Conclusion:
The
Antec Nine Hundred Series Gaming Case is a good looking mid-tower chassis. Some of the highlights of this design include the top-mounted 200mm exhaust fan, the removal hard disk cages, and the fact that all of the TriCool fans pre-installed in this system have variable speeds.
Although this
Antec case has many nice visual features I cannot recommend our viewers purchase this mid-tower. The complications due to the drive cage setup ultimately make using this case unappealing. When a $50 generic case is easier to work with its hard to recommend something that costs nearly three times as much.
A search of
PriceGrabber shows that this case retails for just over $100 (without a power supply) from a few places, or you can pick it up from
Newegg.com for $150 or from your local Best Buy for $143.99. For a steel case this price seems somewhat high to me. With the reputation Antec has for power supplies you would almost expect a power supply to be included for close to this price.
If you move quickly or keep your eye out for similar deals, you could save some big bucks. Fry's presently has the Nine Hundred case for
$99.99 with a $40 mail in rebate available until February 22, 2007. $60 for this case is definitely quite appealing.
Pros:
» Nine drive bays in a mid-tower case
» Smooth, painted, flat-black finish
» Case fans are very quiet on low-speed
» Top mounted 200mm exhaust fan
» Bottom mounted power supply makes the case easier to carry
Cons:
» Lack of tool-less design features
» Installation of components takes longer with this case than your average generic case
» Drive cages require too much work to remove and install
» Blind hard drive installation into the drive cages is just about impossible without a magnetic-tipped screwdriver
» Expensive considering a power supply is not included
Special thanks to
Antec for providing the Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case to Bigbruin.com for review!
