The SilverStone Fortress FT05 Case Review
by E. Fylladitakis on June 5, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- SilverStone
- Case
Test setup
Professional testing requires the emulation of real-world situations but with repeatable results; thus, a perfectly controllable test setup and environment are required, especially for comparable results. Testing the thermal performance of any case with a typical real-world setup technically limits the comparability of the results to this setup alone, as an active system interacts with its environment and the change of a single component would alter myriads of variables.
As such, we developed synthetic loads that emulate the thermal output of real systems, which however are passive, steady and quantifiable. As a result, our thermal testing displays the thermal capabilities of the case alone, as if it would have to deal with the entire thermal load by itself, regardless of the system that would be installed inside it. Laboratory data loggers are being used to monitor the PT100 sensors and control the safety relays, which are fully accessible via our custom software. Three such loads have been developed; the ATX version simulates a 200W CPU, 50W VRM, 30W RAM and 4 × 120W GPU card thermal load. Finally, three 3.5" HDD dummy loads have also been created, with each of them converting 30 W of electrical power to thermal, bringing the total thermal load of the ATX test setup up to 850 Watts. As such, the thermal load is immense and only the best of cases will be able to handle it for more than a few minutes. Meanwhile we are also performing a test with a thermal load of 400W, with all of the aforementioned components except the HDD drives at about 42% power, which is more suitable for the majority of cases.
Thermal testing has been performed with all of the case's stock fan operating at maximum speed. Noise testing has been performed with a background noise level of 30.4dB(A). Advanced noise testing is also being performed, in order to assess the ability of the case to dampen the noise of the components installed inside it. This includes the installation of two noise-generating sources (strong fans) inside the case, one positioned approximately over the first expansion slot and one over the CPU area, which generate ≈ 44.2 dB(A) when unobstructed. During the advanced noise test, all stock cooling options of the case are entirely disabled.
Note: As the Fortress FT05 can only host two 3.5" devices, the maximum load of each test configuration is reduced by 30 Watts (minus one HDD dummy load).
Results and discussion
The thermal performance of the SilverStone Fortress FT05 is just a little worse than that of the Raven RV05. This was to be expected, as the sound dampening material on all panels acts as a thermal insulator as well, forcing nearly all of the heat transfer to take place via the airflow. Still, the thermal performance remains fantastic, rivaling that of much larger and fancier products. Even cases with double the volume of the Fortress FT05 are having a hard time competing. For example, the small and cramped Fortress FT05 can maintain about the same GPU temperatures as the massive Corsair 760T. However, this is solely because there are two massive 180mm intake fans supplying ample air directly over the system. If the airflow is blocked for any reason (e.g. messy cable job, dust on the filter, etc.), the thermal performance of the Fortress FT05 plummets.
With the Raven RV05, the 180mm stock cooling fans had the downside of being significantly loud at maximum speed. The same fans are present in the Fortress FT05 but the sound dampening material makes for a notable drop of the sound pressure levels, making the 180mm fans completely inaudible at low speeds. With a maximum of 37.3dB(A), the Penetrator fans are now fairly comfortable for everyday use even at their maximum speed. Considering the airflow of these fans, running them at half the speed will provide more than adequate airflow to a system with a typical CPU and a single GPU.
The sound dampening capabilities of the Fortress FT05 were better than we initially anticipated. As the top of the case is almost entirely perforated, one would expect the noise dampening capabilities to be very low. SilverStone pleasantly surprised us, with the Fortress FT05 reducing the noise of our dummy test source from 44.2dB(A) to 40.9dB(A). It may not seem as an astonishing figure at first but remember that the decibel scale is logarithmic and seemingly small changes can have great real world repercussions. It actually is very good, with a drop of the sound intensity by nearly 54% (2.63×10-8 to 1.23××10-8 Watts per square meter).
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tulx - Friday, June 5, 2015 - link
I use the Raven 2 and Fortress 2 cases for mine and my wife's PCs and have never considered "conventional" designs since. The Fortress 5 looks like an interesting solution, even though it seems they've really made the cable management more tedious. I actually like the vertical design. Gives more room for longer graphics cards. My 290x has barely any room left at the bottom.dragonsqrrl - Friday, June 5, 2015 - link
Also an FT02 owner, by far the best case I've ever owned. I prefer large mid towers, so in terms of size it's perfect. Fantastic air flow, at launch it consistently topped the charts for component air cooling (GPU in particular).I like the clean minimalist design of most Silverstone cases, and I really appreciate their commitment to filtered positive air pressure. Really, I have know idea why this is so difficult for some other case makers, it simply offers superior air cooling and dust management. Why negative air pressure cases are still brought to market is beyond me.
