Resolved.

[sxr71]

The silverstone logo is so turn off, why did they put it there? Is it so hard to make a flawless case like the Mac Pro case?
I would rather have a snowflake figure logo if marketing is a must.

I'm going to paint over it. That thing is ugly as sin. On the silver it doesn't show very much. If these people are going to design a nice case maybe they should first design a decent logo and learn how to make it smaller and unobtrusive. Otherwise I like the case's understated looks.

 

[sxr71]

Uh...yes you can.

It's not a badge machined into the case, it's a metallic sticker with an adhesive backside.
Take a thin screwdriver or razor blade/Exacto knife, peel up a corner and pry it off. Use Alcohol or Goo Gone to remove the leftover adhesive residue. Worst case, use a hairdryer or heat gun to soften up the glue, then remove the sticker.

Nice. That'll be gone in 5 seconds.

 

[sxr71]

Maybe Im missing on something, but at first view looks a no brainer:

SCYTHE S-FLEX "E" ---- 20.1 dBA -- 49.0 CFM (RPM 1200)
Noctua NF-P14 FLX ------ 10.1 dBA -- 71.2 CFM (RPM 750)




Yes, i understand that. So I was wondering that 3 or 4 of those 140mm magnetic filters would be required to cover all the area at the floor of the case, right?

I'm sure you've heard of grade inflation. Similarly there is spec inflation.

Do you understand what 10dB is? What it would sound like? I bet in our whole lives we have not experienced 10dB. Unless of course you have traveled to outer space. That or visited an anechoic chamber.

Noctua is the king of inflating their specs. I am 100% both specs are totally off. But really 71CFM at 10dB at 750RPM. Is that air flow at that RPM even theoretically possible for a 140mm fan? Besides static pressure is more important than CFM.

 

[Riddleofsteel]

Any good method to improve vga cooling when using this case and a non-reference 5870? The non reference cooler points its fans toward the front of the case where there are no vents and the fans on the case floor aim straight up across the 5870.

 

[Uber-Tuber]

Just did my first build using this case but have worked on hundreds of other peoples machines/cases. The FT-02 is by far the best case I've ever worked with. The other techies in my office were quite impressed after their initial razzing (who would spend $200 on a case?). I'm running a i7-920 DO, Gigabyte X58A-UD7 MoBo, 6 GB's triple channel ram, Corsair H50 CPU cooler (push/pull fans on the rad), and a OCZ 100GB SE SSD. This thing is powerful and dead quiet. In my quiet office I couldn't hear anything until the DVD drive spun up. This is with the case fans all on the high setting with the panels off!. Idle CPU temp was in the mid 20's after 15 minutes. I haven't cranked on it yet or overclocked it. I'll post the temps when I do. The Asus 5870 hovered around 40 in an idle. Pics etc to follow.

Plus:

Dead quiet
Quality throughout (rolled edges on all openings etc)
Excellent cable management/access

Negs:

Heavy
Needs a front handle (or wheels?)
Need a magnet to fish dropped screws out of the base
Back area could be a 1/2" - 1" wider for gnarly cables etc.
Not really a Mid-size case

I bought this case thinking it was a "mid-size" case. This thing is in no way mid-size. It's basically a pushed over full-size tower... just sayin...

Uber

 

[DisposableHero]

Just did my first build using this case but have worked on hundreds of other peoples machines/cases. The FT-02 is by far the best case I've ever worked with. The other techies in my office were quite impressed after their initial razzing (who would spend $200 on a case?). I'm running a i7-920 DO, Gigabyte X58A-UD7 MoBo, 6 GB's triple channel ram, Corsair H50 CPU cooler (push/pull fans on the rad), and a OCZ 100GB SE SSD. This thing is powerful and dead quiet. In my quiet office I couldn't hear anything until the DVD drive spun up. This is with the case fans all on the high setting with the panels off!. Idle CPU temp was in the mid 20's after 15 minutes. I haven't cranked on it yet or overclocked it. I'll post the temps when I do. The Asus 5870 hovered around 40 in an idle. Pics etc to follow.

Plus:

Dead quiet
Quality throughout (rolled edges on all openings etc)
Excellent cable management/access

Negs:

Heavy
Needs a front handle (or wheels?)
Need a magnet to fish dropped screws out of the base
Back area could be a 1/2" - 1" wider for gnarly cables etc.
Not really a Mid-size case

I bought this case thinking it was a "mid-size" case. This thing is in no way mid-size. It's basically a pushed over full-size tower... just sayin...

