Posted 6/15/2008 at 3:46 PM By pfgonzo
The Good:Incredibly spacious and perforated front bezel for maximum air intake.
The Bad:Does not come with a PSU, and there are no Firewire or eSATA ports for external devices.
Summary: The Antec 300 is a well designed gaming case with fantastic cooling management. The spacious interior (designed for the new, larger Nvidia cards), coupled with a perforated front bezel and mounts for 5+ 120mm fans means this bad-boy stays nice and cool for you overclockers. You know who you are. Not quite as large as it's big brothers, the Antec 900 and Antec 1200, the Antec 300 still packs plenty of features into a tighter budget.
Full Review:
We here at the GamingShogun.com office use any excuse we can to expense out a new system. When I learned I would be reviewing the Antec 300, I immediately began ordering new parts to 'maximize the quality of my review.' That's how I justified it to the Shogun (yes we have to call him that). That's how we'll justify it to the IRS. Let's just say that when it comes time for the next LAN party (ok... these are nightly), my 3dmark scores are going to leave everyone weeping. But I digress...
Shortly after the Antec 300 arrived, so did my new nForce 790i motherboard, Q6700 2.66ghz processor, 9800gx2, 4gb of RAM, 500gb hdd, and my... shall we say 'killer' sound card. Brand names have been removed to protect the innocent. Before I discuss installation, lets take a look at:
OFFICIAL FEATURES:
No Power Supply included: To optimize performance of your Three Hundred, your choice of power supply is crucial. Antec strongly recommends choosing from our NeoPower or TruePower series. 9 Drive Bays:
• External 3 x 5.25'
• Internal 6 x 3.5' for HDD
Cooling System:
• 1 rear 120 x 25 mm TriCool™ Fan with 3-speed switch control.
• 1 top special 140 x 25 mm TriCool™ Fan with 3-speed switch control
• 2 front (optional) 120 mm fans to cool the hard drives
• 1 side (Optional) 120 x 25 mm Fan to cool graphic cards
Washable air filters reduces dust build up in your system, which helps keep your system cooler Perforated front bezel for maximum air intake
7 expansion slots
Top mounted I/O ports for easy access
• 2 x USB 2.0
• HDA & AC’97 Audio In and Out
Unit dimensions:
• 18' (H) x 18.3' (D) x 8.1' (W)
• 45.8 (H) x 46.5 (D) x 20.5 cm (W)
Weight:
• Net: 15.9lbs / 7.2kg
• Gross: 18.7lbs / 8.5kg
CONSTRUCTION: Before getting into the nuts and bolts, our review case included a note from Antec stating that quality control discovered a problem with some of the 120mm fans which have problems at lower speed settings. Antec stated that rather than open and examine each and every fan set, they'd just include an additional set of fans for users to use if the existing set proved faulty. I applaud Antec's efforts at customer service, however, I note that our review case did not include these additional fans. I haven't gotten around to testing the fan speed settings, but hope that because our case was a review case, that Antec did manually check our fans.
Like the 900, the Antec 300 was designed to maximize airflow, keeping your computer's inner workings frosty. In keeping with recent trends, the power supply unit mounts at the bottom of the case, and does not overlap the motherboard at all. This opens up the innards of the case and allows air to move freely.
The Antec 300 is a much more subdued design than the 900. Lacking the 900's glowing inner workings, and transparent side panels, the 300 is designed for the more subdued gamer. The gamer who doesn't need to flaunt that second 9800gx2, or the mysterious additional $499 charge on the Shogun's corporate credit card. Make no mistake however, less flashy does not mean less performance/space/cooling. The Antec 300 incorporates all the 900's airflow devices, in a more compact size, all without sacrificing too much internal space.
INSTALLATION: Installation was straightforward, requiring minimal head-scratching. As I've stated previously, with the power supply mounted in a separate compartment below the mainboard, there is plenty of room for maneuvering. The motherboard mounted easily, with plenty of room for my 9800gx2s. (Oops, was that plural? Sorry Shogun, that's a typo, I'll fix it in post.)
The initial set up took longer than expected because I'd forgotten to budget time for OS installation and set up. Not Antec's fault. Once I got going, I was surprised at how quiet the case fans are, even on full speed. As I stated earlier, I haven't adjusted them for slower settings, but based on the current decibel output, I doubt I'll bother.
CONCLUSION: In short, don't let the $50-$60 price fool you into walking past the Antec 300. This is a case with more in space and features than would ordinarily be gleaned from its cost alone. Overclockers should have no qualms about getting one of these and going crazy. Air flows in and out of this case like there was nothing in between. For gamers on a budget, this is a must buy!
One final parting thought, the Antec 300 does not come with a power supply (hence it's less expensive price). If you're looking for a new system, make sure you take this into account when you budget (who uses stock psu's anyway?)
You can find the official website for the Antec 300 Gamer Case here.
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