Best case in town? Antec 900?

[Team42]

On the positive side, the Antec 900 is very versitile. I'm not sure how well other cases compare, but mine is more than good enough for me. OK, there's no dedidcated cable management, but what does that really cost? Loud? Any case with lots of fans will be. Get a fan contoller. The 900 can shift lots of air and will do efficiently as long as the fans are set up correctly. My only complaint about the case is the lack of proprietry dust filters. However, I was able to make my own using cooker hood filters for a damn sight less than the ones you can buy for 120mm fans They're a bit of a bother to take out and clean, but they're effective and bloody cheap.

I wouldn't try putting more than 4 HDDs and 2 Optical drives in though: the front fans need space to work, and they do most of the work. I can get my PC to idle very cool with the front fans off, the side and rear exhaust fan at minimum and the top fan at top speed (which is quite quiet) and that's fine for web-surfing etc, but if I run any intense application the front fans need to be on, and the rear exhaust has to be on full.

Don't discount the 900. It may not be the best case, but it's very far from being the worst. And it will be cool!

 

[random betrayal]

Another vote for the 900. If you are interested you can cut 2 or 3 holes and the case becomes easy to hide wires and route cables. It is 20 minute fix, dremel or a jig saw what ever you have handy. I have 3 hard rives a fan controller and all audio, usb and optical drive cables routed behind my Motherboard tray and coming out these 3 holes I made and it works fine. If you look at the first pic of mad scientist you cut a hole to the right of the power supply, one next to the main power cable to the motherboard and one more up at the top corner of the motherboard and you can route all your cables very effectively.

I have mine sitting 3-4 feet from me on my desk with all fans on low and the noise is not an issue. I would suggest running it on low as it moves more then enough air contrary to one of the above posters. I can't remember the CFM numbers from the manual but the top fan moves more then 2 120 fans itself so it moves more then enough air with it and the other exhaust fan it sets up negative pressure in your case and it will draw in air from your openings as well as from the intake fans. My moderate overclock does not go over 50 C at orthos load ever even in the summer . I do suggest spending a couple bucks on fan filters. Either make some or buy pre-fit one for the intake fans. The case moves air and dust is in air so it is an issue. Nothing that compressed air hasn't fixed on mine. I usually just open the panel and blast away with the fans on and it evacuates the loosened dust out the machine for me.

 

[Tempered81]

wonder if anyone with a 900 and thermalright ultra "stack style" cpu cooler has ever thought of putting all the 120mm fans as intake fans - including the rear and side mount fans, and then facing the fan on the stack cooler to where it exhausts air to the top of the case.

im sure doing this would allow the 200mm fan to exhaust all the heat & input air through the top. would this be effective, or is the rear 120mm fan grid to high on the case?

 

[Tempered81]

Okay quick update & thank you to forum members:
I took apart my case & my old case and combined all of the fans into 1. I rerouted my hard drives & all cables and wiring. I now have a total of 8 fans in my new setup

1 Front 200mm intake fan below power button. not sure if this is 200 or 180mm
1 90mm blowing upwards at PSU
1 rear exhaust 90mm fan blowing out.
1 power supply 900mm exhaust blowing out
1 120mm lower fan intake blowing on graphics and NB & mobo
1 90mm air intake on side blowing through tube directly onto CPU
1 conroe stock cpu cooler downdraft
1 8800GT stock cooler fan

it actually didnt help drop cpu temp by but about 3 degrees. gpu went down almost 15
mobo & cpu ambient are down quite a bit

before i just had the setup out in the open with half the case taken apart and sides off. now its much nice looking and functional and its actually a bit cooler. I had to modify the case and clean all the dust out to do this. but im excited and it sounds like a jet plane, rather annoying, but thanks to all the AT'ers here who gave me case buying suggestions. I looked at all the suggested cases and just took my old 2 cases apart and modded together a nice case that is practical and works for me

thanks again, i really appreciate the advice here

 

[xj0hnx]

+1 for the 900. With the fans on low or medium is is very quiet, at least compared to my last case, the chatter from my raptor is louder than all fans on high. Cable management is a couple of Dremel holes away. The only thing I do not like is that the 8 pin comes right across the front, but you could probably extend and hide that too. I have three hard drives, all in the bottom rack, and my DVD drive in the middle, with the top rack empty blowing cool air over the RAM. IMO, if you have more than a the basics inside, I would get a bigger case, as room disappears quick, but for a basic system it is a great case, and pretty easy to work with.

