Aussie Exclusive: We've got our hands on the very first Fortress FT03 case fresh from production lines for your viewing pleasure.
We first saw the Silverstone Fortress FT03 case at Computex earlier this year, where we were taken aback at its somewhat unconventional design - at the time we described it as "a fridge...or perhaps a subwoofer".
Since that time SilverStone has had a chance to fine-tune their design, smoothing out a few manufacturing techniques and applying their best aluminium bending skills to what results in one of the most unique cases we've seen outside those outlandish GMC cases.
The case is designed around a similar concept to the Raven RV02 and Fortress FT02 series of cases, which intake fresh, cool air at the bottom of the case, passing it directly upwards to be exhausted at the top of the chassis.
SilverStone have followed the same route with the FT03, and inside its mATX-compatible frame lies enough room for a 160mm-tall heatsink with a graphics card as long as a 5970 - that's a whopping 12.2 inches worth of card.
Compatibility also stretches to encompass two internal 3.5" hard drives (with a single 3.5" to 2.5" adapter included for smaller SSD or HDD use), a slim 5.25" optical drive, and a standard ATX power supply.
Airflow is managed within the case by four stock fans, with two 120mm fans intaking cool air at the bottom of the case, and one 80mm with a 120mm exhausting the hotter air as it rises toward the top.
It's certainly an impressive design - that also comes in black to blend in with other home entertainment gear - and one that we can't wait to review in full. While we deliberate on how to score such a radical re-thinking of case design, head into our gallery of pics to see more of this crazy case.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012