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

[Janno]

anyone know if there are good (and quiet) LED fans to replace the noisy tri-cool fans?

[MetalRush]

Just set them to LOW, the difference in my system (full load) was 2 degrees :P

Specs:
E6600 @ 3.6 Ghz, 2 Gig RAM, Asus 8800 Ultra, 3hdd's

[Janno]

they're damn noisy though, even on the 'low' setting
i have all other components watercooled and the fans are making me crazy :P

[CyberDruid]

anyone know if there are good (and quiet) LED fans to replace the noisy tri-cool fans?

The Hiper fans are really pretty decent fans for $11 at PPC.

I bought one just to test and it produced the lowest temps of any low cfm fan on my PA 160 test bed (OCed Q6600) and was kind of nice to look at (chromed blades, clear body, blue leds) but was much quieter than any of the fans I had on hand (about 20 different fans) except the Enermal Enlobal Marathon.

[Lomax]

Props to the OP and all for the inspiration to attempt this build. I had so much fun with it every time I finished.. I tore it apart again (4 times!) for more tweaks. I left my camera on the tripod and snapped away during the builds. It takes awhile to crop my messy ofc out of the pics and upload, so here is build #1:

<snip>

-Sailrabbit

Very nice work, Snailrabbit.

How did you reverse-mount your HDDs without drilling custom holes?

[VooDooRoo]

I tried some spongie/foam material between the fan and case,stopped a bit of the noise. eg vibration etc just don`t over tighten`em.


tighten`em a word?


gonna try it on my old apple G4 sawtooth next,sounds like a friggen fright train


V D R

[sailrabbit]

Thx! This is build #2. To be honest everytime I started the M$ installation I found myself looking for excuses to have fun with the case and not deal with the software crap.

bjp999 - The cages are still a PIA to get in and out. It was easy at 1st, but now I have a lot of wiring for all the fans etc. I wound up using mainly the knockout punch set that deees recommended. I didn't really need the nibbler (cool tool tho) and didn't use the dremel till the 3rd build. The knockout punch set lists the dies by the pipe ID. Add 1/2" to the die size for the actual OD hole size. Ex. the 3/4" die cuts a 1 1/4" hole. You can fit an IDE cable through this by bending the head as shown below. The 24 pin PS connector will fit through a 1 3/4" hole using the same method. If you have a bunch of wires to route, put the cables with the big plugs through the access hole 1st lol. BTW - I think Antec owes you a lifetime supply of Nine Hundreds! Look at what you started.



MetalRush - I found the best look was primer then flat black for the interior. I tried paint only and the result was blotchy. cabbspapp - I only sanded to remove scratches & tool marks (as shown in my 1st post, pic #6). One touch with the die grinder at 20,000 rpm - done. I did experiment by giving the 1st cage a light sand with 400 grit for tooth and no sanding on the second. I saw no difference in the results. Follow the instructions on the paint can. I usually gave 1/2 hour between coats. 1 coat primer, 2 coats flat black. If you wait more than an hour the next coat of paint can wrinkle (and you have to wait 3 - 5 days before recoating). Let the final coat dry overnight before handling. No one is going to wait a week for the paint to fully harden so expect mars. The HDD cages scratch while moving them in and out. If any scratches are visible from the side I touch them up with a black magic marker. This works well for any small scratches. The 1st set of HDD cage pics show the flat black finish. Later pics have a semi flat black paint on them. Semi flat matches the exterior finish well, but I prefer the flat black interior. Painting in the winter sux.. even in CA. Stinks up the house moving the parts inside to dry. This damn camera picks up flaws that you don't see with the naked eye.

sLomax - There are custom holes for the HDDs. You can see the 1 1/4" hole in the side views (final build wound up with 3 on the right and 1 on the left side bays, bottom right is for the HDDs). I also had to file an opening big enough to slip a molex connector through on the HDD cage itself. I used a hand file for this. File the opening where the molex passes through the side:



mbrocketry - sweet PS mod! All - theraputic isn't it I gotta quit reading this thread and getting new ideas to try and finish installing M$, yuk (XP, Vista, and Linux partitions).


Build 2 was pretty simple. Add a modular PS and 3rd HDD. The 1st mod was to accomodate the 120mm PS fan on the bottom (added taller case feet in build 4). Time to cut a 5" hole (I should say wear a hole through, the hole saw I used was not for metal):



Next up install the 3rd HDD and modify the SATA modular power cable with 90˚ connectors:



Here is what the side wiring and interior look like now:



Build 2 finished shots:




I'll combine build 3 & 4 into one post next.

Build 3 is changing to a slot loading DVDRW. Build 4 adds taller blue feet for airflow to the PS, a blue CCFL, lots more blue fans and a blue backlit kyb. OW|Mommy, my wife and kids like the blue so I went a lil nuts. The Abit IN9 32X-MAX is backlit with blue leds all over the back of the mobo.. looks cool!





-Sailrabbit

[Vaughan14]

Looks awesome, better than mine :P.

