Fusion Max -- ATX version of Antec Fusion is coming

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 8:23 am

An ATX version of the Antec Fusion is coming. It'll have the ability to cool a high end gaming rig with oversized DX10 vidcards.

More photos from Antec's display suite at Computex last month. Lighting there was terrible for photography...

That's a 140mm fan on the side.

Drop down cover for connections -- and two filters for bottom intakes.

You can see the family internal design resemblance to NSK2400/Fusion... and that's a 120mm fan on the back.

Room for 4 HDDs altogether, but middle 2 HDD cage can be removed to accomodate a pair of very long video cards in SLI -- and a 120mm intake fan blowing straight between the two cards.

Gator · Post by **Gator** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 11:18 pm

Mike - if Antec listens to you or reads the SPCR forums, here's a thought for them:

One may hope that this new case will be available without a PSU, or at least with a fairly beefy one - especially if this case is targeted at gamers with watt-hungry video cards.

Antec makes great cases, but one size (wattage) PSU does not fit all possible uses of the case - selling the case without a PSU allows the system builder to choose how much power to provide and what sort of cable harness as well. For example: some builders prefer modular-cabling power-supplies, some don't, and anyone attempting to build an SLI rig will want much more power than the average HTPC would need.

zerok66 · Post by **zerok66** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 2:32 am

When when when I want one so I can ditch my OrigenAE X11 which is soooo poor at flowing air.

I will be moding it, hope that helps things along.

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:48 am

zerok66 wrote:When when when I want one so I can ditch my OrigenAE X11 which is soooo poor at flowing air.

I will be moding it, hope that helps things along.

Just don't expect miracles from the Antec. It's still an HTPC and airflow will still be more restrictive than a tower. It may cool a bunch of hot components, but it won't do so quietly.

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 7:09 am

jhhoffma wrote:Just don't expect miracles from the Antec. It's still an HTPC and airflow will still be more restrictive than a tower. It may cool a bunch of hot components, but it won't do so quietly.

There are no miracles with any cases, just thermals, physics, airflow.

Take a good look at the design; it's basically a slightly shrunk P180 turned on its side with intake vents repositioned to the bottom. As long as the feet are tall enough, and the thing is not jammed into a tight cabinet space, cooling will be very close to a P180. Naturally if you fill it with super hot components, it will not be super quiet, but the overall noise level will be very similar to the same system in a P180.

Chris Chan · Post by **Chris Chan** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 11:37 am

What's with that crazy eleven blade side fan? Is it a 120x20? One wonders if they could have not made the case 5mm wider.

stromgald · Post by **stromgald** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 11:58 am

I'm sure it cools well, but it seems kinda big for an HTPC. I built an HTPC with an Overture II not too long ago, and the 8800GTS and TV card sitting next to each other is killing my temps. This case looks interesting, but still seems quite large. It'll probably compete well with the Silverstone and Zalman HTPC cases though.

stromgald · Post by **stromgald** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 11:59 am

Chris Chan wrote:What's with that crazy eleven blade side fan? Is it a 120x20? One wonders if they could have not made the case 5mm wider.

Read the original post, it's a 14cm fan.

Chris Chan · Post by **Chris Chan** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:37 pm

stromgald wrote:
Chris Chan wrote:What's with that crazy eleven blade side fan? Is it a 120x20? One wonders if they could have not made the case 5mm wider.
Read the original post, it's a 14cm fan.

Oops! Got caught with egg on my face. It is replaceable with a 12cm though? (There's not that many 14cm fans that are awesome as, say, Nexus noisewise. )

stromgald · Post by **stromgald** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:49 pm

Chris Chan wrote:
stromgald wrote:
Chris Chan wrote:What's with that crazy eleven blade side fan? Is it a 120x20? One wonders if they could have not made the case 5mm wider.
Read the original post, it's a 14cm fan.
Oops! Got caught with egg on my face. It is replaceable with a 12cm though? (There's not that many 14cm fans that are awesome as, say, Nexus noisewise. )

Yeah, I don't think there is an especially quiet 14cm fan. Antec's using quite a few 12cm+ size fans for many of their new cases though, and from what I've read, the 14cm fans in the P182 (I think it's the 182, might be one of the other versions of the P180) are fairly quiet.

Chris Chan · Post by **Chris Chan** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 5:28 pm

It's the P190; the 182 just uses 120mm fans.

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 4:03 am

MikeC wrote:There are no miracles with any cases, just thermals, physics, airflow.

Take a good look at the design; it's basically a slightly shrunk P180 turned on its side with intake vents repositioned to the bottom. As long as the feet are tall enough, and the thing is not jammed into a tight cabinet space, cooling will be very close to a P180. Naturally if you fill it with super hot components, it will not be super quiet, but the overall noise level will be very similar to the same system in a P180.

