NEW ANTEC CASE

[jose]

Does anyone have pics w/ it loaded up ?

The review at hardwaresecrets.com doesn't load..

Regards,
Jose

 

[xaeniac]

i love antec cases

 

[lopri]

I have a pic of semi-built rig.

http://img71.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01068xa6.png

 

[stevem326]

This case is being offered at CompUSA for $89 this week. Reg price is $149 minus $30 Antec rebate minus $30 instant savings (total of $60 off) but it's for this week only.

Would this change anyone's mind about buying it? I'm tempted...

 

[sodcha0s]

Cool, I might run by and have a look in person, I'm interested in what it looks like up close, and what kind of quality went into it. The more I look at it though, the more I hate how they have the PSU mounting set up...

 

[stevem326]

Originally posted by: sodcha0s
Cool, I might run by and have a look in person, I'm interested in what it looks like up close, and what kind of quality went into it. The more I look at it though, the more I hate how they have the PSU mounting set up...

Well, don't wait too long because the rebate is only in effect for this week. I've heard that the two 120mm fans in the front are dust magnets so I'm starting to have second thoughts. There's also no filters in the front either. That's pretty bad. $150 case with no filters? I guess maybe you could cut some filters yourself...

 

[Hal0]

Will the 8800GTX fit in antec nine hundred ??

 

[sodcha0s]

Allright, I went and took a look at this thing. The quality actually seems pretty decent, but this case is small, too small for a serious build IMO. I think it looks pretty good though, but like I said earlier in the thread, it really has no redeeming qualities, other than the 200mm top fan which seems like more of a gimmick than anything else. I'm sure the cooling is excellent, but you'd have a hard time making a quiet build with it I'd imagine. Anyway, IMO it's not worth even the $89 price, there are a lot of other cases that offer a lot more for about the same price. For my money, I'd get THIS, much better case in every way (well except if you're looking for a small case of course...) and it's cheaper too.

BTW, while I was there I got my first up close look at the CM 830. Wow, that thing is an engineering marvel...LOL. Seriously, it is very impressive, but IMO it is WAY WAY overkill for a computer case. I'd bet you could use it for a jackstand, it's that stout. I always thought it looked kinda goofy, but it actually looks pretty cool. Nothing I'd every buy though, especially for that kind of $$$.

 

[Eska]

looks too simple.. maybe even ugly...

 

[Rinaun]

I have the 900 and love it. I will take a thorough amount of pictures when I remove my video card for step-up. Ask any questions/ request any shots of any part of the case if needed, nows the time.

Rinaun

 

[stevem326]

Originally posted by: sodcha0s
Allright, I went and took a look at this thing. The quality actually seems pretty decent, but this case is small, too small for a serious build IMO. I think it looks pretty good though, but like I said earlier in the thread, it really has no redeeming qualities, other than the 200mm top fan which seems like more of a gimmick than anything else. I'm sure the cooling is excellent, but you'd have a hard time making a quiet build with it I'd imagine. Anyway, IMO it's not worth even the $89 price, there are a lot of other cases that offer a lot more for about the same price. For my money, I'd get THIS, much better case in every way (well except if you're looking for a small case of course...) and it's cheaper too.

BTW, while I was there I got my first up close look at the CM 830. Wow, that thing is an engineering marvel...LOL. Seriously, it is very impressive, but IMO it is WAY WAY overkill for a computer case. I'd bet you could use it for a jackstand, it's that stout. I always thought it looked kinda goofy, but it actually looks pretty cool. Nothing I'd every buy though, especially for that kind of $$$.

Thanks a lot for the review. I stopped by CompUSA as well but they only had the 900's in their boxes (none on display) so I couldn't get a really good look at it. Based on your review and some of the other comments here, I'm leaning towards something else.

