A Positive Look at the Antec Nine Hundred (900) Case

[cabbspapp]

Very nice. You should do the hard drive cage mod where you turn it around.

[Tech Noob]

Is it impossible to use this case without modding it? not too bothred if cables inside don't look neat. no-one except me will be looking thru the window.

[cabbspapp]

Not impossible, but it helps a ton with wires.

[mad_skills]

It's a Viewsonic 22" 1680x1050, don't know the model number though.

Anyway, I have a tri-blade Delta on the way for the heatsink, I think the LED's are getting old.

I like the cable management.
Have a q. though, that's an Ultra120 eXtreme there? I have the one and i i'm not sure if i can put it in the same position as yours is. The mobo is P35 UT LanParty.

[Tech Noob]

Not impossible, but it helps a ton with wires.

Well i really wanted this case because its uber cool and cool looking, and not very expensive.

but i don't think i want to/be able to mod it. so anyone know a good alternative? or do i just stick it out.

thanks.

[Moe_Szyslak]

Well i really wanted this case because its uber cool and cool looking, and not very expensive.

but i don't think i want to/be able to mod it. so anyone know a good alternative? or do i just stick it out.

thanks.

Correct me if i'm wrong but doesn't the latest 900 revision already have pre-cut holes for wiremanagement? No modding needed

[Tech Noob]

Correct me if i'm wrong but doesn't the latest 900 revision already have pre-cut holes for wiremanagement? No modding needed

hmmm but how does one know if it is a "latest edition".

also quick noob question. do graphics cards blow air out or inwards?
because the 200mm fan atop this case sucks air out i hear like an exshaust. theres no problems with which way air is going in this case is there?

[Moe_Szyslak]

hmmm but how does one know if it is a "latest edition".

also quick noob question. do graphics cards blow air out or inwards?
because the 200mm fan atop this case sucks air out i hear like an exshaust. theres no problems with which way air is going in this case is there?

Valid question. It depends on where you buy it. You could obviously look into that in an actual store. However, emailing an online retailer can be a problem. The support staff doesn't always know exactly what's in stock and which revision. Maybe someone else here can help.

[Moe_Szyslak]

Some work i did on mine, black interior paint job and cable management(only 8pin mobo is a problem, cable too short.

I have the same problem. Aren't there any extension cables for the 8 pin cable?

[deees]

I have the same problem. Aren't there any extension cables for the 8 pin cable?

I got one for my AW9D-MAX from:
http://store.pchcables.com/8pinmafepoex.html

[Moe_Szyslak]

I got one for my AW9D-MAX from:
http://store.pchcables.com/8pinmafepoex.html

Thanks 12" is more than enough.

[mad_skills]

That's about the only cable that ruins my management.
I thought of putting in some work around the hdd's but since i couldn't make it perfect i didn't bother.
I am happy to see there is a solution to my and apparently Moe's problem.
Tnx.

[Pedalmonkey]

Does anyone see a dual loop being done in this case. im thinking of mounting a PA120.2 rad on front and a PA120.2 on the top like CyberDruid. If anyone could let me know if that would one work, and 2 if anyone could give a simple overveiw on the mounting for the Front and top rad mounts, that would b sick. ive read that mounting the rad on the front of the case means u loose the HDD racks and i need atleast 3 of those b/c im using 2 5.25 res's and i have a DVD drive.

[Fush]

Does anyone see a dual loop being done in this case. im thinking of mounting a PA120.2 rad on front and a PA120.2 on the top like CyberDruid. If anyone could let me know if that would one work, and 2 if anyone could give a simple overveiw on the mounting for the Front and top rad mounts, that would b sick. ive read that mounting the rad on the front of the case means u loose the HDD racks and i need atleast 3 of those b/c im using 2 5.25 res's and i have a DVD drive.

I plan on doing the same, can anyone tell me the cfm of the top fan, i am trying to work out what video cards/ rads i can use

[Pedalmonkey]

Glad to see im not the only one. the top fan gets 134 CFM. i was thinking of mounting the top one a moving the front rad to the back to keep the HDD bays and the passive cooling. im going to swap the stock fans for some Scythe "Ultra Kraze" fans. 133cfm fans. if those dont keep the system cool, nothing short of dunking it in ice will.

[Fush]

Yea i am current looking at x38, quad core, 2x 3870's

I want two loops, i not sure if i will reuse my mcr220 + pa120.2, or get 2 x 120.2's

[cabbspapp]

I like the cable management.
Have a q. though, that's an Ultra120 eXtreme there? I have the one and i i'm not sure if i can put it in the same position as yours is. The mobo is P35 UT LanParty.

