Antec Nine Hundred

[nastymat]

I am planning to upgrade my machine soon (ish) and fancy OC'ing an E6600. My current case is years old... it has served me well and is on it's 3rd build... but I fear it may not provide enough cooling for OC.

Looking at the Antec Nine Hundred, looks a sweet case and all the reviews look good. So a couple of questions to any one who has one.

What do you do about a floppy drive? Call me old school but I like to be able to boot up from a floppy when it all goes pear shapped.

Secondly, how quiet is it with all those fans? I intend to build as near as possible quiet machine.. will these fans need replacing for something quieter?

NM

 

[evongugg]

I think it is a great case. Great cooling and low temperatures. Easy to work with.
I highly recommend it.

 

[fastin]

The only reason why I will be purchasing a P180 over this is because It seems the 900 is really prone to excessive dust.

 

[fatcat]

I was wondring about that, there seems to be quite a bit of meshing in the front bezel but not much strainer/filter to stop the dust from being sucked in.....

 

[Jake_Barnes]

Got a link (Newegg) to those cases?

 

[oswold]

I pondered over the potential dust problem too, but I'm going to open it regularly anyway and inspect for cleaning. I decided I'd rather have better cooling, and it looks great too.

Its so fustrating having half a computer just sitting there without a couple of vital parts...roll on sunday!

 

[sirrobin4ever]

Yeah, the 900 is a great case. Dusty, but great. I picked mine up from a CompUSA for $65 after rebate. I suggest this case, but make sure to look for a good deal online somewhere.

 

[tehrobzorz]

would budget be your concern? if not then i really do suggest the p180 instead because it truly s very very quiet ( with fans turned to low that is). you can put the hdd at the bottom and then use the top hdd cage to make a windtunel if you purchase another tri cool fan or other quiet fan. cooling is very adaquate and with the 3 stock fans on low, and everything else passive ( i turned my vcard and zalman fans off) your computer is truly inaudible... cept for the hdd clicking. but thats what some ppl told me to strive for.

if you really do want quiet over other things the 900 wouldnt be my first choice
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129154

quite amazingly the p180 is cheaper than the 900

 

[yadge]

I keep my 200mm on high and all the rest on low

Same here. It's a great case. Pretty quiet on low. The P180 would be better if you really want it to be quiet though. The P180 still gets pretty good airflow too.

 

[IcY18]

I have it and just recently installed a microatx motherboard it and everything was a breeze, i saw temps drop on my X1800XT by 10 or more degrees. More probably because my last case was a temporary deal. Regardless the case is quiet enough on low to have 1-2 feet away from you without bothering you. If you set your case on the floor you can turn the some of the fans like the rear 120m and top 200m to higher speeds. Unfortunately things can get loud quickly if you turn the front to on medium or higher but they provide enough airflow on low anyway. The psu is mounted on the bottom and was easy to route all the cables and such.

Sorry for the long reply but i love the case and it will definitely be with me for as long as it can last.

 

[No1sFanboy]

Mostly agree with what has been said.

The 200mm fan is very quiet. The rest are quiet on low, audible on med. and loud on high. For this reason I've added a fan controller to allow me to adjust without going inside.

It does collect dust but given the airflow that is to be expected. I've never owned a case with dust filters but I can't imagine cleaning and drying filters is quicker than blowing out a case periodically. Plus as mpilchfamily has stated that would impede airflow.

The airflow is amazing. If I put my hand in front of the case it is cool from the air flowing in. That air passes over the hard drives, motherboard, cpu hsf and out the back and top still feeling cool; and that is with the 120mm fans on low. The only air coming out of my case warm is the 8800 gpu.

