SilverStone FT02B vs Xigmatek Elysium

[Olaipai]

Hello!

I am getting a new case for a build, but I found this SilverStone FT02B and I got a bit curious. I had already settled for an Xigmatek Elysium, but now I am not so sure about that.

Which case is the best at air cooling and water cooling? I will use the case air cooled for a long time and when I feel 'ready' I am going to water cool my whole setup.

Which one is the one to go for. The money here is not an issue.

- Olai

 

[sheroo]

ATM everyone is raving about the NZXT switch 810.

 

[Olaipai]

ATM everyone is raving about the NZXT switch 810.

Looks very good! But do you know anything about the build quality? It looks kinda sketchy or is that me?

 

[sheroo]

Looks very good! But do you know anything about the build quality? It looks kinda sketchy or is that me?

S_I_N has one have a look at his Project Log.

 

[yassarikhan786]

It is a really good case

.

 

[Calibretto]

Hey Olaipai

Personally I'm not too keen on the looks of the Switch, so I'd much rather talk about the Fortress case

Have you decided yet? Spent the money?

The first thing to notice about the FT02 is the price tag. It's not a cheap case in any way. The reason for it is the second thing you notice. Build quality second to none. It's one of the most beautiful cases out there and it's incredibly sturdy and stable.

Now all those things you may not care about, so let me talk about my experiences with it performance wise. The windowloss version of the FT02 dampens noise pretty well. But it really has to. The three AP181 fans in the bottom are epic fans, but not exactly quiet. The cooling performance of this rig is off the hook, but without a good fan controller that maybe let's you switch fans all the way off, this is not a case you have switched on in your bedroom after you go to bed.

It's pretty big. The way Silverstone has tipped the mobo makes the case pretty deep. Since it draws a lot of air in from the bottom, I'd recommend putting it on a desk, and not every desk will fit it because it's so big.

Only 7 slots at the back. Well they're at the top, but you know what I'm saying. This is not the case for 4 way SLI or huge GPU coolers in the bottom PCIe slots. You may not need any of those things and I see how this may be me getting picky.

Finally it's an epic case. Get it. I love it

 

[Olaipai]

Hey Olaipai

Personally I'm not too keen on the looks of the Switch, so I'd much rather talk about the Fortress case

Have you decided yet? Spent the money?

The first thing to notice about the FT02 is the price tag. It's not a cheap case in any way. The reason for it is the second thing you notice. Build quality second to none. It's one of the most beautiful cases out there and it's incredibly sturdy and stable.

Now all those things you may not care about, so let me talk about my experiences with it performance wise. The windowloss version of the FT02 dampens noise pretty well. But it really has to. The three AP181 fans in the bottom are epic fans, but not exactly quiet. The cooling performance of this rig is off the hook, but without a good fan controller that maybe let's you switch fans all the way off, this is not a case you have switched on in your bedroom after you go to bed.

It's pretty big. The way Silverstone has tipped the mobo makes the case pretty deep. Since it draws a lot of air in from the bottom, I'd recommend putting it on a desk, and not every desk will fit it because it's so big.

Only 7 slots at the back. Well they're at the top, but you know what I'm saying. This is not the case for 4 way SLI or huge GPU coolers in the bottom PCIe slots. You may not need any of those things and I see how this may be me getting picky.

Finally it's an epic case. Get it. I love it

I haven't spent any money yet. So many cases, and I am not to sure about any of those. I am starting to lean against bitfenic colossus Venom same with corsair graphite 600tm. But I just can't decide. I want space, looks and performance. The basic ones. The 810 got a very nice setup but the looks and air cooling wise isn't THAT grat sadly. Any suggestions?

Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[King Damager]

I don't really like the NZXT switch 810, but that's personal taste rather than it being a poor case. I think it looks a bit tacky in my opinion - have the same opinion of most NZXT cases to be fair.

In the £100-200 I'd be looking at:

650D

600t

Xigmatek Elysium

FT02

Switch 810

HAF X

Shinobi XL (Depending on reviews)

CM Storm Trooper

Maybe stretch to an 800d, or for really awesome wc potential with some modding, you could stretch to a TJ07.

All are pretty solid choices to be honest.

I guess for the original question though, the FT02 is better for air cooling, the Xigmatek better for Watercooling. Saying that, I'll be interesting to see what Tom does with the FT02 in his watercooling build video to come. Pretty sure he'll be putting a Magicool 180mm slim in the bottom, which could make a pretty decent watercooling rig to be honest.

Tom thought the CM storm trooper was excellent, so if you're ok with the appearance, it might be worth looking at his review. I'd say personally the same is true of the HAF X, if you can cope with the appearance it's an amazing case for both air and watercooling.

If it were my money though, if I didn't want to go watercooling, I'd get the FT02.

I'm actually considering switching to a case with watercooling support in this price bracket myself though, and am looking, at the moment, at taking a Shinobi XL and modding it quite a bit

So I guess those would be my choices, but all the above are pretty solid options.

kd

 

[Avro]

If you want to have a go at modding and customising try a Lian Li. You won't be disappointed.

