# antec 900



## mat2317

I just bought this case and wow! It cools everything down so much. my CPU averaged around 50 c now it averages 42 c. It looks the part too. I'd reccommend this to anyone.

Matt


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## Geoff

I just upgraded to this case as well from my previous Lian-Li.  I bought the 900 when it had free shipping and $50 MIR, and I absolutely love it!  It looks great, and the cooling is much better, I am now averaging about 30-32C idle (overclocked), whereas before it was around 40-45C idle.


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## Kornowski

It looks a good case, but the size of it troubles me, the cable managment must be hard?


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## Geoff

Kornowski said:


> It looks a good case, but the size of it troubles me, the cable managment must be hard?


What do you mean the size?  There is plenty of room inside to work with, and I absolutely love the internal drive bays.  I did a pretty good job of cleaning up the cables, although other people have done better with the same case.


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## JSpecGC8

All you need to have great cable management

1 x Marker
1 x Drill
1 x Dremel
3 or 4 by rubber grommets


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## epidemik

JSpecGC8 said:


> All you need to have great cable management
> 
> 1 x Marker
> 1 x Drill
> 1 x Dremel
> 3 or 4 by rubber grommets



...yeah that looks good but you can also do that with any case.


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## Kornowski

I just thought the case was small inside, from what I've seen and heard...


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## MatrixEVO

Kornowski said:


> I just thought the case was small inside, from what I've seen and heard...



It has a good amount of room. Geoff (OMEGA) has 4 HDDs, 2 Opticals, huge 2900XT, and his sound card panel, and there's still lots of room.

As for cable management, it comes with it's own little loops to put wires in.

Here's my cable management job, which didn't take too long, and was easy:


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## Kornowski

Oh right, Proven wrong! 

Nice GT you've got there! Mine should arrive soon!


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## MatrixEVO

Kornowski said:


> Nice GT you've got there! Mine should arrive soon!



Thanks! The underside looks so good, it's nice and shiny, but I can't see it with the card faced that way! Any ideas on how to showcase the card? Maybe a mirror in the slot below? Haha.


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## Kornowski

That does look good! Wow!


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## Geoff

Mine isn't as neat as his, although I have a lot more cables in my case.


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## mep916

Kornowski said:


> I just thought the case was small inside, from what I've seen and heard...



Using a modular power supply - as Omega and MatrixEvo have done - greatly improves cable management in the 900. They both look great, BTW. 

Here's mine: 






Tomorrow, I'll receive a new 680i board from eVGA. I'm gonna really try to clean everything up when I reinstall the components.


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## JSpecGC8

Wow thats alot of cables mep. what do you have in that thing a Nuclear reactor??


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## lee18041990

what fan settings everyone run it on? (low, med, high??)


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## mep916

JSpecGC8 said:


> Wow thats alot of cables mep. what do you have in that thing a Nuclear reactor??



Yeah, the Quad Silencer has a ton of cables. In retrospect, I wish I would've purchased a modular PSU. 



lee18041990 said:


> what fan settings everyone run it on? (low, med, high??)



I'm currently running everything @ medium.


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## paratwa

I know most everyone has heard this from me, but I hate this case.

The hard drive cages suck the big one, the fans when set to High are way to loud, the bottom mounting power supply sucks, the documentation for the case is the worst I have ever seen, The way the front grills mount completely sucks.

I do like how much it cools down everything, I just think this case could have been so much better designed. The next version of this case will hopefully fix the many mistakes they made on the first try.


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## Kornowski

They have another version of this case I'm sure, I think the only difference is that they can house WC internally and have holes pre-cut for the tubes...

Does it really make that much of a difference to the temps though?
I mean, I've achieved a similair thing with my case, it just took some time... (pics in sig are old, will update soon, the front 80mm fan is now a 120mm one )


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## Geoff

lee18041990 said:


> what fan settings everyone run it on? (low, med, high??)


I run everything on high, since I need to cool my overclocked components as best as I can


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## mat2317

Mine are all on Medium.


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## Nightrain

I like how the case cools everything down well, but it just isn't my style. I'd prefer a full tower case as well with watercooling, as there doesn't look like a whole lotta room for pump/rad/res etc. 

Im not a huge fan of the mesh type fronts. I always have an issue getting the dust out of those. Even with a can of compressed air. 

But performance is what matters though, so in that respect I do like the case.


