Outside the Silverstone Fortress FT-04
This case is superbly manufactured with the highest of Silverstone quality standards. The super clean look and sculpted design is not plastic but thick metal with the Logo cut deeply into the strong door but no plate is needed for this case. It stands without any need for endorsement of a classy nameplate. It is simply a testament to the quality itself and needs no other frills to make it more appealing. As it can be seen the window is on the opposing side of the case due to its motherboard placement being reversed for better heat dissipation since the graphics cards are usually the hottest components in a computer case.
The outer front of the case is an anodized silver semi-gloss finish with a nicely layered look. As you open the magnetically closed door you find the two easy opening 5.25 inch drive bays and the two filtered gigantic 180×180 Silverstone exclusive white high pressure fans. The foam insulated all aluminum door is very well hinged and the build quality is second to none.
On the windowed side you find two USB 3.0 ports and the HD Audio In/Out ports for the user that need to plug in for more privacy and inclusion of the game or the conversation that they may be having. The window is a generous sized and very high quality acrylic that is so clear that it looks as if there is no window in it at all. While I usually like a little tinting on the window this is my preference but not a down side to the window because this is made of the best material that they make without using tempered glass.
The backside of the case is very clean and very straight and perfectly coated in silver. I have taken the liberty of coloring the power button in Red and the Reset button in blue. The hinges of the door are not reversible but they are extremely strong and built to carry the load of the door being open and shut for years to come. The buttons are ready for even the most heavy handed button pusher with a trigger pull about the same as a .357 revolver. I did find that the buttons felt loose as I pressed them in and out there is no problem with the quality of the spring action of the buttons. The steel paneled door is clean and very well matches the front aluminum door to perfection. The panel is engineered to open and close like a door without hinges, unlike some cases that have to fit into slots and be pressed forward towards the front. These panels are thick and padded for the best sound isolation you can get without taking away from the wire management space needed in that part of the case.
Under the case you can see some things that are not usual in the typical computer case. The front feet are connected into one piece to make a framed bottom to the front. The left side reveals part of the latching that holds the removable motherboard tray in place. the other screws are to remove the bottom drive bays if necessary and the dimpled indentations are for mounting four 2.5″ SSD Hard drives securely to the floor of the case. The feet are high impact plastic that are screwed into the bottom of the case and the feet are rubber coated to dampen vibration and to keep it secure to even the slipperiest of tile flooring or glass desktops.
The top is interestingly well made as the removable filtered washable plastic power supply vent cover actually matches the rest of the case. The top is aluminum and also sound isolated with sound dampening material glued to the bottom surface. The two lights at the top left side of the door is the power LED and the hard drive activity lighting. These lights are recessed into the inside of the case and do not move with the opening of the frontal access door.
A close up of the Power Supply filter element and cover shows the finger tabs on either side of the pop off door and is very easy to remove, clean with soap and water and reinstall. There is a slight variation of coloring but not enough to take away from the classic beauty of the Silverstone Fortress FT04.
The back of the case looks completely upside down from the standpoint of most cases we review. The power supply sits up top as in the older classic designed cases but this does not hinder the design of the case since the motherboard sits in a top down orientation as well so it’s basically like setting the average case top down but that leaves lots of space at the bottom and the top for other custom components that average enthusiast might need for custom loop installations. The back is very well ventilated and is ready for a 120x120mm fan that is not included with the case. There is a knockout at the bottom to install a custom switch to power down lighting or pumps. The I/O shield hole is fitted to perfection and lines up great even if the motherboard tray is removable. The PCI slot covers are high gloss ventilated aluminum and great quality. The power supply can be fitted both fan up and fan down arrangement to augment more heat escape if you are using a dual SLI/Crossfire configuration so to exhaust more heat out the back of the unit.
