Mini Review : Antec 300 Gamers case on a budget

[Leeghoofd]

Antec has now released the Three Hundred Gaming Case. As its name suggests, the Three Hundred is a stripped down version of their Nine Hundred gaming case. It features six bays like the Nine Hundred, and includes some of the newer ideas used on the Twelve Hundred, but ships with fewer fans and accessories. Yet retail price in Europe is around 50 euro's... I got one for my nephews build...

http://users.pandora.be/OAP/Antec%20300/ANTEC300%20014.jpg

Some boring specs :

9 Drive Bays:
• External 3 x 5.25"
• Internal 6 x 3.5" for HDD
Cooling System:
• 1 rear 120 x 25 mm TriCool™ Fan with 3-speed switch control.
• 1 top special 140 x 25 mm TriCool™ Fan with 3-speed switch control
• 2 front (optional) 120 mm fans to cool the hard drives
• 1 side (Optional) 120 x 25 mm Fan to cool graphic cards
Washable air filters reduces dust build up in your system, which helps keep your system cooler. Perforated front bezel for maximum air intake
7 expansion slots
Top mounted I/O ports for easy access
• 2 x USB 2.0
• HDA & AC’97 Audio In and Out
Unit dimensions:
• 18" (H) x 18.3" (D) x 8.1" (W)
• 45.8 (H) x 46.5 (D) x 20.5 cm (W)
Weight:
• Net: 15.9lbs / 7.2kg
• Gross: 18.7lbs / 8.5kg

Things I like about this case :

First it's price of course, almost half of the 900 model
Secondly finally Antec put some dust filter on the front bezels... also they are so easily removable, front panel works like a door in fact... snaps on in a second...

Here's a piccie (specially with flash) so you can spot the dust filter...

http://users.pandora.be/OAP/Antec%20300/ANTEC300.jpg

The 2 front fans (optional) can be screwed in these doors, making it very easy for HD removal too , should the interior get crowded...

http://users.pandora.be/OAP/Antec%20300/ANTEC300%20013.jpg

There's room for a 120mm fan in the sidepanel too (optional ), centered on the Vidcard... at the rear there's an 120mm fan and on top a 140mm fan... both are 3 speed adjustable and barely audible on medium setting...

http://users.pandora.be/OAP/Antec%20300/ANTEC300%20005.jpg

One of the big letdowns of the 900 was that it needed serious modding to get a clean interior... holes had to be drilled, cages modified etc... with the 300 Antec has foreseen a small room behing the lower HD cage... I used an OCZ 600 Watt gameXtream and had zero issues to tuck all those cables neatly away

http://users.pandora.be/OAP/Antec%20300/ANTEC300%20010.jpg

Other thing that lacked on the 900 was the length of the power button and co cables... they were just too short... on the 300 no worries they can be easily tucked behind the mobo, totally out of sight...

Here's the interior :

http://users.pandora.be/OAP/Antec%20300/ANTEC300%20009.jpg

Rig running :

http://users.pandora.be/OAP/Antec%20300/ANTEC300%20012.jpg

for me a very enjoyable case to work with, top price, and build quality is Antec worthy...

http://users.pandora.be/OAP/Antec%20300/ANTEC300%20015.jpg

[Newblar]

very nice review, did not know this even existed until this thread
atm its $60USD inc shipping on newegg, very very nice price for about half the prices of a 900

[Leeghoofd]

It's a great case mate, only one negative point for me : the front audio jacks are a bit too far in, so I plug in my headphones yet they seem to come out... so I loose sound on one side... so I unhooked that and plug it straight on the mobo jacks...

For the rest just an extra fan would make this case stand out from the crowd...

[okorn]

Looks a bit like a CM-690

Nice case

[fragmasterMax]

the dimensions of this are exactly the same as the 900, except that the 900 has the plastic shroud, and 200 mm fan at the top which makes it a bit wider.
I compared them at microcenter, the antec 300 is awesome!

[Calmatory]

Who cares about how the calbes are managed in a big enough case like this? It's not like your neighbours or friends come to judge you by the looks of your case..

[Leeghoofd]

If you buy cases like these I think most users will do that for maximum airflow... and I like my PC's tidy and clean... and so do most of my customers... who are most lanparty freaks and like to show of their hardware... and it's a medium tower with a great interior layout...

[CryptiK]

I have the Antec 300, it's a nice simple case which still has great airflow. I also really like the plain, understated functional look. I highly recommend them.

[Leeghoofd]

share us with some piccies Cryptik ,would be nice that peeps will see the tidy interior that can be done in this budget case

[CryptiK]

Ok, will do soon, as I have not taken any of it as yet. The build you did using one looks nice.

[WhiteFireDragon]

this looks easier to WC than the antec 900. would it be possible to attach a PA120.2 to one side of the intake fans, and the other side of the fan attached to the case?

