Antec ISK600M

[testman78]

Introduction

Following on from my last Antec review of the ISK600,today I am taking a look at it's big brother,the ISK600M.The main feature of the new ISK600M is its timeless design line with an attractive classic aluminium exterior.It's not the most innovative design i've seen but its clean lines make an immediate positive impression.The case has plenty of room for high-end hardware,including full-length graphics cards,ATX PSU,240mm radiator and tall Cpu coolers.Besides catering to gamers,the chassis also attempts to woo media buffs with support for three 3.5" hard drives,four 2.5" HDD/SSD and some impressive cooling options.



The ISK600M offers 2 separate zones, the motherboard is installed into the main zone while things like the power supply and hard drives are installed into the 2nd zone.This is to help offer better thermal performance.




Packaging & Contents

The ISK600M comes neatly packaged in a colourful box bearing the common Antec colours.On the front side of the box we have a photo of the ISK600M.On the top left corner we have the ever familiar Antec logo and the bottom left the model number,in this case the ISK600M.



On the opposite side of the box we have another photo of the ISK but this time from the opposite side.Apart from that the information is the same from the front of the box.



Around the side we have a nice run down of many of the features, such as water cooler support,front light bar,ATX PSU support and the 120mm fan that is included in the chassis.



On the right hand side, the image illustrates that the case comes with LED?s which are carefully selected and calibrated to make sure that the case is lit to achieve optimal colour and brightness.



A brief look at the top of the box gives a very quick specification for the ISK600M,written in 9 different languages and on the right hand side is a small annotated photograph of the ISK600M chassis with the dimensions of the case on it.



Sturdy foam spacers hold the case in place within the box,which is great as such material survives a fall where Styrofoam will break and crumble.



Antec added a bag of silver screws and four zip ties-all pretty standard.A minimalistic,but functional manual has also been included, which should be enough to see first-time builders through.




A Closer Look- Outside

The frame measures 29cm in height,27.5cm in width,and 34cm in depth.The exterior of the chassis is on piece of brushed aluminium.It simply slots on, and is held in place by three thumbscrews on the rear of the chassis.



As you can see towards the front of the chassis,there is a vented mesh area.This is also on the same place on the opposite side of the chassis.The grilles on each side serve as extra ventilation for the graphics card and the power supply but again,don?t feature anything to prevent dust from entering the case.



The brushed aluminum front panel of the ISK600M has been deliberately kept simple and convinces with its edged,straightforward design.



The front panel features vents on each side,but all they provide are extra openings to let air (and dust) into the case.



At the top there is a small slot for a slim laptop sized optical drive.



At the very bottom we have a separate plastic panel where the front IO panel takes place.



This consists of a single USB 3.0 port,3.5 mm headphone and microphone jacks and a single USB 2.o port.To the right of the front IO is the power and reset buttons.



In the bottom of the case,you can see a gloss strip.This is where the blue LED lighting effect will come from.



A look at the back.



The 120 mm fan is clearly visible.



To the right of the cover are two openings through which you can route water-cooling tubes out the back.



On the right hand side we have the four PCI expansion slots which are held in play by a bracket which utilities downward pressure from screws.it is nice to see four such slots as they allows you to employ two dual-slot graphic cards.



The external shell of the ISK600M is a single piece of brushed aluminum and as you can also see is held in place by three thumb screws towards the rear.



You will find the PSU bay on the bottom in the rear.Above the PSU bay is the motherboard cutout.



Near it you can see a fan grill for an 80mm fan.This grill serve as extra ventilation for the HDD's.



At the base of the ISK600M we see four round feet.



A dust filter on the underside covers the air vent for the PSU.It is easily removed and can be cleaned with running water.




A Closer Look-Inside

The inside of the case is painted entirely in black, meaning it will complement most component choices aesthetically.



The chassis is made of 0.8mm cold-rolled steel.The Antec ISK600M has two separate thermal zones – the area of the power supply is separated from the upper part of the motherboard, video card and CPU cooler.



Antec have decided to keep all of the 2.5" storage focused around the roof of the chassis,mainly because there is a lack of real estate in the main chassis,but more on that later.



The cable length of each of the cables is refreshingly short, making the best possible use out of the internal space.All the cables come with the usual set of connectors, and each of them is clearly labeled.



Preinstalled stand offs for motherboard.



Front panel connections.



On the top side of the interior is the removable 2.5" HDD/SSD/ODD drive rack.