 

[PetrolHead247]

NZXT Switch 810 for sure. If you like the look of it, go for it. It's a stunning case.

 

[ruthless_villain]

wouldnt touch the switch its popping up in so many builds and being a NZXT case it will be incredibly tacky and fragile. i would get the silverstone because the xiggy isnt brilliant or innovative either its just big, same thing with the switch

 

[SieB]

being a NZXT case it will be incredibly tacky and fragile.

the xiggy isnt brilliant or innovative either its just big, same thing with the switch

That just isn't true, have you watched Tom's review or seen one for yourself?

I have one and they are not tacky or fragile.

 

[ruthless_villain]

That just isn't true, have you watched Tom's review or seen one for yourself?

I have one and they are not tacky or fragile.

i have had a quick play with one so maybe our definitions of fragile vary,

to be fair i am extremely picky

but i still dont see whats so special about it

 

[SieB]

Well I don't understand what you mean by fragile, the case is steal and weighs 10kg. It's now where near flimsy, the top air vent is flimsy but that's to be expected seen as it's plastic.

As for not being innovative, if you watch Tom's review you will see how much innovation it does have. The watercooling support it has is better than any other case without modding and it only costs £150.

 

[ruthless_villain]

The watercooling support it has is better than any other case without modding and it only costs £150.

shinobi xl can take upto 2x 360mm radiators with no modding. the tj07 can take a 480mm and 240mm radiator with a piece of velcro (hardly modding)the phobya case takes more rads in there as standard so no the watercooling support isnt the best

 

[SieB]

The Shinobi isn't out yet, the window is going to have grills on it, if you use two 360s you loose all of the front bays and the HDD cages and it doesn't have as many features as the switch.

The tjo7 isn't £150 and to get it powdercoated and getting the windowed side pannel (which the Switch has anyway) adds cost. you can only fit a slim 240 and there is hardly any room in the case as it is.

The Phobya case is butt ugly and there is no way on earth anyone would choose that over the Switch.

 

[ruthless_villain]

the tj07 can fit a thick 240 in the floor with a thick 480 with a slim 240 in the roof, the most its going to cost you powdercoated etc is £220 and you get a lot of bang for your buck and you can probably keep the case forever

 

[Shift87]

My vote is the FT02, quailty wise its amazing. Water and air cooling it works great. Downfall of it is the 180mm fans are loud, why i ditched mine but they move alot of air.

TJ07 is a great case but its old and needs abit of work to keep up with current cases features though it does beat most cases when it comes to WC. Not sure why it was brought up though as its out of the OPs listed Case budget.

 

[King Damager]

The Shinobi isn't out yet, the window is going to have grills on it, if you use two 360s you loose all of the front bays and the HDD cages and it doesn't have as many features as the switch.

The tjo7 isn't £150 and to get it powdercoated and getting the windowed side pannel (which the Switch has anyway) adds cost. you can only fit a slim 240 and there is hardly any room in the case as it is.

The Phobya case is butt ugly and there is no way on earth anyone would choose that over the Switch.

For the shinobi a fan grill isn't the end of the world, it's not the hardest job to swap out a window for acrylic. I admit I'd much rather it didn't have it, but it is hardly an insurmountable issue...

Although if you really want something for pure watercooling potential the nzxt gets demolished by the Tech Labs Uk, that OcUK just got in stock. 480 and 360 support out the box, for £200.

Stop defending the nzxt so excessively. It does look glossy, and people can interpret that as tacky, and as Tom admitted himself, it's very much a marmite case.

kd

 

[SieB]

For the shinobi a fan grill isn't the end of the world, it's not the hardest job to swap out a window for acrylic. I admit I'd much rather it didn't have it, but it is hardly an insurmountable issue...

Although if you really want something for pure watercooling potential the nzxt gets demolished by the Tech Labs Uk, that OcUK just got in stock. 480 and 360 support out the box, for £200.

Stop defending the nzxt so excessively. It does look glossy, and people can interpret that as tacky, and as Tom admitted himself, it's very much a marmite case.

kd

Who's defending NZXT?

I just don't like it when people talk BS about something, Ruthless said the case is tacky, fragile and non innovative. Non of that is true, the tjo7 on the inside isn't powder coated and is shiny aluminum, I interpret that as tacky but the case it's self is not tacky.

And yes the window on the Shinobi is an issue because no one wants grills on their window, or did you miss the thread on here about it where 200+ people said so? and as I said before the Shinobi doesn't have half the features the Switch has.

At £150 the Switch beats most cases for watercooling and has more features than most, I don't pay attention to brands, I couldn't give a crap what name is on the box I stick to the facts and go by how something compares to something else.

In other words it's product A vs product B, also taking in to consideration price. Thats the way I make my decisions and I don't pay attention to petty childish fanboy bs.