Hello,

Well since my Dream PC is dead for the moment and I have nothing better to
do and I am not 100% happy with the antec case I will write a review about
it... for you, for me, for them, for further improvements.

Let's see what I find good about this case and then less good

The good/the positive:

+++++ +++++ +++++ + Superb airflow (16 points):

+++ Three very nice front inlet fans/positions.
++ Two very nice rear exhaust fans/positions.
+++ One big top exhaust fan/position.
+ Adjustable fan speeds, very nice/cool.
+ Extra air/space in the top and bottom.
+ Extra air/space in the front/rear.
+++ Three removeable/cleanable/strong dust filters.
+ Airflow goes into the front, and out the back and even top as it's
supposed too.
+ Power supply on bottom, extra airflow/cooling on bottom. I like that.

+++++ +++++ +++++ Good mounting system (15 points):

+++ Three removeable harddisk bays.
+ Bays go out via the front.
++ Floppy drive mounting extension included.
++ All necessary screws included.
+ Thumb screws which can be used by screw driver too.
+ IDE/DVD drive fit perfectly.
+ Floppy drive fit perfectly.
+ Lots of space.
+ Good motherboard holding screws/places/positions.
+ pci slot closures.
+ Strong material in general, strong side panels.

+++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ ++ Extra's (22 points):

+ Laser like leds that shine light over fan blades, looks like a
presentation... very nice/cool/beautifull.
+ Good manual with fan/airflow specifications.
+ Very good on/off power button =D
+ Very nice black look, with golden antec logo on it.
+ Holes in the motherboard area to work away cables.
+ Extra space on the sides to work away cables.
+ Rubber feet to prevent scrathes, and possibly reduce resonance and
increase stability.
+ Glass/plastic see through side panel so you can look inside to see if
everything is ok.
+ Extra internal mounting places for additional fans. Probably not really
necessary but it's there if you need it.
+ Daisy-chain molex power connectors for fans... they can all be attached to
each other.
+ Almost millimeter perfect... nothing gets stuck or anything like that
+ Special grill for floppy drive.
+ Extra foam for top grills.
+ No sharp edges.
+ Nice knubs for fans, looks good.
+ Reset button.
+ Two usb ports on front, one sata port on front, two audio ports on front,
I don't care so much about this so only one point for all that.
+ Protective grills on back and top and even front fans, to prevent fingers
and large objects from falling in or touching blades or whatever..
+ Manual had a good tip on getting the dust filters out easily. I appreciate
that a lot !
+ Tiny little blue harddisk activity indicator at the top... Nice.
+ Extra space on the right side panel to tuck away large plugs and cables...
comes in handy !
+ Constant light beam on fans shows the fans are working !

Total positive points: 53.

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- - Now the bad:

- It's very heavy... this makes it stable and less prone to vibration... but
it's also a back breaker
- It's big... it's difficult to transport/pick up.
- It's low above the ground... It's difficult to get fingers under it...
this makes it difficult to pickup or move it across a table.
- It doesn't have any handles or so... this makes it difficult to pick up.
- The doors are a bit difficult to attach... they seem to overshoot into the
case... then must be pulled back for proper placement.
- Right door corner wasn't 100% closed... it looked as if cables pushed it
out which wasn't the case... it just didn't close 100% perfectly... it's not
a problem but you should look at it so you don't get fooled when working
away the cables.
- The cabling system pretty much sucks ass... it has plastic thingies which
look like they will break/snap easily... it's not a good system... way too
many cables to get through those thingies... but maybe with a modular power
supply it might work... but I doubt it... since I wish I had a better
cabling system.... with many place holders everywhere or so.
- The external front ports... are high up... I place my case on the table...
so better might have been on the bottom... so I don't need long digital
camera cables etc...
I haven't tried it though.. but I know that's gonna be a stretch.. what if I
wanna move the camera a little bit on the table ? It's too high up there.
- What is the purpose of the front grills with all the holes ? I guess it's
just for looks or so... and ofcourse some airflow through it... maybe it's
just for protection or so... too me it looks a bit weird... like unfinished
or so... but just leave it as it is or so, minor negative point.
- I don't like the floppy grill because of missing foam... so that's another
minor point down below, it's it only attached in one way and it almost
overshoot inside... but minor negative point:
- No special foam cut for floppy drive... so I will have to cut the extra
foam with a stanley knife... then I could cut myself and get blood
somewhere...
- The rubber feet are very sturdy... it makes it difficult to slide the case
over the table... even trying to move the case for one millimeter is nearly
impossible at least on a wooden table... one could argue this is could to
prevent people from ****ing with it... but ok.
Another thing that worries me about the sturdyness is what if I push really
hard ?
Maybe the rubber feet would break off...
So I think that the rubber feet should be a little bit more smooth so
pushing the case
around the table becomes possible. Minor negative point... I like the
sturdyness too... especially if it prevent any vibration etc... however this
critique is food for further eximanation and experimentation is there
something better possible ?
- Inside of case scratches easily... so be carefull... minor negative point.
- Some metal splinters from screws which I had to screw in... and some black
paint correls... minor negative point.
- Case had lots of smell... maybe vent the case before shipping ? Minor
negative point since I have good airflow through my appartment... could be
issue for people with less good airflow in their houses
- It is possible to drop little screw on the top big hole... which could
fall down... so people better be carefull not to do that...
- Bottom power supply could be dangerous if anything fails into it...
especially small little things and screws on the side could fall in.
- This case can definetly not be placed on the ground.. it would suck in
massive ammounts of dust... People doing so are crazy in my honest
oppinion... even with the dust filters I reckon it would still suck in a lot
!
- Manual said filters might have to be cleaned once a month... sounds boring
!
- Fan power connectors are not modulair... I stuck them to the back with
plastic tape... so I will have to pull the tape loose... this is a big
negative point.
- While I like the harddisk mounting system a lot because it is
ridig/sturdy.. it does involve a lot of thumbscrews and extra screws... this
is slightly time consuming.
- Working away all the cables with plastic stickers in the side requires an
insane ammount of time and energy and concentration and planning... very big
negative point.

*** Major improvements in design could be made here to motherboards and
cases to work away cables better... Maybe design a case that has special
sleaves or something to easily route away all the cables... Maybe make a
special routing sleaves/lanes like a traffic system on the side pannels ***

- Front and read leds can't be turned off.. Probably minor negative point...
so far I don't mind the blue lights/leds/lasers

- No indicators for the buttons and ports at the top... Some text or icons
might have been better for newbies like: reset, usb, sata, power/on/off.
Maybe in golden letters might have been nice.

- What is the purpose of the top triangles ? Looks a bit weird to me... some
handles there might have been more functional !

- I am worried the top could break off if I pick it up there... seems like
plastic attached to it... so far it seems sturdy... but for how long... so
better not grab it there

Total negative points: 26 negative points. (Some of those minor negative
points )

So to sum up:

The biggest positive thing is:

+ Very good airflow
+ Very strong sturdy case.
+ Possiblity to work away cables/plugs.
+ Nice pitch-black look, lasers kinda nice too.
+ Pretty good mounting system.
+ Good power on/off button

The biggest negative thing is:

- Very difficult to pickup because of missing handles or place to grab onto,
also because it's close to the ground.

- Very difficult to move because of size, weight and sturdy rubber feet.

- Cabling system is terrible... some nice pre-made sleaves, lanes or
something might have been perfect !

- The smell was kinda annoying... took at least two days to get rid of it..
might be because of new motherboard, artic silver and new cooler too !

- The doors are a bit difficult to close... especially the glass door. It
overshoots a little.

So there ya go folks... don't think too much of the negative... this is a
damn good case ! But it's not for people looking to quickly mount a
system together... You'll need lots of time to mount everything and you'll
need lots and lots of time to work away the cables... which is a really
tiring... but once that's all done.. it's fabulous

And a special word about the laser/light show... I like those lasers/lights
a lot !

They shine a constant beam of blue light onto the fan blades... you can only
see it flicker/move a little bit.. (so you know the fans are working !) it
doesn't really move that much so it's not annoying or distracting... but
once you look at it... it's quite beautifull/gorgious... I am not found of
christmas trees... but this I like =D

The only little weird thing is: the top blow hole led can be turned
off/on... while the rest cannot ? :$ LOL. That's funny. I even like the blue
light on the blowhole..

It's like a ufo on top of my case ! What more could you ask for in the fun
factor ? LOL =D

Go here if you wanna see some pictures of a build:

http://members.home.nl/hbthoupperman...mPCThirdBuild/

Bye,
Skybuck.