FT03 Gaming rig...

pieplough

pieplough

pieplough

Soldato
Joined
15 Jul 2008
Posts
3,636
Location
Glasgow
Having bought a second hand Fortress FT03 from a friend the wait was finally over to get some kit to put inside it.

Delivery yesterday morning...

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Asus ROG Maximus IV Gene-Z, i5 2500K, 8GB Kingston Hyperx Grey, slot load slimline DVD and the awesome looking Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro. All for my Fortress FT03.

Couple shots of the components

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Awesome looking motherboard.

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Sadly no shots of it being built... by this point the swearing had began. The Dark Rock is a PITA to fit :p

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Booted first time with no problems

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I can't be the only one who makes this much mess when building... can I?

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Thanks goodness she didn't see it like that :p

After a heavy tidy up...

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Overall I'm very pleased, making the jump from a Q6600 to sandybridge has been a fairly big leap in terms of power plus its in such a neat package. Running very cool and quiet on stock speed (about 32 idle and 50 in game) so hoping to get a nice overclock on it.

The only thing left to do is replace the chassis fans with something a little quieter and to get overclocking :)
 
Cheers guys :)

I will have to check my GPU temps in game tonight and see how hot they get.

Edit: After a BFBC2 session the max GPU temp is 69 pretty great tbh. Considering its been OC'ed also.
 
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Hi Kanifee, the build quality is superb. I came from a CM 690 (first one) which was a bit rough compared to this.

The case is not very noisy, the standard Silverstone fans are not the quietest however I have them turned down via the mobo settings. I wouldn't say the design has any acoustic issues if anything it makes it quieter as the fans are away from the intakes themselves which is what usually makes the most noise.

I will no doubt be swapping the fans for something a little quieter, the Be Quiet fans on the CPU cooler have impressed me so maybe get 2 of them.

And yeah I'm enjoying it, cheers! :)
 
khemist said:
Snarf!.
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INDEED! Cheers for the bargain price on the case Khem!

grumpybeard said:
Nice build to see pieplough, all looking great.

Ive just ordered this case for a HTPC build, really looking forward to getting hands on with the build. Ordered some apache black super silent fans to replace the standard.

Will be putting in a passive sapphire ati 6670 card, will keep the angled 120mm and monitor temps, if too high may switch to the two more direct 80mm fans. What gpu you got in there?

Enjoy your new toy!
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Nice fans, should be good in your case! I've got a GTX 460 1GB with a small oc on it and after an hour of BF:BC2 my gpu temp was 69 so I imagine your 6670 will be fine :)

Just need to get my head round the mobo for OC'ing, so many settings... not got a clue anymore!
 
pigzippa47 said:
OP, or anyone else:

Will the larger cards fit in SLI on this mobo? (esp GeForce GTX 570)

I'm putting together a setup very similar to op, but I want the option to expand to dual 570s. It appears they'll fit in the FT-03 (albeit warmly) but I haven't found anyone who can confirm they'd fit on the Gene-Z (or this weeks announced Gene-Z/Gen3).

Many thanks for the pix OP, glad to have real-world numbers for heat too!
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Hey man, didn't see your post until now. I think you would fit 2 (dual slot) cards on this mobo. Would be a very tight fit in this case though. :)

sldsmkd said:
I'm eyeing one of these up as a combo gaming rig / htpc for the living room and my 720p plasma. As it's a fairly low resolution and i'm trying to keep it cheapish it doesn't need super power components. The alternative is the Fractal Define Mini which is a lot cheaper, but not as ingenious.
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I would say go for it, the build quality and style of the FT03 is fantastic. Would totally recommend!
 
Hi Azzuri,

I agree with most of what Speed has said... however this case seems to be Marmite for most people.

I happen to love it, its fantastic, looks amazing and my temps are pretty good. After a few hours of BF3 my CPU max temp was 58 and GPU was 74. Yes there are cases that offer better cooling and it can be tricky to build in.

BUT, it looks fantastic, is quiet and takes hardly any space up on my desk. I am still over the moon with it if I'm honest, will be using it for some time yet. :)
 
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