Inside The Fortress FT04
The FT04’s top panel has a snap-away filter for the power supply intake. Dual sets of screw holes on the rear panel support flipping the unit either way, so that the power supply could also draw hot air out of the case if you’d like.
The FT04 includes three 3.5” drive cages. The upper cage supports up to five drives, while the lower two fit one drive each. Above the upper cage is an extremely conventional plastic card-edge support bracket reminiscent of the 1990’s.
One very thoughtful feature seen in the photo above is the row of screwdriver holes along the back edge, which makes it possible to install and remove expansion cards without stripping screw heads. Another welcome consideration is the ability to remove hardware like the upper drive cage and card bracket, to create room for front-mounted radiators or extremely long expansion cards.
We're leaving the upper cage in place, since we don’t have a 3 x 120 mm-fan radiator to replace it (as well as the included 180 mm intakes). As for the lower cages, each one needs to be removed to gain access to the 2.5” drive mount on the case’s bottom, and each has a strap to help you take out installed 3.5” drives. The front cage even has a built-in backplane connector.
The rear cage doesn’t have a drive connector, though you’re welcome to use standard cables. It does, however, have a CPU cooler support bracket, which slides up like an old-fashioned scissor jack.
The FT04’s motherboard tray is removable, but doesn’t come out with the card bracket attached. Most builders will probably find its removal a waste of time, especially after they’ve filled its ample cable storage area.