 

[Skott]

Not that I'm trying to defend this case but I dont get why people think bigger fans = more noise. Bigger fans run slower and quieter and yet move the same amount of air if not more(depends on the fan) and assuming the Antec fan build is good quality it'll be quieter than a bunch of smaller fans. I got a 250mm fan in the sig below and that sucker is super quiet. Its also got two 120mm fans as listed and this case is one quiet puppy let me tell you. Unless those fans on that Antec are poor quality it should be a pretty quiet cooler.

 

[stevem326]

Originally posted by: Skott
Not that I'm trying to defend this case but I dont get why people think bigger fans = more noise. Bigger fans run slower and quieter and yet move the same amount of air if not more(depends on the fan) and assuming the Antec fan build is good quality it'll be quieter than a bunch of smaller fans. I got a 250mm fan in the sig below and that sucker is super quiet. Its also got two 120mm fans as listed and this case is one quiet puppy let me tell you. Unless those fans on that Antec are poor quality it should be a pretty quiet cooler.

I'm not concerned with the noise as much as I'm concerned with the two 120mm fans. There are no filters in front of the fans...only wire mesh. And the front of the case doesn't look like it comes off very easily in order to facilitate cleaning out all of the dust that will build up in there. It's also a very tight fit between the front of the case and where all of the hard drives will reside (you can barely fit a Q-tip in there for cleaning). I'm not even sure compressed air would do a very good job of cleaning either. Other than these issues, I think I would buy this thing...

 

[Skott]

I'm wondering if a filter mod would work? We know they make filters for 120mm fans so maybe have to rig up something on your own. Although for the price you'd think Antec would have built this into the case already so the consumer doesnt have to.

 

[sodcha0s]

As far as filters for the fans, you can use some old pantyhose for a filter. Just stretch it over the fan and fasten with a rubber band.... they work great, no mods neccessary and you can't see them either. The noise issue would be mainly due to the fact that the case is pretty much wide open, you'll hear anything and everything that makes noise like the HD's, vid card, NB cooler fan, etc.

 

[stevem326]

Skott/Sodcha0s:

Yeh, I agree a filter mod would be a good idea but I have to say I'm surprised a $149 case doesn't come with filters to begin with (sure, it's $89 this week with the rebates, but still...)

Like I said though, it's REALLY tight between the case and the drive bays. You can't even fit your fingers in there to do anything so you'd have to take the front of the case off in order to place a filter behind the fans. And the front of the case doesn't have any quick release levers or anything. Instead there's these plastic rivets that would require some kind of tool to remove...what a pain. I think they should have put a bit more thought into the design of this case

 

[LouPoir]

Nice case - tight fit for everything - runs really cool and quiet.

I like the looks of it.

Lou

 

[Crochammer]

If this is true "Cons: cant install a sinlge GPU in the top PCI-E slot because the case wont allow enough room to access the DVI ports. .. .so just put it in the 2nd slot what else were you going to use the 2nd SLI slot for anyway", then that is a poor reflection on quality.

Also the drive bays are what I would expect from a cheapo case. I can't tell if sound isolation grommets are used but if you have a hinged door you would expect that the targeted user would want better and easier access to hard drives and the like. With that setup make sure the clearance from the back of the drives to the edge of the mobo and/or video card is adequate.

Hate the holes in the top front of the case. Are those for paper clips and case screws? A smoother look would have been better but that's a bit picky.

Cooling looks to be good and the PSU looks to be a little closer to the mobo so maybe there will be less problems stretching cables than in the 180. I can't tell if it will take larger than standard PSU's.

Bottom line it's over priced for what you should expect from Antec in terms of quality.

IMHO of course.

 

[jose]

I'm starting to like the look of the case...

Any more pics w/ it loaded up ??

I'm thinking using it for a sm. server build. (would use a stacker but it's too tall for this build)

asus P5WDG2 WS pro w/ 2 gig's & e6600
LSI 320-2x raid controller & LSI 20320 hba adapter
6 - 15k Fuj 36 68pin drives
PC Power & Cool 750w psu
6800GT pci-e
Tape & dvd-rw drives

I'm thinking it might be tight but it looks to be a good small cool case ..

more pics.. please...


