Assembly

For the installation portion of this review, a Mini-ITX form factor mainboard was used. Continuing the theme of investing a small footprint while retaining staggering performance, this Mini-ITX is a perfect fit for the Fortress FT03. There was a small clearance issue with the large heatsink installed, the side fan did make contact and ultimately did have to be removed for installation.


Hard drive installation does require some finesse. The 3.5" hot swap bay is simple as pie, but the other drive locations were difficult to reach. Attempting to install the SSD bracket included with the FT03 was awkward and the adapter that came with the SSD was quickly installed. The slot loading drive was installed by removing the fan bracket and then removing the slot loading bay bracket. The drive was fitted into the bracket and then screwed back in place.


Installing the power supply was straight forward. The instructions clearly provide steps to slide the power supply into the associated bay and then connect the provided extension cable. Viewing the installed power supply from all available angles gains a better perspective of how well the Strider Gold 750W is almost made just for this application. The bottom view shows the fan intake of the power supply laying directly over the cutout. Installed, the power supply is just long enough to connect the cables and route them throughout the case.


Even installing a long, dual GPU video card the FT03 gladly accommodates. The clearance is long enough to handle graphics cards up to 13.77". Utilizing the shorter length cables from the PP05 kit, the overall cable wiring is kept to a minimum. Making use of every precious cubic centimeter of volume the Fortress FT03 is more than capable of hosting vicious gaming components and not compromising them to a sub-par airflow design. I'm impressed with the adaptability that this case holds.

Finished Looks

Wrapping up the installation, the side panels are replaced and the power cord connected. The FT03 doesn't boast any bright LED lights, no fancy panel windows, nor any color contrast but what it does provide is far beyond expectations. A structural column design that has an artistic feel. The sleek brushed aluminum exterior services sensory pleasing visuals as well as touch. Having this case present in any setting will make it the center piece of attention.