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Antec NSK3480 Computer Cases
Customer Reviews for Antec New Solution NSK3480 Black/ Silver 0.8mm cold-rolled steel construction MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power ... - Retail
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Price: $99.99
Sale Price: $89.99
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Review Summary (74 Reviews): Rating + 4
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Excellent Rating + 5 27ReviewsExcellent
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Good Rating + 4 34ReviewsGood
newegg
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Average Rating + 3 9ReviewsAverage
newegg
12%
Poor Rating + 2 1ReviewsPoor
newegg
1%
Very Poor Rating + 1 3ReviewsVery Poor
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Reviewer Product Review
R M A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
1/28/2010 9:21:28 AM

Rating + 5 Nice Case


Pros: Smaller foot print

Cons: Not enough drive bays

Other Thoughts: I guess you can't have it both ways. Small and enough bays for hard drives. But it does have a place for extra hard drive on the bottom of the case. Buy extra fans for cooling.

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Dan
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
1/22/2010 11:49:51 AM

Rating + 5 Great case, i5 and all


Pros: - 120mm fan with speed control in the back
- air seems to flow quite well from front to back
- 380W energy efficient power supply actually powers the computer (i5-750)
- heat seperation between power supply and cd drive and the rest of the case
- very sturdy solid case; great MicroATX case

Cons: - odd hard drive configuration (putting one at the bottom blocked my last PCI express slot

Other Thoughts: This computer configuration:
- Intel Core i5-750
- Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 MicroATX
- Corsair CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 XMS3 4GB Ram
- EVGA GeForce 9500 GT 1GB
- Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Green
- Antec NSK 3480
- Windows 7 64bit

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
1/10/2010 12:06:59 PM

Rating + 1 Poor design & engineering


Pros: Good Boat Anchor

Cons: Hard drive placement an after thought, But they gave the builder the choice of which componant to discard. unless a front cooling fan is installed, there won't be any air flow across the MB. the 120 mm fan in the rear will pull air from the rear vents( even the PCI covers are vented) and out the rear of the case. The upper case installed with a DVD and a hard drive is creating extra heat for the PSU which exhaust fan is the only air flow and design to only cool itself. no room to run wires from upper case to lower case (2 small slots) wires block intake of PSU. No matter how well you plan this out, you'll build it twice or more before your frustrated even if you find a DVD drive that will fit. I've used Antec cases before and this is NOT what I expect from them.

Other Thoughts: Why Three huge fans and a side vent ? My Harley dosent use that much air. They could use this room to make this case useable. Lots of small cases around you can do better than this.

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The Old Guy
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
1/1/2010 8:55:33 PM

Rating + 3 Set it and Forget it


Pros: Size - very compact but as others have noted this can be a con also. Size is ok if you want to make your build and leave it alone - "set it and forget it". But if you like to continually upgrade or mod your machine look elsewhere. Very tight fit you will endure the hassle of one time but will not want to repeat.

Cons: Extremely tight fit getting the optical hard drive in. Access to the hard drive in the top portion of the case requires removal of the optical drive. More than one hard drive becomes a pain, a second can be mounted on the bottom of the case, any more and you will have to configure your own drive mounting.

Other Thoughts: Simply adding about one inch in length to this case would make it much easier to work with. Lower end Antec power supplies can be hit or miss, check out their Neo line on Google.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/29/2009 2:00:53 PM

Rating + 2 Not for Beginners


Pros: Antec makes solid cases. This is no exception.

Cons: This is my 4th antec case, but I've never dealt with such a small case before. First timers should stay clear. Experienced builders should be cautious if they intend to include an optical drive or a 2nd internal hard drive.
-I took a point off for PSU compatibility. It's a microATX case, but it holds a standard ATX PSU. Perhaps newegg is more to blame as this isn't clear from the product specs. tisk tisk
-I took a second point off for the cramped PSU space. It's virtually impossible to fit your PSU, optical drive, and 2nd HDD in the power supply chamber. I gave up and switched to a microATX PSU. It will be easier for me to fashion a mounting adapter plate for the smaller PSU than trying to squeeze everything around the standard ATX PSU.
-I took a third point off for the bloody gash in my hand incurred while trying to squeeze everything in such small spaces. I didn't feel the slice, suggesting some very sharp piece of metal. be careful. i think i need a few stitches.

Other Thoughts: Not for first time builders. If you know what you're doing, don't expect this to be easy unless you go with a microATX PSU with adapter plate.

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N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
12/20/2009 7:02:41 PM

Rating + 4 I Like It


Pros: -Nice Small case
-Separate PS/Optical Drive Compartment
-Price (remember it includes a ~$50 PS)
-Decent PS - 380W, 80%+
-Sturdy construction - this case is HEAVY
-Plenty of room behind Mobo wall and side of the case for tucking wires away if you cut some holes in the walls.
-Slot in front of PS for routing data wires up to optical drive/HDD*

Cons: -PS Fan is a bit loud
-Connector spacing on power wires makes little sense - at least give us a setup that matches the case
-Included 3 speed fan requires use of a Molex connector
-Hard drive mounting options:
1. Under main/top optical drive - gives you no where hidden to place wires
2. Bottom of case - kills/limits use of the bottom expansion slot on most(all?) boards.
-2x92mm front fan mounts - I'd rather have a single 120
-Non EPS PS - only a 2x2 for CPU power
-Lights on front of case can be obscenely bright - even with it in a bedroom closet with the door open
*-Slot for data wires can't quite fit a 20/24 pin power connector through it (would make for a cleaner install).

Other Thoughts: I would really like it if they offered this case w/o PS - let me install a modular PS, and have the case cost less so I won't feel quite so bad about poking holes in it for wire routing.

That said - this is by far, the best mATX desktop case I've seen for when space is at a premium - nice and shallow - perfect for sitting on a shelf.

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/13/2009 6:39:25 PM

Rating + 4 Update to "Good case" review.


Pros: This is an update to the "Good case" review from before.
Since the lower disk slot was blocking the PCI slot of my mainboard, I removed
the drive holder thingy and then drilled four holes in the bottom of the case
such that two drives can be placed "standing" right in front of the (front) fan
and hence the fan blows over them. Of course, right now I have only one drive,
but the temperature on my 1.5TB drive went from 42C to 34C (checked through
SMART)!

Cons: No more cons for me.

Other Thoughts: I am planning on buying more of this one. Suggestions to Antec for a successor
to NSK3480:
1) KEEP the dimensions, but reduce the weight.
2) Bigger holes for the wires. I am not too sure whether the two-compartment
idea works or not.
3) Build a drive cage as close to the front of the case as possible so that it does
not block the last PCI slot.
4) Ideally, the drive cage should accept 3.5" or 2.5" drives.
5) Ideally, the drive cage should accept atleast two drives.

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tom L.
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/11/2009 12:55:11 PM

Rating + 4 Beautiful little case, but a weak power supply.


Pros: Beautiful little case, but a weak power supply. The case is strong and wide, and looks really great. It is strong metal, and super sturdy.

Cons: The case is small, so small that you must really learn it, before you put in hard drive(s) and motherboard. The fit for the parts is difficult, but you can make a super build with this case (though you gotta learn it good to do that.) The power supply is not recommended, cuz it was groaning on me, just while I had the TV card playing. Also, the sata rails/cables on the psu sre weird, one is 6-inches from the psu, and the second connector on the rail (there are 2 sata rails/cables), the second connector is 25-inches away, making the first connector useless to reach 2 hard drives in the lower, main compartment.

