SilverStone Fortress FT05 Review

Interior

With the roof removed you simply squeeze a hidden lever on each panel and pull upwards to remove them. It's a simple, secure and tool free solution, though we did encounter an issue with our sample, whereby part of the foam on the inside of the right panel actually ripped as we pulled the panel up – it seemed to have peeled a little and got caught on something on the way out. Hopefully this is a one-off and not indicative of final retail quality. It may be worth removing the left panel first before reaching in and checking that the foam on the right panel is properly secure. The insides of the front and rear panel are also equipped with noise dampening foam. Update 19/12/14: We reached out to SilverStone for a comment on the foam issue we experienced. SilverStone told us that the foam should not have behaved the way it did, and that while it can happen, it's rare and, given feedback from other reviewers, likely a one-off in this instance. It also said that any customers with a similar issue are eligible for a replacement case or side panel.


The PSU is installed hanging vertically at the back, with its intake fan facing outwards. With the case on its feet, it's quite difficult to hold the PSU in place and screw it in, especially with the 3.5-inch cage below it. Thankfully, this cage is removable via five screws, giving you more space. However, if your PSU is longer than 160mm you won't be able to use this 3.5-inch cage, and it's the only place in the case for such drives. Our 160mm modular PSU was a very tight fit – if you're going modular, we recommend getting an even shorter model if possible – it will help a lot with cable routing.

Six of the nine ATX motherboard mounts come pre-installed, saving you a little bit of time. We're not sure why SilverStone didn't just include the standard nine fittings, since ATX is the likeliest form factor to be used, but it's a minor niggle.


The aforementioned 3.5-inch drive cage is only made of plastic, but it's very easy to use – simply slide your drive in and it will already be held in place tightly, but you can secure it further with a thumbscrew if you wish. Sadly, there doesn't appear to be any anti-vibration material inside the cage, but your drives will be well cooled being positioned directly above one of the intake fans.

As was also mentioned previously, the case can support a single slot-loaded slimline optical drive, with the plastic cage for this found behind the motherboard tray. It too is easy to use – release with three screws, and re-secure it once the drive is screwed in.

Finally, the case also support dual 2.5-inch drives, which are also secured behind the motherboard tray with a couple of screws. All in all, this means the FT05 is rather limited when it comes to internal storage options – dual 3.5 and dual 2.5 bays is the sort of thing you'd expect from a mini-ITX chassis. While this won't be for everyone, there is generally less reliance on local storage as both network attached storage and cloud streaming solutions are becoming the norm for a lot of people when it comes to media consumption, and SilverStone is aiming the FT05 at those enthusiasts looking to downsize while maintaining the power of an ATX system.


Though air cooling is of course the focus of the FT05, liquid cooling is supported to a degree. As said, 120mm based all-in-one solutions can be installed to the top exhaust mount. However, the bottom can also hold 360mm (2 x 180mm or 3 x 120mm) and 280mm radiators. However, you will need to remove the drive cage to make way for larger set-ups, and any solution that extends beyond the height of the default intake fans will eat into the available room for graphics cards. Finally, you'd also be blowing hot air straight across all of your components, rather than cool air were you to stick with air cooling.

Cable routing is not a strong point of the FT05. This is a shame as a windowed version is also available, and with the sleek exterior and unusual insides it's something you'd really want to show off. It's not an impossible task, and SilverStone does supply cable ties and bridges on the motherboard tray to tie things down and there are some useful cutouts too, but the flat, foam-backed panel means space is definitely at a premium behind the motherboard tray – it was a squeeze getting our side panel back on. Our system didn't require us to use the lower 2.5-inch drive mount or the 3.5-inch drive cage, and we utilised the space for cable routing. However, had we had to use these areas, life would've been more difficult. Making your system tidy in the FT05 is worth the effort, just be prepared to have some patience.