Antec has released a very uniquely designed PC case in the Striker Mini-Watercool. The new open-air, mini-tower chassis was created with custom water-cooling enthusiasts in mind and is also the first open case to feature a front-placed GPU location.
The Striker sports an irregular shape with unique paneling and form in a open-air frame. It measures 16.5 x 9.1 x 14.1 inches (420 x 230 x 410mm) with a glass panel covering the front. The addition of a white PSU chassis on the bottom amplifies the Striker's striking appearance.
The chassis itself is made from CNC machined aluminum and SPCC steel with 4mm-thick glass panels on the front (where the GPU is mounted) and both sides. Outside of the frame and glass and enclosing the chassis is a PSU cover at the bottom that hides the power supply and its wires. This panel can also be painted to match your PC build theme. The front panel I/O is on the right side when looking at it from the side and includes a USB 3.1 Type-C port, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, dual 3.5mm jacks for microphone and headphones, along with a power button.
Internally, the case is dived into sections with space for the motherboard and SSDs, a radiator installation area, GPU mounting in front, and a space for an AIO water cooler or custom water cooler and fans. The chassis' most unique feature, outside of the overall appearance, has to be the front mount GPU location, which is very rare and provides a truly one-of-a-kind look for this small form factor case (note the PCIe riser cable is included). For those who like to keep things tidy, there's also space for cable management.
The Striker supports two 2.5-inch drives on the backside of the motherboard baffle and ITX motherboards only. Micro-ATX and greater need not apply here. The GPU mount is able to move up and down to meet different graphics cards' height requirements -- in this case, up to 12.9-inches (330mm), which should fit most GPUs (as always, be sure to check for compatibility).
With the Striker designed with water cooling in mind, support for radiators is up to 240mm on the rear and 240mm on the side. In such a small chassis, being able to support two 240mm radiators should allow for cooling some high-end parts.
The Striker is listed at $249.99 (ouch!) and is available now.
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