my living room awaiting review...;)
james007 - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
If we're going to put together a system around this case, what about that optical drive? You say it has to be a slot-loading slim drive, but.. which ones fit this? You list in your setting simply "Slimline DVD+/-RW Drive" - which one is that?I'm also curious to know - are these micro-ATX mobos as overclockable as the full ATX mobos (I was thinking for example of the Asrock Extreme4 for a full-size ATX board, but I like the idea of a smaller package). Otherwise, thanks for creating this excellent review. James Hurst (New Orleans)