Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: High Airflow
Lots of room
lots of spots for fans
Fan filter

Cons: Some sharp edges

Other Thoughts: For the money this case is difficult to pass up. I have done several builds with it and have yet to be disappointed.

Pros: I was really surprised with this case, it totally exceeded my expectations. Mine also came with 4 fans which is a great plus. The case is huge which allows upgrading without worries. I got a really good deal for it but even at the regular price this is a jewel.

Cons: None

Pros: Antec
Easy access
Breathing room

Cons: Drive Inserts are flimsy

Other Thoughts: I used this case to build a gaming computer. It holds everything nicely. The interior is not painted. The plastic front drive inserts are easily broken, but you always throw at least one away. With AMD A10 5800 and stock CPU cooler this case keeps the system well cooled. I hope you like blue LEDs on fans.

Pros: -Love the fans. One exhaust fan is 140mm, so might want to get a filter and another 120mm for the side.
-LEDs for the front are great, I'm an LED man.
-Great case for this price, meets my needs.

Cons: -Audio port headers are for intel mobos
-Little space for wire organization, PSU has to reach across the mobo, no space in back.
All in all, the case is great, just goofed in the cable management department. -1 egg

Other Thoughts: Wish the inside was painted, too. But that's all right.

Pros: Sturdy build, plenty of cooling, slots for upgrades, the lights are not overpowering, quiet fans

Cons: Kind of cramped with a full-sized ATX. Can be difficult to run cables

Other Thoughts: Good, non-assuming case design. The blue LEDs are visible but not overpowering. The fans are fairly quiet but not silent.

Pros: Its got pretty decent airflow, and cpu cut out for aftermarket heatsinks. It's light and can be transported without too much difficulty. Its a nice case for a 1st time builder with a budget.

Cons: Cable management isn't too great.

Pros: Cheap!
Multiple drive bays.
Small.
2 case fans + room for three more. (2 front, 1 side).
Multiple USB slots.

Cons: IF you have a non-modular PSU... you're gonna have a bad time, .... with cable management! -1 egg for the stress.

Pros: This case is a great value for the money and worked great when I tackled my first build. Its much stronger than I expected when I first ordered it. Don't listen to reviews giving it a low score, saying that the case is flimsy or made cheap. How can you go wrong when you get the case and fans...all for around $60 or less when its on sale? Its easy to open up and close and you can get access to both side panels, just by removing the two thumbscrews that hold each of them in place.

Cons: There is only thing that was a CON for me. This involves the cut out hole, behind where the motherboard sits. It could have been a little larger for my application, namely that the hole could be cut lower down on the panel or at least more rectangle than it currently is....let me better explain.

I installed an Asus F2A85-V PRO ATX FM2. If I would have used the OEM cooler that came with my AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core, the case cut out would have been alright and not touched the heatsink backing bracket.
However, I installed a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO cooling fan. I first installed my mother board on the case, thinking it would be easy enough for me to unscrew the OEM mother board's 4 heat sink screws and fan retaining apparatus, to swap it out for the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. But because the hole in the back of the motherboard was not large enough, I could not remove my motherboard heat-sink's back plate. If the cut out hole in the case was about 1/8" lower I could have removed the backing plate, without having to remove the mother board again.

I then put the aftermarket heat-sink's backing bracket on the ASUS motherboard. When I remounted the board, about 1/8" of the cut out hole interfered with the bracket but this time it physically touched tight against my backing bracket. I remedied this problem by using a needle nose pliers... and carefully bent the cutout outward, so that it no longer touched the bracket.

Was it a deal breaker for me?... no...but this is good to know, if you mount an ASUS board or an aftermarket cooler where the backing plate it larger/sticks out.

I didn't have to to break out tin ships to enlarge the hole since fortunately pliers were enough to do the job.

Other Thoughts: Too many builders who put down this case are expecting to buy a $60 case and somehow expect to receive a case that looks like its a $200+ show piece. Lets face it, it's a computer case, designed for the sole purpose of housing your hardware. I realize some builders are into the whole thing of aesthetics and buy parts based on how they look, adding see through panels and whatnot. If that's your thing...fine but I could care less about that sort of stuff.
I read at least one review, claiming that a HD 6950 wouldn't fit, unless you trimmed out some metal from the case to get it in. This is only true if you try to put it straight into the case, since the HD 6950 is close to 11" long. If you angle the back of the card, it will fit with no modification to the case. All I had to do, is turn my reference MSI HD 6950 on a little angle to get the tail end to pass by some metal in the way and it installs just fine. The only way I can see it it would be a problem, is if you had all the lower bays packed full and maybe there wouldn't be any room to get a bigger graphics card in.

I got this case for about $35 on sale and won't complain at all.


Don't listen to how you wnt fit a big graphics card inside.

Pros: At first glance, it didn't look to be too sturdy but appearances aren't everything, It really is a solidly build case. The side panels kind of hinge open/shut rather than use those annoying metal tabs that don't always catch properly or get bent in the process. Comes with 4 fans, 3 of them have subtle blue lights that seem to move a lot of air and stay moderately quiet over the hum of several hard drives. I also like the fact there's space to allow for adequate cooling of said hard drives. Many cases in this price range seem to cram them with minimal space and consequently end up causing drives to overheat.

Cons: Depending on your power supply, Cable management can either be easy or a real headache. If you don't arrange spare cables properly they can end up interfering with the fans in the front.

Pros: Easy installation of hardware

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: Built this computer for my girlfriend, and the installation into this case was so easy I way able to build the computer in about half the time it normally takes me.