A Closer Look - Inside

Gaining access to the inside of the Fortress FT03 does require the manual as some panels lift straight up and some pull straight out. Access does not require removing a single screw making accessibility quick simple. Removing the side panels the layout of the FT03 is revealed. The arrangement for installation is completely unique. A welcomed new blueprint for component installation SilverStone maintains their bold design.


Zooming in on the mainboard installation area the layout is complemented with two slim 120 mm fans. The two fans are placed in a manner that will assist with airflow across the CPU area of the mainboard and out the top of the case. Interestingly accompanying the top is an additional 80 mm fan bracket. This bracket focuses airflow directly to any installed PCI slot devices.


Power supply installation is performed on the same side as the mainboard. Tucked inside an extension cable is ran from the power supply to the bottom facing plug. A slot loading slim drive has its own space right above the power supply. Definitely restricting optical drive choices; adding a CD/DVD drive would be nearly twice the price of standard sizes. Even further, the cost of including a slot loading Blu-Ray player surpasses the cost of the case entirely. A rather large drawback of the FT03. Another 120 mm fan is placed at the bottom to draw air in from the bottom, the angle is intentional to aim cool flowing air right at any PCI installed device. The use of space here is simply amazing, SilverStone has done a great job of maximizing space while presenting a minimalist design.


While the amount of hard drives available to be installed internally is limited to only three 3.5" drives the designated area is out of the way behind the mainboard. One of the hard drives may be installed in the 3.5" hot swap bay, while the two other locations use the unique mounting brackets included. The bottom area shows the power supply mounting bay as well as the extension plug to connect to the other side. The rear does service multiple points for cable routing with cutouts along two sides.


The hot swap bay does have some interesting features. The top facing door springs the drive out the top utilizing the removable lid. When a standard 3.5" hard drive is installed it is passively cooled with a large heatsink attached to the corresponding panel. After installing the drive and closing the panel, the heatsink helps draw heat away. A unique cooling design integrated into the overall theme of the FT03.

SilverStone Strider 750W Gold

Features: (as listed by the manufacturer)

• 80 PLUS Gold certification with high efficiency 87%~90% at 20%~100% loading
• 100% modular cables
• 750W (850W peak power) 24hour fully continuous power output with 40℃ operating temperature
• Class-leading single +12V rail with 62A
• Strict ±3% voltage regulation and low ripple & noise
• Japanese main capacitors
• Silent running 135mm fan with 19dBA minimum
• Dual EPS 8pin connectors support
• Multiple PCI-E 8pin and PCI-E 6pin connectors support
• Support ATX 12V 2.3 & EPS 12V
• Active PFC

SilverStone kindly provided the Strider Gold 750W power supply along with the Fortress FT03 to feature the perfect match of a 100% modular power supply and this amazing case. The Strider Gold series are released with 750, 850, 1000, and 1200 watt versions, all which carry the 80 Plus Gold efficiency design. The series are all 100% modular designs to allow complete customization for every application. Additionally included is the PP05 modular cable kit. This kit offers significantly reduced lengths of the standard modular cables, exceptionally nice with small form factor designs like the Fortress FT03.


SilverStone's Strider Gold series power supplies all come coated in scratch resistant black paint. The rear displays the color matched modular cable connections, interestingly I found two 8-pin CPU cables. While applications for this are rare, it is extremely nice to see implemented in highly efficient power supplies.



Side by side the cables that come with the ST75F-G are daunting. With long connections for nearly all available applications it is be better suited to utilize a small form factor connection cable set. The PP05 cables do not include the amount of connections but the reduced length is where they shine.


The PP05 packaging specifies the length of each of the included cables but does not have nearly the flashy packaging as the power supply.



With a silent 135 mm fan to pull air in from the bottom it seems as a design match for the Fortress FT03. With a clear color coded modular connection layout, strong single 12V rail, and 80 Plus Gold efficiency rating the SilverStone Strider Gold is a perfect combination of performance, efficiency, and quality. Coupled with the PP05 modular cable kit, the Fortress FT03 is complimented with the best components that keep with the small foot print design.