The SilverStone Alta F1 presents such a contradiction of a chassis. On one hand, it offers a premium exterior with the use of thick aluminium and clean glass panels, and a unique layout, but, on the other hand, the interior relies on the same frame and basic functionality as a mainstream case. Those extremes are incredibly apparent and unfortunately don't help justify the premium price tag.

On paper, the Alta F1 sounds great: unique 90° rotated interior, thick aluminium panels all around, unique layout with external components, and three Air Penetrator fans. All in all, this sounds like a chassis worthy of the premium segment, and in that regard, the Alta F1 holds true in general, but many of the details are poorly executed.

At its core, the Alta F1 is unfortunately doomed by the choice of a generic case body we have seen over and over again in $60–$70 mainstream enclosures. It is simply not the level of engineering you expect when plonking down 3 Benjamins for a chassis. To make matters worse, SilverStone did not go all out in an attempt to take that frame and customize the tooling to fit the needs of the 90° rotation; nor was it made to stand out more on its own. Instead, we are left with some design choices that clearly go the way of affordability as opposed to user-focused engineering. We got the same feel when reviewing the SETA Q1, which performed incredibly well in terms of sound dampening as a saving grace, so this is hopefully not the general direction SilverStone is going with their choice of body for their otherwise unique ideas as far as externals are concerned.

The small issues add up into a fairly long list of downsides that outweigh the 90° uniqueness and external material mix at this price, which is unfortunate as the Alta F1 is a beautiful case and this type of layout does have merit. But an overall implementation like this does not entice potential customers to take the plunge. Ultimately, the SilverStone Alta F1 feels a bit too much like a Lamborghini exterior with a generic Volkswagen interior and engine.