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## newguy5

i can't tell with that zalman, but does the fan on it point towards the exhaust fan on the back of the case or does the cpu fan face the front of the case?


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## StrangleHold

The fan points toward the front of the case


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## JohnJSal

mep916 said:


> Yeah, the Quad Silencer has a ton of cables. In retrospect, I wish I would've purchased a modular PSU.



What's a modular PSU? As opposed to what other kind? Maybe modular is what I've been looking at all along, but never knew it....


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## zer0_c00l

MatrixEVO said:


> Thanks! The underside looks so good, it's nice and shiny, but I can't see it with the card faced that way! Any ideas on how to showcase the card? Maybe a mirror in the slot below? Haha.



put mirrors on the bottom to showcase the card face,,like a showcar! lol
__________________


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## mep916

JohnJSal said:


> What's a modular PSU? As opposed to what other kind? Maybe modular is what I've been looking at all along, but never knew it....



Modular PSU. Take a close look at the pictures Omega and MatrixEVO provided. They both own modular PSU's. Basically, that type of power supply allows you to plug in only the cables that you need. You'll notice that I have a standard PSU, and all the cables that are left unused are sitting there below the case creating clutter. 

That's the advantage to having a modular power supply. It's a great way to keep your case clean, and avoid unnecessary cables hindering airflow or hitting fans.


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## JohnJSal

mep916 said:


> Modular PSU. Take a close look at the pictures Omega and MatrixEVO provided. They both own modular PSU's. Basically, that type of power supply allows you to plug in only the cables that you need. You'll notice that I have a standard PSU, and all the cables that are left unused are sitting there below the case creating clutter.
> 
> That's the advantage to having a modular power supply. It's a great way to keep your case clean, and avoid unnecessary cables hindering airflow or hitting fans.



Thanks! Very interesting to know! I suppose I've been looking at standard ones then.


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## mep916

JohnJSal said:


> Thanks! Very interesting to know! I suppose I've been looking at standard ones then.



All of these are pretty good: Corsair 520W, OCZ 780W, Thermaltake 700W. <- I think that's the one MatrixEVO owns, but I'm not sure.


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## JohnJSal

mep916 said:


> All of these are pretty good: Corsair 520W, OCZ 780W, Thermaltake 700W. <- I think that's the one MatrixEVO owns, but I'm not sure.



Thanks again! Always nice to have a few leads.


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## MatrixEVO

mep916 said:


> Thermaltake 700W. <- I think that's the one MatrixEVO owns, but I'm not sure.



Yes it is. It's rock solid and quite, and powerful enough for future hardware.


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## JohnJSal

MatrixEVO said:


> Yes it is. It's rock solid and quite, and powerful enough for future hardware.



Is there any other difference between it and a standard PSU, besides the cable management and price? Is it bigger, maybe?


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## Kornowski

The Corsair HX520 is also a great Modular PSU


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## SirKenin

mat2317 said:


> I just bought this case and wow! It cools everything down so much. my CPU averaged around 50 c now it averages 42 c. It looks the part too. I'd reccommend this to anyone.
> 
> Matt


 
It's a terrible case if you do what I do. I use one myself and I seriously regret it. The drive cages are the worst design in Antec history. They don't use rails and you have to completely dismantle the case to remove them because some genius decided to put screws on both sides.

The fan cage on the middle drive cage jams up against the cabling and motherboard.

The PSU on the bottom is the stupidest thing ever if you use a dual fan PSU, which I do. I'm swapping parts out constantly and one time a screw fell in the PSU. It took me over an hour to get it out and resulted in disassembling the PSU and a lot of cursing.

Cable routing is a real pain. Often you have to use extensions (fortunately my PSU has long leads).

The 3 1/2" drive adapter is the most hideous, awkward design I've ever seen.

Overall this case was *very* poorly thought out. The cooling is definitely good, but for the tinkerer this case is absolutely terrible.


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## Geoff

SirKenin said:


> It's a terrible case if you do what I do. I use one myself and I seriously regret it. The drive cages are the worst design in Antec history. They don't use rails and you have to completely dismantle the case to remove them because some genius decided to put screws on both sides.
> 
> The fan cage on the middle drive cage jams up against the cabling and motherboard.
> 
> The PSU on the bottom is the stupidest thing ever if you use a dual fan PSU, which I do. I'm swapping parts out constantly and one time a screw fell in the PSU. It took me over an hour to get it out and resulted in disassembling the PSU and a lot of cursing.
> 
> Cable routing is a real pain. Often you have to use extensions (fortunately my PSU has long leads).
> 
> The 3 1/2" drive adapter is the most hideous, awkward design I've ever seen.
> 
> Overall this case was *very* poorly thought out. The cooling is definitely good, but for the tinkerer this case is absolutely terrible.


