The SilverStone Fortress FT05 Case Review
by E. Fylladitakis on June 5, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- SilverStone
- Case
Conclusion
It will not be very easy to reach a verdict for the Fortress FT05. It is a peculiar existence, a case mixing the rotated motherboard design of the Raven series with the classy solidness of the Fortress series. The first SilverStone cases that had a rotated motherboard layout were peculiarly shaped and very long designs. SilverStone remedied that by compacting the internal dimension of their latest cases significantly, making them no larger than a typical Midi-ATX case. This design however remains a double-edged sword, as the reduction of the internal dimensions has a dramatic impact on the expandability and flexibility of the case.
On the positive side, the company claims that the rotated motherboard design offers significantly better performance. True enough, convective heat transfer suggests that higher temperature air will naturally flow upwards, so the design does make sense. The case does act as a convective heater, forcefully injecting low temperature air from below and releasing higher temperature air from the top. With the massive airflow of the Penetrator fans and the compact internal dimensions of the Fortress FT05, this process gives it exceptional thermal performance, rivaling that of much larger cases.
Even though this design offers such excellent thermal performance, the negative side of this design can be overwhelming when it comes time to build a system with it. Expandability and flexibility suffers, significantly limiting the number and type of hardware that can be used. Generally, the addition, upgrade or even the removal of components can be a tedious process. There is very little room for proper cable management and almost every change requires the use of tools and the removal of several parts. There is virtually no way to work around the Fortress FT05 without at least two Philips screwdrivers (PH1 and PH2) at hand. For example, upgrading the GPU at the very least requires the removal of the side panel, the manual removal of the metallic cover shielding the expansion slots and then the removal of the card itself, even by assuming that both graphics cards are using the same number and type of power cables.
The two 3.5" and two 2.5" drive bays should be sufficient for the majority of users but their positioning can be problematic. The 3.5" drive cage may need to be temporarily removed in order to install a PSU, permanently even if the PSU is longer than 170 mm. Installing 2.5" drives at the back of the motherboard tray is an easy process but the cable job can be very messy, especially if a drive is being replaced or added afterwards.
The disappearance of the 5.25" bays is not an absurd design move, as users are constantly moving farther and farther away from optical media. A very large percentage of PC users would nowadays have no use for an optical drive at all. However, for those that do want/need an optical drive, the solution of the internal slot-loading slim drive is an overly expensive option. Casual users would likely be better off with a USB optical drive, which offers the flexibility of use with any system as well. Those that need an optical drive on a daily basis however will be forced to pay the premium price of a slim slot-loading device.
For a typical system with a single GPU and a mainstream motherboard/CPU combination, the Fortress FT05 presents no real issues. However, if the user wants to install high performance cooling solutions or multiple high performance components, installation becomes greatly problematic. Too large CPU air coolers will not fit and the installation of liquid cooling radiators requires the removal of the 180mm Penetrator fans that are greatly responsible for the good thermal performance of the case. It is rather difficult to offer great cooling to the CPU without a significantly negative impact on the cooling of every other component. One solution could be the installation of two 120 mm liquid cooling radiators, one for the CPU and one for the GPU, but the small dimension of the Fortress FT05 will make this a rather tedious endeavor.
The greatest advantages of the SilverStone Fortress FT05 are likely to be its external design and build quality. It is a very elegant case, with the fully metallic body offering both a classy appearance and exceptional mechanical strength. While it may be far too simple for some, it is very sophisticated for those that appreciate minimalism and the feel of quality. The rubber strip that covers the optical drive slot is a small visual dissonance but it can be removed if there are no children around that could be inserting things into the empty slot.
On the other hand, the greatest disadvantage of the Fortress FT05 is not the peculiar, cramped internal design or lack of flexibility. It is the high retail price. At this point of time, the Fortress FT05 retails for $180 including shipping. It obviously is not cheap to manufacture and sell a case with almost every panel made out of aluminum, especially aluminum this thick, but this price pits the Fortress FT05 against myriads of other designs, both large and small. With the lack of versatility and very compact internal dimensions, the audience that would be best served by the Fortress FT05 is largely limited to users that will install a typical mainstream system, do not plan on frequently upgrading or fiddling with it, and favor the Fortress FT05 just for its elegant and sturdy fully metallic design. If however other aspects become selection variables, such as the versatility or the value for money, the Fortress FT05 is at a disadvantage against the competition.
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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.