Other Thoughts: Overall, I dumped this case, cuz the power supply was weak. The manual says 2007 on it, and with Windows 7 out now, we are in a different world than 2007. I don't think the psu will work for most people, unless you have a very simple system, with super low requirements on the psu. Not recommended, though the case is really very well made, and the airflow is good (there is no need at all for either of the 2 optional front 92mm internal fans.) Like the Sonata, Antec loves to make weird things (though their power supplies is all I use.)

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Lee J.
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/12/2009 11:40:16 AM

Rating + 5 Solid and Classy


Pros: No flimsy steel, this is a very solid and sturdy case. Small and Sleek, I really like this case.

Cons: You have to open up the top of the case to access the power supply and 4.25" drive bays. Routing the power and drive cables through the case was a bit tough due to a partition in the case. I wouldn't recommend using IDE optical drives.

Other Thoughts: It's a little tight to work in, but the small form factor is why I bought the case in the first place...

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Jellymusher
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/4/2009 11:44:54 AM

Rating + 4 Just what I needed


Pros: I wanted to build a power efficient but capable desktop to use as an alternate from my power hungry game rig.

Built out with :
Antec New Solution NSK3480 MicroATX case w/380w Power Supply
Intel BOXDG45ID LGA775 mATX Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz
ZALMAN CNPS7000C-Cu 2 Ball CPU Cooler
4x 1Gb Kingston 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
1x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3250418AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
1x Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA Hard Drive
1x DIAMOND ATI Radeon HD 4670 GDDR3 1GB PCIe x16 Video Card

Running Windows 7 Ultimate Edition 32bit and Ubuntu 9.04

This case is a nice solid little number and has a good 380watt Antec power supply.

It was well packed and the documentation was adequate.

Cable management is a little time consuming as you have very little space between top bay and the front of the power supply.

Take your time and use some zip ties and zip tie anchors and you can end up with a very clean free f

Cons: * More expensive than other cases of same type (but includes power supply)
* ATX power cable needs to be about 3 inches longer.
* Can we please have 3 pin fan headers instead of molex power connectors?
* It would be nice to have some sound dampening material on the side panels

Other Thoughts: I like it but I wish they had an all black version!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/3/2009 5:01:13 AM

Rating + 4 keeper


Pros: easy build for me with Gigabyte mATX mobo. Found enough room for unused power wiring by running it all down into the main area, left fdd bay off and tied everything up there. sata HDD and Samsung DVD fit fine up top. Not silent, but quiet.

Cons: Needed adapter for 4 pin to 8 pin 12v cpu power. sata power cable setup makes it difficult or impossible to connect 2 drives on one cable.

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Mike
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/15/2009 4:55:35 PM

Rating + 3 Nicely made, poor organization


Pros: The case is cheap and it comes w/ a decent PSW. There aren't really any sharp edges, and the 120mm fan pushes a lot of air really quietly. It doesn't look half bad either.

Cons: Being a microatx case, you'd expect things to be small and perhaps cramped. This case is small, cramped, and really has no place to put wires. If you have something in the 3.5" drive bay (like a card reader) you are stuck mounting a drive to the bottom of the case. The drive mount in the cd bay area would be ok, if there was another spot to put the PSW wires.

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
9/9/2009 7:33:36 AM

Rating + 4 Good case


Pros: Size, PSU, build quality, fan speed control, front fan that blows over the hard drive slot (very important with >1TB drives), side fan slot. Did I mention size?

Cons: Price. :)

Weight - it is 2kg too heavy.

Lower (main) hard drive slot makes the lowest PCI/e slot useless. The hard drive slot should have been about an inch towards the front of the case. I think side-loading drive cage with slots for two drives would have been perfect (the case is quite wide, so this should not be a problem).

The front LEDs are ridiculously bright. I think I will buy more of these to lighten up my (future) basement.

Other Thoughts: I have one 2.5" hard drive placed in the top compartment with only one screw holding it in place. If anybody from Antec is reading this, here's an idea - make the hard drive slots 2.5" friendly. The perfect case would have a drive cage holding multiple hard drives with the front fan blowing over the cage.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/8/2009 9:59:15 AM

Rating + 4 Nice Case!


Pros: - Lots of room
- 120mm fan
- mATX
- 80% + supply
- Quality construction
- Front panel is basic & functional
- HD support on rubber thru-hole thingies
- 3 position rear fan control speed switch
- Fairly silent

Cons: - Lots of room
- 120mm fan
- MB tray not removable
- Too wide

Other Thoughts: No case is perfect, but this one comes close. I experienced some trouble fitting my DVD burner into the top slot (4 pin MOLEX was hitting wire bundle where it exits the supply) - had to snip off the plastic wire tie bundling the MB supply wires, which freed things up enough to make it semi-comfortable & stashed the unused wires under the DVD drive. After putting in my MB (GA-MA785GMT-UD2H, a full size mATX) I noticed that there were a couple of inches left between the MB edge and the front of the case which they could have trimmed (though I guess the supply orientation / size would have to change). They also could have easily taken a couple of inches off of the width by mounting the 120mm fan on the side (where the CPU shroud is) and either putting smaller fans on the back or just vents. I'm a huge "fan" of 120mm fans, but this one adds so much to the width that it's crazy. I mean, I'm buying mATX for a reason, I want a tiny computer!

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Colin2
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
7/18/2009 4:33:13 PM

Rating + 4 good for a small build


Pros: If you're using a Micro ATX mobo and not a whole lot else, this is a reasonable choice. About as easy to work with as you could hope given its size, but needs some patience and dexterity. Good quality parts which fit well, no sharp edges.

Cons: I agree with other folks that the PSU is too powerful for the case. Case and PSU should be unbundled. Spacing of the first SATA power connectors is too close to the PSU.

Other Thoughts: I fit a 7" DVD drive in the upper chamber, but that's about the limit.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

gman
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
6/18/2009 8:52:02 PM

Rating + 5 Second the last reviewer: Best mAtx case!


Pros: Size, Size, Size! Excellent sheet metal quality. Well thought out design. Fits all tower CPU coolers. You can squeeze 2 HDs and 1 SSD with velcro. Silent and slick looking. Great cooling with option of 2 90mm upfront and 120 mm rear exhaust. Drill a hole and you can have extra wires behind the motherboard tray.

Cons: none, it delivers on it's original design.

Other Thoughts: Asus P5Q-EM ,Q9550 (OC to 3.5 GHz), Xigmatek S1822 rifle CPU cooler, 2 HDs, ATI HD4830, 8 Gigs Gskill Ram. Temps are 65 C full load with Prime95 small FFT.

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: more than 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/16/2009 3:39:19 PM

Rating + 5 Best mAtx Case available!


Pros: Small size, good ventilation, thermally separated PSU region. Thick Cold Rolled Steel. 120mm exhaust fan, even 2x 92mm intake fans if you really need it. This case has it all.

Cons: Maybe the stock case fan?
I always replace stock case fans w/ quality ones anyhow, so this isn't really a con for me.

Other Thoughts: I've owned this case for over a year now. Hands down the best mAtx case on the market today.

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ntai
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
5/6/2009 10:42:38 PM

Rating + 4 Good but not great


Pros: 80plus 380W power supply. 120mm vent and adjustable 120mm fan. Great look. Top and side vent is great design. Good construction.
Vibration isolation HD mount.

Cons: Too much power supply for the case. There are 3 - 4 drives bays and 9 connectors, and too large for the space. There is not a lot of space for unused power cables and connectors.
The fan of power supply is rather noisy compared to other Antec power supplies. Paint job is not as good as Sonata/Solo. For the quality, the price seems little high.

