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

[NeoRecon]

Deees,
That is a nice clean install. That definately gives me some ideas as I am just putting my system together. Hoping the remaining parts will show up this week.

[deees]

Deees,
That is a nice clean install. That definately gives me some ideas as I am just putting my system together. Hoping the remaining parts will show up this week.

Thanks,

One recommandation with this case:

If you even THINK you might want to run a cable somewhere, someday, drill the hole now!

[stogez]

I love this case. Definitely getting one in a couple of months for my new build

[bjp999]

Bpj99,

Well, if Chancemax won’t show you his power cable hairball, I will.

...

P.S. Are you running the Scythe Infinity? I’m looking for an after-market cooler that’s compatible with the 900 and aw9d. I know the Infinity is AW9D-MAX compatible, (with some fan orientations), but wasn’t sure about the 900.

Awesome install! I like the way you cut the holes, they look stock! Very nice.

I have the Scythe Infinity and it fits pretty well. I had to do some minor surgery on the fan mounted in the side panel because it touched the HSF.

[deees]

Awesome install! I like the way you cut the holes, they look stock! Very nice.

Thanks,

I'm planning on tackling the harddrive cables this weekend. I don't think I'm going to go as far as you did, (reversing the drive mounting), but at least I want to run the cable behind the drive bays.

I have the Scythe Infinity and it fits pretty well. I had to do some minor surgery on the fan mounted in the side panel because it touched the HSF.

Based on your pictures I took the chance and ordered mine. "Test" fit it last night. It's BIG. I know it will fit on the AW9D-MAX, (and apparently in both orientations), so I'm trying to decide which would be best. Right now I'm leaning toward mounting it which the long axis horizonal so the fan blows up through the vanes and out top fan. That job will have to wait until I receive the backing-plate I ordered so I can try a bolt-on mod like:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...88&postcount=1

I can also see that I'm going to have to lop off the corner of the side fan.

[momomo6789]

wow really nice being a wire management night mare

[bjp999]

Thanks,

I'm planning on tackling the harddrive cables this weekend. I don't think I'm going to go as far as you did, (reversing the drive mounting), but at least I want to run the cable behind the drive bays.

Based on your pictures I took the chance and ordered mine. "Test" fit it last night. It's BIG. I know it will fit on the AW9D-MAX, (and apparently in both orientations), so I'm trying to decide which would be best. Right now I'm leaning toward mounting it which the long axis horizonal so the fan blows up through the vanes and out top fan. That job will have to wait until I receive the backing-plate I ordered so I can try a bolt-on mod like:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...88&postcount=1

I can also see that I'm going to have to lop off the corner of the side fan.

I also mounted my Scythe Infinity with screws based on the same post. It makes it so much easier to take off, and I think I get better contact as well. I didn't use a backplate, but it wouldn't hurt. The Infinity is a little tall, and I had to shave about 1/16 inch off a corner of the side fan with a dremel. It does not interfere with the blade at all. (If you do the same, wrap the fan up in a plastic bag or something so that none of the little shavings get into the fan mechanism.) I could only mount my Scythe as you see in the picture. If I'd been able to point is straight up, I probably would have, but the cooling is excellent as is.

Good luck with the drive cabling!

[EtherealRemnant]

Wow.

I really dig the organization of that case.

I just got my 900 today but I don't think I'm anywhere near skilled enough to route the wires like that.

That said, I have them running in a semi-straight line straight up between the video card and the hard drive racks so it really doesn't look too terrible. My old Xaser III had a lot more cabling problems than this case. That's for sure.

And jesus lord the Tuniq and Scythe heatsinks are insanely huge!

Nice to know they'll fit in this case though... I'm debating on whether or not to keep the stock Intel cooler and deal with load temps in the 60s or rip everything all back out again just to put a new cooler on... This build took me a good hour and a half... longest build I've ever had outside of my first ever.

Definitely worth it though. This case is a LOT quieter than my old Thermaltake and temps dropped 14C just switching cases and replacing the thermal grease that was on the proc with AS5.

