I'm really surprised by people's comments here about this case "Silverstone Fortress FT02". I think it's important to note, that although not a super-tower this case is not small and is the only case on the market with 3 180mm bottom fans. It's also one of the few that genuinely is vertically mounted so you can access your cables from the top. If you've never known what's that like, I suggest looking into it. All my cases have top access to connections now, and I won't go back. The NH-D15 (and D15s) ARE HUGE. Note, the (oversized) PSU I have is an AX1200i and those are dual Fury X cards. Yes, I could have been a bit better at this arrangement, but I was being lazy, and it still works beautifully. I've had this case since 2010 and have no intention of replacing it. The whole point of the video really, was just to show people that honestly, the NH-D15s is the smarter choice. All that aside, you're welcome to talk as much crap about the FT02 as you like, but instead of just trolling, maybe suggest your favorite alternatives.
I still have this case myself and is up to now still one of the best air flow cases to date. It competes to be one of the best in terms of airflow and temperatures. GamersNexus in at least quite of few of his videos use this case (or at the Raven gamer varient) in his case tests as reference. It is so hard for me to let this case go.
I’m not a fan of cases that have top mounted PSU; it’s better when it’s at the bottom of the case, preferably with a vent down there, so it can intake cold air and kick it out the back. I have a cooler master H500 and it is absolutely huge, great air cooling case.
@@henry3397 I think you missed the whole point of a vertically mounted mother board. For this case (I love all the Fortress series especially the FT02 and FT03): 1: Natural circulation actually does occur. Allowing the heat to exit out the top and not front or back. 2: Access to cabling. Once you have access from the top, you'll never want go around back again. ... Hmm... I hope that isn't taken out of context LOL.
I have the Core i7-8700K at stock speeds 65c max using prim95 64bit, plus my rtx2080 is also running 5c cooler now I ditched the dark rock 4, dark rock 4 same test 72c and the gpu was hotter.
Well it's more about the motherboard than the case. I had a regular D15 working fine with a different board. But I don't think it makes sense to not get the D15s.
You can unscrew the plastic bit over the I/Os so you can fit another fan, i did it to my MSI board because that shit is just in the way with no function.
when its in horizontal orientation, how is the outer heat pipe not interfering with the ram? The outer heat pipe extends over the first ram slot, doesn't it?
Good video on the review. I want to ask if your clearance for your case is 160mm? Seems like a tight fit. I'm planning to get one but my clearance is 160mm. Apparently, if you can lower down the middle fan to get the heat sink to 160mm. What's your opinion in this?
Hmmm... Not sure. I know my fans are 180mm but that's all I can say for sure. If you look at the end of the video I think you can see the clearance through the clear pane. The D15 series is huge, no doubt.
OH MY GOD! Are you using Corsair Dominator? is't RAM clearance of D15/D15s is 6.5ish & i measure my dominator is around 7.5. how can you fit that badboy there? BTW sorry for comment on your old video 🙏
I'm thinking of replacing my Coolermaster AO with the NH-D15S. It will be for an Intel Core i9 7980XE on a ASRock X299 Professional Gaming i9 XE motherboard. Anyone tried anything like that?
@@urbanelemental3308 reason being the D15S was oriented correctly allowing the hot air to be exhausted faster by the rear fan even if it has 1 fan. The D15 had 2 fans but was less efficient due to wrong orientation. If the D15 was able to be installed correctly, it would have performed slightly better, like 2-3 degrees.
Well it is not much better than the D15 in terms of cpu cooling. The main factor here is the correct orientation that also helps the heat escape through the rear fan. This helps reduce the overall temperature of the motherboard and system. This cooler is great. I'm waiting for mine to arrive to replace my AIO.
Use both hands when unpacking use a tripod. Good review. The only one thatcovers the real reason why the 15s version exist 1st pcie slot available. Other reviews dont highlight this. They just read the noctua brochure and call it a review🤣
does this cooler bend the motherboard by any chance? did you had any problems? could u answer me? i have a x570 UD gigabyte and i´m in doubt if this will hold.
@@apertaplays Hmmm.... It's not the heaviest. It's heavy, but not so heavy that I would expect it to warp or damage a motherboard. The mounting system is really solid. Your MB would have to be pretty flimsy if it were to be an issue. Mine was hanging off of the MB the whole time with zero issues.
Nice job brother. I winced when I saw those bent fins because I could see myself doing the exact same thing. The S is looks custom made for your build.
Thanks! Haven't upgraded for some time. :) GPUs are both dead now tho. :( Got a warranted replacement for 1 of them. But hey. Gonna replace the whole thing with Ryzen system eventually. Probably will stick with the Noctua cooler. :)
@@urbanelemental3308 I'm building a 7900x workstation now with a 24TB Raid 10 storage array, an Optane PCIe boot volume, and a couple of 760p M.2 workspace volumes. We'll see how the 15S works there as I do NOT like the idea of a liquid cooled failure ruining my components. Rock on!
@@urbanelemental3308 I jumped on the big Optane drive last year after reading the hype and am just now getting around to building this new workstation. I'm planning to use 500GB of the Optane drive for some sizable tables for which I need fast I/O. I'll let you know how it turns out. I may upgrade to the 9980xe too depending on how the 7900x works out in handling my workload.