Other Thoughts: I wanted a small and functional case and this fits the bill. I also have a Antec Solo and they have similar appearance. For the mATX case, this is a good case but compared to Antec Solo, it's not quiet at all. I'm disappointed by the PSU choice. It would have been much better to use smaller PS3 or mATX power supply.
You must use a smaller (shorter) optical drive.
If you are paying this much, you'd better consider Antec P180 mATX instead of this one. But, I have no regrets as this is plenty functional.
I drive 120mm fan by 5V instead of 12V.
You can mount other 120mm fan ATX PSU upside down. It draws the air from the top vent, making the machine a lot quieter.

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
4/9/2009 5:23:45 PM

Rating + 5 very nice small case/supply


Pros: Solid case, good looking too
Efficient power supply
Excellent airflow management
Case switches and lights properly documented
Fits Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H mobo perfectly

Cons: HD either uses one of the two 5.25" drive bays or blocks a PCI slot
Legacy optical drives over 7 inch deep may be crowded . . . (LG SATA DVD drive fits with room to spare)

Other Thoughts: Excess power supply cables fit neatly in or under the floppy drive bay (pulled out of the HD/power supply bay, which is otherwise very crowded).

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N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/2/2009 4:31:41 PM

Rating + 5 My favorite case now


Pros: - Compact design. Still fits everything I need.
- Good quality - well built and sturdy.
- Fair price.
- Easy to run quietly with sufficient cooling.
- Almost no dust accumulation any where after a few months of use with intake fan at 1000RPM, exhaust at 900RPM.
- No drive rails (rails are fine unless they are done wrong).

Cons: - PSU included. Good quality 80 plus PSU but I still want options.
- Side panel duct - useless and/or gets in the way.
- 2x92mm intake rather than single 120mm. A minor issue.
- Not very clean routing cables out of the PSU chamber.
- Cabling in general takes some effort but this isn't really a con if you like this kind of stuff.
- The bottom mounted HDD can block access to lowest expansion card slot. Most full size cards won't fit.

Other Thoughts: - I don't know what to say about not being able to fit a single 5.25 inch drive into this case as long as the drive is no deeper than spec maximum. I was able to fit a 7 inch long 3-in-2 HDD swap bay with about 1 inch of space left between the bay and the PSU. More than enough
room to route cables around :D No cooling issues doing this either.
- Some review sites show examples for cleaning up cabling in the PSU chamber for this case - PSU can be mounted upside down.
- Don't buy if you want lots of room to work.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
3/2/2009 10:46:16 AM

Rating + 4 Good, not perfect


Pros: Quiet PSU and 120mm fan. Small case. If you've only used ATX cases or larger cases in the past, you'll be pleased. Soft mounts for the hard drive(s). Not an excessive amount of worthless side panel vents seen on most ATX cases these days.

Cons: My biggest gripe about this case is that there's virtually no convenient cable routing. Antec could have made this a much better case by allowing cables to be routed behind the motherboard tray. Hooking up a hard drive and optical drive in the top compartment is difficult because you need to stash a lot of extra power cable in the compartment with the drives and there's very little room.

Lack of hard drive mounting space. If you're aware of this limitation, then it's not a con at all.

The case's top vent doesn't make a lot of sense to me if isolated airflow through the drive & PSU chamber is a goal.

Other Thoughts: Great case for a desktop system where you'll generally have just one hard drive and maybe a video card. The 'squat' look is due to the wide body necessary for accommodating a 120mm fan. No getting around it if you want the quieter large fan.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
2/20/2009 8:05:46 PM

Rating + 1 Can't fit 5.25". Period.


Pros: Putting the motherboard in went exactly as planned. Had no problems hooking up wires from case to motherboard.

Cons: I know people talk about a "tight fit" for the 5.25" bay. Bottom line for me is that is IMPOSSIBLE. I saw someone reference a SATA power connector at 6" and 18"... but my first connector is only about 2" from the power supply, making it impossible to attach to the DVD. At all. No matter how much I squeeze it in.

Maybe it's defective. If I had a connector that WAS 6" away, I might be able to use the drive. But it's not. And I can't.

So I'm buying a new case.

Other Thoughts: It boggles my mind that regardless of how small a case is, it's actually DESIGNED to make putting in a standard DVD drive almost impossible. There should be NO "if you squeeze it in up over the cables"

It's a poor design. Poor implementation.

And a waste of money.

1 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

darkweasel
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
2/20/2009 7:40:24 AM

Rating + 4 Nice solid case, but room for improvement


Pros: >Small, high quality build.
>Nice power supply
>120mm fan, with room for 2 front 80mm fans
>Harddrive mount areas come with rubber mounts

Cons: >Harddrive mount areas are a pain to get to.
>The HD mount below the CD bay in the 5-1/4 area doesn't have a lot air flow, which could lead to heat issues.
>The HD mount on the bottom of the case will block an expansion port (not that big of a deal) and if you have too big of a heatsink/fan on your videocard, it might touch
>Videocard heatshink fan dumps hot air directly onto harddrive
>Not a lot of room for extra cables

Other Thoughts: >The sata power plugs on the PS are awkward: I had to use 2 separate cables for the DVD and the upper HD, which meant I had to use a converter on one of the molex plugs for the HD on the bottom of the case.

>It would have been nice if they had a 2nd rolled hole to route unused powersupply cables out above the motherboard tray.

>I'd like to see a revision without a floppy drive (seriously who still has one?) and instead create an HD cage there.

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Chris H.
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
2/20/2009 3:44:51 AM

Rating + 4 Small and Quiet!


Pros: Quiet, small design with strong sturdy construction.

Cons: Cable/PSU bay at top of case isn't designed to hold 2 x 5 1/4" drives and cables as well.

Other Thoughts: This is a case I will be buying again for the next desktop I build. Overall an absolutely excellent buy.

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bbka
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
2/7/2009 1:09:18 AM

Rating + 5 Very pleased!


Pros: My goal was to build a budget system and I wanted a case that was small, quiet, and looked good. Well this case does exactly that. With the fan on the lowest setting it's SUPER quiet! I have this computer 3 feet from my head and I have no issues falling asleep with it on. The 120mm fan is nice and you have room for 2 more fans in the front, everything stays nice and cool. I'm only running 1 HDD and 1 DVD player, so having them both in their own compartment is perfect, makes the case seem bigger than it is!

Cons: No issues at all other than routing wires and getting things to fit was kind of a pain lol, but that is to be expected with a small case.

Other Thoughts: This case may be small, but once you get everything all tidy it's worth it.

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
2/3/2009 9:13:52 PM

Rating + 4 Solid case, but requires modding


Pros: I agree that this is a solid, quality case for the money. Good 380 watt power supply although I intend to throw a 512MB AGP card at it soon, so we will see it holds.

Cons: Tight space. Awkward HDD placements and lack of "smart" angled SATA power connectors. The spot where the USB/FW/AUD cable connectors exit the bezel plastic needs better adhesive. The cable sheathing separated on one of these cables.

Other Thoughts: SPACE: I think that we like this case because it is small, neat, handsome, quiet, and solid. But that makes fitting disks and DVD drives a chore. For me, I ditched the HDD mounts and mounted a 2-drive cage right under and hanging from the FDD cage. This requires drilling and deburring, but now I have a shock dampened mount for two drives.

ANGLED SATA: Learn to solder or disconnect an angled SATA molex from some old PSU. Also pick shallow DVD drives.

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Ajay
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
2/1/2009 9:51:20 PM

Rating + 4 expensive but good small case


Pros: Small in size, good steel finish, very silent and efficient power supply and silent fan, plenty of room in the lower shelf for the micro atx motherboard. With E8500 (45 nm core 2 duo cpu), the cpu fan hardly turns on. hard drives are cushioned by the rubber pads. Assembly (in the lower half or mother board) is easy.