The 2.5" HDD/SSD holder can be easily removed.The disk holder allows the decoupled mounting of two 2.5 inch HDD/SSD.



The HDD cage in the bottom compartment can hold three 3.5" storage units.



Pulling the front cover off will also reveal the 140 mm fan.



Having such a push/pull system within the chassis is certainly nice.



2 x 120mm fans can be mounted behind the front cover,increasing the air flow significantly.



A diode for Cable management.



Antec has included some padding around the power supply mounting points,presumably to help reduce noisy vibrations.




Installation and Finished looks

Installing the motherboard within the Antec ISK600M is quite simple.With the preinstalled stand-offs,this is a breeze.



There is plenty of space around the board,so you do not have to force things.One should naturally install any components,like heatsink, before putting the board in place.



There is enough room for an 120mm AIO Cooler.This particular view nicely shows that the ISK600M comes with a lot of room for a tall air cooler.



If you are a liquid cooling enthusiast,the ISK600M might also be a good choice since there is enough room for one 240mm radiator at the side of the case.



The trend continues with the PSU as it also uses traditional screws.



As you can see,the standard sized ATX unit fits into the ISK600M just fine.



Antec ISK600M can also support dual PCI slots display cards with 317.5mm length.



As you can see there is still a little bit of room at the end of the chassis for a slightly longer card.



Installing the slimline ODD drive is done by traditional means,using the tiny screws such units require.Antec includes a set of these,so you won't be left hanging.



I was able to comfortably mount my storage devices out of the way from all the cables below and still fit in under the caddies.



You may also be able to see, that whilst my cable management within the chassis was not great,there is still plenty of room left to route any cables to make it tidier.



Installing a 3.5" drive require a screwdriver.



You can see what my finished install looks like in the last picture.For a HTPC case,the ISK600M is very spacious.It is very easy to mount the components.A somewhat more consistent tool-free installation would have been even better,though.




Test System and Methology

Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K
Motherboard:ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe mini-ITX
Cooler:Noctua NH-U12S CPU Cooler
Memory: 4GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1800MHz
Graphics Cards: Msi gtx 670 Twin Frozr
Power Supply: Corsair VS450
Boot Drive: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB
OS: Windows 7 Home Edition 64bit



To test the thermal performance of the Antec ISK600M i loaded my test system for 15 minutes using Prime95 and Furmark and recorded the maximum temperatures reached using CPUID Hardware Monitor.I then restarted the system and left it for 15 minutes before recording idle temperatures.I overclocked the system to 4.2 GHZ for my tests using a voltage of 1.20V.Room temperature was maintained at 20 degrees C for the duration of my tests.


Temperature

These temperatures are pretty good,showcasing the decent thermal performance of the system.




Noise level

We can see that even with the fans at full speed the case remains pretty quiet.




Conclusion

Everything considered,i am fairly impressed with what the ISK600M has to offer.Let’s hit the negatives first.A somewhat more consistent tool-free installation would have been even better.The dual chamber layout separates the hot processor and graphics card from the power supply and drives,and that makes the cooling path as straight as an arrow.On the other hand the form factor means you are limited to either a Micro-ATX or Mini-ITX motherboard.That may sound like a problem but it actually reflects the way that Antec is slicing the PC case market into a bunch of tiny segments.If you want it big, tall and luxurious you can have an Nineteen Hundred or you can save money with the ISK600.I never take anything for granted when i review,however with some manufacturers there are certain things i've come to expect.With Antec that certain something is quality.Not just good quality, but excellent quality.This quality can be found in many areas of the case, but for me the standout area is the superbly crafted Aluminium.Aesthetically,the ISK600M is certainly eye-catching and very well designed.The ISK600M is a good looking chassis with integrated lighting.I cannot really claim that it is a unique case,because many cubic cases are available.There’s enough space for two dual long graphic cards and you can fit a 120/240mm radiator.The case is designed with proper water cooling in mind and once done right,the performance should only get better.Tiny but mighty,ISK600M delivers an exceedingly flexible interior.Those who prefer air cooling will be pleased to see that tall CPU coolers can be mounted with no fuss.Data storage is well taken care of with mounting available for three full hard drives or up to four Solid State Drives.In my thermal and acoustic tests,the ISK600M performed reasonably well.



One thing is for sure,the 60 British Pounds price tag is impressively cheap and about 10 British Pound less than I would have predicted.With their ISK600M Antec have great looking mini ITX,micro ATX case in their portfolio suitable for gaming enthusiast and HTPC builds.