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Cage Match: Four Open-Air ATX Chassis

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  • Cases
  • LAN
  • ATX
Last response: in Reviews comments
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September 22, 2009 6:00:57 AM

While lab technicians and competitive overclockers often use no case at all, a few companies produce test racks that look good enough to win over even the showiest LAN party participants. Today we consider four non-enclosed ATX chassis.

Cage Match: Four Open-Air ATX Chassis : Read more

More about : cage match open air atx chassis

September 22, 2009 7:08:58 AM

When I had a desktop I would just leave the door off. It was unfortunately fairly noisy, but these would suffer the same problem anyways.
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September 22, 2009 7:15:35 AM

the antec is the only frame that doesn't look incomplete
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September 22, 2009 8:06:54 AM

I though the point of having an open-air Chassis is to be simple and fast but these are far-cry from that! very cool nevertheless.
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September 22, 2009 8:29:24 AM

kikireekiI though the point of having an open-air Chassis is to be simple and fast but these are far-cry from that! very cool nevertheless.


I'm using the Torture Rack 2 right now to test several motherboards, I've added two push-through standoffs to keep them in place without screws.
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September 22, 2009 1:21:43 PM

Have you done any EMF testing on these? It seems to me that could be a considerable con on any of them.
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September 22, 2009 1:41:48 PM

I wanted the Banchetto 101, but found a skeleton for 100bucks new. A friend won it in a land contest and didnt want it. So I went with that. It is a good case the only thing that really pisses me off is I have to unplug all the front panel stuff to slide the tray out. Also I am building a bench for it to set on out of acrylic to house my radiators and pump. I cant figure out a good way to run the cpu waterblock though. The top cage does come off with 4 screws, But I have looked everywhere and cant find thumb screws that fit. Otherwise I would just use that instead of sliding it in and out.
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September 22, 2009 4:03:04 PM

whats wrong with a table or desktop with mobo box and antistatic plastin? works great less hassle! here is a photo from years and years ago! best desk to set up is martin lab testing set up (photo of martin lab persmission given to copy his stuff) - this is the s$#t!: http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/h138/4rothrocks/?acti...
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September 22, 2009 4:10:23 PM

part 2: we build every system on a mobo box with anti static, we burn in the cpu/psu/mob/gou at max oc in the bios for 24-72 hours - i.e. 920 is burned in at 4-4.4ghz air cooled. we have done this since 2003. then hard drives are hooked up and the system programed. this even done for water cooling built with air cooler then converted to water. The gpu, mobo, psu, cpu and hard drives are tested then installed in the case. The system is then run on orthos and 3dmark loops and other tests for up to 7 days. So the mobo box, anti static works great - stick hdd on there bags, use the mobo box from the system.
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September 22, 2009 5:22:43 PM

The Antec rack is the coolest, by far! The rest look like plain, old racks.

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September 22, 2009 6:00:07 PM

I use a Skeleton for my Case. Dust is an issue but a quick shot of air here and there and I can keep it under control.

I Use an Asus Silent Knight CPU Cooler And It did not fit originally. I had to shave off one of the supports to make it fit.
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September 22, 2009 6:02:02 PM

jellicoThe Antec rack is the coolest, by far! The rest look like plain, old racks.


I agree. I could just go down to tap plastics and buy stock plastic and build the rest of those. The antec one looks the best.
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September 22, 2009 6:02:57 PM

I second that jello - i believer that is byproduct of the intel 1 million dollar oem challenge. I was only open to oems, you had make pc's or cases .... a lot of new designs came out after the challenge Such as some itx mini boxes, the skelly, possibly the lian li dubai tower and others. i agree the skelly is dual purpose device - test bench and case. The dust thing is an issue as owners have reported.
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September 22, 2009 6:22:12 PM

I love my Skeleton. It has its issues but if you look at the pics I got a fairly large air cooler in the case without moding the rack or tacking the screws out. Now I am looking at setting up a water cooling solution for it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7184596@N06/sets/721576223...
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September 22, 2009 8:07:48 PM

Blanchetto 101 is my favorite.
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September 22, 2009 9:39:32 PM

