A Closer Look - Outside

The first thing you will notice with the Antec GX700 is the attention to detail. The second thing is the fact that most of the front is actually made of metal. Antec chose to go with metal for the drive bay and fan cover, which really raises the overall build quality and feel of the case.


Antec is clearly going for a military look with the GX700, and I think they have pretty much nailed it for a chassis of this price class. The front features straight but round edges and a military green and black mix of colors, with the power button being bright red. Looking through the rear, it becomes apparent that the chassis is all-black within. The PSU bay is on the bottom, and both sides are completely flat. Antec also included a single fan mount on the main side panel. It would have been nice to see some extrusions or a window here, but considering the price of the GX700, this can be forgiven.


Taking a closer look at the front, the top is filled by four 5.25" drive bays. Each of the metal covers is held in place by metal spring locks, so you do not need any tools to take each of these out. Between these and the bottom air vent cover is the square, red power button, which perfectly fits into the overall design of the case. The metal air-vent cover is held in place by four thumbscrews and can easily be removed. Behind it are the two fan-placement opportunities. To install fans into those will require you to remove the full front, though.


Turning the chassis around, the top holds a 120 mm exhaust fan and two openings for water-cooling tubes. Below that are the seven motherboard expansion slots. As the screws for these are applied to the outside of the chassis, Antec has included a cover for additional protection. You will find the PSU bay with two sets of mounting holes, which allows you to install the unit with the fan either facing up or down, at the very bottom.


All the I/O can be found on the top of the case. Antec has done an excellent job in making things go well with the military theme here. All the I/O--consisting of two USB 2.0, a pair of USB 3.0, and the usual Audio connectors--has been placed on a military green plate, while the fan controller can be found below a protective cover that may be flipped up to reveal the three-stage slider. Towards the rear is a large grill that holds two 140 mm fans by default right out of the box. You may also install a 240mm radiator here without issue, and the extrusion even gives you a bit of additional space.


A removable dust filter covers the opening under the PSU bay, so you do not have to worry about dirt and grime clogging things up over time.