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
Noise and Thermal Testing, Dedicated GPU
I wish we'd had a GeForce GTX 670 or 680 on hand to really give the SilverStone FT03 Mini a proper thrashing, especially since they advertise the case running those cards on their site. As it stands, the Zotac GeForce GTS 450 Eco isn't going to light the world (or the case) on fire but should at least give us a clear idea of how it holds up under an increased thermal load.
The FT03 Mini continues to put in a strong performance, providing thermal performance that actually meets and sometimes exceeds that of a much larger case. SilverStone's 140mm Air Penetrator fan in the bottom of the case is working its magic; these really are excellent case fans provided they're used in the right places.
Fan speeds are mostly comparable, with the CPU fan speed ever so slightly in favor of the FT03 Mini. Either way, there's thermal headroom to spare, but keep in mind the FT03 Mini is achieving with one 140mm intake fan what the GD07 needs three 120mm fans to achieve.
The two are basically indistinguishable in terms of raw noise levels, and both are very well suited to their intended tasks. The FT03 Mini isn't just cool; it's quiet, too.
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dalenchm0b - Saturday, May 26, 2012 - link
Newegg has it.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
terragb - Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - link
I got mine from Performance-PCs.comThey are in Florida but mine was drop shipped directly from Silverstone in California.
mcbowler - Friday, May 25, 2012 - link
I always wanted someone to build a case around the graphics card... check out the perfect fit on silverstone web site... http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=333I wish more companies did things like this. 1 HD and 2 SSD is all I need. A 450w power supply should be good enough for an Nvidia 680 and a stock voltage 3770. If not, I will be melting something.
terragb - Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - link
Yup. Mine runs fine on the SilverStone 450w PSU. Reference GTX 680 and stock voltage 3770.Death666Angel - Thursday, May 31, 2012 - link
Hey!You write:
"There are five points to screw in the PSU, but there were only enough screws available to do the four corners."
All PSU I have laying around and the few I looked at online only have 4 screw holes, however, most cases I owned had 5 holes. In those cases this was so that the PSUs could be installed with either the fan up or down. Not sure if this is the case here, but it might be. :-)
Interesting case, for sure. :D
caycep - Saturday, June 9, 2012 - link
1) How have the FT03-mini's been in terms of rattling? SilentPCReview didn't like the full size FT03 at all, but the mini seems to be substantially revamped. Is the build quality better?
2) How does this compare w/ the lian li PC-Q11A?
3) will a 350 or 450W sfx psu be enough to run a nvidia gtx 670 class gnu?
s7r83dg3 - Sunday, October 28, 2012 - link
1) Please move the buttons 180° so all the cables can be shorter and in the right position justabove those pins !
2) Make all cables sleeved & short & soft !!!
3) Make the legs 2 cm shorter and the case 2 cm taller so my gfx card will fit.
4) Use a standard FOUR PIN fan so it can be replaced, which is currently not possible.
5) Change your company logo =)
6) Make silent sfx PSU with good modular cables (like superflower psu)