You are one of the few, and to each his own.

I personally love the drive cages, granted I don't plan to install any additional drives since I built the computer, but I found it much easier to install my 4 hard drives using the cages then the traditional way of removing both side panels.

The PSU on the bottom actually is an ingenious idea, because the large fan on the top allows much better removal of the hot air from the processor.  I'm not sure what you mean by "dual fan PSU", I have a fan on the bottom of my PSU, so it's facing up towards the case which helps draw some of the hot air out as well.

I've worked with several cases, from cheap Rosewill to expensive Lian-Li's, and the Antec 900 has to be the best designed case I have ever worked with.


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## SirKenin

Hot air rises..  The fan on the PSU has no effect on drawing heat from the processor.  Having a PSU on the bottom means that a lot of PSUs will need extensions for the cables to reach.  It does allow the PSU to run cooler, but it also means that stuff can fall into it...  I was not a happy camper, believe me.

For the drive cages, thumbscrews on both sides was stupid.  With the SOHO cases especially, it's a latch on the one side.  Flip the latch and the cage slides out.  A far superior design.  For the optical drives it used drive rails.  Attach the rails and slide the drive in or out.  Now you have to remove both panels to swap out optical drives and harddrives.  Not fun for me at all.

Once it's built, as long as you never touch it again it's hunky dory..  Unfortunately my config never remains the same very long.


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## Geoff

SirKenin said:


> Hot air rises..  The fan on the PSU has no effect on drawing heat from the processor.  Having a PSU on the bottom means that a lot of PSUs will need extensions for the cables to reach.  It does allow the PSU to run cooler, but it also means that stuff can fall into it...  I was not a happy camper, believe me.
> 
> For the drive cages, thumbscrews on both sides was stupid.  With the SOHO cases especially, it's a latch on the one side.  Flip the latch and the cage slides out.  A far superior design.  For the optical drives it used drive rails.  Attach the rails and slide the drive in or out.  Now you have to remove both panels to swap out optical drives and harddrives.  Not fun for me at all.
> 
> Once it's built, as long as you never touch it again it's hunky dory..  Unfortunately my config never remains the same very long.


You may have misunderstood me, I didn't mean to say that the PSU on the bottom helps to draw more hot air out then if it was on the top, I was referring to the top case fan being able to remove much more air then to only have the PSU on the top.

As for the cables, it can be a problem but it depends on the motherboard.  For me the cables attached to the motherboard went around it so nothing crossed over, and I had plenty of room to spare.


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## Kornowski

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I'm thinking of getting this case, do you think it'd be worth it? Would it help the temps at all?

Also, would the cable managment be a problem with my MOBO and PSU? Thanks!


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## taylormsj

DONT GET IT !! 

IMO it wont help your temps out much to justify the cost.

I dont like it, its too small, and way over rated

Youlll also have a messy build


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## Kornowski

Think you could recomend me a case, something that has a side pannel, excellent cooling and isn't too expensive?


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## Cleric7x9

matrixevo, i love that board. im using the 680i right now, but i have had such great experiences with that. i see by your overclock that you have been pretty successful with it, are you happy iwth it?


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## StrangleHold

It fits every thing you want, a very nice case. But isnt cheap!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146029


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## Kornowski

http://www.yoyotech.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1592

It's a little more expensive, probably more than I'm willing to pay...

Hmmm, Side windows and cooling don't seem to mix, eh?


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## mep916

Kornowski said:


> Hmmm, Side windows and cooling don't seem to mix, eh?



No, they don't mix. That's one of the problems I have with the CM Stacker series. 

Anyway, take a look at some of the pics Omega and MatrixEvo provided. They show that you can have clean cable management in the 900 with a modular PSU. You own a modular PSU.  

There's nothing wrong with the 900, sans the ability to tinker with it every 5 minutes. That, I don't think you're interested in. Put your parts in it and leave it alone.