Uber

pics please! where did you mount the H50?

 

[Uber-Tuber]

H50 rad is mounted on the lower right case fan with the included Fortress rad mounts (only the front two rad mount holes bolted down to the case fan). On top of the rad is the included Corsair fan flipped to be a puller instead of a pusher. Mounted the puller with the included screws directly to the rad. Makes for a secure and quiet "Rad Sandwich". Will post pics tomorrow.

Ub.

 

[baco80]

Kiger, sorry to hear the case didn't fulfill your needs on HD temp. I have lot of HDDs and will need all the HD cage. I would recommend to go with new barracuda XT drives, since they run quiet and cold over the older series 7200.11 &12.

I got a Seasonic X-750 for the case, it comes with well looking cables and accesories, BUT... 1 thing I dont get: sata cables, theres just 3 cables, with 3 sata conectors each. The first sata connector is placed at a too short distance from the PSU connector, the second one its a gap more distant, and the last one its OK at the other end of the cable. But the first two conectors are useless on this case, since its impossibleto get them reach the HD Cage placed at the front of the case from the back side where PSU relies, specially If i want to take benefit of FT02 design and carrying the cables hidden, between the side panel and the lid that supports the motherboard.

What did you do, kiger regarding this issue? PSU has just 5 ide/sata power conectors, what if I need 5 hard drives plus dvd R/RW drives? sata male>female extensions?

Also, Im minded to buy those magnetic filters, but will keep stock 180mm fans; if Im not replacing the fans, do i need anything more to buy? would you recommend to keep or remove stock dust filters if Im going with the magnetic ones?

Im also minded to get this BZ-H06; to energy saving and extend hd drives life, since I dont use to need all of them running all the time.

 

[wewu]

Any good method to improve vga cooling when using this case and a non-reference 5870? The non reference cooler points its fans toward the front of the case where there are no vents and the fans on the case floor aim straight up across the 5870.

Maybe something like the bz-502 in an exhaust configuration would work for you.

 

[kiger]

Initial Observations
1. The FT02 truly is a full-size tower on its side. I noticed this when I put everything into my PC-P50 and found how snug it all was.
2. The FT02 is extremely high quality but the biggest disappointment is the fact they use plastic drive cadges for the 3.5" drives and the airflow is almost completely restricted. In the PC-P50, the 120mm fan is literally blowing unobstructed across the drives.
3. I really like the way the FT02 feels over the PC-P50; it feels like a tank whereas the PC-P50 feels very lightweight. However, I presume the PC-P50 will cool a lot better due to how thin the aluminum is.
4. The full tower of 5.25 bays in the PC-P50 is very nice. I know the RV02 has the same but it is not as high quality as the FT02. My recommendation to SilverStone is to ditch the 3.5" drive bay and replace it with stock 5.25" bays.
5. The method of which dust is collected is much better than the FT02 because it traps the dust on the outside of the case.
6. I liked the all black interior of the FT02 as opposed to the silver interior of the PC-P50. I know that newegg has the PC-P50WB which has an all-black interior but the problem is that it is impossible to find some of the drive bay addons that I wanted from Li-an in the states. They are available overseas, but I don't want to do that. Plus, I'm not keen on spray-painting; oh well.
7. The PC-P50 clearly can accept longer peripherals in the top three 5.25 bays. Now here is also the interesting part... notice how I said the top 3? Well, I don't think a 5970 would fit if you wanted a second 3-bay cadge like I have installed. It is very close. I think it may all depend on if the power connectors connect to the back versus the top. But regardless, if you are not going to be doing a second three-bay cadge, it will fit fine. However, I wonder if crossfire with two 5970's would work with even one three-bay cadge. The question is probably moot because that kind of power demands a full tower.


Test Procedure
Personaly, I am not a benchmarking person because I suppose I'm kind of lazy. So I did not do a full-load GPU test which I am kind of regretfull about. Also, I did not think to even capture the idle GPU temp in the first test. Aside from that, all the tests were performed using Prime95 with HT enabled so it should give some good results. Each "title" is a hyperlink to the screenshot of the test.