Don't get me wrong, it's still the best looking (aesthetically and cooling-wise) HTPC case I've ever seen. My point was that HTPCs in general have to sacrifice the easy front-to-back airpath with minimal restriction that most towers can have, just as a function of their component layout and size.

And zerok66 does have a monster of a system that's overloading his X11 right now, which is no surprise given that's it's only got one small intake that is obstructed and he's using a passive PSU.

Are their any isolation attempts for the HDDs or is it just the squishy washers again?

Snowdog · Post by **Snowdog** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:23 am

I love the sealed/filtered PS section, I would like to see this migrate to a mid tower, keeping the PS in the traditional location to resolve fit issues that the P180 creates.

Otherwise this looks like a big time negative pressure design with dual monster exhaust fans that will try to suck air in through the opticals drive and connectors etcs...

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:58 am

jhhoffma wrote:Don't get me wrong, it's still the best looking (aesthetically and cooling-wise) HTPC case I've ever seen. My point was that HTPCs in general have to sacrifice the easy front-to-back airpath with minimal restriction that most towers can have, just as a function of their component layout and size.

And zerok66 does have a monster of a system that's overloading his X11 right now, which is no surprise given that's it's only got one small intake that is obstructed and he's using a passive PSU.

right.

Are their any isolation attempts for the HDDs or is it just the squishy washers again?

silicone rubber grommets only. suspension was considered but rejected for 2 reasons:

1) the complexity of trying to pull that off with vertically mounted drives bays that had to be removable, and
2) in most media PC apps, the silicone rubber grommets by themselves do a good enough job of isolation. Media PCs generally don't have to be as quiet as a desktop home PC; when they're being used, there's usually some sound coming out of the speakers to mask PC noise, and users are seated some distance away.

Post by **MikeC** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:27 am

Snowdog wrote:I love the sealed/filtered PS section, I would like to see this migrate to a mid tower, keeping the PS in the traditional location to resolve fit issues that the P180 creates.

Otherwise this looks like a big time negative pressure design with dual monster exhaust fans that will try to suck air in through the opticals drive and connectors etcs...

imo, the P182 resolves most of the fit issues related to PSU positioning, esp now that so many PSUs come with very long cables.

Actually, in the Fusion Max, there are 2 openings in the wall between the 2 sections -- you can see them near the front. The holes are there to allow the 2 exhaust fans in the other corner to pull the air via the filtered intake opening below the drive bays in the PSU section, thereby helping to cool those drives. The reason for this is because if you use a 120mm fan PSU (a design that totally dominates the retail PSU market), the HDDs the PSU section won't get any airflow otherwise. With grommet-mounted HDDs that don't get any metal-to-metal heat conduction, this is very important.

Moogles · Post by **Moogles** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:00 am

I quite like the case, it looks good and functional. The 140mm fan seems like a bad choice though, imo. What's wrong with the Fusion's old dual 120mm configuration? That still moves more air a single 140, and you can replace them with very quiet fans. I've never even heard of a quiet 140mm fan, but perhaps Scythe makes/sells one? Or, how about 3 120mm fans on the side of the case? You could use a Ninja, a HR-05 and a passively cooled video card relying only on case fans for cooling.

zerok66 · Post by **zerok66** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:07 am

What are the alternatives then to a cool (for a HTPC) case that is full ATX?

Since I have moved to c2d system I have dropped loads of temp and my CPU cores idle at 15-20 degrees. I have not loaded it yet, so these temps could still get silly high.

Waiting for my SSD to arrive then I can move HDD's around and get a big intake fan fitted.

Post by **MikeC** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:21 am

zerok66 wrote:What are the alternatives then to a cool (for a HTPC) case that is full ATX?

Some of the big silverstones are pretty good -- except for HDD cooling if you suspend them. They use side intakes, along with 2-80mm fans for exhaust at the back. There are secondary intake vents in the front where the HDDs are, but the flow looks quite restricted, so depending on your HDDs you might need to make some mods to increase airflow in front.

stromgald · Post by **stromgald** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:11 am

zerok66 wrote:What are the alternatives then to a cool (for a HTPC) case that is full ATX?

I've got an Overture II that works fairly well. It's got a nice big intake vent right on top of the CPU, which keeps that area of the case very cool. Unfortunately, I've got an 8800GTS and HDTV card in there that has the other side burning up (and loud too)

.