Regards,
Jose

 

[iscsidude]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: Shadowknight

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Looks goofy to me. What's with Antec mounting all the PSus at the bottom of the case?

It gives it access to cooler air, making it less likely to have the fan spin up due to thermals. It also keeps it away from the CPU, which is another hot componentt that might cause it to spin up more.

But, the PSU has a fan that aids in the exhausting of hot air anyway.

Exactly. So why not put the PSU on the top with the fan pointing to the top with exhaust holes in the case. Keeping the PSU in the bottom (warm air rises) makes no sense.

 

[Gannon]

I own an antec 900 I'll put some pics up soon with it loaded up with an 8800 and my water cooling setup... note that I'm always in and out of my case so I just leave it open... lol.

I like the case but for it's price without a damn power supply it doesn't come with enough... for instance there are no front panels for USB and audio... but they had the nerve to add one tiny 3.5' panel for a flash / floppy drive, which pissed me right off... a front panel for a 3.5 floppy but not audio and USB? what kind of dorks are working at antec? Certainly the marketing department decided to rename this case a "gamer case" and overcharge money for it.

It's so messed up having audio and USB panels on top of the case! I like where the power and reset button are but the reset button was retardedly designed, they should have used the same design for the reset button as they did for the power button: Nice, big and easy to push.

Next with my OCZ power supply which is a corded monster, it's packed pretty tight, I haven't moved my other 6 hard drives to the 900 I got 2 Hard disks and a DVD rom in it right now, I dont have the resovoir for my water cooling kit installed as of yet, just using a pot for the present time... haha.

All I can say is the Antec 900 could have been so much better, they WASTED so much damn space with the cages for 3.5" hard disk drives the could have easily made slots for 4 drives per cage, which unnerved me to no end. I need all the 3.5' slots for hard disks I can get within the smallest possible space.

 

[jose]

Can the psu be mounted either way ? fan up or down ?

I could cut a hole in the bottom to suck air from under the bottom of the case ... It would be on a raised wire rack shelf...

Regards,
Jose

 

[Gannon]

Originally posted by: jose
Can the psu be mounted either way ? fan up or down ?

I could cut a hole in the bottom to suck air from under the bottom of the case ... It would be on a raised wire rack shelf...

Regards,
Jose

There is no hole in the bottom _floor_ of the case, but if you have a 'regular' power supply fan thats on either side you're good. Antec case is best suited to power supplies that have fan placement like the OCZ power stream.

The power supply can be mounted any way you want as far as I know, I could test it out since my case is open and flipping it would be trivial.

 

[Gannon]

My antec 900 Pics... Note the Antec 900 is a smaller case, its not huge, but if you dont have a lot of expansion cards to put in it, it works just fine fully loaded, the fans very quiet compared to other PC's as well, antec is probably one of the most silent cases I've used but I can't say I've used that many but compared to my old one it's enormous.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/xts4/resize_50_IMG_0222.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/xts4/resize_50_IMG_0216.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/xts4/resize_50_IMG_0215.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/xts4/resize_50_IMG_0214.jpg

Only 3 drives per cage??? BAHH... in my old case I could stick 4 drives per three 5.25' drive bays. Pic below.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/xts4/resize_50_IMG_0226.jpg

 

[OhNoPoPo]

Originally posted by: Gannon
My antec 900 Pics... Note the Antec 900 is a smaller case, its not huge, but if you dont have a lot of expansion cards to put in it, it works just fine fully loaded, the fans very quiet compared to other PC's as well, antec is probably one of the most silent cases I've used but I can't say I've used that many but compared to my old one it's enormous.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/xts4/resize_50_IMG_0222.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/xts4/resize_50_IMG_0216.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/xts4/resize_50_IMG_0215.jpg



http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/xts4/resize_50_IMG_0214.jpg

Only 3 drives per cage??? BAHH... in my old case I could stick 4 drives per three 5.25' drive bays. Pic below.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/xts4/resize_50_IMG_0226.jpg

Holy. That first picture is the total antithesis to "clean and neat" computing.