Cons: wires a little cramped up in the upper 2 shelves, had problem fitting a hard drive and a dvd drive. Especially giving sata power to both the drives was tough. I had to use a sata to normal adapter and use the normal power cable to power the dvd drive. So if you are using 2 or more hard drives or dvd drives, assembly will be a little challenge. Wish cost have been a little cheaper. Also, reset button should have been concealed. My 10 month old baby has become expert at targetting it. The USB sockets in the front are a little too tight.

Other Thoughts: I thought putting the hard disk at the base was really a cool idea.

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Oregon_Ace
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
1/28/2009 1:42:04 PM

Rating + 4 Compact and quiet


Pros: I wanted a case with high quality construction, ease of assembly, included efficient and quiet P/S, compact size, and quiet operation. I also wanted front panel USB, audio, and 1394. This case met all these requirements except ease of assembly (see below).

Cons: I read the reviews carefully, so I knew what I was getting into regarding assembly and fit. I also experienced very tight fit for cables and drives in the top compartment. I was ultimately successful in fitting a 7" long DVD drive and 3.5" hard drive (both IDE) into the top two 5.25" bays. But it took lots of cramming and squeezing, and I was only able to attach the two front mounting screws on each drive (the DVD because it was riding up the power supply cable bundle on its power connecter, and the 3.5" drive because the IDE cable was pressing against the outer edge of the opening to the main case compartment so the drive was tilted a bit to allow for that). If I had purchased new SATA drives I could have alleviated these problems. It would be nice if there were better provisions for mounting a hard drive in the floppy spot. And I don't care for the hard drive mount in the bottom of the case--up front by the floppy would be better. 24 pin power cable barely reached M/B.

Other Thoughts: The assembly challenges for this compact case were an acceptable short term nuisance and tradeoff for the more compact case size sitting on my desktop. I find it very quiet in operation.
My configuration: MSI G45M Digital M/B, E8500 CPU, IDE DVD and 3.5" hard drive, Kingston 2X2GB 800MHZ DDR2 memory, onboard graphics.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

MonsieurGonzo
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
1/28/2009 10:25:31 AM

Rating + 4 INTEL TAC v1.1 Standard Chassis


Pros: The Antec NSK3480 is an INTEL Thermally Advantaged Chassis (TAC v1.1 spec) incorporating an adjustable duct, a "Chassis Air Guide" on the left-side panel that directs cool air ~ not unlike a kind of venturi ~ directly to your mATX CPU / NorthBridge heatsinks. (If you're a real geek, you can read all about this specification on Intel's website :)

The Antec NSK3480 is ideal for, say ~ the INTEL D945GCLF2 1.6GHz dual-core ATOM N330 microATX motherboard, one 3.5" SATA HDD internal, and one 5.25" SATA ODD.

Cons: The EA380 power supply is non-modular, which means that there's all kindsa extra wires hanging off of it, and there's not much space to stuff them away all tidy-like in this chassis: THE TRICK IS TO FLIP THE P/S OVER, upside-down, to route the wires out as cleanly as possible.

Still, the Optical Disk Drive is a tight fit ~ this chassis really needed to be 1cm longer, imho.

Other Thoughts: As we move into this new, post-meltdown era, when quad-core 90W and 135Watt processors, and 650W-850Watt power supplies seem, frankly ridiculous ~ and low watt / high-performance processors (think "nettop" and "netbook") become all the rage, configurations such as INTEL N330 ATOMs and EarthWatts power supplies and other "green" technologies are now not only feasible, but optimal solutions.

If you haven't yet bought or built a little ATOM-based machine, around a modest little chassis like the Antec NSK3480 (or NSK2480 "Home Theater" box), and challenged yourself ~ not to build the meanest machine in the West, but the GREENEST machine possible ~ then do yourself a favor, you young eggs {grin} and prepare for the future ;-)

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

cephalex
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
1/12/2009 7:44:33 AM

Rating + 5 Antec Quality


Pros: Nice blend of features, for a mATX case. I wanted front Firewire, USB and a headphone jack so this case was the best I could find. Fairly quiet, smallish size but not so small that you can't fit anything inside. Looks normal enough for the wife to tolerate it. Metal feels solid. My last two cases have been Antecs and I will continue to use them.

Cons: Top compartment with the 5.25" drive bays and power supply doesn't have as much ventilation as I would like so I moved my hdd down into the main part of the case.

Other Thoughts: *Note, the pictures show the rings around the front audio jacks to be color coded pink and green. On my unit they were both silver. It actually looks better this way. So I am pleased.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/19/2008 1:52:37 PM

Rating + 5 Great case for the money


Pros: Very nice looking and quiet. Compact. Comes with a 380 watt antec PS. Strudy with no sharp edges. I am very pleased with it. Would make a great media pc case. Runs very quiet. The back 120mm fan has three settings to fit your cooling/noise level needs.

Cons: It is small so you are not going to put alot in it but hey that is why I bought it. The top compartment for the optical drives is tight especially with all the power wires but I only used one drive. I think you would really have a hard time fitting two drives in this case.

Other Thoughts: I think this is an excellent case for someone wanting a small case to put a mid to low range system in. I would not recommend it for gaming because you would have to buy another PS and the top compartment is so small. You would also have trouble with a very large GFX card.

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/19/2008 12:57:29 PM

Rating + 4 Nice Case


Pros: Nice looking, sturdy case. I am an antec fan and almost always buy their cases. The motherboard, video card and memory all fit very nice. Easy to connect USB and reset, power switch etc. Many options for fans. Two 92MM up front (not included) 1 120mm fan in the rear (included but no fan sensor plug) and a spot for a fan on the side of the case. Hard drive mount in the bottom of the case is a nice option with the micro/ATX. Nice blue backlight around the power switch. Nice, compact case.

Cons: 5.25 drive bays are very crowed with the cables coming from the power supply. Even though there are two 5.25 slots up top you can really only mount one full size drive up there. If you mount a hard drive up there you'll have to turn the drive around with the plugs facing out because there is not enough clearance for the sata and power cables in the back. You'll need a 24" sata cable to reach your mobo this way.

Other Thoughts: I'd buy it again if I was building a small system like a media center pc.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Cactuswilly
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/2/2008 3:22:57 PM

Rating + 4 Looks slick!


Pros: I love the way this case looks and feels. Simplistic and very sturdy. Lots of places to put fans too.

Cons: Cable management. I put a 500w Earthwatts psu in there (also from Antec) and there is almost no space to route cables.

Other Thoughts: I would recommend this quality case.

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/1/2008 3:10:16 PM

Rating + 4 Nice Case - But you'll pay !


Pros: Very quiet case.

Cons: too much money
Copper color on the front

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/16/2008 5:22:50 AM

Rating + 4 Nice small case


Pros: 380 Watt Power supply
120 MM Fan

Cons: Motherboard power connectors where a little short.
Had to cut the zip-tie off to get enough cable out.
Hard drive mounting locations block either the floppy bay, a cdrom bay or an expansion slot.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Dan G.
Tech Level: low
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/10/2008 6:20:51 AM

Rating + 4 Good looking case but cramped


Pros: This case looks and feels great to me. The fit-and-finish is good and the case is pretty solid. It seems to run pretty quiet (I have the 120mm rear fan set on "Medium" setting) though I do set next to a fan and an air conditioner, so I might not be the best judge. The manual was good enough that I was able to cram everything in and turn it on in an evening (it was the first computer I've ever built). PSU seems to be doing a great job given the components I installed (I was scared I might need a higher-watt PSU).