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## taylormsj

TBH, i dont think you need a new case, but if you want one, then save up some money so you can buy something you realy want


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## Kornowski

mep916 said:


> No, they don't mix. That's one of the problems I have with the CM Stacker series.
> 
> Anyway, take a look at some of the pics Omega and MatrixEvo provided. They show that you can have clean cable management in the 900 with a modular PSU. You own a modular PSU.
> 
> There's nothing wrong with the 900, sans the ability to tinker with it every 5 minutes. That, I don't think you're interested in. Put your parts in it and leave it alone.



I would love for the CM series to have windows on them!

I've taken a look at them, the only thing that worries me is;

1) the noise 
2) the "lack" of abilty to route cables anywhere, other than the cable clip things.

Yeah, I have a modular one, so it will help 
Yeah, lol, I'll be putting it in and leaving it along 

Would you mind posting a few pictures up please?


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## Kornowski

taylormsj said:


> TBH, i dont think you need a new case, but if you want one, then save up some money so you can buy something you realy want



You don't, why?

Being honest, the 900 has allways been a case that I really like the look of!


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## mep916

Kornowski said:


> the noise



Yes, it's loud if you have all fans on med or high, but low is tolerable. You wouldn't want to leave it runnin' while you sleep. You could replace the fans with some that are more silent. Paratwa suggested fans made by Nexus. 



Kornowski said:


> the "lack" of abilty to route cables anywhere, other than the cable clip things.



Again, take a look at the pics on the first and second page of this thread. They look pretty good, IMO.

Here's one of my recent pics. Remember, I'm using a non-modular Quad Silencer. 








Kornowski said:


> Yeah, lol, I'll be putting it in and leaving it along



lol.

Some people complain that they have a hard time with upgrades and what not. It is a mid-tower case. If you want tons of room, get a full tower.


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## SirKenin

It does help temps..  Cable management is another issue.


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## taylormsj

Kornowski said:


> I would love for the CM series to have windows on them!
> 
> I've taken a look at them, the only thing that worries me is;
> 
> 1) the noise
> 2) the "lack" of abilty to route cables anywhere, other than the cable clip things.
> 
> Yeah, I have a modular one, so it will help
> Yeah, lol, I'll be putting it in and leaving it along
> 
> Would you mind posting a few pictures up please?



I dont even use the clips anymore. there are several holes in the motherboard tray, and pictures can show you it makes a very tidy build 

If you want the 900, go for it, i have no doubt youll be pleased with it


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## PabloTeK

I think the only problem with the 900 is how short it is, look how long the CM690 is in comparison. This is probably for the SLi thingy but it also makes cables appear smaller in the case. Not to say the 900 is a bad case. The CM690 is deadly quiet, if you switch the side fan around so it exhausts (or it makes a horrible noise) then it's very quiet, in fact the GPU and CPU fans make more noise. I'm listening to some Genesis on my headset at a volume where I can hear clearly the click of my keyboard when I type and the case is totally drowned out.


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## paratwa

The one thing that is worth buying about the 900 is it's cooling. It does a great job of cooling your parts down. If you do not mind loud fans, no room to run wires, hard to use drive cages and blah blah blah.

If I wanted a case for overclocking, and did not care about anything else, then I would get the 900. If I was just going to build a system to use at stock settings, then I would look somewhere else.

Right now the only cases I have seen that I like are over $200. I am thinking those would be out of your price range.


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## PabloTeK

The 900 is designed to appeal the the child in us which wants a case that's mad and has got some pointless bits that we want anyway. Most of the Coolermaster cases are designed to appeal to the sensible side of us with features that are useful and sensible.


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## drummeralec

Their is a good review of the antec 900 at my blog-
http://22tech.blogspot.com/
Just scroll down a bit


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## Kornowski

> I dont even use the clips anymore. there are several holes in the motherboard tray, and pictures can show you it makes a very tidy build
> 
> If you want the 900, go for it, i have no doubt youll be pleased with it



You mean, the holes in your MOBO tray on the CM case?

Would it lower my temps do you think?


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## PabloTeK

I use the cable clips for all the cables that aren't going to the top of the baord, such as the 24-pin connector, DVD drive, HDD, etc. I use the motherboard tray hole for the ATX connector to make it neat. Although right now it's all a bit of a mess because the PSU and DVD drive are being swapped soon, I'll get some pics when it's done.


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## Kornowski

Debating if it's worth it... Hmmm.

P.S. Paul, Thanks for the sig layout  Hope you don't mind.