 

[Brutus04]

Jaredpace...you are cleared for takeoff

 

[Yoshi911]

I've built a case with an antec 900 just cause it looked damn cool. And it seemed to be a fine case.. but a little expensive for my taste. Personally I've fallen in love with the RAIDMAX SMILODON cause its PRICE/SIZE/EASY TO INSTALL STUFF!!!!

of the tens of high class custom builds I've done that is my favorite case.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: jaredpace
Okay quick update & thank you to forum members:
I took apart my case & my old case and combined all of the fans into 1. I rerouted my hard drives & all cables and wiring. I now have a total of 8 fans in my new setup

1 Front 200mm intake fan below power button. not sure if this is 200 or 180mm
1 90mm blowing upwards at PSU
1 rear exhaust 90mm fan blowing out.
1 power supply 900mm exhaust blowing out
1 120mm lower fan intake blowing on graphics and NB & mobo
1 90mm air intake on side blowing through tube directly onto CPU
1 conroe stock cpu cooler downdraft
1 8800GT stock cooler fan

it actually didnt help drop cpu temp by but about 3 degrees. gpu went down almost 15
mobo & cpu ambient are down quite a bit

before i just had the setup out in the open with half the case taken apart and sides off. now its much nice looking and functional and its actually a bit cooler. I had to modify the case and clean all the dust out to do this. but im excited and it sounds like a jet plane, rather annoying, but thanks to all the AT'ers here who gave me case buying suggestions. I looked at all the suggested cases and just took my old 2 cases apart and modded together a nice case that is practical and works for me

thanks again, i really appreciate the advice here

900mm is close to 35.5", want to ammend that?

 

[Tempered81]

ehehe 90mm i meant

 

[Zepper]

Spire Pininfarina = Smilodon w/o the rice...

.bh.

 

[Team42]

I've just completed a rebuild of my Antec 900.

Previously, the front fans were in the middle and bottom drive bays, with 2 optical drives and fan controller in the upper bay. My two HDDs were behind the lower fan. I'd fitted dust filters on all 3 intake fans, and noticed the temps went up by about 3 or 4 degrees.

Now I have the 2 optical drives at the bottom, the two HDD bays above them (with one HDD in the middle of each cage, directly behind the fan axis) and the fan controller at the top. This allows the direct air flow to hit the RAM, CPU cooler and the GPU (a Radeon X1950Pro). I also fitted a Thermalright heatsink on the Northbridge, and lighthtly lapped the AC Freezer 7 Pro and the Thermalright heatsink. PSU cables were repositioned (I cut two holes in the case - one below the motherboard where the PSU cables exit the PSU body, and another close to the ATX socket. This removes a lot of the cables from the airflow. The unused cables are in the gap between the other case and the motherboard wall.

Before the rebuild and dust covers, the idle temps (fans on low, and SmartFan disabled) were approx 35 degrees C with ambient at approx 20 degrees C. At peak under full load with ORTHOS, the temps were up to 66 degrees C. Now the idle temps are 35 degrees C (fans on low, SmartFan enabled) 62 degrees C under load for the same ambient. The OC remained the same (e4300 @ 333x9, Vcore 1.46250).

So, all that work for a reduction in 4 degrees C. Was it worth it? I think so. Moving the fans to cool the RAM, CPU and GPU, and repositioning the HDDs so they interfere less with one fan has had obvious benefits, particularly under load. The dust filters work extremely well, even if they do restrict airflow. Running the system cooler is always a good thing.

I think I'll call it a day with the case cooling. Until, that is, I get enough money for a different (better) CPU cooler and a fan assembly for the MOSFETs. And then I'll probably find something else I want to do... Like quieter front fans. And RAM cooling. And...

Maybe someday I'll actually get to use my computer instead of just changing things on it...

T42

PS: all temps were measured using SpeedFan 4.34 beta 35 and CoreTemp 0.95. Both tools report the same temps.