Cons: Space is limited, though that's what the form factor is all about. All the PSU cables are shunted forward and through a side hole that seems too small for the job. Due to my build, I had to put both the DVD and the HDD in the 5.25" bays and it is a extremely tight fit. I wish the included case fan could plug into the motherboard for better control. Now that everything is in, however, the computer runs and looks great.

Other Thoughts: System I built with this case:
MB: GA-MA78-S2H
CPU: AMD A64 X2 5400+ 2.8GHz
RAM: 2x2GB G.Skill DDR2 800
GPU: Sapphire ATI 4850 512MB (100245L)
HD: WD Caviar 640GB
CD: Pioneer DVR-216DBK DVD read/write

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

easydoesit36
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/7/2008 2:05:03 PM

Rating + 4 Caught a Good Sale!


Pros: This is one of my favorite micro cases, very solid and made of heavyweight materials. Power supply is sufficient for most standard computer use. Snagged it $40 off, made it worth while.

Cons: Rear 120mm case fan dead on arrival, does not turn on at all. Doesn't Antec test these things before they install them inside the case? Totally ridiculous, and not worth having to return the case or the fan.

Other Thoughts: Why?

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Happy Camper
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/1/2008 6:19:35 AM

Rating + 5 Exactly what I wanted


Pros: Small form factor; not too deep, not too tall, a little wide but that's okay. Super silent! PSU and 120mm case fan generate next to nothing in terms of noise. All I can hear are the HDDs chuggin. Noise reducing grommets for mounting the HDDs. Solid construction!

Cons: Heavier than I expected. DVD drive was forced into place due to the power connector riding up on the PSU cables. I will be looking into getting a shorter optical drive. Power and HDD LEDs didn't come on, might be a mobo issue.

Other Thoughts: Can fit ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler if you remove the fan shroud from door. Might be buying a new DVD Burner and case fans for the front.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

ok
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
9/19/2008 10:50:53 AM

Rating + 5 silent, cool, small


Pros: Silent-Don't even know it's turned on, had to connect the case LED's to be certain. Small- compact size makes for portability. Good airflow- power supply is isolated from other components, heat is allowed to escape out of top vent. The 120mm fan helps pull hot air out of the case silently.

Cons: Had one or two power supply cables that were not needed. The hard drive location at the bottom of the case will eat up one or two pci slots. This wasn't an issue since I am using only one hard drive and it's in the 5.25" drive bay.

Other Thoughts: VERY good airflow, VERY silent, awesome case. Looks good too, like the black color. E7200 + 8800GT runs fine. Probably will be buying another one soon since newegg just lowered the price!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
9/19/2008 10:50:28 AM

Rating + 5 Nice case, noisy psu.


Pros: Compact with 'silencing' features like grommet mounting for drives and "isolated" psu chamber.

Cons: PSU is noisy. PSU chamber is a bit too small. Only two grommetted mounts. The "floppy" bay should come with inserts to install two 2.5" drives. The power LED cable ends with a three pin connector which won't work with some (my) motherboards.

Other Thoughts: This is a nice case, fairly easy to work with but the chassis is a bit shallow so PSU chamber will only take a short CD/DVD. It's important to think before installing and it's helpful to remove the grommet plates and PSU before installing the parts. Sadly the PSU is noisy relative to the case and cpu fans. I haven't decided how to deal with that yet.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

BH
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
9/5/2008 6:48:16 AM

Rating + 3 Just stick with a "big boy" case


Pros: Cozy, tiny case with a clean and simple look; small footprint; reasonably quiet with 120mm fan at low setting; PSU is quiet and from Antec's solid EarthWatts lineup.

Cons: The front panel is made of very flimsy plastic; the upper compartment is unbearably cramped, even with a short optical drive; ATX power connector and 4-pin mobo power are barely long enough to reach; and hilariously enough, an overabundance of the other cabling from the PSU and the ridiculously long wires from the front ports just adds to the clutter.

Other Thoughts: I wanted a MicroATX case and knew it would be tougher to work in than an ATX case, but this thing was a nightmare. I'm not sure if even a modular PSU would help. My personal recommendation would be to just get a standard ATX case.

1 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

djwade
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
8/30/2008 9:57:49 PM

Rating + 4 Antec NSK3480 Case


Pros: Very small case. Attractive. Very quiet fans on power supply and rear case. Rear case fan is 3 speed controled by switch. Saves a lot of desktop space, only about 14 inches x 14 x 8
Both HD and AC97 connectors for front audio jacks. Silicon mounting system for hard drive keeps it quiet. There is enough space to mount a Zalman CNPS8000 "silent" heat pipe cpu cooler. Be sure to mount the backing plate on the motherboard before installing it in the case!

Cons: Low interior space makes mounting components tricky.
The power supply and 5.25 drive areas are partitioned off from the rest of the case. The power supply has cables in abundance, in fact there are many more power connectors than you can really use in a case this small. Cable routing is tricky. I actually cut off one set of standard drive cables and capped the ends with insulated terminators to make the wire bundle smaller. Hard drives mount in rather unusual locations. Case floor or the lower 5.25 bay (no adapter needed, mounts to the bottom of the bay with silicon grommets and special screws) If you mount a drive in the lower 5.25 bay you can only have one optical drive. If you mount the HD on the floor of the case you will block your PCI slot on the motherboard. This was not an issue for me since I planned to use the onboard video and only one optical drive.

Other Thoughts: My case arrived with minor damage to the support/mount pins behind the front case bezel. It is plastic. The rest is very solidly built steel. It looked as if someone dropped the box rather hard in shipment. This did not affect the functionality of the front bezel, it still clipped on OK just slightly loose because of the loss of the aligning pins behind the cover.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
8/13/2008 9:18:01 AM

Rating + 5 Awesome small case


Pros: Awesome tiny case, good 80 plus power supply, looks cool and sleek without being flamboyant

Cons: Since it's so small your components will be a little tight, but just be careful and use common sense when putting your build together.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
7/31/2008 9:09:28 AM

Rating + 5 money saver


Pros: Very easy build, I like mounting the hard drive to the case bottom on the silicone like shocks. Very quite. Bought 6 of the to build replacements for aging computers in my office. The users love them.

Cons: heavier that I would thought

Other Thoughts: The utility savings with the energy saving power supplies will easily pay for the case in a few years , I usually buy really cheap cases.

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gcd
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
7/22/2008 5:17:07 PM

Rating + 5 Excellent Case


Pros: Excellent airflow
Looks classy
80+ power supply
excellent hard drive mounts
sturdy construction

Cons: The bottom 5.25 drive is a tight fit
No motherboard speaker
too many power cables; there's no way you could ever fit enough things to use all of them

Other Thoughts: I suggest adding a 92mm fan to the front of the case.
also i suggest looking into whether or not all your stuff fits into this case before you try and use it;
complaining about it afterwards just makes you look lazy (my guess would be the complainers are the type of people who bought the box the Wii came in around launch on "that auction website" instead of the whole system)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

TheNick
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
7/8/2008 4:33:35 PM

Rating + 4 Great, if you don't mind using lots of zip ties


Pros: I was deceived by the amount of junk I could cram in to this case. Quiet. Comes with a power supply. OMGLOLBBQ it has blue LEDs.

