Installation

The mainboard installation is simple and is done exacly as one would expect. Antec ships the case with four mainboard standoffs installed, which means you will have to install the additional five, or in this case two before installing an ATX board. The case is quite compact, so you will not be able to fit an eATX board, while an mATX should not pose any problems. The mainboard connectors are of the usual quality in brand name cases. Antec has included plugs for HD Audio and AC '97 connectivity, which is good to see, as the nForce 570 AM2 based board still uses the older AC '97.


To install external 3.5 inch devices you will need to pull out the drawer through the front of the case. This drawer is made of a thinner steel sheet and held together by the two front covers. Removing the drawer from the case does not require any tools, but the covers are held in place by screws.


Once the cover is removed with a screw driver, the drive/card reader has to be secured with four screws. This means that the installation of such devices actually requires four steps: remove 3.5 inch tray, remove cover, install device and place back into case. The normal approach only requires three steps: pull out cover, place drive in case & secure with screws. This means that Antec's approach is actually more complicated, but required by design, as you cannot remove one side panel of the case.


The 5.25 inch drive bays utilizes rails to secure the drives in place. Antec has stored these inside the drive bay covers themselves. These need to be pulled out of the case, the rails then have to be secured to the drive with normal screws, which is then placed back into the device. This means it requires just as many steps as a system without rails, but does make installation a bit easier.


Installing hard drives is done on hard drive drawers. These have rubber rings, which absorb any vibrations of the drive. You are also free to choose which direction you want to install the hard drives. Either place them with the connector out of sight or toward the side panel.


Once everything is installed and the cables mess is cleaned up, the simple but effective internal design becomes apparent. No matter how many drives you use, there will always be space to hide any additional cables behind the hard drives or the external 3.5 inch devices.