Low profile 540 mm fan Bracket for Silverstone FT02 and RV02

[Folly]

Why not just bolt the fans directly to the bottom of the case with a magnetic dust filter attached on the other side (outside the case)? Mark and drill the holes, attach from the outside so the screw heads are flush for the magnetic filter, also apply a vibration absorbing material to the fan corners before fastening so they don't cause the case to vibrate.

As for the 5.25 bays being useless, I cut my entire case down to a two fan model, pics posted near the end of the main FT02 case thread.

I tried that, the efficiency of the fans is severely impacted when in contact with the bottom of the case, and that's without the filter. They need to run faster to maintain the same temps and the noise is much worse. It's like the stack effect cooling these fans were built for just doesn't occur if the inflow is restricted to that degree, the filter will only amplify that problem. The 8mm gap the bracket provides gives just enough space to allow them to perform as intended, any lower than that and performance suffers.

As for the magnetic dust filter attached to the outside of the case, that's the way I'm going.

I'm also considering a two fan solution, as it is I have the front fan set to kick in only if the SSD's reach 45°C, which hasn't happened yet. I won't go as far as shortening the case though.

 

[sumoaustin]

I tried that, the efficiency of the fans is severely impacted when in contact with the bottom of the case, and that's without the filter. They need to run faster to maintain the same temps and the noise is much worse. It's like the stack effect cooling these fans were built for just doesn't occur if the inflow is restricted to that degree, the filter will only amplify that problem. The 8mm gap the bracket provides gives just enough space to allow them to perform as intended, any lower than that and performance suffers.

As for the magnetic dust filter attached to the outside of the case, that's the way I'm going.

I'm also considering a two fan solution, as it is I have the front fan set to kick in only if the SSD's reach 45°C, which hasn't happened yet. I won't go as far as shortening the case though.

If I understand what you are saying, with the fans bolted tightly to the bottom panel they get restricted and become noisy. In that case I would have gotten out the cutoff wheel and removed the metal blocking the fan blades but leaving the areas where the fan frame bolts to the chassis. I did that on my Silverstone LC17 media center case to install a 120mm intake fan in the front of the chassis, zero noise and good flow. I understand perhaps the FT02 is too precious to carve up, and that's why you have gone to great lengths to create a standoff mounting plate. I have a spare FT02 mini edition so if I ever need to increase the area available for a long GPU I will end up doing my hack method listed above.