@@gwilliamwallace Yeah, I don't think Optane is worth it. Linus talks a bit about it. Once your machine is up and running, you can't beat memory for speed. But just my opinion. I haven't tired Optane, but I felt like it was a side thing that Intel did to cause buzz, but then I was like wait... Why is this good? If you try PrimoCache for example (with L2) you might reconsider. Might look into the optane thing a bit more.
Comments are hilarious! Just about any case is a downgrade compared to an FT02, very very few cases can compete with FT02's thermal performance. One of the best high airflow cases ever created, and quiet too! I made the mistake of handing mine down to my sister, and now that I'm in the market for another one you can't find them. I also see that OP has the FT05, so my question is; how does it honestly compare?
Performance wise they are the same, BUT I honestly feel that the D15S is better simply because it's more likely to fit. I had a lot of trouble getting the D15 to fit in my previous build. So 'go with the S'.
Price $18 for buy extra fan that similar with the original noctua nh d15.. Bcause d15 s only come with 1 fan.. so the size in exchange for a $18 price difference ..
Noctua nh d15$ 80.75 (with dual fan) Noctua nh d15S $95.65 ( with single fan) so if we want 1 more fan like noctua nh d15 we must pay $18= $113.65.. very confusing if you want to buy liquid cooling with a very close prices.. D15 price makes much difference to the liquid cooler
The S VS the normal one, the difference in price on Amazon is about 10 box and you are getting an extra fan which alone cost 20+, with the S at least for me you're getting only more free space and I prefer to buy the normal one and use the extra fan on to pull out air by installing it on the back of the case
It's just a positioning choice. Personally, I think I would always order the S after that. But maybe you have a case that would be better suited with the non-S version?
*Tell me the best motherboard and case for Noctua NH-D15 cooler.* There should be sufficient space in the case and for *RAM installation* and a big GPU on the motherboard. I will go with *Asus or MSI RTX 2070 Super (3 fans).* It thought of going with the case *Phantek Enthoo Evolv X* but I don't think that's a good idea with the big cooler. I also thought of going with *Asus Rog Strix z390-e (Wi-Fi) motherboard* but I'm too confused.😕 My CPU is i7 9700k. *Somebody help if possible...*
if u think about it u just could get the mounting kit that would allowed you to rotate your D15 90 degrees and the offset doesn't matter in your case ;p
So is the noctua nh D-15 the same as the NH D-15S apart from one having 2 fans vs 1? Because Im buying one and buying the chromax stuff + 2 chromax fans and applying to it, and since the d15s is cheaper I can save some money on that
Just get a full tower and be done with it. I know the FT02 might have some sentimental value to you but in your situation a full tower would be heaven. Most full towers are cheap too, only $10-$30 more than most mid towers. Maybe when 7nm launches grab yourself a Navi GPU and sell the two you have.. lol
First second into the video and i couldn't bare to see what type of setup that was. Two gpu's with one touching the cpu cooler, the cpu cooler itself in an upwards configuration where the power supply intakes cool air, and the power supply itself. For the sake of your own hardware, get a better airflow case.
I understand. :( if you look back you'll see I was ready for the criticism. A bigger better case might be the way, but I love my FT02. Believe me, it works very well now. All will change when the GPUs are replaced in the future.
Another Fortress person! :) I did have a FT05 and I still have an FT03 and FT03 mini. Love them. There's a tight squeeze yes. I really wish there was an FT05 that looked more and acted more like the FT02... I'm really just making due with the situation. Saving money that way. Believe it or not, this whole setup runs really well. The first GPU gets the first portion of the cool air entering the case. And that's what I'm most concerned about.
Yeah, the FT02 was the stylistic apex of Fortress for sure and arguably the performance one as well. I really like my FT05 but good lord is it a pain to work in. I'm keeping it (I've had it about two years anyway) but I'm adding a BQ Dark Base Pro 900 just because it's so much easier to work on lol. Really like the RV02 as well. Given unlimited money, I'd do extra builds just to have those cases in my house. Love the FT03s but they're getting hard to find, at least the silver ones I like.
HA! Love it. Was curious if someone would give me crap for that. It's really not as bad as it looks. You have to consider that 2 Fury X cards don't really fit in this case well and If I was going to make it work perfectly I'd need to mod the case. I'm more importantly about upgradability than I am about aesthetics (and I'm still definitely about aesthetics). What might not be obvious is what looks like cables is 50% tubing.
It's the Silverstone FT02. Been my favorite case for 6 years now. Vertically mounted/cooled motherboard. There's an incredible mod of this case by Metallicacid.
Better? No... most tests show it to be identical or a tad warmer. It's not better.. it all depends on how you use it.. both are basically the same in cooling power.
Wow thanks. Most seem to really give me crap. It's not perfect but I love my FT02. As I may have mentioned in the comments, check out Metallicacid's mod of one. Dreamlike.
In response to all the comments about the case being too cramped: I disagree. Take a look at how the FT02 is configured as it has (on the bottom) 3 of the largest fans of any case. Is pretty much dead quiet. I've had my FT02 since 2010 and wouldn't trade it for anything. Take a look at @Metallicacid 's mod: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GQp_cjvygJs.html
lima249 Hey cool glad I could help. I did have one of those AIO coolers before and something happened either with the pump or the fluid so be sure to have a temp monitor/alarm running in the OS.
They sell a blacked-out version of the D15 for about $10 more than the regular if admiring and being visually pleased with the look of the internals of your computer is meaningful to you...
