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Models and packages
There's only one Antec Nine Hundred enclosure model at this time. There was an initial design defect that prevented peripheral video cards from achieving a solid connection with DVI monitor cables if the video card was in the top slot (a relatively rare and usually avoidable scenario), but it was remedied early, and any Nine Hundred you buy new today should already be properly modified.
Electrical and physical design
The Nine Hundred has so many incredible features that it's hard to figure out where to begin. Let's start at the bottom: power supply units (PSUs) are bottom-mounted in the Nine Hundred, which is a dramatic departure from the traditional top-mount. Two different screw configurations are supported, which means that if you have a top- or bottom-mounted PSU fan, the Nine Hundred can support it either way. The Nine Hundred does not come with its own PSU -- you have to buy one separately. This suggests that the plastic side panel windows may cause radio frequency interference inside the machine, which would prevent it from being granted FCC approval.
Speaking of the side panel, it's partially vented, partially windowed, the rest being aluminum. A bracket for a 120mm fan is included, but the optional fan is not. Both side panels are held in by two rear thumb screws. The panel that is closest to the motherboard is solid aluminum, and must be removed to install or remove the drive cages.
There are no small fans inside of the case -- no 60 or 80mm buzzsaws at all. Aside from the previously mentioned side-mount for an optional 120mm fan, there are two TriCool blue LED-lit 120s mounted in front of the drive cages, one on the backplane above the peripheral card slots, and a gigantic 200mm TriCool "Big Boy" fan mounted on the top of the machine, covering nearly half of the surface area of the top panel. If nothing else, this explains why the PSU has to be mounted on the bottom.
The front of the machine is perforated to allow better air intake and let the LED light out a little, which makes it resemble one of those ultra-expensive IBM or Sun workstations. Three of the 5.25" bays can be replaced with drives, and up to six 3.5" drives can be installed in cages in front of the fans. There is yet another 120mm fan bracket on the rear of the drive cages, though the fan itself is not included. In order to better control the cable situation -- a necessity when there are so many internal fans -- there are integrated cable wraps affixed in strategic locations around the chassis. If you were to take one or both drive cages out, you could fit up to nine 5.25" drives, or six 5.25" and three 3.5" drives.
Each of the four internal fans has a physical switch with three settings: low, medium, and high. All are powered through stackable Molex connectors.
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| The Antec Nine Hundred: the perfect case |
Though this is an enclosure chock-full of innovations, I think the most useful one is the use of space on the top front of the Nine Hundred. There is a sort of indented tray to hold screws, spare change, dongles, cable adapters, batteries, pens, an ashtray, a drink, or whatever you feel comfortable putting there. In front of the tray is a top-mounted I/O panel with the power and reset buttons, audio in/out, one FireWire, and two USB ports. Putting this stuff on the top of the machine is pure genius -- it is perfectly designed to operate easily while on the floor instead of a desk, which is generally the preferred orientation for LAN parties.
Physically the Nine Hundred is about the same size as most of Antec's other cases: 19.4" long x 8.1" wide x 18.4" high. It can fit ATX, microATX, Mini-ITX, and FlexATX boards, with room for up to 7 peripheral cards.
Putting it to the test
The Nine Hundred is light compared to Antec's traditional steel cases, and a little bit more difficult to work on. Hard drives have to be put into the drive cages, which are thumb-screwed in on both sides of the chassis. That means that both side panels must be removed along with the front faceplate in order to change out drives. I find this process a little too long-winded and complex. If you do a lot of drive-swapping or switching, you'll find the Nine Hundred to be much less convenient than the Sonata II.
The rest of the assembly went very well, and after it was all put together and running, I realized that the involved process for installing the drives can't be made too much more simply if there are to be fans in front of them. Speaking of the fans, you might think that the Nine Hundred would sound like a vacuum cleaner, but it's actually the lowest-noise PC enclosure that I have here. Even when all of them are switched to the highest setting, the Nine Hundred still purrs right along. More than likely your video card and CPU fans will make significantly more noise than this chassis will.
Conclusions
Aside from the inconvenience of installing drives, I thought the Nine Hundred was an outstanding chassis. In fact I might go so far as to say it's the most intelligently engineered and thoughtfully outfitted chassis I have yet seen. If I gave out silly editorial product awards, this would get one.
Though I would recommend this case to anyone who is serious about building a maximally functional and optionally portable high-end PC, I also have to caution beginning system builders on the complexity of the assembly. If you have never assembled a computer before, this is not a good case to learn on, but if you've got several system builds under your belt and are capable of reading the included directions, then you'll end up with a really cool machine.
| Device | Computer chassis |
| Manufacturer | Antec |
| Device support | Up to nine 5.25" drives, or six 5.25" and three 3.5", or three 5.25" and six 3.5" drives; ATX, microATX, Mini-ITX, and FlexATX motherboards; ATX power supply; two brackets for optional 120mm fans; up to 7 peripheral card slots |
| Market | Gamers, desktop PC enthusiasts |
| Price (retail) | U.S. ~$110 Buy it now from Amazon.com |
| Previous version | N/A |
| Product Web site | Click here |