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Intro
Antec released the original Nine Hundred case to much acclaim. While there were some issues to work out (the PSU being the bottom and such), the overall case was a great next step for Antec. Antec has refreshed the original Nine Hundred and released the new Nine Hundred Two, which is the second edition of the gaming case.
Box
Antec ships the Nine Hundred Two in a solid box with several inches of foam for clearance. The case was quite secure and we experienced no damages from shipping.
Accessories
Included is a fairly lightweight manual, or "Product Overview" as Antec calls it. We'd rather see a full blown manual, but Antec offers a copy of the full manual online at the included link. Additionally, Antec includes a 3.5" drive bay adapter as well as a 2.5" hard drive tray to mount notebook HDs or SSDs, a nice plus.
Specs
Intro
Antec released the original Nine Hundred case to much acclaim. While there were some issues to work out (the PSU being the bottom and such), the overall case was a great next step for Antec. Antec has refreshed the original Nine Hundred and released the new Nine Hundred Two, which is the second edition of the gaming case.
Box
Antec ships the Nine Hundred Two in a solid box with several inches of foam for clearance. The case was quite secure and we experienced no damages from shipping.
Accessories
Included is a fairly lightweight manual, or "Product Overview" as Antec calls it. We'd rather see a full blown manual, but Antec offers a copy of the full manual online at the included link. Additionally, Antec includes a 3.5" drive bay adapter as well as a 2.5" hard drive tray to mount notebook HDs or SSDs, a nice plus.
Specs
Code
* 9 drive bays
- External 3 x 5.25"; Internal 6 x 3.5" for HDD, or
- External 6 x 5.25"; Internal 3 x 3.5" for HDD, or
- External 9 x 5.25"
* Advanced cooling system:
- 1 rear 120 x 25mm TriCool blue LED exhaust fan
- 1 top 200 x 30mm "Big Boy" TriCool blue LED exhaust fan
- 2 front 120 x 25mm special black blue LED intake fans with front speed control
- 1 side (Optional) 120 x 25mm fan mount
- 1 middle (Optional) 120mm fan mount
* Built-in washable air filters
* 8 expansion slots to support multiple graphics cards, including NVIDIA 3-way SLI
* Front mounted I/O ports
- 2 x USB 2.0
- 1 x eSATA
- Audio In and Out (AC'97 and HDA compatible)
* Compatible Motherboards: Mini-ITX, microATX, Standard ATX
* No power supply included
* Unit Dimensions:
- 19.4" (H) x 8.6" (W) x 18.6" (D)
- 49.3cm (H) x 21.8cm (W) x 47.2cm (D)
* Package Dimensions:
- 22.7" (H) x 11.3" (W) x 20.1" (D)
- 57.7 cm (H) x 28.8 cm (W) x 51 cm (D)
* Weight:
- Net: 25.4 lbs / 11.5 kg
- Gross: 28.9 lbs / 13.1 kgPage 2
Exterior
With an identical visage as its predecessor, the Antec Nine Hundred Two changes very little on the exterior. Regardless, the enclosure is just as sexy as before in an all black matte finish. Look Ma, no fingerprints! The overall structure and strength of the plastic is high quality and has no give. Regardless, we would have preferred a full metal enclosure.
Moving to the side, we can see that once again, nothing has changed with the Nine Hundred Two. The window continues to feature a grille to mount a 120mm fan, perfect for those running scorching hot video card setups.
The rear of the case boasts some new improvements, most notably the change in color to matte black (also spreads into the interior). Additionally, Antec places a slew of switches at the top of the case to control the speed of the rear and top fan, as well as a switch to turn off the light on the 200mm fan. Lastly, Antec removed the extra grille on the back on the predecessor and places water cooling grommets to feed your tubes through to the radiator, a huge plus for computer enthusiasts. We'd like to note that for some reason, the case wouldn't fit our test motherboard in with the I/O backplate. We're a bit confused, but we're pretty sure it's an isolated incident.