[rescando]

Antec 900 is for sale now at CompUSA for $89.99

[gr8golf]

Antec 900 is for sale now at CompUSA for $89.99

And they have a $25 rebate on it - makes it $65. At that price it is a screaming deal on a great air cooling case. I paid $120 for it a few months ago.

[NeoRecon]

Wow..Just finished my first run with this case. It sure can get crammed up fast.

[gr8golf]

Wow..Just finished my first run with this case. It sure can get crammed up fast.

Yep - it seems like it because that big top fan gobbles up plenty of space. Speaking of which, has anyone modded theirs to switch out the molex power plug with a 3 or 4 pin?

[Leeghoofd]

I have modded the 12cm fans but I wasn't sure the bigger fan could be supported by my mobo's power ouput, so I left it with the normal molex

[manomanx2]

All the nifty little holes you cut for wire management made me realize: my case is something I'm likely never going to return... I can do anything I want to it. =)))))))))))))))))) thanks for the inspiration, I'm going to try to mod my case a little bit for a cleaner look.

[Zelpo]

Just picked up this case yesterday at CompUSA for $90 ... and then found out Antec is offering a $25 rebate to boot.

Thanks for sharing your case mods & the pics, gives the rest of us some ideas for cable management

I'm pretty new to the whole DIY thing w/puters ... do you guys think it's possible to somehow get the fan speeds controlled from the outside, such as on a 5.25 bay or something?

[deees]

I'm pretty new to the whole DIY thing w/puters ... do you guys think it's possible to somehow get the fan speeds controlled from the outside, such as on a 5.25 bay or something?

Yes and no. There are a ton of fan controllers available:


http://www.xoxide.com/5fanco1.html

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l2/g36/...ntrollers.html

..etc.

The problem with LED fans is the PWM controllers can cause them to strobe, and the resistance-type can burn-out the LED's.

I replaced mine with non-led ones, (I did add two led's on a separate circuit to the front bays because I missed them).

[bjp999]

Yes and no. There are a ton of fan controllers available:


http://www.xoxide.com/5fanco1.html

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l2/g36/...ntrollers.html

..etc.

The problem with LED fans is the PWM controllers can cause them to strobe, and the resistance-type can burn-out the LED's.

I replaced mine with non-led ones, (I did add two led's on a separate circuit to the front bays because I missed them).

The fans supplied with the Antec 900 each have a 3 speed switch attached (L/M/H). The cable is rather short. It wouldn't be that hard to cut these and splice in a longer piece of wire to collect all the switches and attach to something on the outside of the case (an expansion card cover plate comes to mind) to provide this type of coarse adjustment from outside. I ran mine behind the motherboard plate (except the 200mm one which was too short) to make it easier to adjust the switches in the future.

Deees, thanks for the info about there being problems with fan controllers and LED lighted fans. Never heard that before.

[deees]

After seeing some of the wire-management jobs in this thread, I decided to go back to my case and rewire the hard drives.

I added some new holes in the back of the drive bays:



The material is even thinner than behind the motherboard. You have to be careful not to warp the edges when cutting and drilling.

I increased the size of the slot at the bottom of the drive bays when I discovered that I could run the cables to the lower hard drive under the drive cage. The top drive is reached through the smaller slot. I removed the middle horizontal bar on the bottom cage so I could run the cables to the second hard drive.



To allow the removal of the drive cages, I attached the 3-wire connector to the cage and ran a 3-wire extension wire to the fan header.



Running the CDROM, Guru, USB/1394 wires through the upper slot simplified the routing on the back of the case. I didn’t have anything planned when I added the middle slot, (accept that I never want to drill another hole it this case again.)



The USB/1394 cables route through a hole inside the top lip of the case, (I stole that idea from bjp999.) I also drilled small holes directly under the tangs that hold the top of the case on so I can remove it easily. The 4 holes on the back of the motherboard tray are for access to the mounting hardware for the after-market HSF, (not mounted at the time of the photo.)

