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. What comes out is the SilverStone FT03 Micro ATX chassis that we have for review today. This chassis is unlike anything you've ever seen before. If you are the type that likes change and an attention-grabbing enclosure, you'll want to stick around for this.


The Fortress FT03 is a complete rethink on the PC chassis; so much so that it won a 2011 Innovations Award at CES 2011 earlier this year. The key to SilverStone's new chassis is the vertical cooling design which intakes cool air from the bottom of the chassis and pushes it up naturally past the heat-producing components and out the top of the system.


The FT03 arrived in the tower style box shown above. There are photos of both the black and silver models on the front as well as that coveted CES award logo. On the reverse is a photo of the interior of the case that showcases many of the unique design elements. Below is a list of specifications borrowed from SilverStone's website.




Let's move ahead and check out the FT03 as well as some of the extra accessories that SilverStone sent over for our build.