Antec

There are many new cases on display at the Antec booth. Let's start with the already available simple variants. The basic series was placed alongside the mATX offering. These cases have been available for some time, but have been very successful. The second picture shows the new P150 case, which now comes with different colored fronts. You can choose from a wide range of colors like black, pink, green, blue to name a few. The final selection has not yet been decided, but there should be a color available that suites each taste.


The Sonata III is the successor of the aging Sonata II. The biggest changes are the new front, which includes two USB 2.0, eSATA and audio connectors, as well as larger air intakes and the included EarthWatts 500W power supply.


The P series has been extended with the P190. While it may look similar to the P180 at first glance, the case is longer to accomodate eATX mainboards and comes with two power supplies. A NeoPower 650W powers CPU, mainboard and graphics card, while a 550W PSU powers the rest of the system. Both are linked together so that they will turn on and off at the press of the power button. Antec calls this feature the Neo-Link. The top of the case now features two 14 cm fans, while the side houses a large 20 cm fan to cool all the components inside.


The P180 also receives a small upgrade in the form of the P182. It now comes in gun metal black and features watercooling holes and seperate fan speed switches in the back for both installed fans. The P190 actually has three of these switches, as there are three fans installed (2x14 cm and 1x12 cm).


Antec has also decided to offer a very limited edition of the P182. There will only be 5000 of these cases made. It actually uses mirror finish steel and has a completely black interior. Antec will also include a little light inside the case, to light up your components in a very nice manner.

Besides that the well known and in fact quite successful Nine Hundred case was also present.


The company has also decided to expand their Fusion series and even create derivatives which feature the same looks at a lower price point. These new cases are called NewSolution and carry the "NSK" letters in their model names. The above variant is based on the Antec Fusion, but lacks the LCD and utilizes plastic for the front. Antec also showed off the Micro Fusion, which is based on the same design as the Fusion series but is constructed as a low profile case. The included power supply can deliver 300W.


Up until now, the Fusion cases were only available in silver/black. Antec will offer the Fusion completely in black. This case will simply be called Fusion Black. Another interesting product is the A/V cooler. This device is placed on top of your A/V rack and houses two fans which direct cool air down onto your home entertainment center.


Antec will also be offering an external hard drive enclosure - called the MX-1. It utilizes a fan in combination with a design that directs the air across the entire hard drive. The fan pulls in air from the rear top, across the entire hardrive, down the front and out at bottom back. As you can see the hard drive enclosure actually carries the brand name Veris. This will be used for all home theater equipment which includes the Fusion series as well as the A/V cooler and future hard drive enclosures.


Antec is also expanding their power supply line-up to meet the needs of today's high-end systems. The above shows the TruePower Quattro 1000W, quad rail power supply. It features an efficiency of up to 85% and thus requires only an 8 cm fan to keep cool. There will also be an 850W variant with yellow race stripes instead of the white ones of the 1000W.