Product Application:

 ATX Gaming Chassis

Product Provided by:

 Antec

Available at:

 NewEgg.com

Estimated MSRP:

$139.99

Availability:

Now

Review by:

 Darren

Edited by:

 Scott

Review date:

 November 1st, 2006

 
 

 

Specifications:

  • Unique Top mounted 200mm TriCool exhaust fan to cool the hottest system
  • Perforated front bezel for maximum air intake
  • Two front loaded HDD cages for up to 6 hard disk drives
  • The HDD cages act as air ducts to take air in more efficiently. Optional middle 120mm fan bracket to cool the hottest graphic cards or CPU
  • Two 120mm TriCool blue LED front fans to cool hard disk drives
  • Window side panel comes with an optional 120mm fan mount for maximum VGA cooling
  • Top mounted I/O ports for easy access
  • Top tray for your MP3 player, digital camera, etc.
  • Power supply mounts at the bottom of the case (power supply not included)
  • Dimensions: 19.4" x 8.1" x 18.4" (L x W x H)
    49.3cm x 20.6cm x 46.8cm (L x W x H)
  • Advanced cooling system:
    - 1 top 200mm TriCool fan with 3-speed switch control
    - 1 rear 120mm TriCool fan with 3-speed switch control
    - 2 front 120mm special black TriCool blue LED fans with 3-speed switch control to cool HDDs
    - 1 side (optional) 120mm fan to cool graphic cards
    - 1 middle (optional) 120mm fan to cool CPU or graphic cards
     
  • 9 Drive Bays
    - External 3 x 5.25"; Internal 6 x 3.5" for HDD, or
    - External 6 x 5.25"; Internal 3x 3.5" for HDD, or
    - External 9 x 5.25"
  • Motherboard: Fits micro and standard ATX
  • 7 Expansion Slots
  • Top I/O
    - Power & reset button with blue LED
    - 2 x USB 2.0
    - 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire, i.Link)
    - Audio In and Out

     With the case open, you can see the case has a pretty open design.  All nine of the bays you could see from the front are visible and can be configured to hold up to 9 x 5.25" or 3x 3.5" and 6 5.25" bays with the option to have up to three drives open to the front of the case.

     A closer look at the back reveals an emphasis on air flow is not lost here.  Even the card slots are vented!  The rear 120 mm fan is not lit like the front fans but it is also a TriCool fan, named for the ability to manually set the fan in one of three settings based on your individual needs.  On low, these fans are absolutely quiet and the amount of air this case moves is staggering!

     Taking a look at the front you can see the three different drive modules.  The middle bay module is bracketed by yet another optional 120 mm fan mount bringing the total to 5.  This would allow you to place three high heat devices like some of the new high speed hard drives in a self contained wind tunnel!  The drive bay structure doesn't leave much room for hiding cables so Antec has added a couple of simple cable management straps to help route cables down the back of the case.

     Each of the two bottom bays can be removed by a set of 8 thumb screws.  Having screws on both sides may be a pain to remove but the extra stability pays off in noise reduction. 

     The bays are nicely spaced to allow those front 120 mm fans to circulate around each drive.  I did find that the cables can get pinched when reinstalling the bay module, so take care to not cut them.

     Looking at that massive TriCool 200 mm fan from the inside reveals just how much bigger than a 120 mm it really is.  Just like the 120 mm TriCool fans, the 200 mm is also adjustable with a tree position switch.  I set this on medium and the fan silently pushes a ton of air.  On high the fan is audible but for an overclocked system this fan can really pull hot air out of the top.