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THE EXTERIOR
The FT01 is available in four different body variants: Black, aluminum, and with
or without a window. The appearance is clean and understated — a mature
look that doesn't grab attention. It's Silverstone's traditional look, in contrast to the unusually sculpted over-the-top Raven. The body is 100%
aluminum and is quite thick.
The acrylic window seems showy compared to the rest of the case.
There is a large intake at the bottom of the front panel, with a relatively
unobstructed stamped fan grill.
The expansion slot area is well vented, but the only other exhaust vent
is the rear 120mm fan.
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Much of the case's appearance seems to have been dictated by utilitarian concerns.
Fan vents are clearly visible on the front and the top, with no attempt made
to conceal what they are. This is good news for airflow, but it also means there
is little to block noise between the fans and your ears. The standard selection
of USB, Firewire, and Audio ports are easily accessible in an inset on the top
of the case.
As mentioned, the case is designed for a positive pressure cooling system.
Most of the airflow is produced by a pair of large 180mm fans, both of which
blow into the case. The most important of these is mounted directly over top
of the CPU socket blowing down. The second intake is mounted at the front of
the case, in front of the internal drive bays. A single 120mm fan mounted in
the convention place on the rear panel helps keep the primary exhaust path (and
thus the fastest moving air) behind the CPU cooler. However, this single fan
is unlikely to keep up with the amount of air forced in by the intake fans,
so it is expected that a significant amount of air will be forced out of the
case through the remaining exhaust vents, namely those in and beside the PCI
slot covers.
This use of the remaining vents as exhausts rather than intakes is what characterizes
the case as a positive pressure case. Under the circumstances, this has two
main advantages:
- It prevents "feedback loops" where hot air exhausted from the
case is re-circulated by a nearby vent that is sucking air into the case.
- It prevents dust from being sucked in through unfiltered intakes. Both of
the intake fans feature plastic air filters that should help catch dust before
it gets into the case.
The intake fans are both impeded on the intake
side, where they are more susceptible to losing airflow; it is easier for a
fan to push air through a grill than to suck it through. However, the fans
are large enough that they will still produce a significant amount of airflow
even when impeded.
Most of the top panel is eaten up by the top intake and the accessory sockets.
Don't plan on leaving anything on top of the case!
Airflow for the power supply is completely separate from the rest of the case
assuming a conventional unit with a bottom-mounted fan is used. The power supply
is mounted on the floor of the case, drawing air though the bottom of the case
and exhausting it immediately out the back. The bottom is raised on plastic
feet by about a quarter inch (1.5cm). The intake is filtered, but dust buildup
in the PSU could be a problem given its position.
PSU intake on the bottom.
Power button and power LED are simple and centrally located.
USB, Firewire, and audio ports inset on the top panel.
The case features the usual front ports: Two USB, a Firewire, mic-in and headphone
out. eSATA has not yet made an appearance, but this should just be matter of
time now that the standard is being adopted. The ports are located in an inset
on the top panel, where it would be most conveniently accessible in the usual
tower-on-the-floor setup.
One oddity is the position of the reset button just to the front of the ports
(see photo below). Presumably, it is positioned this way for convenience, but
it also seems a little exposed. It is inset below the surface of the case,
but it still wouldn't be hard to push accidentally while
fumbling with the USB ports.
The reset button is conveniently located on the top panel in front of the
USB ports.
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