SilverStone FT03 Mini Review: We'll Make You Fun Size
by Dustin Sklavos on May 22, 2012 1:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Mini ITX
- SilverStone
Conclusion: You Already Know If You Want It
Honestly, you probably already knew whether or not you were interested in the SilverStone FT03 Mini from the moment you looked at it. There are plenty of Mini-ITX cases out there, but none of them look like this one, so what the review is really about is answering questions and determining whether or not it has personality to go along with its looks. I'm happy to report that it does.
I liked the FT03 to begin with, and the FT03 Mini is in many ways a direct improvement on that design. In addition to shrinking the form factor, SilverStone fixed one of the main problems: the side panels. There's also no more bottom fan filter falling off, and assembly is actually much simpler in the FT03 Mini than it was in the FT03 proper. The engineers did their homework and came back with something not only improved, but I think shrinking to the Mini-ITX spec actually serves the design better. Aesthetically it's more interesting by being smaller, and physically it allows SilverStone to go down to a single 140mm intake fan in the bottom doing all the work.
The funny thing is that in the process, SilverStone continues to prove that you don't need to throw six fans at every problem when one or two smartly placed fans will do the job. The aforementioned FT02 and TJ08-E along with Lian Li's PC-90 are evidence enough of that. I've been increasingly of the opinion that the low-front-intake-to-top-back-exhaust design, however popular, is inefficient. Tiny wind tunnels like the FT03 Mini seem to prove that.
If you're interested in the FT03 Mini, hopefully this review assuages any concerns you might have about it. Assembly is relatively easy apart from the slightly unusual mounting for the drive cages, and thermal performance and acoustics are both excellent. It's at least as good as it looks if not better, and SilverStone's engineers are showing real progress in their designs. Taken as a whole, that makes the FT03 Mini Bronze Editor's Choice award material.
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Flunk - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
Ridiculously hot and noisy. I have an SG03 and while it's a great case and good fun the thermals are annoying.Synomenon - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
Did you guys get to test it with a liquid cooling kit such as the Antec Kuhler 620 or Corsair H60? It would be great if you could update this review later on with a build utilizing one of these liquid cooling kits AND a GTX 670 / 680.jigglywiggly - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
why are you guys reviewing a fridgegonks - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
I thought it was a trash cannikotttin - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
Hi there,How is the cabling going with this case? I see that the electric plug is facing upward. Same goes for the GPU ports.
Does this mean that the plug and HDMI cables are going out through the top of the case? If so, this is not very elegant in a living room.
Thanks for the clarification.
piroroadkill - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
It has a cover, and a slot at the top rear of the case, so they'll come out the back, but at the top. Well, they actually come out of the top, but the cover.. covers them up.marvdmartian - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
The biggest problem I saw, is that the PSU is on one side of the top divider (which contains the power & reset buttons, and the USB ports), and the slot for all the cords is on the other side of it. Which means you're going to lose 6-8 inches of power cord, just routing it around that obstruction.IMHO, it would have been a better idea to either shorten that divider (so the power cord could be routed in a shorter direction), or a second slot provided. The second choice would be a fairly easy modification, though, if one were so inclined to do so.
Bobsy - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
I have the same concern. Are there any pictures of this case with cables plugged in, so that we can see what it looks like for real? Cables coming out the top seem to be a show-stopper for me - I say "seems" because Dustin does not mind, so surely he found a way to set it up properly. I would like to know how this can be done.Thank you.
nikotttin - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
see:http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1642182&...
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1642182
jabber - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
...I have no idea of the orientation or what way goes where etc.