Well, this is my first
post to the forum, and I'd like to let you all know of my impressions of using my new Antec 1200 full tower case. I will be adding pictures shortly, but my camera charger was ruined during my house flood and I haven't got a replacement yet(although I did buy a new pc)
My last case was also an Antec but I must say that Antec has really improved since my last.
Pluses:
Plenty of space between the available 12 HD spaces. Cooling air can EASILY get around all the hard drives which can help your
hdd's last longer. Better airflow to your
cpu,
RAM and
gfx card
Filters in front of the (3) intake fans. This is really nice to keep the dust out but see my "minuses" below on how this could be improved.
1- 200mm fan on top of the case with 2 smaller fans on the back of the case for exhaust.( the side is ready to add a 4th exhaust/supply, but I didn't need it since my video card is a dual slot cooling card.)
Plexi side window with cool blue
LED fans(just for looks, but it does look sweet)
Bottom mount
PSU---some may consider this a negative but after putting everything together I like it. Hopefully your
PSU wires are long enough to reach gear while still hiding the wiring behind the MB. Mine was.
Variable speed controls on all the fans, and Antec included 2 spare 120mm fans due to a possible problem with the originals but my originals work fine.
Front AND Rear
USB and
eSATA ports!
Hdd's remove from the front which helps when your video card is long!
Negatives:
Could use 1/2 inch more space behind the motherboard to hide the wiring. My side bulges a little but the side can still go on without too much trouble.
To access the filters in front of the (3) front fans you must take off (8) thumbscrews for each cage, plus 4 for the sides(28 total!!!!) and leave a little slack in your wiring to access the filters. (kinda time consuming)A means to remove the filters from the front would REALLY make this necessary task less time consuming. This is a minor gripe, but a simple re-engineering would allow for easier filter cleaning.
The settings for the rear and top fan(s) are so small you can almost not read what setting they're on(Hi Med Low).
(Minor) the storage space on the top of the case is tempting to place a drink on...but beware...if it is spilled it leads directly to the top fan with no plastic to keep the liquid out of the inside of your PC. So NO drinks on top of it!!!(LOL)
The front panel jacks for headphone and microphone are not labled, so you have to guess which is which.
No handles....with so much space for gear this beast can easily weigh more than 50lbs and is not easy to move around considering the plastic top.
Summary:
Even with the minor faults listed above I would buy this case again with no hesitation whatsoever. I'm able to run my Q6600@3.2Ghz with just air cooling and it goes no higher than 50c after 4hours of Prime 95. I'd rank it a 9.6 out of 10 stars.
Comments or questions welcome
JamminJ
Antec 1200
Linear Mode
