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As the line between home theater A/V and personal computing continues to blur, home theater style computer cases are becoming more and more popular with consumers. SilverStone Technologies launched a successful line of home theater cases back in 2009 with the Grandia series (GD04 and GD05) and this review is going to cover the new and improved model, the Grandia GDO6.
The main purpose behind a HTPC case is to blend in with other A/V equipment and the SilverStone GD04 does an excellent job of this. We felt the looks were just right for the intended purpose by making the media PC look like a high-end DVD or Blu-ray player.
SilverStone GD01B-MXR is an HTPC (home Theater PC) computer case that supports ATX motherboards, unlike many other HTPC cases that accept only micro-ATX models. GD01B-MXR comes in black and SilverStone has also this same case in silver, called GD01S-MXR. The "-MXR" means it is equipped with a front media display, and there are models without this display (without the suffix -MXR, obviously).
Today we are going to look at building a compact, stylish system based on Intel's Z68 chipset in ITX form (The Zotac Z68-ITX) and the Core i3-2100.
We've looked at more computer cases than any other component or accessory over the past 10 years here at OCIA.net. While styling and trends have certainly changed over the past decade, the general hardware layout inside a case has remained constant: motherboard in the middle, power supply either on the top or bottom, optical drives up front at the top and hard drives in the lower front area. There have been advances in certain departments like hot swap drive and aesthetics (lighting, funky paint jobs, etc) but the basic ATX layout hasn't changed much since the beige box. That's all about to change as SilverStone has taken the classic ATX layout and dropped it in a blender.
SilverStone are without a doubt one of the most well known chassis manufacturers on the market and have made a name designing some of the highest quality enthusiast cases available today. We recently had a look at their SG04B chassis which was built to the usual high standards we would expect from them.
SilverStone saw the success of the original FT03 last year and decided to reduce the chassis size by half with the release of the FT03 Mini.
The Silverstone Fortress has always been one of the more unique choices from Silverstone, take their stunning FT03 and FT-03 mini for example. Yet where the last model features a tall tower design, the FT04 take an almost more conventional approach by being the shape and size of your average full-tower chassis.
Silverstone have got one of the best engineering teams in the industry and they’re often creating new features, innovations and methods for their products that set them apart from everything else. They also have one of the most robust and wide spread range of chassis products that cater to everything from super compact HTPC solutions, to enthusiast grade gaming chassis, even going into industrial and professional solutions. One thing is for certain, no matter the shape, size or price of your build, Silverstone will have something suitable for the job.
The FT04 is designed with thermal performance in mind, targeted at the high end / enthusiast market who are looking to build system with extensive cooling, multiple graphics cards and other extreme components. With a price tag of around £175 here in the UK it is hardly cheap, but as we’ve seen many times before with this grade of product, you often get what you pay for. So let’s get right to it and see just how far your budget goes when you invest in a high-end, high value chassis like the Fortress FT04.
The box is nicely detailed with a run down of the major features of the chassis, these include the aluminium front door, USB 3.0 support, dual 180mm front fans, independent PSU compartment, GPU support arm, removable motherboard tray, hot swap bays and dust filters.
Not having reviewed a SilverStone case in the past, I was nevertheless aware of their reputation for quality and performance. Therefore, I had high expectations when the Fortress arrived here in the Tweaknews lab. To say that I was impressed with this chassis would be a bit of an understatement. With top-of-the-line cooling performance, a rich and innovative feature set, great looks and a roomy and convenient interior, this is easily one of the best chassis' I've had the pleasure to review.
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