Does anyone have an Antec 1000 series case? Any good?

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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davidstone28
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Does anyone have an Antec 1000 series case? Any good?

Post by davidstone28 » Wed Nov 19, 2003 9:37 am

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I'm thinking about trading in my Sonata and getting one of these as a replacement. I'm disappointed with the looks, build quality, cooling and quietness of the Sonata but plan to plug the Sonata PSU in a new case

davidstone28
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Post by davidstone28 » Wed Nov 19, 2003 9:43 am

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What do you think looks better? The black or the metallic grey?

sthayashi
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Post by sthayashi » Wed Nov 19, 2003 9:55 am

:shock: You were disappointed with the build quality and quietness of the Sonata and you're considering one of the Antec 1000's now?

I've never tried 1000s, but personally I was very impressed by the Sonata and the build quality. The only thing that felt cheap to me was the front door/bezel. The rest felt like a safe. And by using some simple quiet components, I've found I can't hear s*** from that computer.

Anyways, I felt that the Sonata was pretty high quality, and I suspect that you'll be equally disappointed if you decide to go with one of the 1000s, but that's just me.

As for your question on color, Black makes it more appliance like, grey is more computer like. I prefer black myself.

IceWind
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Post by IceWind » Wed Nov 19, 2003 11:58 am

This is my 1000AMG codenamed "Blue Fantasy" i've spent several months working on.

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GamingGod
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Post by GamingGod » Wed Nov 19, 2003 12:07 pm

Ahhhh big blue boobies

douglas
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Post by douglas » Wed Nov 19, 2003 12:07 pm

I have one, and I don't know if would be that difference from the view of looks or build quality compared to a sonata. The looks are about the same, or I would say the sonata looks better. I would say the build quality would be the same.

I thing the 1000 series case would be better for cooling, but much worse for noise. The problem I am having with the case, is that the whole center front is open. This provides for a lot of air over the drives, but also lets the all the noise of the drives right out into the room. The problem I having with the case is I can hear all the noise of the hard drive everywhere in the room, and I need to get a quieter hard drive.

Another difference is that there is lots of room for airflow below the hard drives. So if you get a full set of drives together, I would worry that the airflow through the drives would be constricted and the airflow through the case would go around the drives, and give you little airflow over the drive. So, to add more airflow you will need a 80mm drive in front to make sure your drives stay cool.

In the end things could be cooler, but you will also have more 80mm fans, and lots of output for noise to the front. But if you are generating that much heat, that you care about that much airflow, you don't care about noise, you will have to live with it.

Ralf Hutter
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Post by Ralf Hutter » Wed Nov 19, 2003 2:46 pm

The SX10x0 series has been Antec's flagship line of cases for the last 6+ years. It's what made them famous. It's simply one of the highest quality cases you can buy. This case is also sold as the Chieftec Dragon, Enermax 7xx, and probably more that I'm forgetting, not to mention the cheaper knockoffs like the Compucase 6619 and Thermaltake Xasar. This case has been the favorite case of modders everyhwhere for years.

Comparing it to the Sonata, I'd say it is certainly built better and has better airflow. It's not all good though, the fan mounting setup sucks and the front bezel is prettty open which lets the noise escape. The removable drive cages are handy but they can vibrate and sometimes need shimming.

I've personally owned several of of the SX10x0 series and have built at least 80 systems using the SX10x0 or the SX8xx or SX6xx series (which are the same thing as the SX10x0 but with different drive configs, or in the case of the SX6xx a shorter case). I've always loved the quality construction of these cases and the later versions with the Truepower PSUs make good starting points for a "customer box". The PSU, while not up to our standards of quietness is plenty quiet for most people and the "fan-only" connectors give the system builder a great place to hook up some 12V fans and have them run at a quiet 5V normally but have the piece of mind of knowing that they'll ramp up to higher speeds if things get too toasty.

Until the Antec SLK3700 came along last year the SX10x0 was my "reference case", the one I judged all other by. Now the SLK3700 has knocked it off the top rung but it's still an excellent case, there's just better out there. Time marches on...


If you get one, don't get the one with the fan on the side door. Too much noise ecapes from that hole.

davidstone28
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Post by davidstone28 » Wed Nov 19, 2003 2:56 pm

Thanks for the all the replies (and the pictures ;) )

Ralf - what's wrong with the fan mountings on 1000 series? Also, don't the removable drive bays have screw which secures them in? Is there any difference between the various 1000 models - I see 1040, 1080, 1040 Performance II etc etc Any suggestions?

The 3700 is based on the Sonata (or is similar to it) is that right? Do you know which has better airflow - the 3700 or 1000 series say with 2x5v 80mm fans at the back and 1x5v 80mm at the front or the 120mm of the 3700?

Ralf Hutter
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Post by Ralf Hutter » Wed Nov 19, 2003 3:31 pm

davidstone28 wrote:Thanks for the all the replies (and the pictures ;) )

Ralf - what's wrong with the fan mountings on 1000 series?
They're a snap-in mount, similar to the cheesy ones on the SLK3700. And if you remove them and try to mount the fans to the case, it's difficult to find decent places to drill mounting holes due to the preexisting fan grills.
davidstone28 wrote:Also, don't the removable drive bays have screw which secures them in?
No, they have a pivoted hook.
davidstone28 wrote:Is there any difference between the various 1000 models - I see 1040, 1080, 1040 Performance II etc etc Any suggestions?
The chassis is identical. The old nomenclature was: 1030= 300W PSU, 1035(special for CompUSA) = 350W PSU, 1040 = 400W PSU. The newer naming convention isn't so straight foward. The "Performance II" series uses the Smart Power PSUs, the "Performance Plus" is a bit higher end and uses the TruePower PSUs and may have more front bezel ports or something. You can get all the gory details from Antec's site.

davidstone28 wrote:The 3700 is based on the Sonata (or is similar to it) is that right? Do you know which has better airflow - the 3700 or 1000 series say with 2x5v 80mm fans at the back and 1x5v 80mm at the front or the 120mm of the 3700?
The 3700 is not based on the Sonata at all, they are completely different cases. The 3700 has better airflow than the SX10x0 series and is quieter.

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