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## paratwa

drummeralec said:


> Their is a good review of the antec 900 at my blog-
> http://22tech.blogspot.com/
> Just scroll down a bit



Very poor review!

No mention of anything important at all. 

"oh, I have this case, it's cool" 

Please! Thats a review?


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## mep916

Kornowski said:


> Would it lower my temps do you think?



Yes, particularly the HD's and the GPU/Chipset if you install the optional side panel 120mm fan (it doesn't come with one). The total airflow throughout the case is really nice, as you can imagine. 



paratwa said:


> Very poor review!
> 
> No mention of anything important at all.
> 
> "oh, I have this case, it's cool"
> 
> Please! Thats a review?



ha ha. Hey! I wrote that review. Take it easy.  

Yeah, I love the CM mid-tower cases, too. The 330 Elite is really nice, and quite affordable, but no side panel window. 

Like PabloTek stated, the 900 is an enthusiasts case that has some short comings. It's not perfect.


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## Kornowski

mep916 said:


> Yes, particularly the HD's and the GPU/Chipset if you install the optional side panel 120mm fan (it doesn't come with one). The total airflow throughout the case is really nice, as you can imagine.



I'm looking more for the CPU temp to drop 
If I got it, I'd definately be putting a 120mm on the side!


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## mep916

Kornowski said:


> I'm looking more for the CPU temp to drop



Yeah, I don't know if it'll lower the CPU temp. Maybe by a few degrees, but I wouldn't buy the case for that purpose.


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## Kornowski

mep916 said:


> Yeah, I don't know if it'll lower the CPU temp. Maybe by a few degrees, but I wouldn't buy the case for that purpose.



Nah, it'd be a waste of money, purely for that reasons  Wouldn't it? lol


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## mep916

Kornowski said:


> Nah, it'd be a waste of money, purely for that reasons  Wouldn't it? lol



Honestly, yeah, I think so. I think the case you have right now is pretty nice. 



Kornowski said:


> Nah, it'd be a waste of money, purely for that reasons  Wouldn't it? lol



EDIT: ^If that was sarcasm, I missed it. lol.


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## Kornowski

lol, It was more of a rhetorical question 
I was telling myself that it would be a waste of money for that reason, then doubting it...  lol


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## PabloTeK

How long is the 8800GTS? baring in mind it doesn't have a power connector on the top, it's on the end and because of that you may take out a couple of drive slots.


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## Geoff

PabloTeK said:


> How long is the 8800GTS? baring in mind it doesn't have a power connector on the top, it's on the end and because of that you may take out a couple of drive slots.


I don't know about the 8800GTS, but the 2900XT fits in the 900 perfectly 2" to spare.


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## SirKenin

The Radeon X1950 Pros just barely fit in mine.  The power cable is jammed up against the back of the harddrives.  Meh.  Not impressed.


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## Geoff

If I didn't have a hard drive here there would be another inch of free space:


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## Kornowski

What temps are you getting on the Q6600 Geoff?


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## Geoff

Kornowski said:


> What temps are you getting on the Q6600 Geoff?


Not too good actually, I believe I may have put on a bit too much thermal paste.  My CPU is idling around 45C @ 3.6GHz 1.4v.  When I get around to it I may buy a new cooler and use a bit less thermal paste.


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## Kornowski

Ah right, Just curious, wouldn't a front facing cooler be better, one that'll blow it out the back?


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## Geoff

Kornowski said:


> Ah right, Just curious, wouldn't a front facing cooler be better, one that'll blow it out the back?


Most likely, which is why I may end up buying a Freezer 7 Pro again.


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## Kornowski

If you had one, why don't you have it anymore?  Why not a Zalman CP9000, I thought they were better?


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## SirKenin

Need I say more?






I don't bother too much with routing cables, as I'm in it moving things around about once a week.  Never again will I buy this case.


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## Kornowski

So you have the case, and you hate it?


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## SirKenin

Yes, yes I do.  I hate it with a passion.  There.  I said it.  I break the mold.  I defy the masses.  I stand up on my little soap box and yell "I hate this damn case!!'

haha

For anyone serious about computers, that monkeys around all the time, the case is a piece of crap.  TWO HOURS removing a screw that fell into that PSU.  I had to disassemble the damn thing to get the screw out.  I was sooo mad.

