HEXUS.reviews :: Antec Nine Hundred Chassis

[Steve]

Hear that? That’s the collective relief of Antec. The Nine-Hundred (900) series has finally arrived. What’s that, I hear you say? It’s been out months? Sure it has and no, we’re not going mad. This, folks, much like washing powder, is the new and improved Antec 900.

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=7507

[jackvdbuk]

nice nice review, been waiting quite a bit for that.

it seems to be a great case but the two things i dont like at all is the idea of lots of dust inside the case making evrything look bad and slow.

im not too sure how the front bays work but i cant believe they use screws thought that was an old idea but i suppose they wont 'just fall out'

http://img.hexus.net/v2/cases/antec/900/11.s.jpg

i have no idea what this is suppsoed to be :S and what part is the inner wall?

sorry if im being a noob but ah well

[MD]

As you look at that picture, the inner wall is behind the screw holes you seen on the left hand side. The front panels are indeed screwed to the unit, old school I know, but to be honest, as they are drive modules then its not such and inconvienience....

matt.

[[OK²]Pihrana]

This Case is exactly the sort of thing im looking for apart from 1 major problem. Its being aimed at Gamers, yet it is likely to prevent many gamers GFX cards from being installed easily. I have a Case which is over 520mm long, and with my 6 hardrives installed i have SERIOUSLY struggled with getting Hardrive and 6pin PCIe power cables plugged in, without seriously harming the cables due to the extreme bend angle needed to cram it all in.

My GFX card is a rather large 7900GTO, but all the newer generation of cards coming to market appear to be just as long.

Luckily it sounds like i could use the 5.25" to 3.5" converter caddy and ensure i have clearance about the GFX card, but its still a little frustrating.....

Still a great review which has laid out exactly the sorts of constraints that matter to me. Cheers Hexus !!

[csl]

I much prefer the styling of the P150-style cases, with simple lines and plain no-frills looks. Not sure why they include the extra top-blowing fan - surely all but the most insanely overheating equipment will be just fine with two 12cm fans. The tray is a nice touch for phones or mp3 players though, granted.

[rjpearce]

Its a nice case, i have the rev 1 version and it does cool really well. Also with all the fans on low its very quiet! The modular drive cages are a fiddle and the plastic fan mount on the window feels fragile but all in all a nice case. Just wish it had 3 pin fan connectors.

[Oobie-]

Thanks for reviewing it. 2 Things I wanted to know:

1) The noise generated (I know the gamer doesn't mind noise, but Im a gamer and it annoys me), is it something that would be heard if you had headphones on and watching a movie/listening to mp3's?

2) what revision does scan sell?

I've read a mixture of reviews on it and they say its quite loud even on low, and the fact that there isn't anywhere to move/hide the wires makes it quite messy.

I really want it! and I need to choose the appropriate PSU!

[darkblueslider]

Hey, Great review, thanks, came just in time for the after-christmas cash spending
I was really interested in buying this, but your review threw a spanner in the works.

I'm really not sure my PSU has 4 spare Molex connectors - do the fans come with like a daisychain? Its one of the Early Antec Neopower 480W's - it might have a few spare molex's... but four seems a bit much to ask.


I've got a couple of questions, if you don't mind (Along with Oobie's query on what revision Scan sells)
Usually with fans you can 'daisy-chain' them, connecting them in a chain to a single molex slot from your PSU, do these fans have the connections to enable you to do that?
What fan speed are the fans running at in the thermal comparison?

Thanks,
dark

[MD]

Its a nice case, i have the rev 1 version and it does cool really well. Also with all the fans on low its very quiet! The modular drive cages are a fiddle and the plastic fan mount on the window feels fragile but all in all a nice case. Just wish it had 3 pin fan connectors.

You can of course replace the fans with 3 pin header models, it can get expensive if you go for tri-speed ones again, but I would recommend going for the 120mm Sharkoon 'Golf Ball' fans at Scan - excellent for the money. PLEASE NOTE - this would apply to the rear fan and the fan mount for the graphics card. Short of taking my own system apart I don't have a spare Sharkoon fan to test the length of the 3 pin wires for the fans at the front of the caddies. If I didn't use those really hard-to-remove rubber grommits for mounting my fans I would have checked for you.

Thanks for reviewing it. 2 Things I wanted to know:

1) The noise generated (I know the gamer doesn't mind noise, but Im a gamer and it annoys me), is it something that would be heard if you had headphones on and watching a movie/listening to mp3's?

2) what revision does scan sell?

I've read a mixture of reviews on it and they say its quite loud even on low, and the fact that there isn't anywhere to move/hide the wires makes it quite messy.

I really want it! and I need to choose the appropriate PSU!

From a noise perspective in the scenario you quote, you wouldn't hear it. The only thing I would say is due to the number of fans its worth making sure your system would be on an even footing as further vibration help isn't needed heh.

Scan sells the revision two fo this chassis now - Antec pulled all stock back for it to be reworked, rather than causing the customer to lose thier case after purchase. As defined in the review, look out for the rear fan colour for a quick indication of the version.

p.s. this is also shown on the outside of the box in the product photos to be able to tell quickly.

Hey, Great review, thanks, came just in time for the after-christmas cash spending
I was really interested in buying this, but your review threw a spanner in the works.

I'm really not sure my PSU has 4 spare Molex connectors - do the fans come with like a daisychain? Its one of the Early Antec Neopower 480W's - it might have a few spare molex's... but four seems a bit much to ask.


I've got a couple of questions, if you don't mind (Along with Oobie's query on what revision Scan sells)
Usually with fans you can 'daisy-chain' them, connecting them in a chain to a single molex slot from your PSU, do these fans have the connections to enable you to do that?
What fan speed are the fans running at in the thermal comparison?

Thanks,
dark

See above for the Scan details.

Yes, you can daisy chain the fans together, but this would still require you to have 2 molex connectors free as the wires are not long enough to reach one spot. As per first quoted question, you could of course replace four of the fans with the 3 pin varient.


Thanks for the comments about the review, appreciated

Matt.

[Oobie-]

Thanks for the reply Matt

[rjpearce]

Can definately suggest going for a modular psu, its pretty tight to work in but ninja scythe fits (bit of a fiddle!)

http://xflux.com/photos/misc/DSC02126.jpg

[Bandit5317]

I have the first version (with the plane black rear exhaust fan) and it does have hardly any to no clearence for the monitor connections, but I was able to fit my VGA connection in (yep, I have an old CRT). I'm also running 5 hdd's inside the thing and it's worth noting that the 120mm intake fans do a really good job of cooling them off, but running that many drives will increase the internal temp. by a few degrees.

[MD]

Bandit5317, get in touch with your reseller or if they won't entertain you, Antec directly, you should be able to get it swapped out for one with proper clearance if you have to go to DVI and still use the 900.

[rjpearce]

Bandit5317, get in touch with your reseller or if they won't entertain you, Antec directly, you should be able to get it swapped out for one with proper clearance if you have to go to DVI and still use the 900.

Will that work?.. Might have to give it a try myself as i have version1 of the case also, luckily my current mobo has the 16x pci-e in line with the 2nd slot. But it was a tight squeeze with last mobo. Will Antec really swap the old rev for new?

[MD]

they should do I would have thought, ask them see what they say

[rjpearce]

will do! thanks