New Silverstone Fortress FT02 coming soon!

Well, I did a forum/thread search and the only results for the FT02 were in the Computex 2009 thread where the FT02 was on display.

This case is looking to be a cracker. I am actually really excited for it. I have been wanting to get a new case for 12 months now but have been largely unhappy with the models available and the prices being charged for the higher end cases. I discovered the Raven 02 and was considering it for a while, but certain aspects of it such as the HDD bay etc irked me a little.

However in my research on the RV02 I learnt of the Silverstone Fortress 2 (FT02), which is essentially very similar in design and size to the RV02, except it has a much nicer aluminium unibody design, sound dampening foam, more HDD bays and the HDD bays are also external facing and hot-swappable.


Issues that I have read about with the RV02 and FT02 are pretty much limited to:

• Vertical hight issues, mainly with new videocards longer than 12" (apparently the 5870x2 will be 12.1" or something).
• Not enough space for some LCS kits, especially with multiple long videocards.
• Only the outside of the case is unibody aluminium, the chassis is SECC steel (apparently to cut costs and improve rigidity).

That's about it AFAIK. All of which are non-issues for me.

It was due to be released around August, but has been delayed for multiple reasons. Apparently it is now shipping and should be arriving in the next month or two (not sure how quickly it will come to Australia). Not an issue for me as I have plenty of time to wait.

Pricing is still sketchy, it was supposed to be cheaper than the all-aluminium FT01, however due to some issues it will be around the same price or higher. A silverstone rep quoted around $220-230 USD, which means it should be selling in Aus around $250-270, depending on how much we get gouged and where you buy it from.

It comes in all black (internal and external) or silver.

The case finish is, to quote Tony (developer) from SS:

Here's some pics recently released:


Click to view full size!

(Actually, the different looking 5.25" bay covers does look a little annoying. I don't know why they chose to give the case a 'sandblast' finish, and then give the covers a 'brushed' finish. They stand out more, which is annoying, but bearable).


Click to view full size!


Click to view full size!

More info and replies from the Silverstone developer/rep about the new FT02 and RV02 here:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1429251

 

I like the concept of vertical placement of the board but there is still the major issue of the case still being just too small. It has nice styling but as I said, no bloody room for anything.

 

Been waiting for this case. Think the silver version doesn't have a side window though and looks a lot like an Apple case

Personally I think the window ruins the look, but that's me.

 

It has room for a motherboard....and a couple of GFX cards up to 10.5 inches....and a PSU....and some HDDs....

Most people don't need space for much else.

IMO accessibility is becoming less and less relative to size these days, quiet mid towers like this aren't designed to house heaps of large WC gear like larger, nosier full towers.

 

looks to plain imo, i still like the FT01 better. and it does seem too small

 

I agree to an extent, I wouldn't want a window in the silver version, as you said it would ruin the pseudo-Apple look, however I think it does suit the more PC style of all black.

Umm not enough room for a full LCS kit, but that is still a minority market. As far as air cooling goes this and the RV02 are up there with the best.

In regards to general room apparently the case will take cards up to 12" long (5870x2, 5890 etc), all you have to do is remove the fan grill on one of the fans.

 

If it's anything like the FT01 then there should be a BW,SW,B and S model (no BS model ). Unfortunately Australian distributors usually won't have all four variants though (the BW FT01 is by far the most widely available here in oz).

Personally I like the "B" model best.

*BW- Black with window
*SW- Silver with window
*B- Black without window
*S- Silver without window
*BS- Bull Shit

 

That's good because I am after the BW FT02!

No one likes the window, but after having non-windowed cases for years I kinda feel like a change. However there will be zero tolerance on LED fans, and if I decide to put some cathodes in there they will be hooked up to a easy access switch so I can turn them off if I need to run it over night. Nothing worse than having a case with mesh and windows and full of LED fans and cathodes and there's no easy way to turn it all off.

One guy on Hard Forum pointed out some of the design flaws (easilly fixed/modded though):

 

Exactly, this guy is right on the money.

Its has a nice atheistic to it, but in its current form I wouldn't buy one. Changes need to be made, and for the height of that case really they could have added a inch so you could put a RAD at the bottom. A two tone or backlit laser cut smaller simple logo would have been great. The inside mounted window and sleeved wires hell yes! other guys have done this please follow.


More Pics
http://silverstone-usa.com/images/RV02/180mm_fan_compatible.jpg
http://forum.hardware.fr/hfr/Hardware/Boitiers-alims/unique-silverstone-fortress-sujet_846711_1.htm

 

I agree.

Consistent finish on all surfaces, more subtle logo, inside mounted window, sleeved (or at least all black) fan cables and an inch higher would make this pretty much the perfect case. It's still perfect for my circumstances, but I can see the dimensions being annoying for people who want to WC and are picky about design.

 

as the proud owner of a black FT01 i find the FT02 design very unusual to say the least.

I think its build quality looks lower and as you can see from the rivets the case is not modular like the FT01.

Also i find the top facing i/o and power buttons not very user friendly, who wants to look down at the top of their case to see a mess of cables, granted the cooling advantage is huge but the anesthetic's take a big chuck out of a weird overall design.

I do like the look of the front bezel, but my sympathy with the rest of the design stops there.

Ill stick to my good old FT01 which i payed $300AU for thankyou very much SilverStone.

Next time please make a FT03 which is based on the FT01, not a case lying on its face!

 

'anesthetic's'.. lol.

The cables on the top I/O are covered, so no mess.

 

its all rather nice but imo Raven01 for the win

 

Meh, the RV01 looks kinda cool but there's too much plastic for me, and too many general design flaws too.

Nice and big though.

 

Bad new for those who wanted one by the end of the month:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1034862363&posted=1#post1034862363

And this addresses some of the critiques:

 

How the hell do you add/remove HDD's from the FT02 without pulling the vga cards ????

Sorry its a bit too radical for my old brain

 

Huh? Do you mean the RV02?

The FT02 has outward facing, hot-swap HDD bays which are about as easy access as you can get.

The RV02 however requires a bit more work to remove the HDDs/HDD bay without having to pull out the GPU and other gear.

See here: http://www.silverstonetek.com/downloads/QA/RV02_QA_090901.pdf

 

They slide out the side http://www.izipik.com/images/200906/13/hgqajvluqcc4i3j75m-ft02-5__small_.jpg Slightly different but in all respects similar to how your CM690 does

 

Yup, I was just aiming more at seeing a bigger version of it to compete in the full tower area. LCS isn't as bigger issue for myself cos you can always mount on top. I would love to see room for bigger cards but HDD space is a biggy, 8 HDD's at moment, four more go in on weekend and waiting out on a card to drive 8 or more 2.5" SAS drives I have floating around. It's just a personal thing for me.

Otherwise, a bloody nice looking case. Not a Lian Li but still up there.

 

They'll have HDD cages for sale when the FT02 is released so you can mount more HDDs in the 5.25" area.