Yes, it's a 120 Extreme. Some motherboards will put the CPU socket in slightly different locations which may determine if you can rotate it or not.

[mad_skills]

I thought that might be a problem.
Tnx.

[sekazi]

sekazi,
before i went to have my antec powder coated, i spray painted the interiors too, with chrome finish... lol, i hated it and decided to dismantle the whole case, removed the paint and preped it for powder coating. at the time i hardly know any mod, thus the blue internals to fit the fans. if i knew what i know now i might have chosen a different color. but for what its worth, take it as a learning experience and grow from there. perhaps have the will to mod further and come up with a better modded 900...
[IG]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t130/timber715/Picture035.jpg[/IMG]

[IG]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t130/timber715/Picture016.jpg[/IMG]

Goodluck brother...

After putting my PC together I am quite happy how it turned out. All the spots which did not come out right are not shown.

Heres some before with old PC and no modifications to the case and new with New PC and my modifications.




Huge difference if overall feel with the black interior.


3 x Western Digital SATAII 320GB RAID5
1 x Maxtor SATAI 250GB


Stock cooling for my E6550. Thinking about overclocking because it stay extremely cool.

I am going to use the EVGA Step Up Program to get a 8800GT next year.

Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream 700W
Motherboard: ASUS P5K-E Intel P35
Processor: Intel E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz
Memory: Corsair XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800 (PC2 6400)
Video Card: EVGA 8600GT SSC 256MB PCI Express x16
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
Hard Drives: 3 x Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s on RAID5
Hard Drive: Maxtor Maxline III 250GB 7200 RPM SATA150
DVD-ROM: AOpen Black DVD 16x CD 48x E-IDE
DVD-RW: AOpen Black 8MB Cache DVD 16x DVD±R 18x DVD+RW 8x DVD-RW 6x DVD-RAM 12x CD 48x CD-R 48x CD-RW 32x E-IDE
External Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA150 inside Galaxy METAL GEAR 3.5" Black USB 2.0 & 1394a External Enclosure

[CyberDruid]

Thought I would throw this at you DIYers/

If you want to really change the A900 form and function one way is to attack the front panel head on


Cut out a slab of 1/2" acrylic. The sides are not straight but bowed so you will need to trace from the actual panel bezel.


I made simple templates and used a router with a pattern collar on the base to cut out for a tray type DVD and SunBean 4-fan rheobus.


I fitted the acrylic piece to the case with the bezel and traced the inside bays to align the two fan holes in front of the lower 6 bays.


You will need to bevel the top to follow the front panel. Sometimes I add a groove to match the bezel.


That is how it should fit in the bezel: flush to the face.




Acrylic is fresh from the router: no polish yet.



You will want to either fit longer knobs or mod the SunBeam to extend further forward through the 1/2" panel. I trim 5/32" off the front of the PCB and strip the hardware SunBeam uses as shims from the rheostats.


I also redrill the PCB to reattach it to the Sunbeam bracket.



The knobs are easily manipulated now.


Now it's just polish and snap it in.

Obviously you could do a lot of different treatments with the acrylic front...but the basic idea is a 1/2" piece fits perfectly flush in the bezel (was someone at Antec thinking about this?) and you can either glue it or screw it adhesive tape (3M 4011) it into postition. I have fitted 38mm deep fans without isse: HDDs must be mounted creatively though I use Scythe Anti Vibration Mounts.

Merry Christmas!

[Brian MP5T]

Some Bondo and sanding.. Paint... Killa...

[CyberDruid]

Some Bondo and sanding.. Paint... Killa...

Not exactly what I had in mind lol

[Brian MP5T]

I think it would look cool if it were like a Car finish...

[CyberDruid]

I think it would look cool if it were like a Car finish...

Hmmmm

Well I might be inclind to use a different material then...

[Xope_Poquar]

Alright, I finally got around to cutting up my case. I've been wanting to buy a dremel but I never could bring myself to getting it. With nothing but a fairly weak drill, a hacksaw, and some dull metal sheers, I did it.

I used a hacksaw to cut off part of this Ultra Kaze so it'd fit in my door with the Tuniq Tower. Turned out pretty nice.



The final result I was fairly pleased with considering it's my first mod.


I have 3 x 3000 RPM Ultra Kazes. One on each side of the Tuniq Tower, and one in the door. There's 2 120mm fans in the front, and I decided to mount another because I had room for it in the middle of the case. I cut a hole in the bottom of the case so I could turn the PSU upside down, and I shouldn't have to mention the 200mm on top. All the fans are on some nice little Zalman fan controller that handles up to 6 fans. All in all a very well ventilated case.