Cons: The power supply should have been better suited for the case. Yes, this uses a standard ATX power supply, but the amount of cabling that comes with it is insane. Since there is one 3.5" external drive bracket, and then another bracket for a 3.5" drive at the very bottom of the case, it would of made sense to add a few additional inches to the SATA power cabling.
Also, the rear 120mm fan uses a standard molex plug, which means having to route fan power cable (which amazingly was long) to where ever in the case you end up tucking away the excess molex connector from the power supply. It would have been nice if Antec provided an adapter so that the fan power header off of the motherboard could of been utilized, or, in the first place, just used a standard 3 pin fan plug.
Last moan: The bottom hard drive mount requires four holes in the bottom of the case so that the silicon drive mounts can protrude and not be hindered. It may have been better to have the hard drive sit on standoff

Other Thoughts: Nice case, very quiet. Sturdy as can be, does not bend or flex when pressure is exerted on opposite corners of case.

Sorry, had to add the blue LED comment. The Mrs. likes blue LEDs. I am so over the blue LED fad. Give me classic amber.

Like others have mentioned, does require some planning to put together. This reminds me of the olden days in assembling my third computer, using a 486dx2 (yes, there were such beasts) and having to run power cables, and running AC to the power switch on the front of the case. Ahhh, I miss the old days.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

JamesF
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
4/25/2008 7:11:17 AM

Rating + 4 Pretty nice, fairly quiet


Pros: Small, neat, attractive. Well thought out inside, separate cooling zones for PSU and CPU. Fairly quiet (though far from silent).

Cons: You really have to plan your build; take everything apart and put it together in an intelligent order. e.g. mounting hard drive in upper location means removing floppy drive cage; attaching cables to that drive *after* mounting it is very difficult.

I bought it for quietness (and value and compactness) and it could be significantly quieter. Some people would consider it very quiet, but I've done a case fan swap, and will do a PSU fan swap too.

Other Thoughts: This is a very good case for a typical machine. A big case will not cool any better. If your expectations are realistic, and you've done your homework (e.g. the optical drive must be very short!), this is an excellent case which most people will consider quiet. It's ideal for a build with only 1 optical and 1 hard drive (perhaps another of either), preferably all SATA.

Capable PSU has an excess of connectors for this case (4 SATA, 6 Molex, Floppy, graphics). Cables could be better laid out and more suited to the case. e.g. SATA cables both have one connector at 6", one at 18". How about one having 6 & 12, and the other 12 & 18? How about just having SATA connectors, plus adapters for legacy Molex, thus drastically reducing the redundant wiring?

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Veloso
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
4/8/2008 1:16:24 PM

Rating + 4 Good if you know what you're getting into


Pros: Nice looking case. Well built, as you would expect from Antec. Location of vents make it placing it on carpet no problem. Power supply has ample power cables, and the case provides many tie-downs for them.

Cons: No PC speaker for hearing motherboard error codes. Because of its size, it is not the easiest case to work in. There's no great location for a hard drive: It's difficult to connect both a hard drive and an optical drive in the upper chamber, but in the lower chamber, a hard drive will block one of your expansion slots.

Other Thoughts: If you go in aware of its limitations, this is a quality case.

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Dr. Rebuild
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/26/2008 11:56:44 AM

Rating + 5 Very Happy and Relieved


Pros: I don’t normally write reviews. You never know how credible the source. But, I do notice the number of reviews and that is important to me. I couldn’t let this product go without making a mention. I just received my new Antec case through UPS. When I answered the door the box had been left and the delivery person was gone- I heard the truck starting as I looked at my delivery. I decided to do a Micro-ATX build. Electronics should be small and I am tired of the Mid Tower ATX Server cases. I was in shock at what I was seeing. I have bought a lot of stuff through Newegg and had never seen a box in that bad of a shape. The box was open and in tatters – UPS can be hard on a piece of cardboard. I have never RMAed in the past and wasn’t looking forward to the process. I started to pull the case from the box and noticed there wasn’t a scratch on it anywhere and all the stuff was there having been attached to the case. Thanks, Antec for caring because I do.

Cons: None that I see.

Other Thoughts: Have a nice day.

3 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

LAThierry
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/7/2008 1:29:19 PM

Rating + 3 Preferred the NSK3300


Pros: Nice case, solid construction, quiet, efficient PSU

Cons: I preferred the older NSK3300 which the NSK3480 is replacing. The PSU in the NSK3480 is full size, it's not easy to cram all the cables beneath, while the 3300 did not have that problem, while still having a very efficient PSU.

Other Thoughts: The PSU wouldn't power up my motherboard. I figured it was DOA because trying another PSU did power it up just fine.

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easydoesit36
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/2/2008 3:13:37 PM

Rating + 5 Nice case


Pros: Very nice looking case. Smaller size that I was looking for with excellent Antec quality. Asus P5N micro ATX board, E8400 CPU and 2 GB RAM are making it a great affordable machine for the time being.

Cons: Things were a little tight, but what should I expect from a small case. Hard drive was better mounted on the bottom of case for me, which blocks access to MB slots. (I wasn't using them).

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

stoney
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
2/22/2008 6:43:41 AM

Rating + 5 Very nice


Pros: Very quiet. Well designed and manufactured. Nice and small. Has all the features I need. I like the appearance of the case and the LEDs. Efficient - my total power consumption ~47W at max compute. Intel E6750,DG31PR,Crucial Ballistic2Gx2,Antec NSK3480,Seagate 500GB 7200.10 16MBCache

Cons: Nothing

Other Thoughts: I added an Antec 92mm fan to the front. Running it on low or medium speed.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
2/20/2008 12:30:49 PM

Rating + 5 Good Case


Pros: Solid case, no sharp edges, easy to install Mobo and components. PSU Supports PCI-E Graphics and has ability to add 2 fans intake, Installed Asus Micro with Quad Core Intel (gross). Very Quiet, Would Recommend

I have built many computers, Antec is always been my favorite for mid range PCs, then Tt for High end.

Cons: depending how many power cables you put through it, it seems to smash them against the side panel.

Other Thoughts: Used this case to build a system for a local business,

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

johnny_jump_a_lot
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
2/5/2008 7:15:56 PM

Rating + 3 good product, not perfect


Pros: Case is what I expected. Looks like Antec has heard the feedback about the power supply and I didn't have to take it out and turn it upside-down. It was already done for me. Full-size optical drive fit in upper chamber with hard drive and power supply. This is the first case I have purchased based on reviews rather than the lowest price. I like it and would recommend it.

Cons: It's been a few years since I put a computer together and a simple, small chart explaining the screws would have been VERY helpful. I ended up using the wrong screws to attach the motherboard to the case, then had to use some pliers to hold the brass offsets while I backed the wrong screws out. That was a pain. The case doesn't have a chassis speaker (would have helped me diagnose the no post I encountered, fixed by reseating the CPU).

Other Thoughts: As a confirmation, the Ninja Mini heatsink does fit in this case. No need to purchase right angle SATA cables.

4 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
1/29/2008 5:27:17 AM

Rating + 4 Ok case


Pros: Simple case to work with. I'm a fan of micro MB and casees. Powerful power supply and quiet

Cons: If you need to install multiple Harddrives this is not the case for you. Its tough with installing /w one available slot.

Other Thoughts: I suggest purchasing a front case fan 90mm.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Aaron
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
1/22/2008 5:31:48 PM

Rating + 5 Awesome case


Pros: Great power supply included. Very compact, very quite but still very cool. Flip the PS and your life will be easier, stuff the unused power cables under the DVD drive up top. Pull only the cables you need into the main chamber.

Cons: If you mount the hard drive on the bottom, it may block the lowest expansion slot on your mobo, in my case its the pci-e x4 slot but im not going to use it.

Other Thoughts: Read the silent pc review of this case BEFORE you buy it.