 

[Johnbear007]

Is the clubit rebat deal on that CM done? That looked like a great deal, but it shows as 80$ now.... this deal alive anywhere else?

 

[Cheezeit]

I own the Rev 1.1 antec 900. It's a decent case, if you can get it for under 100. It's probably one of the best cases for aircooling in that range, as I can run an E6400 with an OC from 2.1 to 3.2 in this case.

However, there are no holes for cable management. If you want to have it look nice, you have to mod it. After some cutting, you can get it to look pretty nice. Here's what some holes did to my case:
Before:http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/cheezeit/DSC03106side.JPG
After:http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/cheezeit/DSC03192.JPG

I got this case for cooling, and to tell the truth I think the hump on the top is not that great looking.

 

[rosi]

Originally posted by: Ballatician
cooler master 690

effective cheap cool

Yup! I bought 3 this year.

 

[Cluelessoldtimer]

Cheezeit,
Probably a stupid question, but how did you route the MB power cable through that small hole? Does it fit through sideways or did you dismantle it and rebuild after the wires were through the hole?

Thanks!

BTW I love the way the case looks after the mod. I want the clean look for my own!

Also, where is a good place to pick up fan filters if I am too damn lazy to build my own?

 

[MadScientist]

Originally posted by: Team42
My only complaint about the case is the lack of proprietry dust filters. However, I was able to make my own using cooker hood filters for a damn sight less than the ones you can buy for 120mm fans They're a bit of a bother to take out and clean, but they're effective and bloody cheap.

Is this filter material like the metallic mesh filters? Isn't it a bit air restrictive? How did you fit this material in front of the 2-120mm front fans? Could you do it by just removing the front black plastic bezel or did you have to fully remove each module, which would be a PITA everytime you have to clean the filters?

My son is now the case's owner, and bitchin' about the case being better than a vacuum cleaner for picking up dirt, so I can't check this out, but do you think these filters, that Zepper pointed out, would fit. They are cheap and would be less air restrictive.

 

[Team42]

Originally posted by: MadScientist

Originally posted by: Team42
My only complaint about the case is the lack of proprietry dust filters. However, I was able to make my own using cooker hood filters for a damn sight less than the ones you can buy for 120mm fans They're a bit of a bother to take out and clean, but they're effective and bloody cheap.

Is this filter material like the metallic mesh filters? Isn't it a bit air restrictive? How did you fit this material in front of the 2-120mm front fans? Could you do it by just removing the front black plastic bezel or did you have to fully remove each module, which would be a PITA everytime you have to clean the filters?

My son is now the case's owner, and bitchin' about the case being better than a vacuum cleaner for picking up dirt, so I can't check this out, but do you think these filters, that Zepper pointed out, would fit. They are cheap and would be less air restrictive.

Hi, MadScientist,

No, the filters aren't metalic mesh, they are an open fibrous honeycomb material, a bit like a very porous natural sponge. And they are a complete PITA to fit because of the design of the 900's facade. In front of each fan are 3 metal mesh enclosures, approx 120 mm x 40 mm, which you have to remove, and this can only be done if you take off both side panels and the front bezel. There is no space behind these to fit a 120 mm x 120 mm filter, because of their design.

I took the filters out after a month (it's a half hour job) to check and vacuum them. They aren't too restrictive - temps went up by about 2 - 3 degrees. But they work very well. The case interior was very clean.

I looked at the filter you linked. I'm not sure these would be any easier to fit. I'm not even sure they will fit unless you take the fans out from their housings and place the filters inside the fan housings. But you still have to take off the side panels and bezel to do this.


If I can think of anything else, I'll keep you posted.

Good luck.

T42

 

[dileepsv]

Antec 900 all the way bro...IF u dont mind an extra bit of fan sound...makes me sleep better so who carez
As long as uve got a pumped up sound system..u shudnt worry bout all that fan sound...especialy that 200mm fan is absolutely awesome!!

 

[rich168]

I plan to change the case fans.

Will the 120mm X 120mm X 38mm fit?

