Many pleasing features - if bought on sale...
Written: Aug 19 '07 (Updated Aug 19 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Clean design, cooling, 2 front 3.5" bays, front usb, hdd grommets. Dual fan power supply.
Cons: Metal is thinner and power supply is lighter, than expected at this price point.
The Bottom Line: If you are looking for an impressively well designed, feature rich *budget* case, this will do very nicely. But, only if you buy it on sale!!!!
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| pcmaster's Full Review: |
I have seen this case priced at as much as $69.99. Even with the included power supply, that's a bit high for this build quality level. Consider this a budget case with perks, pay accordingly, and you'll be very pleased.
Construction, Design: Well thought out and detailed, but the metal is thinner than expected. It's "medium-weight". You'll find thinner, which wont do. Enlight steel cases put this to shame, but this is good enough. Most edges are folded over. This helps strengthen the metal, and protects fingers from cuts. The 3.5" bay is removable via 3 screws. With drives and USB readers installed, it's a very tight fit back into place. The rear expansion ports are covered with replaceable snap in brackets. This is a nice touch, compared to the stamped steel, disposable only, brackets on cheap generic cases. The front cover is a snap on design, fairly easy to remove, and of thicker than expected, very shiny, black plastic. Front led's and buttons are mechanically attached, not simply glued on. The 3.5" drive cage includes rubber grommets for up to 3 internal drives. The internal drives install about 1cm from the front of the case, and a void is stamped into the front of the case so a small (60mm?) fan could be mounted to cool the drives. The case speaker is mounted to the front of the case, and is piezo, not the old, big paper/magnet style.
The power button is easy to push, and feels solid. There is a reset button.
Accessories: Well done. Antec includes plenty of screws and stand-offs. And I mean PLENTY. After installing my mATX motherboard, I have 6 stand-offs left over. I had enough fine threaded screws to install 2 dvd drives and a card reader, and still have many left over. Screws with tapered shank are included for proper mounting of 3.5" drives through the rubber grommets. There is also a nylon zip tie, Antec case badge, and hook to allow a lock to be attached to the case. (I have found this is essential for responsible parents with courageous, independent teenagers.)
A standout feature is the 120mm exhaust fan. I personally strongly prefer a negative pressure air system. I feel it allows intake of air from every crevice, thus helping keep all the front devices cool. This 120mm fan includes a speed switch. Wow! 3 settings - L M H, and set to Low still moves air you can feel, but is virtually silent. I love silence. I just wish the switch could be mounted externally. Also included is a front 80mm intake fan removable bracket. Users can opt to install a fan there. The case fan locations use a honeycomb stamped grill, not as nice as wire grills, but much better than traditional stamped grills. It allows more airflow, and thus the fans will spin at their intended speed. This leads to lower, more pleasing noise signatures. To test, cover an intake fan, or exhaust fan on your case with your hand, and notice the change in fan noise.
Other Features: Of note, two 3.5" front accessible bays. With floppy drives fading from the scene, many cases are opting to go with 1 bay - for a card reader. 4, yes 4, front LEDs. 1 for power, and 3 for independent drive activity. Actually, they are externally described as drive (a cylinder), and then I, and II. Side vents: 1 passive, 1, a shrouded CPU vent. Shroud can be removed. I would prefer to be able to cover the cpu vent, as my cpu cooler draws from front to back, not "top to bottom."
Power Supply: The Smart Power 350 (watts) may seem to be, and may be, on the light side these days. Also, Antecs power supplies, especially their value lines, have got a terrible reputation the last few years. They oem them from someone else, and apparently, their quality is very, very bad. Still, things may be improving these days. Also, this power supply has Dual Rails. This almost seems silly on a 350 watt, but hey, why not. Consider that a typical computer uses about 75 watts for basic usage, and 125 to 150 watts when being pounded. (video games).
Antec also under rates this power supply. That is, many power supplies are rated to peak at 2x their continuous rate. Thus, another brand, a cheap brand, 400watt power supply can maintain 200 watts continuous, and 400 watts only for a very brief spike in power. Antec allows this 350 to run continuously at about 275 watts, and peak, not at 550, but only 350. I prefer to think of this as being an Antec 350 than can outperform some other brand 500 at continuous usage (which is what a power supply does 95% of the time). You might think of this as a 550watt device with it's peak handling power stunted - but many people ridicule a manufacture that sells a "600 WATTS !!!" device than can only maintain 300 watts continuously.
Over current, volt, and short circuit protections will cut the power if it exceeds the appropriate threshold. The point here is, the power supply should be fine, perfectly fine, for a normal pc - as long as the actual build quality of the supply matches Antec's stated specifications.
Other features on this power supply are very nice. It includes a pci-e 6 pin connector, four - yes FOUR - sata connectors: 2 standard, and 2 right angle. That is very nice. Also, this power supply includes TWO 80cm fans. Only 1 runs continuously, the other on thermal demand. This 'straight through, push-pull' design is excellent for power supply cooling, and maintains the negative pressure air flow within the case. I like it very much.
The power supply cabling is understated yet highly functional, no wire wraps, not modular, but the cables are long, some extend 6" below the bottom of the case. And there are LOTS of connectors, for everything, including a fan tach sensor to feed power supply fan data to the motherboard bios.
I can only hope Antec truly is under-rating the power supply, because that is the only reason to justify so much qood design on such a light power supply.
The power supply fans, along with the 120mm case fan contribute to a VERY QUIET design, with excellent cooling characteristics. The 80cm fans both have wire grills, not stamped steel. This allows better air flow, and again, quieter operation.
Another note on cooling, the case front has many small holes stamped in it, to provide more air flow. Also, there is partial wall above the motherboard area. This separates the power supply and 5" bays from the lower areas - partially. I feel it's a good way to help direct more air in a front to back direction. It looks very deliberate, and well designed.
Negatives: The metal is thinner than it should be, but acceptable. The power supply cabling slightly obstructs 5" drives. Many modern dvd drives are getting shorter and shorter. If you have a longer one, it will make cabling difficult. The Side panels can only be removed if the top is taken off first. I personally hate that design. Thankfully, they provide easy off thumbscrews to speed that up. 120mm fan switch cannot be externally accessed. There is no provided cover to close the cpu vent, which is not helpful with front to back cpu coolers. Again, Antec's has poor reputation for power supply reliability on their value line supplies; this may have improved though.
One last note, Antec's 3 Year Warranty provides some relief to any anxiety I might have due to the mid-weight steel, or the seemingly lightweight (and poorly regarded) yet very feature rich power supply. I paid $50 with a $50 rebate. (yes, free.) If I had paid $50, I would have felt it was a reasonable price. $40 would be a good deal. $30, a song.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
pcmaster
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Member: Jay
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 2 members
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