Nearly year ago I replaced my modified Antec P180 with an Silverstone FT-02.
Since then I have also rebuild my system.

From the first day I got the case, I have felt a little dissapointed. The case itself is great, but it just might not bee the right one for me.

Now when there are Antec P280 and Corsair 550D available got me thinking. Should I replace my case? Or more correctly, is there any sense to replace?
Temps are fine, but there is just "something wrong". Maybe I want a case with a door?
Besides P280 and 550D I have also considered P183V3 and even the Define R3.
Would any of these be better for me?

My current system in FT-02 is:
Power : Corsair AX750
MB : Asus P6Z68-V Pro
CPU : Intel i5-2500K with HR-02 Macho
GFX : MSI GTX580 with Accelero Xtreme Plus II
HD : 2 x SSDs and WD6400AAKS

Any advice is appreciated, so thanks in advance

Why exactly do you want to replace it? Do you need a quieter PC, more room? The FT-02 is very nice.

I don't know why FT-02 is nice case but maybe I was expecting something else. Maybe I just want a case with a door. P280 just appealed to me (it has a door!) like the original P180 did.
Anyway, I have put this thought aside for now and I'm concentrating on other things.

OP I feel the same....

Been thinking about moving on from the FT-02. I haven't been able to make it as quiet as my old Antec Sonata system which housed an overclocked P4 - which I will reinstall to jog my memory this weekend

The top fan is too audible not matter what fan I use at 5v, so I leave it off.
The bottom 3 fans at 5V still make a low rumble.
The case is too deep for my Power supply cables.
Terrible HD cage that drones from vibration.

And the back of the 5.25inch bays overhang onto the motherboard edge where all those fiddly connectors are.


Excellent build quality however

3 intake fans! That's liekly to cause a lot of turbulence no?

It is a positive pressure case.
Well I can selectively turn off each fan with my fan controller. And it helps a bit.

But those bottom fans help the CPU/Heatsink a lot more than you would think.
In fact due to the design and me using a Noctua NH-D14, I could probably get rid of the bottom fan on the heatsink
and still have it cool effectively.


edit - I just turned off all the fans on the Noctua heatsink and it reduced the low frequency rumble a lot....
So I will remove one of the 2 CPU fans and run the larger 140mm one at 5-6v - a quick test on this didn't change the idle temps much. Under load may be different.
As I have guessed, all the Noctua fans I've had here are a bit overrated - they have a lot of low frequency noise. So much for their db specs!

I take back what I said, it seems the fan controller was causing all the whining and electronic noise?
Because it is much quieter now I plugged all the CPU and system fans that directly into the motherboard and it to control the fans based on tempertaure!

So stay away from the NZXT touch screen fan controller - always hated it - now is one more reason

At 15 degree Celsius - all fans are running around 580-680 rpm at idle. Even under full load the fans barely ramp up, with the CPU temps at 64+
Pretty quiet, will see how it sounds later tonight when it's still....

...and I'm having thoughts of changing the case again, because my co-worker sold me another GTX580 with Accelero Xtreme Plus II

Fits quite fine, but my optical drive won't fit. Drive itself will fit, but can't plug any cables to it

If I move to watercooling, then it might be okay since waterblocks are smaller, right?
Although, if I'll start watercooling why not to get another case? What I have heard FT-02 is great in watercooling, but might get cramped.

Hence I have been eyeballing Lian Li PC-A71F again and also Fractal Design XL, which would require "a little bit" modding.

Actually I'm very happy with the FT-02 since I suspended my drives in it

I got my system running damn near silent, regardless of the load, since I got the 1000w Kingwin LZP-1000.
The fan never comes on in silent mode!
The case is a perfect match for it - I can't think of another case that vents it vertically using convection and "sucks" air from outside the case

Used an old Zalman manual fan controller on the case fans and they run at 450-500rpm. Barely audible at 3am in the morning

I adore my FT02. Have had it for almost two years, and the inside of the case is still pristine (an extremely light coating of dust on the CPU and GPU fan blades and that's it). The fact it is positive pressure was my biggest reason for choosing it, and it has exceeded my expectations. It isn't completely silent, but is completely unnoticeable. It is very well built, solid, large (some may say too large, but it doesn't bother me). It isn't perfect, but there is no such thing, and the positives significantly outweigh the negatives. I look forward to enjoying this case for years to come (until they change the standards, perhaps?).