Sadly I think the FT02 was their last great mid tower, and they really haven't addressed this market since. The FT03 was small form factor and in my opinion impractical from a usability standpoint, although it did have an interesting and innovative design. The FT04 was larger but had these really bizarre design oversights, like that awkward drive cage, and that awkward door. But again, interesting innovative design. The FT05 is the closest to an FT02 successor that I've seen, but I still think it misses the mark. I love the aesthetics, but I really feel like Silverstone has neglected the larger mid tower crowd the past few years in favor of these smaller form factor designs, none of which have really worked out from a functionality/usability perspective (although this is the best I've seen so far). I guess for some reason they just don't think larger cases are relevant anymore. I think if they could just bring this same sort of creativity and design philosophy back to mid/full towers they could have a real winner on their hands. Heck, all they would really have to do is update/modernize the FT02, instant success.
bunnyfubbles - Friday, June 5, 2015 - link
have to completely agree with this sentiment, FT05 feels like an FT02 Jr., not a true successor.Really, the FT02 is already close to perfect, it only needs to be modernized and tweaked slightly.
For instance, more hidden SSD install points, an expanded area for cable management (the backside was a little too small for some cables being hidden behind the motherboard)...
...and of course better support for water cooling. Even though it was designed to be a sort of ultimate air cooling tower, with a little modding it makes a wicked water cooling set up as well, the problem being that it does require a fair bit of modding to really do it justice, for instance a removable HDD cage and install points or adapters for attaching smaller radiators to the 180mm fans would be amazing.
bunnyfubbles - Friday, June 5, 2015 - link
oh and I forgot, more space for the 180mm fans and fan filters to install a radiator, right now the fan filters have to be removed to install one of those ginormous 1x/2x/3x180mm rads.Samus - Friday, June 5, 2015 - link
The FT02 is by far the perfect tower case. I do however love the FT03 and FT03-mini. I actually prefer the FT03 over the mini because it is more flexible/expandable and easier to work on, but there is no denying the mini's ability to pack an amazing amount of power into something the size of a bread loaf.The FT03-mini is undoubtedly the most challenging case to work in. I remember upgrading my videocard from a 660Ti to a 970 and literally taking out everything but the motherboard to get it wedged in there. The FT03-mini also required liquid cooling (and is designed with a 120x120x25mm closed-loop cooler in mind.)
I don't mind the requirement of slot-loading drives in these cases. Unless you are going the route of a Bluray burner, a SFF slot-load DVD burner can be had for $30 + $7 for the required SATA adapter. It's the same drive Macbooks use.
dragonsqrrl - Friday, June 5, 2015 - link
"For instance, more hidden SSD install points, an expanded area for cable management (the backside was a little too small for some cables being hidden behind the motherboard)..."Those are definitely two of the things I was thinking of, and they both have to do with the cable management space behind the motherboard tray. It's just too narrow compared to other modern cases, and it was definitely a tight fit in my system. Widening the case by half an inch could solve this problem.
Some of the other things I was thinking of include enlarging the CPU access hole in the motherboard tray, making the drive cage modular, and reducing the number of 5.25" bays. 5 really isn't necessary anymore, arguably wasn't necessary when the FT02 launched. 2 would be sufficient (I only need one), and use the available space for something else, like modular drive cages. But I think that's just about it as far as functionality goes. It really is a fantastic case that could be made that much better with a few teaks.
R3MF - Friday, June 5, 2015 - link
i have the fto02, and happily replaced it with the 05.love the case, as much as the 02.
Laststop311 - Friday, June 5, 2015 - link
Agree I use a ft02 and it is still the undisputed champ.Use one and you will never want another case.7tron - Saturday, June 6, 2015 - link
I replaced my FT02 four months ago with the FT05. The FT02 was an excellent case but as I since got a decent NAS I did not require 5 HDD cases. The FT05 is ideal for me, functions exactly like the 2 except without the drive bays and the 3rd air penetrator fan. Tricky enough to build in as space is tight, but I fitted a H80i and two reference GTX 780's in no hassle. The build quality is generally excellent-one thing I don't like is the finish of back the mirrored strip with the lit up Silverstone logo.One thing I love about the rotated motherboard design and very few mention is the fact that your PCI cards are hanging from the back plate; it's brilliant for two plus GPU's in SLI/Xfire-no sagging cards.
ES_Revenge - Sunday, June 7, 2015 - link
I dunno how people came to the conclusion the FT05 is supposed to be a replacement or successor to the FT02. They're nothing alike.FT02 may have been great functionally but it's ugly as sin compared to the FT05. What does it have like *five* external 5.25 bays? Looks terrible, esp. in this day and age where those bays would be populated by nothing and just have the outlines of the bay covers showing. I'm sure it's a great case (and by all accounts here it is) but the FT05 was made to be something unique and elegant and not necessarily (or actually at all) attain the same kind of functionality the FT02 had. Going from 5x 5.25 bays to NONE says this isn't supposed to have anything to do with the FT02.
If anything I liken the FT05 more to my SG03 (the first gen of which is all alum construction, including the frame). Sure the SG03 is a Sugo and mATX, but it's designed to be a compact and elegant little tower, much like the FT05, albeit a Fortress and full ATX. OTOH I don't see any design similarities with the FT05 and the FT02, other than the form-factor.
Seems senseless to compare the two given the clearly must have totally different design and market goals. I agree that anyone looking for a modernised FT02 would have to look elsewhere, as I don't think Silverstone ever intended the FT05 to fill that spot.