A Homebuilt System: Part 1 - Case
Written: Jul 29 '04 (Updated Oct 02 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Superb design, durability, and workmanship
Cons: Might seem heavy to some people
The Bottom Line: I'd recommend this case to all do-it-yourself home computer builders, except those who need an absolutely insane amount of cooling.
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| KarsinTheHutt's Full Review: Antec Performance II SX630II ATX Mini-Tower Case |
For the home system builder, selecting a good computer case is extremely important. A good case can be a joy to work with if it has an intuitive method of system board and drive installation and a design that allows for enough cooling, while a bad case will frustrate users and cause needless wrangling to get parts installed. Workmanship is also very important. A good case design that is manufactured badly may irritate users with sharp edges and parts that don’t fit.
My newest desktop system is the first homebuilt computer I have built for myself, although it is the third homebuilt I have constructed. I chose the Antec SX630II mid-tower for a case, and in my judgment it qualifies as an excellent case in terms of workmanship and design
Build & Workmanship
The austere appearance of the SX630II underscores its sturdy construction. Antec equipped this case with a steel chassis and 1mm steel panels. While this means that the case is heavier than cases made of aluminum or plastic panels, it also means that the SX630II is extremely durable. The front bezels (consisting of an upper and lower module) are plastic, but it is heavy gauge plastic and feels substantial.
One can open the SX630II by removing two thumbscrews and sliding a handle on the left hand side panel. This panel swings outwards and can be removed completely from the case. Overall, the removable parts, from the removable side panel to the plastic bezels, fit well and don’t leave gaps or loose feeling. My system board fit exactly, and expansion cards line up perfectly in the back.
Design
The internals of the SX630II allow plenty of space to work. I was able to install an ATX system board (Abit AN7) with minimal effort. System boards attach to the case by means of metal standoffs threaded to accept Philips screws. The SX630II came with a bag full of extra standoffs and screws, so I was never pressed to find extra parts. Also included are two different I/O shield panels (for the keyboard, mouse, USB, LAN ports, etc.) for the back of the case. Installing a different I/O panel was probably the most difficult part of using the case because I had to force the old I/O panel off and bend a few tabs on the new one to get it to accept my system board. Even with this minor inconvenience, I was still impressed that I could mount my system board (with CPU and RAM attached) inside with few problems.
Installation of drives was also fairly painless. The SX630II has 3 external 5” bays for devices like DVD-ROM drives, 2 3.5” bays for floppies & zip drives, and 3 internal 3.5” bays for hard drives. The 5” bays use mounting rails. On the bottom of the interior of the case are several pairs of mounting rails held in brackets for safekeeping (a great feature, since a common complaint concerning drive rails is that one tends to misplace them). One can slide out a pair of rails, screw them to a drive, and plug the drive into a 5” bay. The external 3.5” bays consist of a metal module secured by thumbscrews. This bay can be unplugged by removing the top bezel and thumbscrews, and pulling the bay outwards. I left these bays empty.
The internal bay can be removed by pulling on a steel lever. This allows the user to take the internal bay out of the case and screw up to three hard drives inside. The bay also has a slot in the front for an additional fan, should one desire extra cooling. Overall, drive mounting was much more intuitive than it was on the case used in my venerable Dell Dimension XPS T.
Antec allows for up to 2 fans in the front (a fan in the HDD bay that I mentioned earlier and a fan in the bottom behind the lower bezel), and one fan in the back (a basic, working, 80mm fan is included). This should be enough to satisfy all but the most demanding system builders.
Other Features
Included with the SX630II is a 300 Watt Antec SmartPower Power Supply Unit (PSU). This is one of Antec’s basic power supplies, and though it is not nearly as fancy as an Antec TruePower model, for my purposes it was sufficient. Voltage regulation is good, with 3.31 volts on the 3.3 rail and 5.09 volts on the 5 volt rail (as measured by my Abit AN7 system board). One nice touch was a physical kill switch on the back of the PSU, something cheaper PSUs often don’t have.
The front panel of the SX630II has the standard Power and Reset switches as well as 2 USB ports, a Firewire Port, and LEDs for Power and Disk activity. Two other LEDs can be plugged in to expansion cards for any purpose you want. There is also a small system speaker somewhere in the front panel. Headers to connect the LEDs, switches, and USB/Firewire ports look pretty standard.
Conclusion
The Antec SX630II doesn’t have flashing lights, a side acrylic window, fans in the top and bottom, and 12 drive bays, but it gets the job done for most system builders. I appreciated the workmanship and durability of the SX630II, the spacious interior, and the easy-to-use drive bays. At $66 ($81 including shipping), it costs a bit more than other basic cases, but the amenities and quality are well worth the extra money.
Stay tuned... I'll be reviewing some of the other components used in my new computer.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
KarsinTheHutt
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Member: Karsin Eng
Location: United States of America
Reviews written: 83
Trusted by: 19 members
About Me:
I am a part time computer hobbyist and moderator at forum.thinkpads.com
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