The drives that are in there are a WD RaptorX 150GB, WD Raptor 74GB and a WD Caviar SE 160GB (that drive is a POS too, but as you can see it's going to be a nightmare pulling it out of there.

I had the Intel cooler on there before, and switched it with the Zalman.  I had to rip the case to shreds to swap them.  I was even more frustrated by the time I was done.

Nope, never again.  My temps are good though, hovering around 36 most of the time...  but still.  Blah.


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## SirKenin

You want a case?  Like, seriously want a case?  These are cases.  Pardon the dust, it can get really dusty in here.






Alternatively, this is a fabulous case.  I have one in inventory that I used before this 900 piece of crap.  Maybe that's why I'm so biased:


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## Geoff

SirKenin said:


> Need I say more?
> 
> 
> I don't bother too much with routing cables, as I'm in it moving things around about once a week.  Never again will I buy this case.


If you have your computer in a dusty environment, you should have either bought a dust shield for the fans, purchased a case that didn't have a giant fan on the top, or do what most of us here do and clean it out once and a while.



SirKenin said:


> For anyone serious about computers, that monkeys around all the time, the case is a piece of crap.  TWO HOURS removing a screw that fell into that PSU.  I had to disassemble the damn thing to get the screw out.  I was sooo mad.


How did you drop a screw in the PSU?  You should never be installing/moving things around with the case standing upright.  If you had it lying on the side like you should have been, it wouldn't have been an issue.  There are also hundreds of cases where the PSU is mounted on the bottom, it's very common.



SirKenin said:


> You want a case?  Like, seriously want a case?  These are cases.  Pardon the dust, it can get really dusty in here.


Are you serious?  I don't see how you could ever actually recommend using a server case for a home desktop.  From the looks of it that would not house a crossfire/SLI setup, nor could it cool it properly.



> Alternatively, this is a fabulous case.  I have one in inventory that I used before this 900 piece of crap.  Maybe that's why I'm so biased:


It may work alright, although that case looks extremely cheap, especially the outside.


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## SirKenin

I don't want to pull the case out, unplug it, heave it around, etc. So, I leave it in place when I swap cards out. 

And no, I don't recommend a case like that for a home desktop.. It was kinda tongue in cheek..  Those are really serious computers, that cost several times what your average computer costs (that one on the bottom is $10,000). However, that one on the bottom is a 4U. If you had a riser card it would do the trick. I tell you, the cooling in those things is out of this world. They move a ton of air, although they're really loud. I have two other servers here that run all the time, so the noise in here can be rather deafening. It's funny...sorta

That case is anything but cheap (the Antec). It's actually fairly pricey, but it's ten times the case the 900 is. It's meant to be a file server case, and the inside is engineered a zillion times better than the 900. You can pull the drive cages out in seconds, thanks to the quick release mechanism, for instance.  Edit:  I should also mention that the case is practically indestructable..  A big plus in my books.  It even has a quick release side panel *glares at the stupid thumbscrews on the 900*

Looks aren't everything.. As a matter of fact, if you're serious about computers looks mean very little. Functionality is key... and in that respect the 900 fails the test miserably.


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## mep916

SirKenin said:


> *As a matter of fact*, if you're serious about computers looks mean very little. Functionality is key... and in that respect the 900 fails the test miserably.



Did you mean to say, "As a matter of opinion?" 

I'm serious about computers, and I think looks are important. The 900 is an awesome looking case. That's why I can overlook the fact that it has thumbscrews, a shitty 3.5" drive adapter, and limited room inside. The case is not hard to work with, IMO, and for the price, it's one of the best mid-towers on the market.



SirKenin said:


> For anyone serious about computers, that monkeys around all the time, the case is a piece of crap.



I'm serious about computers, but I generally install my parts and leave them alone.


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## PC eye

mep916 said:


> Did you mean to say, "As a matter of opinion?"
> 
> I'm serious about computers, and I think looks are important. The 900 is an awesome looking case. That's why I can overlook the fact that it has thumbscrews, a shitty 3.5" drive adapter, and limited room inside. The case is not hard to work with, IMO, and for the price, it's one of the best mid-towers on the market.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm serious about computers, but I generally install my parts and leave them alone.


 
That's the smart move leaving things alone unless upgrading or seeing a need to make any changes. Periodic cleaning to clean out dust and debris on the other hand will be the biggest help in seeing the temps kept down since a blanket of dust acts like a thermal blanket in cold weather seeing temps rise!