Test Results
A. FT02 - 4 x 120mm Scythe "E"
CPU: 68c, 65c, 66c, 61c
HDS: 36c, 39c, 40c
VIDEO (idle): N/A

B. FT02 - Stock
CPU: 66c, 63c, 64c, 60c
HDs: 41c, 44c, 43c
VIDEO (idle): 32c

C. PC-P50 - 3 x 120mm Scythe "E" + 1 x 80mm Nexus
CPU: 64c, 61c, 62c, 58c
HDs: 27c, 28c, 26c
VIDEO (idle): 30c


Conclusion
It looks like the PC-P50 drops the overall CPU temp by 2c which is respectable but not worth changing a case over. However, what is worth changing a case over are those hard drive temps! The high temps were a main reason I changed the case and wow, talk about a nice surprise; they are now hovering in the mid 20's versus low 40's! Finally, as a side note, I find it interesting that the 180mm fans really worked out better than the high quality 120mm ones. I think for any FT02 owners this gives you guys two options: 1) Keep the 180mm fans for better cooling; 2) Use 120mm fans if you want more room (as they clearly gave a ton more room).

Shot of PC-P50 Completed
http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/6139/dsc4133.jpg
- If you guys have been following my pics, you would notice that I am no longer using the San Ace on my NH-D14. I found that it was as silent as the Noctua fan at 5v but did not provide any noticeable temperature difference; the only difference was the thickness. So I went back to the stock Noctua.

 

[wewu]

Kiger, thanks for testing the cases. Very interesting numbers indeed, actually very surprised the 120mm fan did better than the stock setup. And those hdd temps in your p50 are amazing. Glad it all worked out for the best for you.

 

[kiger]

Kiger, thanks for testing the cases. Very interesting numbers indeed, actually very surprised the 120mm fan did better than the stock setup. And those hdd temps in your p50 are amazing. Glad it all worked out for the best for you.

Did you mistype? The 120mm setup did worse than the 180mm fans when it came to CPU temp but better when it came to the hard drives.

 

[WorldExclusive]

Yeah I had the P50 before and it was a great case. I know the CPU temps would be better due to more exhaust. It's shocking the the HDD temps are so high in the FT02. Reminds me of the Corsair 800D, which airflow is also restricted.

 

[coconutboy]

THANKS kiger! Even w/o the gpu temps, it's great to see some numbers in a comparison. Bummer no gpu temps, but w/ the hdd and gpu, 2 outta 3 is pretty good. I'm assuming all fans were running at full speed?

It's interesting to see that the Scythe 120s did so much better at cooling the ft02's hdds. I woulda thought the opposite as I stated earlier mainly because of the 180mm's increased diameter. And the huge difference in hdd temps from case to case is crazy since the ft02 was still feeding them fresh air whoa. Subjectively speaking, did either case or fan setup sound louder to you? Also, a couple notes:

Initial Observations
...However, I presume the PC-P50 will cool a lot better due to how thin the aluminum is...

5. The method of which dust is collected is much better than the FT02 because it traps the dust on the outside of the case.

I think what you mean is the Lian Li's hdd cage is less restrictive? Not sure if that's what you were saying, but just so's ya know, case material has zero impact on temps meaning aluminum, plastic or steel makes no difference. silentpcreview has proven conclusively that, since we're dealing w/ (relatively) low temperatures, solid materials in a case do not absorb/radiate enough heat to matter. Instead, in-out airflow is the dominant factor in heat transfer. I guess your testing exemplifies that.

Second, IME Lian Li's filters are a little too porous. Luckily, you've got those pimpin' DEMCi filters you can carry over from your ft02. Those are usually a good match to replace the stock Lian Li mesh.

Thanks again for all your time kiger. Very enlightening!

 

[mtbush]

Finally got around to sharing some pictures of my silver FT02
Here's the link to my Dropbox folder

http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/1654131/1/FT02?h=e66fd0

 

[baco80]

Did you mistype? The 120mm setup did worse than the 180mm fans when it came to CPU temp but better when it came to the hard drives.

Dont know if you remember, and Im not an expert on computer modding, but from my ignorance, i told you I felt so much skeptic, as for 120mm fans (no matter their rated quality) could reach 180mm "average quality (at worst)" performance.

I got mine today. Im going to order those demciflex filters; do you recommend to buy some more, for rear panel, PSU and top cover area? I care dust may in on the case from upside when pc is power off.

Also, I realize that if I knock the side panel, it sounds the ususal metalic sound of the cheaper cases. Do you think covering the edges of the side panels with a thin tape would help on dumpening?