It is very small and some may find it too small. I put an ASUS M2N-VM with an AMD 6000+, stock cooler, 250GB WD HDD on the bottom, Samsung SATA DVD burner in the top. Plan everything out before you install and expect to take things out again and again. Once its together it is beautiful.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

wilm105
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
1/16/2008 5:33:04 PM

Rating + 4 I Enjoyed this Box!


Pros: I really liked the layout, the compartment for the PS was tight but if you mount the HD in the lower part of the case you have plenty of room to stash all the extra unused cables ubder the CD drive (make sure it's shorter in length). This is not for the faint of heart...wire management is a tester. I would definitely add the two additional 92mm fans but the 120mm tri-cool was nice and quite. Good looking case with a dash of challenge NICE!

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: In retrospect the toughest part of this build was wire management...like most ITX's you have to pay a lot of attention to the sequence of assembly.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

An Anonymous Guy
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
12/24/2007 3:27:49 AM

Rating + 4 Decent case/psu


Pros: Excellent construction, very solid and compact. Doesn't vibrate due to flimsy construction, a common issue with many cases. Can take ATX power supplies if desired.

Cons: The power supply has an excessive amount of cables, and it becomes difficult (nigh impossible) to marshal all of them. Drives that make use of flat cables will have trouble fitting. Limited room for hard drives. No case mountings for hard drives; they sit on top of rubber seatings. Positioning of the vent on the top potentially contributes to more noise. Included TriCool 120mm fan can be a little noisy.

Other Thoughts: The power LED and hard drive activity LEDs are kind of bright, you may want to consider not connecting them. There are a lot of cables for the front panel stuff, and that combined with the excessive cables from the included PSU could interfere with airflow. I know I put a lot of cons, but this is nonetheless an excellent case. It could become a great case if the shortcomings were resolved -- talking to you, Antec!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/21/2007 2:34:45 PM

Rating + 4 Just got it


Pros: nice looking, quality power supply, good air flow, big 120mm fan on the back.
No issues whatsoever with the cabling as others have had. This one came with cables from the power supply long enough to reach all it was needed. I use a Intel D945GTP board, and all drives including the DVD drive are serial ata, so no sloppy flat cables.

Cons: Well, I've read the reviews before buying it and decided to buy anuway since I am used to have thing modified my own way.
Really, the hard drives mounting are bad. I like to have hard drives close together and at easy reach, so I am using a dual drive bracket (purchased separately) and bolting them down at the bottom of the case, vertically so airflow from the front panel fans pass through the drives and get out through the big fan on the back or the vents on the PCI slots.
This is not a case for people who have flat cables on any drive, specially the CD/DVD drive.

Other Thoughts: Once it's all done, it feels very solid and compact.
I think someone already said that. It really looks like a main brand PC build where everything has a planned place to be and not much room for experiments. It is what it is and that's the best it can be.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/20/2007 12:15:53 PM

Rating + 3 50/50 on this case


Pros: Quiet case with a big fan. Easy enough to get into it. Rubber mounted hard drive design is sweet.

Cons: This case is a little smaller than some other "micro ATX" cases I've used, and this one is a little too tight for my taste, but not horribly so. As other reviews state, the pwr supply connector to the main board is appallingly short and I consider it a design flaw. Also, as other reviews state, the CD drive slides in too close to the pwr supply. Makes the cabling very tight, but seems to not be a heat issue.

Other Thoughts: I don't know if In-win has patents on their cases, but I think Antec would do well to buy an In-win case and copy some of the features. The antec case requires more prep time and screws. I think the best case is an In-Win with an Antec pwr supply.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/10/2007 7:29:33 PM

Rating + 5 Great Micro Case


Pros: The separate compartment for the power supply keeps the computer quiet and cool. The stock cooling is adequate and quiet. Removing the top and sides of the case is straightforward and quick. The power supply is included and is 80 plus certfied

Cons: In order to connect the power supply to the motherboard it is necessary to remove it and turn it over. I learned about this particular issue by reading a review on Silent PC Review. If you are thinking about this case, their review will help.

Other Thoughts: I looked at a number of cases and this one seemed the best combination of size, efficiency, quietness, and price.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

dp
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/3/2007 11:47:34 AM

Rating + 4 Case with some compromises


Pros: Clean elegant design. No sharp edges. Nice and quiet case. Excellent airflow.

Cons: The 5" bay is a tight fit since the power supply cables are right there. Make sure to get a short drive. The cable lengths for the power supply are also a little short.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

CrystalCowboy
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/27/2007 3:13:34 PM

Rating + 3 Bad decisions on PS bay outlets


Pros: Small, quiet. Space to mount two shock-isolated hard drives.

Cons: The top compartment holds the power supply and two optical drive slots, one of which can be used for a shock-mounted HD. Unlike the earlier NSK3300, the NSK3480 holds a full-sized power supply, an Antec Earthwatts 380W model. There is only ~ 35 mm clearance between the body of the power supply and my optical drive. That's pretty tight, considering that power cables and data cables for the drives have to fit in there. There are two holes in the upper compartment for cables. The one in the bottom is too narrow to fit the 24 pin power cable through. This means it has to go out the side hole. Since the cable comes out of the PS on the other side, this means that the 24 cable spans the width of the PS, blocking off about half the ventilation space of the PS. It also means that the 24 pin and 4 pin power cables are almost too short to reach the connectors on my motherboard. I had to tug pretty hard on the 24 pin cable to make it reach. 4 pin cable went through the bottom slot.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/15/2007 6:18:21 AM

Rating + 5 Good Quality and Quiet


Pros: This is a very quiet and well-built case. It has a fair amount of room considering it is MicroATX. I have CD/DVD mounted in the top slot, with a hard drive under it. 2nd hard drive is mounted on the floor of the case. The provided rubber mounting hardware make these very quiet. I'm using a Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H motherboard and had no problems with the fit.
This is my second Antec case and I've been very happy with both purchases. It's definitely worth it to pay a little more for a good quality case.

Cons: Not much room between the power supply and top drives, but enough to make it work. Initially the power supply wire bundle was not long enough to connect to my m/b. This because the bundle exited the power supply on the opposite side from where it entered the case. Problem solved by turning the power supply over. Good thing it could be mounted either way!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Tnb=JackTheRipper
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
11/13/2007 8:17:31 AM

Rating + 5 Best mATx Case todate


Pros: Perfect fit for everything we needed for a work system, size, options, cooling and looks. Everything fits nicely inside. 120mm fan on back and room for two 92mm fans upfront.

Cons: the pwr supply. I had to flip it and its a challenge in its self to get the cables back through that small hole.

Other Thoughts: only two spots for hd's I used the top one and now wished I'd used the bottom one.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

dude
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
11/8/2007 8:38:21 PM

Rating + 4 Nice features, but some quirks


Pros: I was looking for a uATX case that featured good ventilation, and this fit the bill. The appearance is sleek, if a little austere. Opening up the case is tool-less: there are two thumbscrews on the top plate, and the side panels can be easily lifted away when the top is removed. The rest of the case is not tool-less, which I consider a plus. The silicone HD mounts are very nice. Build quality is excellent.

Cons: Antec has partitioned this case right at the bottom of the power supply and the 5.25" bays. It's completely solid except for a small cutout (that I didn't feel like I could force the ATX power connector through.) Most of the power cabling gets routed out the side, which isn't too bad once you flip the PSU so that the ATX power cable reaches the mobo /sarcasm/. (If your ATX connector is near the CPU socket, you probably won't have trouble.) At least it's possible to flip the PSU; Antec has provided both sets of mounting holes. The depth of the 5.25" bay is one DVD case height + 0.5", minus an inch or so for the cable bundle. I wouldn't want to try to put a PATA drive in this case.