I think Overture IIs are hard to find now. I had some trouble getting one when I built the HTPC just 3-4 months ago.

bluepanda · Post by **bluepanda** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:25 am

Hey mike im just wondering if it has the VFD display or the LCD display (the one with more then just a few lines of text) of the newer version 2 Fusion? Also im wondering if you got a look at said display because i have seen a user here saying the newer LCD isnt quite as good as it looks in the advertising.

Lastly does anyone know when i might be able to buy this puppy? (long shot i know) but i was planning to buy the current fusion with my tax return in a few weeks but i want this sooo much more

Post by **MikeC** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:29 am

bluepanda wrote:Hey mike im just wondering if it has the VFD display or the LCD display (the one with more then just a few lines of text) of the newer version 2 Fusion? Also im wondering if you got a look at said display because i have seen a user here saying the newer LCD isnt quite as good as it looks in the advertising.

Lastly does anyone know when i might be able to buy this puppy? (long shot i know) but i was planning to buy the current fusion with my tax return in a few weeks but i want this sooo much more

Not sure of such details. I think it'll be late summer (end of Sept?) or early fall before this case is on the market.

zerok66 · Post by **zerok66** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:03 am

Having removed my HDD rack and 80mm fan + DIY installing a 120mm fan into my origenAE X11 v2 case (reducing 3.5" bays to 2) my case flows very well, runs silent and very cool.

NyteOwl · Post by **NyteOwl** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:43 pm

I wonder if they will make it along the lines of teh Overture - a nice case if it had a bit better cooling and power supply options.

BenSanford · Post by **BenSanford** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 10:04 am

I like the appearance of this case and I'm trying to figure out the airflow in the case. I guess the PSU compartment is separate from the rest for airflow & pulls air in from the side and out the back?

Then, I assume that the two fans in the right rear near the CPU are both exhaust fans. So does the air into the case come through the holes in the rear and top above the card slots and the black baffle serves to help force the air through the cards rather than allowing it to go straight out back through the rear exhaust? I guess that since there were filters shown pulled out from the front that there must also be air intakes in the front bottom of the case that help cool the HD's?

Ben

Post by **MikeC** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:12 am

BenSanford wrote:I like the appearance of this case and I'm trying to figure out the airflow in the case. I guess the PSU compartment is separate from the rest for airflow & pulls air in from the side and out the back?

Then, I assume that the two fans in the right rear near the CPU are both exhaust fans. So does the air into the case come through the holes in the rear and top above the card slots and the black baffle serves to help force the air through the cards rather than allowing it to go straight out back through the rear exhaust? I guess that since there were filters shown pulled out from the front that there must also be air intakes in the front bottom of the case that help cool the HD's?

Ben

Just examine the airflow design of the NSK2400/Fusion and you'll get the gist of it. The minor differences are size & location of main fans, and the fact that the HDDs in the PSU channel are also cooled by the main fans. See one of my comments above about this section.

FreeBaGeL · Post by **FreeBaGeL** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 4:33 pm

Any idea on the dimensions or estimated price of this beauty?

FreeBaGeL · Post by **FreeBaGeL** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 6:57 pm

Bump...anything?

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 4:00 am

Any timescale for release, or for a SPCR review.

Andy

NyteOwl · Post by **NyteOwl** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:14 am

Yes this looks nice. I wonder if they'de consider making an NSK-2480 MAX as the extra 5.25" drive bay would be more useful, to me at least, than the display/readout/volume-knob

KuniD · Post by **KuniD** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 7:22 am

Any news on this?

I've been using an Antec Fusion for my HTPC for just over a year now and it has served me well, but I have to admit I'm sort of fed up with MATX.

Motherboard choices in terms of chipset/performance is pretty nuttered. I run a 52" 1080p screen and I'd like to enjoy games on it from time to time, which means I'd need a high end graphics setup. As we all know this doesn't have to mean a noisy system, after all we have some great VGA coolers that can run effectively at 5v (Zalman VF1000) and passive coolers). Whats stopping me from using a set of 8800GT's in SLI is the MATX motherboard. If an SLI motherboard does exist in MATX then its likely to be missing other stuff. It's always a comprimise.

I don't have any problems with big HTPC cases either. My receive is a Pioneer VSX-D2011S which is 420mm Ã— 188mm x 464 mm. I'd actually like a case that almost matches it in size so I can have them side by side.

I'll be snapping this up soon as it hits the market.

One thing that really bugged me about the Fusion and looks like they've made the same mistake here is the VFD - it uses a small ammount of space compared to the area it takes up and looks very tacky. If they'd fix that it'd be pretty much perfect.

Fusion Max -- ATX version of Antec Fusion is coming

Any idea what sort of PSU options they plan to offer?

LCD or VFD?

Re: LCD or VFD?