 

[kiger]

You should only need to order three of the magnetic filters; that should be enough. You don't need any on the exhaust because that will just trap the dust in the case. Also, the PSU already has a great filter.

As for hearing noises... I wouldn't worry about that because the case is very solid.

 

[wewu]

Did you mistype? The 120mm setup did worse than the 180mm fans when it came to CPU temp but better when it came to the hard drives.

I meant when it came to cooling the hdd's, thought for sure the full coverage of the 180mm fan would keep the hdd's cooler.

 

[baco80]

You should only need to order three of the magnetic filters; that should be enough. You don't need any on the exhaust because that will just trap the dust in the case. Also, the PSU already has a great filter.

As for hearing noises... I wouldn't worry about that because the case is very solid.

I got a Seasonic X-750 for the case, it comes with well looking cables and accesories, BUT... 1 thing I dont get: sata cables, theres just 3 cables, with 3 sata conectors each. The first sata connector is placed at a too short distance from the PSU connector, the second one its a gap more distant, and the last one its OK at the other end of the cable. But the first two conectors are useless on this case, since its impossibleto get them reach the HD Cage placed at the front of the case from the back side where PSU relies, specially If i want to take benefit of FT02 design and carrying the cables hidden, between the side panel and the lid that supports the motherboard.

What did you do, kiger regarding this issue? PSU has just 5 ide/sata power conectors, what if I need 5 hard drives plus dvd R/RW drives? sata male>female extensions?

What about the sata cables issue? how did you dealed with it? I guess the corsair cables supplied has the same problem, 1 cable with 3 sata ports; problem is the first two are too short to cover the distance between PSU and HDDs, hidden behind right side panel.

 

[kiger]

I dealt with it by not buying a Seasonic X-750?

Seriously though, it takes some pretty long cables to wrap around. For some of my drives I just opted to not wrap them around because they would not reach. Not to hard to figure out.

 

[wewu]

What about the sata cables issue? how did you dealed with it? I guess the corsair cables supplied has the same problem, 1 cable with 3 sata ports; problem is the first two are too short to cover the distance between PSU and HDDs, hidden behind right side panel.

Would something like this not solve your problem

 

[zc1]

FINISHED...

PSU was a 650, went to swap for 850 and got 1000 for same price

-Replaced Noctua fans with CM R4s -- same (actually better) performance, but at higher RPM
-Replaced stock intake fans (bottom) with Silverstone LED fans and exhaust fan (top) with CM R4
-Wire loom for exposed wiring (front panel lights, HDD LED, power LED, card reader and fan controller cables, etc.)
-NZXT cable extender (sleeved) for ATX power
-Black SATA data cables

It's pretty bright when the cover's off...

...but subdued when the cover's back on. It actually looks far brighter in the photo than in person

SATA cables

NZXT sleeved ATX power cable extender

Specs:

-Intel Q6600@ 3.60 GHz (50% overclock); 1.47V max Vcore, 67C max temp (Prime95)
-Gigabyte EP45-UD3P rev. 1.6
-Noctua NH-D14 Heat Sink w/ CM R4 Fans
-Mushkin Blackline PC28500 2GB x 4 @ 1060 MHz
-2x Sapphire Radeon HD5750 (CrossFire) @ 870 MHz GPU clock (23% overclock) and 1160 MHz/4640 MHz effective memory clock (not overclocked)
-3x Samsung SyncMaster 2243 (Eyefinity)
-Sapphire Active Displayport to DL-DVI Adapter
-OCZ Vertex Turbo 120 GB SSD
-3x Seagate Barracuda 500 GB
-LG 22x and Philips 20x DVD writers
-Corsair HX1000 PSU
-Silverstone Fortress FT02B-W
-NMedia CE-Z128 Card Reader
-Scythe Kaze Server Fan Controller
-NZXT Sleeved Fan and ATX Power Cable Extenders

This was my goal for this build -- I feel satisfied that I have pushed my particular setup as far as *I* can get it to go. I'll try to use it for a while without modding it (much) and then start upgrading when I get too stir crazy. The only things on the slate for upgrading are the processor, video cards and motherboard. I actually already have new video cards because I find it hard to pass up a good deal on something that I was planning to get eventually, especially if stock is low.

