Detailed Exterior Features

Unlike the Temjin series, this is not an all-aluminum case. The SilverStone Fortress FT02 is comprised of aluminum (main U-shaped chassis, 2.25" bay covers), 0.8mm mild steel (internal chassis, side panels, and top), and plastic (some trim). Since the steel and plastic components must be painted or molded silver, various parts of the case exhibit subtle mismatches in color and texture. Even the aluminum is inconsistent, with the main chassis having a cast or "sand" texture while the drive bay covers are brushed.

At the top front of the case are the power and reset switches, the power and drive activity LEDs, two USB ports, and microphone and speaker ports; the USB ports are thankfully far enough apart so that chunky USB keys will not block the other port. The ports are under a small sliding cover. If you have the case sitting on your desk, you won't be able to see any of these switches or indicator lights.

Three switches on top of the case set "Low" or "High" speeds (700RPM or 1000RPM) for each of the three 180mm fans at the bottom of the case. It's a nice feature, but you must remove the top grille to reach the switches. The graphic to the right of the fan controller switches is an international recycling symbol (in other words, don't throw this case in the trash!).

What seems to be a handle at the rear of the case is actually where you put your hand to help snap off the top grille. Once the grille is off, though, you can use it as a hande.

Snapping off the top grille reveals all the things you'd see on the back of a normal case, since the motherboard's orientation is rotated 90 degrees from what you'd expect! Notice the ventilated slot covers and the extra ventliation area above the slots. The three fan speed control switches are visible just to the left of the exhaust fan.

Appellations like "mid-tower" and "full tower" don't really apply to this case. It's 24.25" long, front to back, but only 19.5" high. Here's what it looks like next to the Cooler Master HAF 932 AMD Edition:

The backs of the cases were aligned for this photo, so the extra length of the FT02 is evident. Let's take a look at the interior now.

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