Thanks

 

[MadScientist]

T42,
Thanks for the info. I was hoping that filters could be installed without having to remove the 3 metal mesh coverings from each module. The 900 mech drawing shows that the 3 metal mesh coverings are attached to a larger piece that covers the front of the fan, and that you could possibly remove this without unscrewing the metal mesh coverings? Those mesh coverings are attached by small sheet metal screws to thin metal. There's a good chance that after removing and re-installing these a number of times that the holes in the metal will become larger and the screws will not hold.
Antec should have designed this case like the Sonata III that has a slide out fan filter.

 

[Team42]

MadScientist,

It is possible, with a bit of luck, to remove the fan housings with the mesh covers in situ, but it is very very difficult and not guaranteed to work. The fan housings are clipped to the HDD cases at 4 points (2 on each vertical side, from what I recollect). The legs of the mesh covers are recessed into the chassis and can themselves be awkward to release. I don't think there's too much to worry about the retaining screws. They don't need to be fully tightened to secure the covers. I've just had a look at the fan housing and fan. Unless the filter is very thin, I doubt there's any room for it inside the housing.

One thought, though, and I may try this myself: rather than fitting individual 120 mm x 40 mm filters inside each of the 3 mesh covers per 120 mm fan, the bottom and top lips of the covers could be cut away allowing for one 120 mm x 240 mm filter to be inserted, providing the fans are adjacent. Only the uppermost mesh cover would need to be removed to achieve this. Now, where's my Dremel...

T42

 

[Angerisagift]

I've got the 900, it does tend to collect a bit of dust, but fortunately it usually seems to gather on the outside grills, as opposed to inside the case, which my POS raidmax case I had before, used to assume I wanted to store dust inside of my case.

personally I barely notice the noise, I've got 5 fans on medium (4x 120mm 1x200mm), and I can barely here it, actually I think what I'm usually hearing is my GPU.

It's by no means a room heater which my old case definitely was

I actually just installed an additional 500GB HDD today and it maybe took me 10minutes, all you do is remove the side panels which come off with included thumbscrews, then there are 4 thumbscrews on each side that hold the removable drive bays in place, to install a new drive you just loosen these and the bay comes out of the front

It's not the best for cable management, but it's not something I obsess over personally, I've got most of the cables tucked back between the motherboard and the drive bays, with the main ATX power connector going over the side of the video card. and I still get really good airflow.

the Antec P180 is also supposed to be good, it's drive bays supposedly just slide out from the side, and has a seperate chamber for the power supply,

I've also heard good things about the Coolermaster Stacker 690,

but what really drew me to the 900 was the top 200mm exhaust fan, and the fact that it included 4 fans with the price.

I ended up putting in an additional 120mm Antec Tricool fan sidemounted to help cool the video card, but even without it still kept pretty cool.

good luck with your build.

 

[MadScientist]

Angerisagift,
I don't know what that ECS MB is capable of, but that Q6600 GO you have is begging to be overclocked. With the 900 and 5 fans on medium you should be able to get it up to at least 3.0 Ghz on stock voltage with a stock HS.

 

[Angerisagift]

actually I've heard 3.2 stable on air, trust me it's on the to do list, the mobo was part of a combo deal and I Know it sucks, right now I've got 2 GB of OCZ DDR2 800Mhz Dual Channel Matched pair, nerfed down to 667Mhz on single channel,

eventually going to get a nice P35 board, probably ASUS or Abit, and an aftermarket HSF for the CPU,

I actually had the chance yesterday because I was at frys and had about $100 to blow, but I ended up getting a 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATAII Hard Drive, for $100

trust me though, OC'ing is next on the list, it runs great at stock, but I'm pretty sure I'm bottlenecking the 8800GT at times with the clocks and memory in their current state.

just need to stumble upon an extra $150 bucks and all will be right with the world.

 

[Scalarscience]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12

coffee, pffft, i order gaurana beans through a local health foods store and either grind them up and mix them with coffee or tea or just suck on them. They taste HORRIBLE but, one of those beans has as much caffeine as about a gallon of coffee.

Heh. I get bulk raw caffiene powder from 2 different sources, both are clients of mine. I do custom mixes of juice and a regional 'vitamin' drink called Viso, although they changed their distribution to a mainstream bottler so I'll have to find something new soon. They already changed their sweetener for sugar free to sucralose, I'm sure the other mainstream additives aren't far behind...