When my first daughter was born I gave up riding/driving/modifying motorcycles and cars (my wife was surely glad to see all of that go). Now learning more about building a system, overclocking, etc. has become my hobby. It's still expensive, but far less-so than the big toys were, and with another daughter on the way, I figure I had better get my "all for me" spending done before the two princesses hit their teens. I know that I'll get bored if I stop modifying or run out of things to change, so I'm actually not in a hurry to move up to an 1156 or 1366. I'll keep going down the 775 route for now...still lots to learn.

A few shots to show the initial and final builds, as well as what I enjoy most about this setup:

Update:

Installed 5870 Vapor-Xs. I still need to hide that one wire loop next to the ATX power header...missed it when putting the cards in, then forgot about it since that bit's hidden behind my monitor when I'm actually using the system.

 

[WorldExclusive]

Looks great.

 

[yenniedn]

Damn, I love those LED 180mm fans . . . I might have to get them!!!

 

[Trigeminal]

Interested to see the higher RPM 180mm fans do for cooling and sound.

 

[zc1]

Looks great.

Thanks W.E!

Damn, I love those LED 180mm fans . . . I might have to get them!!!

DO IT! The case interior was so dark without them. I figured if I was going to have a case with a window then I might as well dress it up and make it possible to actually see what's in there.

 

[zc1]

Interested to see the higher RPM 180mm fans do for cooling and sound.

These fans are the same RPM as the "low" setting on the stock case fans (700 RPM). They supposedly push 100CFM at that speed, same as the stock fans set to "high." The higher-RPM fans are the FM181s and come with their own speed controllers. The cooling setup that I have now keeps my CPU at 65C @ max load, and at idle the fan controller brings all the fan speeds down nice and low, keeping things quiet. It does a great job of matching fan speed to CPU load/temp.

 

[Trigeminal]

These fans are the same RPM as the "low" setting on the stock case fans (700 RPM). They supposedly push 100CFM at that speed, same as the stock fans set to "high." The higher-RPM fans are the FM181s and come with their own speed controllers. The cooling setup that I have now keeps my CPU at 65C @ max load, and at idle the fan controller brings all the fan speeds down nice and low, keeping things quiet. It does a great job of matching fan speed to CPU load/temp.

Yes, as I understand it these fans are the same stats as the stock fans only with leds. I am talking about the other fan with the higher rated CFM. Sorry seemed like the reply was directed to you but was really just more general.

On the topic of your crig, looks great. I was planning to do the same, but now am going to try a crazier mod instead, assuming I can find a water jet cutter or laser cutter in my Rochester for a reasonable price.

That air cooler is quite a behemoth, how does it compare to the h50 you had before???

 

[Trigeminal]

Also from your post it seems your fan controller adjusts fan speed down AUTOMATICALLY in lower temp situations. Is that true??? What brand??? Anymore info on how it is to use.

I am looking for a temp monitor, maybe with fan control, and ideallly with a media center controller unless I can find remote that is RF based.

 

[mrmylanman]

Yeah I think some fan controllers have temp sensors in order to regulate fan speed.

I have my motherboard set up to do that, which is a slick feature.

 

[zc1]

@ Trigeminal:

NH-D14 vs H50
Difference in cooling of Noctua vs H50 is day vs night. This Post (Click) contains all of my data from comparing the two. @ 3.4 GHz, stock vs stock, the Noctua kept the max temp 9C lower than did the H50 (60C vs 69C). If I switched the H50 to push-pull, the difference dropped to 6C. If I switched the H50 fan to a 110CFM Scythe (not high static pressure, but it was inexpensive) the difference dropped to 2C and it was LOUD. The highest overclock I could get on the H50 stock was 3.4 GHz, vs 3.57 GHz for the Noctua. The Noctua normally has 2 fans, and I added a third, just to see how cool I could get things. The third fan dropped max temp by 1C and allowed me to get my overclock up to 50% (3.6 GHz, up from 2.4 GHz).

Fan Controller
My fan controller is a Scythe Kaze Server, and it does automatically adjust fan speed. It has 4 temperature sensors, and you can set it up as manual, automatic or semi-automatic. Semi-auto mode allows you to set the minimum fan speed and desired temperature for each fan/temp probe group, and the fan controller will ramp the fans up and down automatically, in response to temperature changes, never going below the minimum speed. I leave it in semi-auto mode all the time. Each channel supports up to 12 W or 1 Amp, so you can actually connect several fans to each channel. The most I have on any channel is 2 fans at present.

 

[Trigeminal]

Yeah I think some fan controllers have temp sensors in order to regulate fan speed.