Everything put together with the new HSF unit, (Scythe Infinity). It’s big, (and as I can now see, slightly crooked).



The Infinity is so big, that I couldn’t get the door closed with the fan attached.



I cut out a new window panel from .093” acrylic, and attached the fan with #10 nylon counter-sunk flat-head screws. It turned out that the mounting holes are perfect for tapping with #10 threads, so I didn’t need to use nuts. I was originally planning on copying the attachment system of the original window, but ended up simply cutting the window larger on the two front edges and adding notches for the screws.



Here is the fan mounted in the new lower position:



..and the whole unit in position. If not the prettiest 900, certainly the lightest.

[gundamit]

The Infinity is so big, that I couldn’t get the door closed with the fan attached.

My Noctua is 5mm shorter than your Infinity. Any chance I won't have to move the side door fan? I like the fact you have the fan pushing air up to the fan on top, but am wondering why you didn't go with another 120mm on the Infinity in a push/pull configuration.

I've been staring at my 900 that has been sitting in a box in the corner for a few weeks now. Other builds have been keeping me busy, but now its time to think about getting my second game rig a home other than the top of a desk. You guys have put me in a mood to cut metal and manage wires. A lot of great work and ideas from all of you guys.

[deees]

My Noctua is 5mm shorter than your Infinity. Any chance I won't have to move the side door fan?

Measured from the side door frame, the top of my Infinity is about 28mm in. (The bolts stick up about 14mm, but they’re not an issue.) My problem is that the heatsink for the chipset forces the fan on the Infinity in the space for the door fan. (I wish the manufactures of computer components would release CAD models so system builders could “test fit” this stuff to check for interference.)

If your motherboard doesn’t have anything in this region, or your CPU is higher or farther forward, you shouldn’t have a problem. Also, the top of the HSF fan is about 20mm from the edge of the case, so even if everything is the same, you might squeak by.

I like the fact you have the fan pushing air up to the fan on top, but am wondering why you didn't go with another 120mm on the Infinity in a push/pull configuration.

I haven’t precluded this. I plan on buying a second hanger set, just in case. I not convinced that this is the next bottleneck in the thermal flow equation. Creating a low pressure flow over through the HSF won’t help as much as bringing more cool air into it. I’m currently researching alternative fans and still fine-tuning the HSF mounting system and TIM. http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...&postcount=120

[[XC] 4X4N]

One more for ya.

When I first put this together I could see that there would be a lot of work to get the cable management up to my usual level. I didn't have the time then, so I just did the best I could.

Just a couple examples of my previous work. Sorry no thumbnails on these.




So, here is what I had, with side open and closed.


I ended up cutting a 2" hole in the bottom for everything, 1" at the top for the 8 pin, dremeled out 2 holes for the dvd cable, 1 under the mb, and the other at the the hd cages. Also has to mod the bottom cage for the main drive, and still be able to use the fan there. Sorry I didn't take any pics until this was done. Here is the back with all the wires. Duct tape is my friend. This would be much easier with a modular psu. My powerstream has tons of cables that I don't use.


Now the finished product. Again with side open and closed.


Pretty pleased with the results. I do like this case. With the way the hd cages are set up for fans, I am able to pull in air over the ram, to the cpu, and then pull it out the back. Although, somehow one of my crucial 10th anniv. sticks died. Was working fine when I tore it down, but afterward the one stick will not post I just picked up some g skill hz from another member for a future build. Now I'm using them, so you may notice it in the before and after pics.

[bjp999]

One more for ya.

Nice job 4x4N! Thanks for posting.

Hope you never have to take all that duct tape off. Can you say gooey mess?

Note to other readers - the fan inside the case mounts to the back of an empty drive cage. If you are using more than 3 hard drives you can't use it.

[lolinternet]

Which fans on the 900 are removable?

[LuckyNV]

Which fans on the 900 are removable?

they all are so you can replace them if you want.

[Baron]

Very nice review. Great cable job there aswell.