Other Thoughts: Antec throws in a few tie-downs for cable management. Expandability is limited; the main HD mount is on the bottom of the case, and the second one is in the lower 5.25" bay. The ventilation may be reasonable, since PSU draws all its air through that section of the case. Or it may be possible to mount the HD upside down, giving up the floppy bay. Finally, the case is a bit louder than I would like. The "low" setting on the 120mm fan is still loud compared to fans like the Nexus, and the PSU fan is 80mm so of course it ends up being noisier than a l20/140mm fan. If you're looking to build a "silent" uATX PC with this case, expect to spend some more on a quieter power suppy and rear fan.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

boomerang
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/30/2007 4:26:36 PM

Rating + 4 Nice Piece


Pros: Solidly built, and very quiet with 3 speed fan. Silicone mounting for HD is a nice feature. I very much like this case and I will use it again for builds where "customers" can afford it. It does have its shortcomings. See other thoughts.

Cons: As others have said, a second HD would be all but impossible. I have one optical drive in this and there is just no place to stash the extra wires from the PS but under it. There are way, way more connectors than could ever be used in this case. They have to go somewhere. See other thoughts.

Other Thoughts: Now the real reason for my review. I wanted to thank others for their reviews. As was said, a short optical drive is essential. A full length drive would fit, but you would need a 90 degree power connector. Both 90 degree power and data connectors with a SATA optical. You wouldn't want to do this anyway, as the airflow would be severely restricted. The PS has one fan in the rear. The only path for air is up through an oval slot that would be severely blocked with a standard length optical drive. I used as Asus SATA.

I also had to flip the PS to get the 24 pin power connector to reach the board. Thanks to other for a head's up on these issues.

6 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

RobbyZ
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/27/2007 11:09:07 AM

Rating + 5 Very Solid & Lots of Features


Pros: Included 380W 80Plus Certified Power Supply, Silicone Vibration-Dampening HDD mounts, Good Fit and Finish, 120 cm 3-Speed Rear Fan, Dual-Chambered Case Space, Small Compact Size, QUIET!

Cons: The mother board power lead did not reach the connector - HOWEVER, there is a long rubber piece between the PS chamber and the MB chamber that can be removed. I carefully was able to thread the 20+4 connectors through this space. The only thing I didn't like about this case was that the HDD mounting space in the 5.25 bay is useless if you have a CD/DVD-RW. The excess cables wouldn't allow for much airflow IF you could even fit it all in that space!

Other Thoughts: The HDD mount on the bottom of the case is nice, and doesn't interfere with the PCI-E Video or PCI Sound Card. I am very impressed with this case and would recommend it to anyone building a Micro-ATX machine. I had plenty of room to spare in mine with a Gigabyte GA-965GM-S2, Intel Core 2 Duo e6600, CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400), SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD SATA Model, Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB, EVGA 7600GT w/Zalman VF700 AlCu, and 3.5" External Media Reader.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Case Mod Professor
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
10/4/2007 4:41:34 PM

Rating + 5 Unique combination of features in a MicroATX case


Pros: Though previous reviews are correct in certain points, they all miss the big thing: this case offers a combination of features that you won't find in ANY OTHER CASE on the market (you can trust me on that - I went through ~30 cases):
1) The case is really small and yet can house a 120mm fan on the back, two fans on the front panel and one one the side door.
2) Top quality, 0.8mm SECC steel construction - just try and find a MicroATX case that thick. There are 3 other models, all of them subpar
3) 380W power supply is enough to power a top-of-the-line graphics card (I know, I know you all read that they need 500W+, but I actually measured the power consumption with a watt-metter).
4) 80Plus certified power supply will save about $xx a year, which you can spend on a better DVD drive, speaking of which the only models that will fit are made by LiteOn and some Asus models - see the poor guy's laments in the earlier review).
5) Did I mention that the case is really, really small?

Cons: Not really a con, but I ran out of room in the "Pros" section: the case is short and squat. It looks almost like the super modern cube case (and has smaller volume, by the way). This no doubt will make routing the cables a challenge, to say the least. However, once overcome, you will be very pleased with the results. The case provides cooling performance rivalling case twice the size and such is perfectly suitable for building a high performance, space-saving and clean looking gaming machine. When you put all the components in, the case will have a nice hefty feel to it and even when fans spool up will not resonate or vibrate.

Other Thoughts: I came down very harshly on the previous iteration of this design, mostly because I didn't appreciate the forcing of an SFX power supply on you and the suggest placement of hard drive. The new design addresses these shortcomings and then some. And indeed, the very first reviewer is correct in that the market for MicroATX cases hasn't been very lucrative thus far, and nothing stops Antec from pulling the plug on this one - that is precisely why you should get one (or better two) while you can.

26 out of 28 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

CorrND
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
9/17/2007 9:53:51 AM

Rating + 3 Space Constraints


Pros: Looks great, solid construction, reasonable price, 80 Plus Certified PSU.

Cons: As the previous reviewer commented, cabling and holes from top compartment to bottom are VERY poorly placed. 180 degree flip of PSU also solved the problem for me.

A much bigger concern: the top compartment is too small for my optical drive. I attached the standard molex connector from the PSU to my drive and slipped in into the top drive bay. Before the drive is flush with the front of the case, the molex connector hits the casing of the PSU (about 0.5 to 1" sticks out).

I'm under the impression that optical drive dimensions are standard, but maybe mine is slightly deeper than normal (7.75"). With a right-angle power connector adapter, there's a SLIM chance I can actually wrench this drive in there. If not, this is one of the dumbest design flaws I've ever seen.

Other Thoughts: It's a tight fit all around, but with the exception of the optical drive, everything fits nicely.

I'd probably give this case a 5 if not for the inexplicable optical drive depth issue.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

vonfeldt
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
9/15/2007 8:44:33 PM

Rating + 4 Okay Case


Pros: looks good. Parts fit. power works. seems okay after 10 months.

Cons: power is a little goofy.

Other Thoughts: not as goos as other antec cases (power/layout). maybe not worth the price, but does the job.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Topo
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
9/15/2007 7:25:28 PM

Rating + 5 Very good basic case.


Pros: Very good case. Excellent build, good cooling, very little noise.

Cons: There's not a whole lot of room to maneuver in there, which is expected when you want a small case. However the routing for the power supply cables could use some work. I had to flip the PSU over just so I could attach it to the motherboard. It was also tricky to get the IDE/SATA cables up into the 5.25 bays.

Other Thoughts: Very good small case. Would definitely use it again.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

YFZowner
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
9/11/2007 9:21:12 AM

Rating + 3 UPDATE


Pros: Read my first comment

Cons: Read my first comment

Other Thoughts: A quick solution to their wiring issue is to simply rotate the power supply 180 degrees. It worked for me.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

YFZowner
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
9/11/2007 9:17:51 AM

Rating + 1 This used to be the best mATX MidTower


Pros: It is a nice looking case and it has what used to be a decent design for routing cables. I have used this case for about 10 different builds, all with good results. Then, they decide to change things. As if the mATX midtower market is so lucrative that they need to make changes.

Cons: They decided to move the hole where you route the power cables through to the side. However, they didn't extend the already short ATX power cable. It will not reach any motherboard's connector. They also decided to further mock me by making a "slot" where there used to be a port for routing the cables. This "slot" is not wide enough to fit the ATX power cable. Had it been wide enough, this wouldn't be a problem.

Other Thoughts: Thank you, Antec. Now I get to modify one of your cases. Trust me, this WILL be the last time.

6 out of 12 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

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