I have my motherboard set up to do that, which is a slick feature.

I use my motherboard too. I'll ust miss having an LED temp readout on the front like I do currently.

 

[zc1]

On the topic of your crig, looks great. I was planning to do the same, but now am going to try a crazier mod instead, assuming I can find a water jet cutter or laser cutter in my Rochester for a reasonable price.

Thanks, and your talk of a laser cutter has my attention! Always interested to see case mods.

 

[baco80]

What do you think is better for exhaust fan replacement, the Scythe "E" that kiger likes so much, or CM R4?

Why sleeved ATX power cable extender? Doest not the Corsair includes sleeved cables? By the way, I think HX1000 is a step down on efficiency over its little sisters HX750 and HX850.

If you need in a future more HDDs, how would you do to route sata power cables from PSU to HD cage hidden, carrying them behind motherboard tray? I mean about the issue of 1 sata power cable = 3 sata conectors .

 

[zc1]

What do you think is better for exhaust fan replacement, the Scythe "E" that kiger likes so much, or CM R4?

Why sleeved ATX power cable extender? Doest not the Corsair includes sleeved cables? By the way, I think HX1000 is a step down on efficiency over its little sisters HX750 and HX850.

If you need in a future more HDDs, how would you do to route sata power cables from PSU to HD cage hidden, carrying them behind motherboard tray? I mean about the issue of 1 sata power cable = 3 sata conectors .

I don't know the specs of the Scythe E. The Scythe slipstream that I have kicking around here would probably do a better job than the R4 just because of its high CFM. There's a little bit of restriction (wire grill, dead space between top of fan grille and top of case, and then the case's mesh) so a bit of static pressure is needed, but I think that ultimately CFM is going to determine effectiveness for the exhaust fan. My Scythe Slipstream (110 CFM @ 2000 RPM) would probably do a better job of exhausting than does my currently-installed R4 (69 CFM @ 2000 RPM) but the SlipStream is also incredibly loud. The CM is a nice balance of flow and noise.

The HXs are all sleeved, but you can see from the pic of my initial setup (with the H50), that the end of the ATX cable isn't sleeved on the HX650. The 1000 is the same. I still have more SATA power cables, should I need them. The PSU came with plenty. All the cables are routed behind the motherboard tray. In addition, I can easily connect any new HDDs to either of the two unused molex adapters already sitting behind the motherboard tray (sata to molex adapters) or to the one unused sata power cable also sitting back there. All of the reviews that I have seen of the H1000X suggest that it's an excellent PSU (here's one from Jonny Guru: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=89). It's also not going to blink at anything I throw at it (two 5870s, for example) so it'll stay nice and quiet as well. Plus, for the price of an HX850 the extra room overhead is certainly nice.

 

[yenniedn]

Someone buy this (no, it's not mine):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110506303704&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[rezzy]

I'm loving the look of this case for my next build, the sleek lines are a nice break from the usual LED android cases.
But I can't stand the massive Silverstone badge on the front, this may seem minor to most people but it's a terrible design flaw IMO. I've read through this whole thread and caught two or three people mentioning that it was just a metallic sticker and not actually machined on.
Can I ask those people who already have this case, is the sticker in a recess cut into the aluminum or is it just placed on the face?
Like if I were to remove it would there be an oval recess on the face where it used to be?
I know it sounds ridiculous but I couldn't stand dropping $300AUD on this thing only to have that slight imperfection annoy the hell out of me.

 

[WorldExclusive]

Someone buy this (no, it's not mine):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110506303704&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I like the flames, but I have to pass on the demon skull design.

Also, How does the Corsair H50 performs in the RV02/FT02 when mounted at the top of the case?
Will a standard HSF like the TRUE perform better?

 

[sxr71]

