The Antec Dark Cube is a cool-looking case even though its inspiration has been around for a few years in the Razer Cube, which was also manufactured by Antec. The angled front and rear parts look cool in a case of this size, especially with the subtle built-in ARGB and use of glass and aluminium; materials that are expected of a chassis in this price range, these also make for the hefty weight of the Dark Cube.

That said, the material mix and way the chassis has been designed does present a few issues, both for thermals and ease of assembly. It is a well-known fact that modern hardware components generate a lot of heat, and while these are usually built to be very quiet when well ventilated, they simply become really loud in extreme scenarios. Unfortunately, the all-glass design in combination with the inverted motherboard layout and lack of out-of-the-box fans results in the top half of the Dark Cube heating up noticeably, as heat of the GPU and CPU is trapped. The vented front cover makes little difference out of the box. Yes, we review cases as brands ship them, and Antec is usually well known for including fans with their cases, but opted against any with the Dark Cube. This simply means that if you are going with air cooling, which the chassis is perfectly capable of, you certainly have to invest into your own fans. This is unfortunate at the price point, especially with the very unique ARGB and fan hub in the front of the chassis. And while you are able to install a 240 mm radiator setup into the front, thermals of a chassis should not depend on you going with liquid cooling. Doing so will also only be of limited benefit to the other hot components in your system.

Many of these issues can be attributed to explicit design decisions. Antec opted for M-ATX, which is fine, but should have been paired with a vented top panel instead of glass. Adding the ability to install active cooling or an AIO in the ceiling when going ITX would have then given the user all the needed flexibility while keeping temperatures of an inverted system much lower.

Then there is the placement of buttons and the I/O driven by symmetry instead of being user friendly. The LED toggle button is way too close to the power button, which risks shutting down the PC when wanting to change lighting modes, and the lack of labels could be frustrating if you don't remember which plug is for your headset and microphone. Lastly, even the three glass panels for visibility of your cool hardware are too heavily tinted, making that aspect difficult as well.

The Antec Dark Cube would be such a great case if executed correctly, absolutely worth the MSRP, but it misses the mark because it simply tries to throw together too many features, from lots of glass and a pull-out design to M-ATX support, an upside-down motherboard tray, and the inclusion of symmetric details; all without considering how each of these ultimately affects usability.