The front features the same perforated drive bays, along with the two blue-LED 120mm fans included in the bottom two drive cages. A notable improvement for the front fans is a replacement for the fan controllers from the inline controllers to an external knob placed in the bottom right of each fan. This makes it much easier to adjust fan speeds, as before one would have to remove the side panel to adjust the speed.
On the top of the case, you can see the massive 200mm "Big Boy" fan that handles cooling duties very well along with its conglomerate. Additionally, Antec has removed the old-age FireWire port and replaced it with an eSATA port, although we should consider that a standard these days. You also get the USB ports, audio jacks, and power/reset buttons, along with the Antec logo proudly emblazoned below.
Exterior
With an identical visage as its predecessor, the Antec Nine Hundred Two changes very little on the exterior. Regardless, the enclosure is just as sexy as before in an all black matte finish. Look Ma, no fingerprints! The overall structure and strength of the plastic is high quality and has no give. Regardless, we would have preferred a full metal enclosure.
Moving to the side, we can see that once again, nothing has changed with the Nine Hundred Two. The window continues to feature a grille to mount a 120mm fan, perfect for those running scorching hot video card setups.
The rear of the case boasts some new improvements, most notably the change in color to matte black (also spreads into the interior). Additionally, Antec places a slew of switches at the top of the case to control the speed of the rear and top fan, as well as a switch to turn off the light on the 200mm fan. Lastly, Antec removed the extra grille on the back on the predecessor and places water cooling grommets to feed your tubes through to the radiator, a huge plus for computer enthusiasts. We'd like to note that for some reason, the case wouldn't fit our test motherboard in with the I/O backplate. We're a bit confused, but we're pretty sure it's an isolated incident.
The front features the same perforated drive bays, along with the two blue-LED 120mm fans included in the bottom two drive cages. A notable improvement for the front fans is a replacement for the fan controllers from the inline controllers to an external knob placed in the bottom right of each fan. This makes it much easier to adjust fan speeds, as before one would have to remove the side panel to adjust the speed.
On the top of the case, you can see the massive 200mm "Big Boy" fan that handles cooling duties very well along with its conglomerate. Additionally, Antec has removed the old-age FireWire port and replaced it with an eSATA port, although we should consider that a standard these days. You also get the USB ports, audio jacks, and power/reset buttons, along with the Antec logo proudly emblazoned below.
Page 3
Interior
In addition to the previously mentioned change in color, the interior adds a few motherboard cutouts that was missing from the old motherboard tray, making cable management a breeze in the Nine Hundred Two.
We thought this here was pretty sweet. Antec includes the accessories in a cardboard box that is actually secured to the mobo tray using a screw. This is a nice touch, as it prevent accessories from moving around during shipping.
We want to go on a little rant here. We hoped that Antec would change the system from the Nine Hundred to mount drives, but boy, were we wrong. Installation of any drive requires removal of both side panels. Want to install a hard drive? Have to take out 8 thumbscrews. Oh hold on, you just got the cage out. You need to screw the hard drive in still. Get the point? As the industry moves to screwless, Antec kicks it old school in a not-so-welcome travel in time by requiring screws for everything. We honestly couldn't remember the last time a $100+ case required four screws to mount a DVD drive.
Antec includes a mount for another 120mm fan in the middle drive bay cage, placed perfectly to blow over today's sweltering video cards. However, for a modest setup, the included four fans should suffice. Additionally, the placement for the front two fans is perfect, as it blows directly over the hard drives. Antec clearly put lots of research and development into the design of this case.
The rear of the case features another 120mm fan, which also boasts blue-LEDs. Additionally, the rear features PCI-slot covers that have grille to exhume exhaust and the previously mentioned water tubing grommets. If you couldn't figure it out, the PCI slots require screws as well.
Testing:
As we noted on the Nine Hundred, the bottom placement of the PSU allows extra cables to rest in the bottom of the case instead of hanging around in the case restricting airflow. Make sure your PSU's cables are lengthy enough, as this can be an issue for some.
Even with the fans on high, the case can be very quiet, When switched to the low setting, the fans are virtually inaudible, yet still delivers reasonable and relatively cool ambient temperatures within the case. One thing to note is that the filters on the front fans become essentially coated in dust after a while. Of course, this is nothing a quick spray of canned air can't cure, but if ate your Wheaties, you can remove the built-in filters and wash them.