Initial Observations
1. The FT02 truly is a full-size tower on its side. I noticed this when I put everything into my PC-P50 and found how snug it all was.
2. The FT02 is extremely high quality but the biggest disappointment is the fact they use plastic drive cadges for the 3.5" drives and the airflow is almost completely restricted. In the PC-P50, the 120mm fan is literally blowing unobstructed across the drives.
3. I really like the way the FT02 feels over the PC-P50; it feels like a tank whereas the PC-P50 feels very lightweight. However, I presume the PC-P50 will cool a lot better due to how thin the aluminum is.
4. The full tower of 5.25 bays in the PC-P50 is very nice. I know the RV02 has the same but it is not as high quality as the FT02. My recommendation to SilverStone is to ditch the 3.5" drive bay and replace it with stock 5.25" bays.
5. The method of which dust is collected is much better than the FT02 because it traps the dust on the outside of the case.
6. I liked the all black interior of the FT02 as opposed to the silver interior of the PC-P50. I know that newegg has the PC-P50WB which has an all-black interior but the problem is that it is impossible to find some of the drive bay addons that I wanted from Li-an in the states. They are available overseas, but I don't want to do that. Plus, I'm not keen on spray-painting; oh well.
7. The PC-P50 clearly can accept longer peripherals in the top three 5.25 bays. Now here is also the interesting part... notice how I said the top 3? Well, I don't think a 5970 would fit if you wanted a second 3-bay cadge like I have installed. It is very close. I think it may all depend on if the power connectors connect to the back versus the top. But regardless, if you are not going to be doing a second three-bay cadge, it will fit fine. However, I wonder if crossfire with two 5970's would work with even one three-bay cadge. The question is probably moot because that kind of power demands a full tower.


Test Procedure
Personaly, I am not a benchmarking person because I suppose I'm kind of lazy. So I did not do a full-load GPU test which I am kind of regretfull about. Also, I did not think to even capture the idle GPU temp in the first test. Aside from that, all the tests were performed using Prime95 with HT enabled so it should give some good results. Each "title" is a hyperlink to the screenshot of the test.


Test Results
A. FT02 - 4 x 120mm Scythe "E"
CPU: 68c, 65c, 66c, 61c
HDS: 36c, 39c, 40c
VIDEO (idle): N/A

B. FT02 - Stock
CPU: 66c, 63c, 64c, 60c
HDs: 41c, 44c, 43c
VIDEO (idle): 32c

C. PC-P50 - 3 x 120mm Scythe "E" + 1 x 80mm Nexus
CPU: 64c, 61c, 62c, 58c
HDs: 27c, 28c, 26c
VIDEO (idle): 30c


Conclusion
It looks like the PC-P50 drops the overall CPU temp by 2c which is respectable but not worth changing a case over. However, what is worth changing a case over are those hard drive temps! The high temps were a main reason I changed the case and wow, talk about a nice surprise; they are now hovering in the mid 20's versus low 40's! Finally, as a side note, I find it interesting that the 180mm fans really worked out better than the high quality 120mm ones. I think for any FT02 owners this gives you guys two options: 1) Keep the 180mm fans for better cooling; 2) Use 120mm fans if you want more room (as they clearly gave a ton more room).

Shot of PC-P50 Completed
http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/6139/dsc4133.jpg
- If you guys have been following my pics, you would notice that I am no longer using the San Ace on my NH-D14. I found that it was as silent as the Noctua fan at 5v but did not provide any noticeable temperature difference; the only difference was the thickness. So I went back to the stock Noctua.

Did you read the study that Google did on the reliability of HDDs and temperature? It's funny but they reported the lowest failure rate with drives operating in 40s. Google it. If anyone should have a decent sample size of HDDs it would be Google. Unexpected result, but now I put my Home Server in a cupboard and the drives are at 41-43C and I'm not losing a wink of sleep over it.

 

[zero2dash]

Did you read the study that Google did on the reliability of HDDs and temperature? It's funny but they reported the lowest failure rate with drives operating in 40s. Google it. If anyone should have a decent sample size of HDDs it would be Google. Unexpected result, but now I put my Home Server in a cupboard and the drives are at 41-43C and I'm not losing a wink of sleep over it.

Yeah drive temps I'm really not worried about; it really depends on the drives being used. All the WD's and the Samsung's I've ever had ran cool whereas my Seagates all ran warmer (comparatively), but still low enough that I wasn't worried about it. My 750 7200.10 at work has no active cooling and according to CrystalDiskInfo is currently 42c...yet I've never had problems with this drive or any other drives. Our Mac G5 has the worst HDD temps I've ever seen (I think the Seagate in there runs around 56c) but still, no failures or anything.

I'm curious as to why the LL has lower cpu temps than the SS, but there's all sorts of variables there anyway..I just find it sorta odd. After getting an FT02 to scratch my case itch I'd be lying if I didn't say that the itch is back and I'd strongly consider a PC-A71FB, but I still think the FT02 is probably the best case for running a multi gpu setup, temp and noise wise.