[Obitus]

I just started building mine and am getting a ton of great ideas from this post. Good job guys.

[MetalRush]

SailRabbit, my hat of to you, my friend.
A very nice job and a high standard on detail.
What I am wondering is how/where your hdd cabling is going through the case. On 1 of the pictures I see that you created new powercables (3 disk assembly) but how do you get them behind the backplate (or don't you?). Can you take a (detailed) picture of that? I am curious :P
Where did you buy those extra power'plugs' (those 90 degree, blue ones) ?
Also: what did you use to put over the freshly sawed holes (edges) ?

[sailrabbit]

What I am wondering is how/where your hdd cabling is going through the case. On 1 of the pictures I see that you created new powercables (3 disk assembly) but how do you get them behind the backplate (or don't you?). Can you take a (detailed) picture of that? I am curious :P
Where did you buy those extra power'plugs' (those 90 degree, blue ones) ?
Also: what did you use to put over the freshly sawed holes (edges) ?

MetalRush - I'll try and explain how to route the HDD wiring. I just followed what bjp999 did, except I filed the cage to allow a molex to pass through.



Then lay all the wires in the cage channel with the fan wiring:



Put the cable connectors through the access hole in the case drive bay. Pull the cable(s) slack out as you guide the HDD cage into the bay (if you feel a bind, back out the cage and make sure the cables are still in the channel).



I found the Knockout Punch set was all I needed for creating access holes. The holes are pretty clean and don't really need a grommet.




I got the 90˚ T-SATA power connectors and Polyethylene Grommet Edging from Performance-PCs.com. Not the cheapest place around, but they had what I needed. They are currently out of the blue or black T-SATAs, but still have red or green. Just google "Connectx T-SATA". A number of posts reference cheaper edging materials.

Invoice:
6 x Solid Wall Polyethylene Grommet Edging with Adhesive - Black $8.34
2 x Connectx™ T-SATA Female (crimp-type) - UV Blue
- Cap Type: End Cap $1.98
2 x Connectx™ T-SATA Female (crimp-type) - UV Blue
- Cap Type: Pass-through Cap $1.98
1 x Thermaltake iBOX 5.25" Drive Bay Accessory Box - Black $9.95
1 x 8" Molex to Dual 90 Degree SATA Power Adapter $3.95
- Cable: No changes (stock, unsleeved)
- Sleeve Color: Black
- Heatshrink Color: Black
Sub-Total: $26.20
United States Postal Service (1 x 2.00lbs) (Priority Mail (2 - 3 days)): $9.50
Total: $35.70


When are we going to see a pic of your slot loader DVDRW mod?


-Sailrabbit

[VinnyG]

All these nice mods, makes me wanna redo the cabling in my whole case:

Just a little messy in there with the short cables...

[Obitus]

Well I got the casters installed today along with cutting out a hole in the bottom for the PSU fan. I will cut some holes in the mobo tray tomorrow.

[Kornowski]

Here's mine , what do you think?

[zlojack]

Nice!

What did you use to line the holes that you cut in the mobo tray? I need some of that for my current build.

[Kornowski]

Nice!

What did you use to line the holes that you cut in the mobo tray? I need some of that for my current build.

Thanks

It's this stuff;
http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/prod...roducts_id=242

[james bennett]

I didn't read the negative reviews on this case but, I like it. It does keep everything cooler. I saw the mods you did and just had to follow suit. You did a great job. On mine though when it came to the drive cages I opened up that half moon (upside-down smiley) on the bottom so I could slip the molex connectors through. That way it will be somewhat easier to remove them if need be. I wish I had pics. to better illustrate it. I love this case and how clean it looks. I'm sure it improves airflow without those tangle of wires.

[mbrocketry]

mbrocketry - sweet PS mod! All - theraputic isn't it I gotta quit reading this thread and getting new ideas to try and finish installing M$, yuk (XP, Vista, and Linux partitions).

Thanks you too. I will be doing the same coming up soon. This build is almost done.

Here are a couple more pictures from work completed this weekend.

[Obitus]

mbrocketry, that looks awesome! I missed it from the first post, but is that powder coated or painted?

[CyberDruid]

YOW that's some jump up in your retinas with a blowtorch colors

[mbrocketry]

mbrocketry, that looks awesome! I missed it from the first post, but is that powder coated or painted?

Only painted. Since this will be my personal machine I don't really care. Normally I would have powder coated. But I also have a couple of pieces that have two colors so powder coating wasn't a real option anyway.

[mbrocketry]

YOW that's some jump up in your retinas with a blowtorch colors

My wife said they where girlie colors. I happen to like them.

[Vaughan14]

Lol, either way it looks sweet.

[kleppy]

Can anyone post a few simple pictures of how to take this beast apart so i dont break my case :X

EDIT:

Few quick questions as well -
1. Where can I get plexiglass?! acrylic glass w/e name it goes by
2. Should I get a modular powersupply so i can get longer power cords or is there a way around that
3. What do I use to cut though the mobo tray?:X

thank you in advance

[Brian MP5T]

Yuck