Conclusion
Listed on Newegg for $130, the »Nine Hundred Two is great for those looking to improve overall airflow while proudly flaunting their gear in an completely matte black (and did we mention sexy?) enclosure. We liked the new external fan controllers and the addition of some nice enthusiast touches, like the water tubing grommets and the hard drive tray to mount a 2.5" drive.
On the contrary, we expected a more up-to-date method to mount drives in the case. The amount of screws used in this case is absolutely ridiculous. While we like the security of screws holding down our products, the competition offers easy to use drive bay rails to mount drive quickly, which is much more appealing to the consumer.
Offering only a few slight improvements, the »Antec Nine Hundred Two is more evolutionary than revolutionary. Nevertheless, despite its few flaws, the Nine Hundred Two is a solid enclosure to recommend to anyone looking to build a PC that looks sexy yet offers remarkable cooling at nearly inaudible speeds.
ASE Labs would like to thank Antec for making this review possible.
Interior
In addition to the previously mentioned change in color, the interior adds a few motherboard cutouts that was missing from the old motherboard tray, making cable management a breeze in the Nine Hundred Two.
We thought this here was pretty sweet. Antec includes the accessories in a cardboard box that is actually secured to the mobo tray using a screw. This is a nice touch, as it prevent accessories from moving around during shipping.
We want to go on a little rant here. We hoped that Antec would change the system from the Nine Hundred to mount drives, but boy, were we wrong. Installation of any drive requires removal of both side panels. Want to install a hard drive? Have to take out 8 thumbscrews. Oh hold on, you just got the cage out. You need to screw the hard drive in still. Get the point? As the industry moves to screwless, Antec kicks it old school in a not-so-welcome travel in time by requiring screws for everything. We honestly couldn't remember the last time a $100+ case required four screws to mount a DVD drive.
Antec includes a mount for another 120mm fan in the middle drive bay cage, placed perfectly to blow over today's sweltering video cards. However, for a modest setup, the included four fans should suffice. Additionally, the placement for the front two fans is perfect, as it blows directly over the hard drives. Antec clearly put lots of research and development into the design of this case.
The rear of the case features another 120mm fan, which also boasts blue-LEDs. Additionally, the rear features PCI-slot covers that have grille to exhume exhaust and the previously mentioned water tubing grommets. If you couldn't figure it out, the PCI slots require screws as well.
Testing:
As we noted on the Nine Hundred, the bottom placement of the PSU allows extra cables to rest in the bottom of the case instead of hanging around in the case restricting airflow. Make sure your PSU's cables are lengthy enough, as this can be an issue for some.
Even with the fans on high, the case can be very quiet, When switched to the low setting, the fans are virtually inaudible, yet still delivers reasonable and relatively cool ambient temperatures within the case. One thing to note is that the filters on the front fans become essentially coated in dust after a while. Of course, this is nothing a quick spray of canned air can't cure, but if ate your Wheaties, you can remove the built-in filters and wash them.
Conclusion
Listed on Newegg for $130, the »Nine Hundred Two is great for those looking to improve overall airflow while proudly flaunting their gear in an completely matte black (and did we mention sexy?) enclosure. We liked the new external fan controllers and the addition of some nice enthusiast touches, like the water tubing grommets and the hard drive tray to mount a 2.5" drive.
On the contrary, we expected a more up-to-date method to mount drives in the case. The amount of screws used in this case is absolutely ridiculous. While we like the security of screws holding down our products, the competition offers easy to use drive bay rails to mount drive quickly, which is much more appealing to the consumer.
Offering only a few slight improvements, the »Antec Nine Hundred Two is more evolutionary than revolutionary. Nevertheless, despite its few flaws, the Nine Hundred Two is a solid enclosure to recommend to anyone looking to build a PC that looks sexy yet offers remarkable cooling at nearly inaudible speeds.
ASE Labs would like to thank Antec for making this review possible.