The Antec Lanboy Case Air Up Close
This gaming PC case features a modular design and mesh exterior.
Over at the Antec booth for COMPUTEX 2010, company reps were busy showcasing new PC components, including the Antec LanBoy Air.
From first impressions, the LanBoy Air looks like a bunch of mesh coverings held up by a solid frame. The frame itself features multiple screw holes all over, which allows for a certain degree of customization. On all sides of the case it's possible to mix-and-match case fans, covers, motherboard mounts, PSU placement, and even the radiator of a water-cooling system.
Theoretically, it's possible to line most of these areas with fans, for maximum air flow. The only component of the case that should remain constant is the front-port assembly, which features one USB 3.0 compatible port.
Drives are mounted sideways, through a door that opens on the left side (if viewing the front of the case). Antec's demo setup featured hard drives mounted on an elastic support system, supposedly to provide better shock protection, vibration reduction, and noise suppression. Two handles swivel away from the top of the case, making this product decidedly aimed at LAN party gurus. Physically strong LAN gamers that is. With a weight over 9kg, the LanBoy Air isn't for the faint of heart and weak of muscle.
Antec's reps were pretty mum about the price, despite repeated attempts to get them to provide an estimate. They did reveal that they were aiming for an August 2010 release (at the latest), currently working with partners to being mass production. You can bet though that, with all the customization possibilities promised, the Antec LanBoy Air won't be for the budget market.
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Sort of ugly isn't it?
Sort of ugly isn't it?
Not really, its looks far better than those ugly Dell clam shells and countless other examples.
Hell YES.
This is a beefin' case.
Interesting design, I've seen much better though!
For a lan or network case this is interesting, its got a vibrant look especially with the yellow. Internet cafes of 2010;s should be using this for the hub PC
the case sure draws my attention to say the least
No its not ugly. How much does it cost and where can we buy this?
Disgusting.
UHh yep.. It's fugly. Wouldn't have that in my studio if you paid me.
Looks fugly with yellow .... hope one can buy the original version shown at CES back in January. See the video .... very functional design. Hopefully we actually be able to buy one soon though I am more interested in the DF-85 which I expect will drop at the same time. If it's not about to drop, this is kinda "old news"
You should check out the video walkthrough of this case in YouTube...am sure you will be impressed...
That case looks really messy!
Finally a case which makes the CM HAF's look pretty..
Finally a case which makes the CM HAF's look pretty..
That comment just made my day!
Anyone else think that computer case design from major manufacturers has gone rather stagnant lately? All these open air designed cases are just not very practical for most people unless they are always tinkering with components.
Since I bought my Coolermaster CM830 I haven't had the desire to change cases. If I were on the market I would consider this case, depending on the price, color options and how badly I would want to spend time cleaning the case. You can imagine the job of cleaning a case like that when every intake area is coated with dust bunnies. That would be my biggest turn off on that case tbh...
You can hear all the fan noise with this design.
Somehow it reminds me of half life 2...somehow...
I like it. Looks like Antec is trying to out-guess those of us with Dremels. The design will help us tweak our airflow and temps, a lot like the CM690s do. Don't like mesh? There are dozens of other styles and configurations available, isn't that good for all of us?
The problem with the former Lanboy (all aluminum) case from Antec was that the HDs mounted perpendicular to the case as they do in this one. However, the cage used to house the drives prohibited airflow over them from the front case fans. This caused the drives to run at higher than optimal temps. I ended up ditching the case and getting a Nine-hundred case instead which has no such problem.
Not really, its looks far better than those ugly Dell clam shells and countless other examples.
Your argument (that's it's less ugly, than something REALLY ugly) doesn't imply that it's a great looking case. Next time maybe try to compare it a good looking case?
"No man, the Tesla Roadster isn't really ugly. It looks much better than the Russian cars from the 70s"
"Wow then it must be such a great looking car!!!"
I like what antec is trying to do. First with the skeleton, and now with this. Make everything accessible, and easy. But they are falling a little short on it. Keep going antec, once you get the process right it will be amazing.
It only looks ugly because panels haven't been attached to the sides.
As this is modular you could easily plaster this thing in white or silver painted mesh and it would look clean and fresh.
Conversely you could cover it in LED fans and light it up like a Christmas tree.
But dont say it is ugly because you can see the frame, if you take your beautiful looking box at home and take all the panels off that will look ugly too.
helloooo DUST.
I had a couple of the original Lanboys. Great light-weight case that was completely functional. Not only did it provide a quiet computing experience, but it provided good protection to system components. I am not a fan of these open air configs. Too many things spinning about to kill a system by an errant object falling into the system or creating a short. No thanks, I'll take my case fully encasing my goodies....HOOAH!
Good luck moving it
reminds me of JCB industrial machinery
They should have called it the JCB and slapped a sticker on the side and a dump bucket on the front to hold your beverages for those long gaming sessions
man, when i heard teh title "lanboy" i thought "Oh, cool, this must be a portable gaming case that would be easy to transport to lan parties and such"
wrong. this is the last type of case i'd want to use at a lan party, because of how awkward it would be to transport there and i could imagine some dumbass spilling mountain dew in it or something.
One thing I know for sure, my wallet is definitely not big enough to get one of those...
The version shown at the big show last January definitely looked better than this version.
Absolutely pointless. There is no directed airflow, and nothing to mute noise from components inside the "case" (if it can be called a case; it's more of a frame), such as the water pump motor, fans or the hard drives. This "case" makes a statement, which is, "I have more dollars than sense."
The case that says 'I have too much money and no girlfriend to help me spend it'