I wonder if my AC Accelero on my Graphics card is too big for the skeleton. If not I might have to get a new case :) .
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September 22, 2009 11:33:42 PM

nevermind, found my answer. Seems a good 6 inch of clearance by unscrewing the top, installing then screwing it down again. May not be able to use the tray to slide in and out (hits the HSF or AC Accelero), but can unscrew the top again i suppose.
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September 23, 2009 12:29:02 AM

pretty nerdy a waste of money
but I do agree only the Antec makes any sense
I always liked having an open case with a floor fan
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September 23, 2009 1:59:49 AM

spentshellspretty nerdy a waste of money but I do agree only the Antec makes any senseI always liked having an open case with a floor fan


I'm using the Torture Rack 2 as a quick-swap motherboard testing platform, so your analysis that it doesn't make sense doesn't make sense :p 

Really, each of these racks is going to work better for one group of people than another, so they all make sense.
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September 23, 2009 2:33:34 AM

Bah, none of these are necessary! The old mobo box and anti-static plastic are free so why spend money on these? I would rather just buy better parts!
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September 23, 2009 3:20:10 AM

major7upBah, none of these are necessary! The old mobo box and anti-static plastic are free so why spend money on these? I would rather just buy better parts!


Have you ever had a graphics card slot "loosen up" from having the card lean over? I've had it happen many times. Having something in place to keep a heavy graphics card from leaning over is a valuable asset.
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September 23, 2009 4:15:44 AM

CrashmanI'm using the Torture Rack 2 as a quick-swap motherboard testing platform, so your analysis that it doesn't make sense doesn't make sense Really, each of these racks is going to work better for one group of people than another, so they all make sense.

well it doesnt look any easier than my open sided case
which I found next to a dumpster I was living in ;) 
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September 23, 2009 6:05:10 AM

spentshellswell it doesnt look any easier than my open sided casewhich I found next to a dumpster I was living in


Well now, if you stripped that case down to the motherboard tray, reinforced the slot plate, and made a box beneath it for the power supply and drives, I'd agree.
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September 23, 2009 7:13:43 AM

only the gpu slot that loosed up is an nivdia mobo - i bet it was an evga mobo correct? they are week! I do not use junk (nvidia oem mobos) - sorry i been over this many times - how people give an evga mobo 3 stars on the egg site after 3 or 4 failures and how great tech support - then you get the guy that gets his first in 20 or first in 10 years bad asus mobo and gives it 1 star and will never use asus again. Asus rules!

never seen it ever with an asus mobo, but i have seen it with water cooled systems with evga mobos, both 680i and 780i.

we have run huge cards loose on asus mobo never an issue for weeks on end - complext raid card with 12 hard drives that kind of set up!
here is 4 raptors, plus more an some 1950 xtx: http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/h138/4rothrocks/?acti...
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September 23, 2009 8:42:52 AM

dragonsprayeronly the gpu slot that loosed up is an nivdia mobo - i bet it was an evga mobo correct? they are week! I do not use junk (nvidia oem mobos) - sorry i been over this many times - how people give an evga mobo 3 stars on the egg site after 3 or 4 failures and how great tech support - then you get the guy that gets his first in 20 or first in 10 years bad asus mobo and gives it 1 star and will never use asus again. Asus rules!never seen it ever with an asus mobo, but i have seen it with water cooled systems with evga mobos, both 680i and 780i.we have run huge cards loose on asus mobo never an issue for weeks on end - complext raid card with 12 hard drives that kind of set up!here is 4 raptors, plus more an some 1950 xtx: http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/ [...] 400031.jpg


If I remember correctly, they were EVGA (Jetway), Abit, Foxconn, and (drumroll please) Asus.
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September 23, 2009 4:06:11 PM

dragonsprayerwhats wrong with a table or desktop with mobo box and antistatic plastin? works great less hassle! here is a photo from years and years ago! best desk to set up is martin lab testing set up (photo of martin lab persmission given to copy his stuff) - this is the s$#t!: http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/ [...] klog15.jpg


I agree! The only reason I would want one of the above cases is for ease of testing and building computers. -- This is how I had it set up :-) http://cid-87c125cd325c38a1.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx...
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September 23, 2009 10:19:30 PM

I have a solid old removable motherboard tray from an old case that does the 'test-bench' thing perfectly. It supports the graphics / expansion cards an I've even used it semi long term at times. No need to spend lots of money, just find an old case with a removable mobo tray.
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September 24, 2009 12:13:08 AM

I bought an Antec Skeleton about 8 months ago for testing components. The first thing I did was change the motherboard standoffs to plastic standoffs so that the motherboard just lays in there. I'm a system builder and had many boxes of older components to sort through, and a few dozen motherboards. I was afraid this project would take months to do, but had everything tested in roughly a week. I've tested hundreds of various parts on this system and can't imagine anything else working as well. It now serves as a temporary spare system. Def gets a +1 in my book.
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September 24, 2009 12:17:49 AM