 

[geofelt]

You might want to look at this link: http://www.bjorn3d.com/read_pf.php?cID=996
It compares the Antec 900, Antec SOLO, and Lian-li G70 for noise vs cpu and vga temps.
The net is that at the same noise(46 dba), the temps for the three cases are similar. The 900 can be the coolest, but noisiest. The SOLO can be the quietest, but can't cool as well.
---pick your poison---

 

[Badnatured]

Few comments, what's the diff between the 180 and the 182? Additionally, which keeps the case the coolest? For someone that cares less about sound and more about coolness. I keep my comp in an alcove beneath my desk that I'm afraid will get way too hot once i put a oc'd comp down there.

 

[fastin]

182 has cable management...I dont think the other P180/180B have that feature.

 

[Badnatured]

Cable management? Like places to hide the cables? Same exterior case?

 

[El_Hefe]

yes... behind the mobo tray.

 

[tehrobzorz]

it also has watercooling holes premade, plue the top and rear fan controls are located at the back of the case so you dont have to keep opening the side pannel like i do to change them * deep breath*


alllssooooo the p182 is a uber polished mirror like chrome finish. you can read all about it here :

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2966

 

[torque79]

I was surprised to notice how much noisier my antec 900 case was when I started it up. the fans are far quieter when turned to low as mentioned and the large top fan is quite silent. However, I noticed right away after my old cheap Antec case which was fully enclosed, I could hear the OS hard drive activity a whole lot more. It's an old seagate 80gb hard drive which I'm sure is louder than average anyways, but it's far more obvious in the 900 instead of an enclosed case. If your hard drives are not particularly loud, then I am sure you would be happy. being such an open case, it is not really designed for noise baffling, but it flows air so well that there's not enough turbulence or obsruction to make excessive noise.

I also have to agree with others assessment that the feeling of the front fans drawing in cool air is very impressive, especially even on low fan speed setting. It's comforting knowing that now my hard drives are actively cooled. I have not yet added a side panel (optional) tricool fan but I will eventually.

 

[IcY18]

If you would read the article that one is the P182 Special Edition which costs like $230 at newegg.com. Unless looking at yourself is your cup of tea $230 is hardly worth it for a case that size. For $230 you could find many other high-quality Lian-Li or Cooler Master cases. The non SE P182 is a gunmetal color that runs about $170. The only new thing with the P182 is obviously the color and cable organizers behind the motherboard tray. Hardly worth the $40-($70 after MIR) premium you would pay over the standard P180. When a little extra time and $5-$8 zip strips would get it done.

What will be sexy is the new P190 with more space more fans and the same sexy sleek design, that could lure me in to getting a new case.

 

[tehrobzorz]

oohhh p190!!


whats that gonna be like?! :?:

 

[IcY18]

The P190 will be longer and wider but the same height as the P180. It may have the capability to house two standard size psu's but that may be something like the P192 and the P190 maybe for a single psu.

It will have two 140mm exhaust fans, one in the back and one on top. It will also have a 200mm side intake fan and 120mm intake fan in the front. It's quite simply a bigger and badder P180.

The P190 was due out early 2007 but its been delayed for reasons concerning the dual power supply setup. So some of that info i listed above maybe change for certain models of the P190, we will see soon though.

P190 Pictures at Cebit 2007

 

[tehrobzorz]

cool thx for the info ^^

that may just be my next case!! =O

cm stacker over here = x_x

 

[immagikman]

Late in the coming but to the OP, The case fans are pretty quiet when on low and you have tons of air flow even when they are on low. The graphics card however (a 7800GT/OC) is waaaaay loud and not muffled at all by the case.
There are no filters provided with the case so dust is an issue and
I was disappointed with the amount of room in the case. It's a great case but there are better ones out there.

If noise is not a problem or dust and you want a cool system, this case is the one.

 

[eric54]

I've got a question regarding the 900. Does it have a mobo backplate to route wires?

 

[eric54]

So I would remove both side panels, punch a hole in on either end where i'm cable routing, and the panel will fit back into place.

What i'm asking, how much clearance is there between the side panel and the metal plate i'm punching a hole through?