[CrixD]

Getting one this September :p
This one is beggin to be watercooled :O

[Leeghoofd]

Would be nice to see what you can make of it mate... there's some room in the front HD bay but not much (only way to use it is to put the HD in a 5 1/2 rack...) or on top

[CrixD]

Would be nice to see what you can make of it mate... there's some room in the front HD bay but not much (only way to use it is to put the HD in a 5 1/2 rack...) or on top

My plan is to cut the 140mm fan away and replace it with a p120.2 or p120.3 rad :)

Maybe a second loop in the front later? :p

[CrixD]

I fear a little that there is no room to mount a top rad when you have a Mosfet just under.
Any chance someone can post just a pic of a motherboard mounted in the 300 with a mosfet just under the 140 fan?

[Leeghoofd]

Top rad has to be outside the case mate, there's no room... best bet is like I said to mount it in the HD bays but you will to place the HD in one of the 5 1/2 slots and to mod the HD bays too... your maxed with a dual rad...

[CrixD]

Top rad has to be outside the case mate, there's no room... best bet is like I said to mount it in the HD bays but you will to place the HD in one of the 5 1/2 slots and to mod the HD bays too... your maxed with a dual rad...

Kinda knew that in the HD bay, but about the top is sad news :down:
Guess I have to rethink how to tangle this once I get the hands on the case to study it further. :)

[Kibbler]

-Not enough space for a rad in the front w/o modification.

-Top 140mm stamped grill is wider than all radgrills I've checked. Makes it a huge pain in the ass to top-mount a rad. It won't look very nice.

-With the top 140mm fan in place, it *almost* overlaps Rampage Formula mosfet sinks. Fatter rads (e.g. Feser or Thermochill) are almost certainly out of the question, internally.

-HDD bay is not wide enough for 120mm rads. There are "flanges" that support HDDs that get in the way. Gotta cut out most if not all of the HDD bays to get a rad in the front.

-If you take out all 5.25" bays and HDD bays, I *think* there is enough room in front for a 3x120 rad. Not confirmed, tho. Then you'd have to use an external optical drive. Good airflow, tho.

Articu had a worklog of his 300 in the Liquid cooling -> Worklog section with a MCR240 in the front, I think his build is done. I'm working on mine as well, worklog is in the same place, called Ugly Duckling (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=195508).

/self-pimp mode off :lol2:

[CrixD]

Saw the worklog too :)
So lets conclude that without running amok the the chainsaw almost, then watercooling is out of the question :p
Sad thou :( But I am sure I can find a good alternative ;)

EDIT: The idea with chopping all out sounds kinda interesting.
HAS to be tried with it :D And if the case dies, then so be it ;P

When it comes to casemodding, sometimes a case have to die :D

[kylepaddock]

I have this case and I love it.

[Webster]

I recently did a build with this case for school. It was great to work with, high quality for a low price (as mentioned above, $60 shipped on NE). Awesome.

[LuckyNV]

awesome value for money, maybe if they added a front HDD tri-cool it would be even better.

Still its a sin to not provide some sort of cable management if the PSU has a bottom placement.

[th3pwn3r]

Who cares about how the calbes are managed in a big enough case like this? It's not like your neighbours or friends come to judge you by the looks of your case..

This was a joke right? If it wasn't...some people care about the aesthetics of their work in their builds and believe it or not, a big rat nest of wires isn't exactly a good thing for optimal air flow.

[mattkosem]

Wc Ftw.

[kaskuli]

One of the few rare situations in todays market where the line is blurred between performance and value. The egg has free shipping on this beaut. I was considering something like a tyr pc500b or p182se but when this turned up in my power search I thought I'd take a peek inside the $60 case just for laughs. The attention to detail wiped the smirk off my face. And when I noticed it had free shipping, I removed a certain $369 case from my shopping cart... This is shaping up to be quite a special build indeed. I'll keep y'all posted.

[muggy]

I love this case as well, got it for 39.99 at microcenter, no rebates.

I built the rig as silent as possible, I put dynamat on the sidepanels and few layers on the top of the case. I also used rubber washers to screw in my hard drive.
I put in a couple front intake fans from an Antec 900, and my temps are excellent along with my overclocks. And my computer is very quiet, near silent if I turn down the cpu fan when I'm not playing games. I'm saying this as someone who sleeps next to their computer.

I love this case, I think it has perfect aesthetics and functionality, my only change would be a change to the hard drive mounts to rubber like every other antec case there is out there. All in all, you can't ask for more, and the price is right.

[Leeghoofd]

Give us some pictures guys... that would be fab

[muggy]

Here's a few pics. As you can see, temps are excellent.



http://img209.imagevenue.com/loc200/th_71020_P1010004_122_200lo.JPG (http://img209.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=71020_P1010004_122_200lo.JPG)http://img20.imagevenue.com/loc1065/th_71022_P1010005_122_1065lo.JPG (http://img20.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=71022_P1010005_122_1065lo.JPG)http://img217.imagevenue.com/loc91/th_71034_P1010007_122_91lo.JPG (http://img217.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=71034_P1010007_122_91lo.JPG)http://img179.imagevenue.com/loc56/th_71036_Temps_122_56lo.jpg (http://img179.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=71036_Temps_122_56lo.jpg)
http://img233.imagevenue.com/loc581/th_71038_temps2_122_581lo.jpg (http://img233.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=71038_temps2_122_581lo.jpg)

[OCX600RR]

Looks great man, nice temps as well. Picked mine up for $35 at MicroCenter the other day, can't wait to put everything in it.