Another thing to consider is how easily the Skeleton can be put in a corner when not in use and more bench space is required. And this case is rock solid, so I can stack boxes on top of it if need be. Try that with a removeable motherboard tray. :-)
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September 24, 2009 1:45:43 AM

dark41I bought an Antec Skeleton about 8 months ago for testing components. The first thing I did was change the motherboard standoffs to plastic standoffs so that the motherboard just lays in there. I'm a system builder and had many boxes of older components to sort through, and a few dozen motherboards. I was afraid this project would take months to do, but had everything tested in roughly a week. I've tested hundreds of various parts on this system and can't imagine anything else working as well. It now serves as a temporary spare system. Def gets a +1 in my book.


I installed TWO plastic push-through standoffs in the Torture Rack 2 to center the motherboard over the metal standoffs.
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September 24, 2009 3:58:41 AM

Same thing, but I used threaded plastic standoffs rather than the sit on top kind. I unscrewed the metal standoffs and threaded the plastic push-throughs into the same holes. Then I clipped the fasterners that lock it into place on the standoffs. End result is that it makes changing motherboards quite simple, and sits securely... as long as I don't tip it upside down. :-)
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September 24, 2009 4:17:23 AM

Over at the technology complex where I work there are two guys that have the Antec Skeleton so I had the opportunity to look them over. It looked like a bowl of spaghetti with all the cables going every which way.
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September 24, 2009 4:27:10 AM

dark41Same thing, but I used threaded plastic standoffs rather than the sit on top kind. I unscrewed the metal standoffs and threaded the plastic push-throughs into the same holes. Then I clipped the fasterners that lock it into place on the standoffs. End result is that it makes changing motherboards quite simple, and sits securely... as long as I don't tip it upside down. :-)


LOL, I clipped the locks too! Yeh, mine where snap through on top and threaded on the bottom. But when I clipped the locks, I only cliped the locking edge at a 45° angle, so the board would "snap" in place and, with a little more effort, "snap" back off without fiddling with them. The end result is that I CAN tip mine upside-down...as long as I don't shake it when it's upside-down :p 
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September 24, 2009 10:55:22 AM

I looked seriously at the Acrylic models before buying the Skeleton. Don't regret the decision, but was afraid those wouldn't look too good after a bit of use (scratches). How is yours holding up?
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September 24, 2009 11:17:59 AM

dark41I looked seriously at the Acrylic models before buying the Skeleton. Don't regret the decision, but was afraid those wouldn't look too good after a bit of use (scratches). How is yours holding up?


Good, but I don't move it around much and the standoffs protect it from motherboards.
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September 24, 2009 11:30:00 AM

I started with a pizza box on a kitchen table back in 1994. I would center the motherboard on the pizza box, and each componet would be next to it depending on connector. Then I switched to a giant [really cheap] generic tower that I removed the two side panels and the plastic front panel around 1996. In 1999 I purchased the Cube, which I first saw in Korea in 1998. The Cube is still being sold, only change I see is a fan hole on the motherboard sidepanel. I have been running it without front plastic, two side panels since purchase. It has housed everything from a DEC Alpha MB to the current ATX Gigabyte AM3 board. It holds 8 HDD at the rear above the power supply [with two fans], has 6 5 1/4" front bays, 2 3.5" front bays, a front fan on the motherboard side, room for a full server atx motherboard without any problem. Who else on here has run the same case for 10 years? And most likely 10 more. Best PC investment I ever made [$110 in 1999 shipped]. Here is a link to it. http://www.yeongyang.com/yy-0221.htm
Two reviews from 2003:
http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/yeong_yang_cube_...
http://www.modthebox.com/review241_1.shtml

I have made a couple modifications, cut out the fan holes and added less restrictive guards, added a front fan filter, and of course a fan controller and temp sensors.