(talking about blankets of dust I just pulled one off in a case that saw total neglect by the owner needlessly!  )

One thing you will find out fast is that there plus and minus factors no matter what style or type of case you use. That's why the real techs make the big money solving everyone's headaches!


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## Geoff

Kornowski said:


> If you had one, why don't you have it anymore?  Why not a Zalman CP9000, I thought they were better?


It ended up breaking, which caused part of the heatsink to lean to one side.  Which caused the heatsink to loosen up one side so the temps were extremely high.


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## newguy5

[-0MEGA-];858288 said:
			
		

> Most likely, which is why I may end up buying a Freezer 7 Pro again.



the freezer 7 is incredible.  if for nothing else, it is super-easy to install.


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## PC eye

That's rather surprising for a Zalman since those are usually right up there quality wise. But the favorites generally are the 9500 and 9700 models while Artic Cooling sees the Freezer64 Pro and Frieeze 7 Pro models. Besides price the large array of copper fins wrapped around the cooling fan scare some away for the heighth factor there.


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## Geoff

PC eye said:


> That's rather surprising for a Zalman since those are usually right up there quality wise. But the favorites generally are the 9500 and 9700 models while Artic Cooling sees the Freezer64 Pro and Frieeze 7 Pro models. Besides price the large array of copper fins wrapped around the cooling fan scare some away for the heighth factor there.


It was the Freezer 7 Pro that broke, I never had a zalman fan.

I have my CPU at stock right now and it's idling around 25C, with the cores being around 15-20C.


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## PC eye

Sorry to hear about the AC cooler going like that. Generally these are the favored two brands of coolers. But any material can develop stress fractures from constant cooling and warming a system sees. At least your temps are staying low for the time being.


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## Kornowski

lol, I just with the Antec 900 has one more CD Drive, as I'd then be able to three 120mm fans on the front


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## Kornowski

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BB-000-XI

Would that be Ok to use with the fans on the 900?


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## paratwa

Kornowski said:


> http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BB-000-XI
> 
> Would that be Ok to use with the fans on the 900?



It only controls 3 fans, and it requires fans with 3 pin connectors. So you would either have to replace the stock fans in the 900 or buy adaptors to make them 3 pins.


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## Kornowski

I have 3 pin adaptors, I think they'd work, well, they're adaptors to run a 3 pin fan off a 4 pin molex, but they'd work the other way, right?


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## Kornowski

Kornowski said:


> I have 3 pin adaptors, I think they'd work, well, they're adaptors to run a 3 pin fan off a 4 pin molex, but they'd work the other way, right?



Right?


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## paratwa

Yeah they should work.


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## Kornowski

Ace, thanks man!


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## PC eye

The stock fans in the 900 run on 12v usually provided by any extra 12v molex plugs for ide drives(HDs, optical). Often the 3/4pin are the 5.5v fans. The controller used has to be able to handle upto 12v from 0v for seeing good results. Just thought I would let you know about that.

The 900 with both drive cages in does see three 5 1/4" bays or you can see additional 5 1/4s by removing one of those. That is one thing about this type of case. Here I currently stuffed the floppy drive in the top bay with the two optical drives below that to allow for air flow above the optical drives. 

In most other case those are stuck at the top without much of any space seeing heat trapped to a degree. That's another reason you see front plates for the 5 1/4s now being vented on many case rather then solid plastic.


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## JLV2k5

Great case. Thanks for the tip. I think i am getting it.


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## PC eye

I first saw the 900 when it first came out back in late 2006 but also saw the higher price over the one just bought then. When the time came for a new build last summer someone spotted a good sale and that saw the 900 here fast! So far it's been far better cooling wise as well as quieter then the last model seeing a single 140mm front intake and 120 rear exhaust on that one.


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## Seth

Hi, im looking to get this case but am usure about due to the power supply being on the bottom of the case and im worried that the mobo power Leads wont reach to the top of my Gigabyte P35-DS3P motherboard :S Im thinking the Colermaster Exreme 600w power supply.

Anybody got any thoughts on the length of those leads?


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## PC eye

With any good make and model supply you shouldn't see any problem with length as far as the harness. Here the 3 1/2" drive is in the top 5.25" bay with two optical and 3 hard drives plus all fans are plugged in. The 4 fans included use the standard molex type 12v power plug seen for ide drives there.


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