Case Cooling and Conclusions
Case Cooling
The SilverStone Fortress FT01 enclosure comes with two 180mm and one 120mm low speed case fans installed. The two 180mm fans blow air into the case while the single 120mm fan blows air out. Since the two intake fans are capable of moving significantly more air than the single exhaust fan, this results in a positive internal case air pressure (check out the YouTube video). Both intake fans come fitted with dust filters, which helps keep the inside of the case clean. One of the main advantages of having positive case pressure is that all the air entering the case is filtered and exhaust air keeps dust from entering through all the cracks and miscellaneous openings.
(Courtesy SilverStone)
The fans inside the FT01 were tested at three different voltages (speeds) to see how quiet the case could actually be. The following table lists the noise generated by the three case fans while operating at different voltages with the side panels on. Sound Pressure Levels were taken 3’ from the front, left-side of the FT01 enclosure with all fans running. The ambient background noise level was approximately 27 dBA.
*Note: The two 180mm intake fans will run at 5VDC but will not start at this low voltage.
Even at full speed the fans are quiet while still providing very good airflow throughout the case. If you use a fan speed controller to slow the fans down, they can become virtually silent.
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
The SilverStone Fortress FT01 is a beautiful mid-tower enclosure. The all aluminum build quality is excellent resulting in a light weight, yet sturdy case. The FT01 comes with three high quality case fans that produce positive air pressure and deliver excellent cooling with very little noise while helping to keep dust out. For a mid-tower case the FT01 offers a lot of storage space but working inside the enclosure and routing cables can become quickly cramped if your build includes multiple graphic adapters and more than three HDDs. And yes, the Fortress FT01 is relatively expensive but you get what you pay for.
The SilverStone Fortress FT01 mid-tower enclosure is currently available from many of your favorite resellers with street price of around $220.00 USD.
Strengths:
- Clean-sleek-elegant styling!
- Excellent build quality and beautiful anodized finish (black or silver)
- All aluminum, premium grade, mid-tower enclosure
- Positive air pressure design optimizes cooling performance and keeps dust out
- Two 180mm and one 120mm quiet case fans included
- Dust filters provided on both intake fans and bottom PSU opening
- Five external 5.25” bays and seven internal 3.5” HDD bays
- Vibration absorbing HDD dampers and case feet
- One SATA hot-swap connector included
- Large acrylic side window
- Space a little tight for cable routing/management when fully populated
- Does not support Extended ATX motherboards
- No E-SATA port
SilverStone Fortress FT01 Mid-Tower Case
I would like to thank our friends at SilverStone for sending us the FT01 enclosure to review – thank you! Be sure to use our price checking engine to find the best price on the FT01 or any of SilverStone’s other fine products.
If you have any questions or comments about this article or would like to see what others have to say about the FT01 enclosure, just click into our Cases, Power and Modding forum to join in the discussion!