I compare this to all four of these reviewed cases and say no to them. Mine has a top that prevents dust from settling on componets, and everything is protected - not exposed. Just buy one and throw away the sides and plastic front. They even have a mini redundant power supply!
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September 24, 2009 12:04:34 PM

The cube would be aweful for what I wanted (I wanted exposed, easy to get at and swap components), and doesn't do a thing for me as a regular system case. To each their own I guess. As for older cases, I've got a couple of 10+ year old Lian Li PC-60s, with the fiberglass doors. Don't see retiring them either. One survived the move from USA to Austalia in '02, and the other was shipped over later. But I paid a whole lot more for them. They're just spare system cases now. Too nice to throw away and not good enough to sell. :-)
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Anonymous
September 28, 2009 10:07:35 PM

Dust collector machines!! those are not easy to clean up, in a case just need a cloth and thats all.

Also motherboard is exposed to humidity or worst: water
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September 29, 2009 7:18:05 AM

...
I wish this thought hadn't come to mind...
My brother watches a lot of porn... I bet it's take a week to find my computer fried because of exposure to a highly conductive fluid... (buying some UV lights was quite interesting).
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October 2, 2009 7:56:41 PM

eeeeeewwwwwww!!!!!
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October 3, 2009 12:39:34 AM

Um... any case with fans exposes a motherboard to just as much humidity as a motherboard sitting outside, since the fans just suck the air from the outside anyway. But yea, I wouldn't recommend open containers around these cases. :-) As far as dust, I haven't needed to wipe down the Skeleton since I got it. I find the big fan on top does a pretty good job of keeping it dust free. :-)
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October 3, 2009 2:42:00 AM

Hello, I own the Torture Rack. I bought this case primarily for the purpose of “eye candy”. I wanted to show off my PC build, and this case does indeed do that. I purchased mine with the UV Blue acrylic sides and a black acrylic motherboard tray, which added a stunning effect to an already stunning case. I also purchased the optional top and front cover. These styles of cases allow a lot of dust to settle on your components, and the Torture Rack is the only case in this review that eliminates that problem. I water cool my PC, and the custom mounting holes for radiators designed into the Torture Rack case is an awesome benefit to the DYI’r. I have read a lot of previous comments in this review about the waste of cash spent on this style of case. I disagree. The PC case is the one component of your system that will remain static throughout the years, so one can average the cost over several years. These style of cases are just plain super cool to look at everyday, and if you water-cool; the Torture Rack adds a solid functionality of design as well as kick axe looks. And as I said from the get go; its eye candy. You do get pleasure from admiring and your case with its electronic new wave “tech artwork”, and there is pleasure in showing it off to friends and family. I would rather look at my Torture Rack any day of the week versus the “pizza box” option a previous reviewer wrote about. (I thought I would be as over the top as that reviewer was)

One product that was omitted from this review was the SUNBEAM TECH CASE, by Sunbeam. I own this case also. It is the lowest priced acrylic “Tech” case in of all the included cases in this review. I don’t know why it was omitted. If price is a limiting factor from keeping you from buying this style of case, I highly recommend the Sunbeam product. You can find it at --(Newegg.com)-- I own the clear version of this case. I purchased this product before the Torture Rack 2 was on the market. The major drawback of the Sunbeam case is there is no carry handle design incorporated, which makes it awkward to move or spin around.

Do yourself a favor and give this “TECH” style of PC case some serious thought before you buy that traditional boring box. Also, you can’t go wrong with any product offering from Danger Den. Besides producing a quality product, the customer service is top notch.
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October 14, 2009 3:27:57 PM

And there is yet another popular product, the Top Deck Tech Station (which also comes in a regular, motherboard-on-the-bottom Tech Station). I use mine constantly, but I find its lack of eight-expansion-slot capability annoying. There really are too few cases that have eight or more slots.....
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October 29, 2009 8:36:40 PM

Instead, the Antec Skeleton is designed as a portable gaming system enclosure that just happens to be open, for a unique combination of sex appeal and ventilation not found in traditional box-shaped cases.

Is it necessary to link it to sex appeal? That phrase was inappropriate and unacceptable. Cases compared to sex appeal, come on you like computers more than women, sad.
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October 29, 2009 9:45:52 PM

overshocksInstead, the Antec Skeleton is designed as a portable gaming system enclosure that just happens to be open, for a unique combination of sex appeal and ventilation not found in traditional box-shaped cases.Is it necessary to link it to sex appeal? That phrase was inappropriate and unacceptable. Cases compared to sex appeal, come on you like computers more than women, sad.


Don't blame the author, blame the next editor up :)  The original version said "good looks".
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October 29, 2009 9:58:46 PM

I just finished a six pack and that Skelton case is looking pretty good right now.
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September 22, 2010 8:07:29 PM

@hal2001,

But will it look good the next morning?
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!