Antec Nine Hundred Two - The Ultimate Gaming Case

[Andrew]

We have already looked at quite a few cases from Antec, including the extremely popular P160, the follow-up P182, and the Three Hundred. We had a chance to test the Antec Nine Hundred and today we're looking at the successor to the Nine Hundred: the Antec Nine Hundred Two - The Ultimate Gaming Case.

This is not the first time Antec is revamping one of their products. They also launched NSK 4480 II, a new version of their NSK 4480 case. Let’s see the differences between the two models and if Nine Hundred Two is really a good product.

A comparison between the new Nine Hundred Two and the standard Nine Hundred is inevitable. The appearance has changed a little and it does include some new features, but it retains many similarities with its predecessor, including the nine front 5.25" drive bays. What Antec did was basically get their Twelve Hundred full-tower case and shrunk down to a mid-tower form factor. Below are the main differences between Nine Hundred Two and the original Nine Hundred, but as you can see all these new features were stolen from Twelve Hundred:

• Internal parts are painted black, whereas on the original Nine Hundred they are not, carrying the traditional gray zinc-coated steel looks.
  
  
• The top panel was remodeled (became identical to Twelve Hundred’s).
  
  
• The original Nine Hundred had a Firewire port, not present on Nine Hundred Two. The new model, however, has one eSATA port, not present on the previous version.
  
  
• Washable dust filter for the optional 120-mm side fan on the new version.
  
  
• One extra expansion slot for daughter boards on Nine Hundred Two, for a total of eight slots. The original Nine Hundred carries the standard number of expansion slots: seven.
  
  
• The speed controllers for the rear and top fans were moved to the rear panel of the case, which is great, as you don’t need to open the case to adjust the speed of the fans.
  
  
• The speed controllers for the front fans were moved to the front panel of the case, which is great for the same reason as above.
  
  
• Holes for water cooling hoses on the rear panel.

[Andrew]

Design & Packaging

Antec took a more pleasant approach to the boxes design then usual. Instead of trying to cram it full of logos and specifications, we are greeted with a picture of the top portion of the case, as well as the Antec logo in the top left and along the bottom section. Additionally, there is the case name and a description of how this is the "Ultimate Gaming Case Evolved."

Like Twelve Hundred, Nine Hundred Two presents a top-notch painting job with its internal parts painted black. This gave it a far better looks than the original Nine Hundred. Looking at the front of the case, I was happy to see the strong mesh panels that help airflow while being strong. You will also find two knobs hidden in the mesh front panels; the knobs control the fan speed for the two front mounted fans. Speaking of fan controllers, the back of the case has the same control panel that we saw on the Twelve Hundred; they just removed a few of the switches due to the lower number of fans. Lastly, I was impressed with the black color of the back panel, normally this area is overlooked and unfinished, this level of detail is a blessing.

Antec package the Nine Hundred Two in a box which is both stylish and informative. On the front we have a clear picture of the product and on the back and sides there are specifications along with further product shots. As you can see the Nine Hundred Two comes properly packaged, there is Styrofoam padding surrounding its edges, and a plastic bag to protect it from external damage during shipping and handling.

[Andrew]

Specifications

Motherboard

Mini-ITX, microATX, Standard ATX

Drive bays

• External 3 x 5.25″; Internal 6 x 3.5″ for HDD, or
• External 6 x 5.25″; Internal 3 x 3.5″ for HDD, or
• External 9 x 5.25″

Cooling system

• 1 rear 120 x 25mm TriCoolTM blue LED exhaust fan
• 1 top 200 x 30mm “Big Boy” TriCoolTM blue LED exhaust fan
• 2 front 120 x 25mm special black blue LED intake fans with front speed control
• 1 side (Optional) 120 x 25mm fan mount
• 1 middle (Optional) 120mm fan mount

Front mounted I/O ports

• 2 x USB 2.0
• 1 x eSATA
• Audio In and Out (AC’97 and HDA compatible)

Unit Dimensions

• 19.4″ (H) x 8.6″ (W) x 18.6″ (D)
• 49.3cm (H) x 21.8cm (W) x 47.2cm (D)

Package Dimensions

• 22.7″ (H) x 11.3″ (W) x 20.1″ (D)
• 57.7 cm (H) x 28.8 cm (W) x 51 cm (D)

Weight

• Net: 25.4 lbs / 11.5 kg
• Gross: 28.9 lbs / 13.1 kg

Power Supply

No power supply included

Features

• Built-in washable air filters
• 8 expansion slots to support multiple graphics cards, including NVIDIA 3-way SLI

[Andrew]

Verdict

According to Antec, the Nine Hundred was one of the best selling gaming cases. This could be true as many people use an Antec case of some sort: the Three Hundred; Nine Hundred; or Twelve Hundred. The Nine Hundred Two is supposed to build upon the design of the original Nine Hundred. It should have increased air flow, as well as a dominating new look. If the Nine Hundred was 3 times better then the Three Hundred, then the Nine Hundred Two should be 2 times better then the original.

The focus of this chassis is clearly on the gaming market, where users want maximum performance but still desire a case that's easy enough to carry to LAN parties. The Antec Three Hundred impressed us with a smaller chassis and simple but effective features, and while it's somewhat larger we expect very good things from the Nine Hundred Two as well.