Antec Mini ITX Case ISK300-65

by Antec

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 8.7 x 3.8 inches ; 5.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 10 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00292BV8C
• Item model number: ISK300-65
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #92 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Computer Components > Computer Cases
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 7, 2009

Product Description

Mini-ITX is the next “big” thing. Designed exclusively. Mini-ITX motherboards. With three drive bays, a side 80mm TriCool fan, and a stable 65-watt power adapter, the ISK 300-65 can handle many of the tasks of a traditional PC, in half the space. And with a 0.8mm cold rolled steel frame, the ISK 300-65 is not only nimble but durable. From petite desktop option to silent home theater, Antec’s ISK 300-65 is an epic case of mini proportions.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice but there's room for improvement...., February 17, 2010

By 

Mark (Northern Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Antec Mini ITX Case ISK300-65 (Personal Computers)

I've built many of my own computers systems over the years so I was excited to assemble my first Mini-ITX based system. The whole point of Mini-ITX is size so the Antec ISK-300 case caught my eye right away. After comparing a few others (Apex, Lian Li & Cooler Master) the Antec case was my choice.

The case arrived before I ordered any of my other components so there was plenty of time to inspect it. First, this thing is heavy duty with a slightly thicker metal than most of the cases I've purchased in the past. Heavy is fine with me, how often do you tote your computer around anyway? The finish is very well done and it came with everything required to do a quality build, right down to zip ties and the tiny securement screw for a slim CD/DVD. Including all of the right components ranks high in my book.

The interior layout is my only complaint. Antec could have done a better job when they designed the power distribution board. The layout and placement of that single board is responsible for the extended length of the case. Antec chose to place this board flat on the bottom of the case meaning your Mini-ITX is essentially extended in length to accommodate two circuit boards. Kinda dumb in my opinion. The CD/DVD door design is the only 'cheap-out' on this case, like other reviewers I think it could have been done better.

The only other complaint is that the I/O section of my Zotac board didn't fit against the trim plate very tight. This may be a Zotac problem, but either way it's a perturbing little gap that looks like an amateur build. I did plenty of head-scratching with this problem and there's no way to adjust it better. Gaps like this equal air/dust infiltration and improper air flow and it just annoys me to no end. It's a very small gap but it just shouldn't be there.

After completion, the case seems to cool well. The three speed case fan does a good job but I might need to find a better fan if I try to overclock the board. It's refreshingly quiet, small and made for a nice build. I'd rank it an 8.5 out of 10.

Summary: The Antec ISK300 is solid, simple and well supplied with a rich black finish, a little better interior layout could improve the design but this is a great 'little' case for the price.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Danerously short ATX power cord, chintzy CD cover, August 3, 2010

By 

Ersin Akinci (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Antec Mini ITX Case ISK300-65 (Personal Computers)

I was super excited about this case when I ordered it: cold-rolled heavy steel, gorgeous front panel, useful design features. The frame's construction quality is top notch and it doesn't have any parts like those annoying plastic tool-less hard drive holders that one finds so often in drive bays. The power button has a wonderful heavy feel to it with solid recoil. Although I didn't get a chance to test it, the reviews that I had read indicated that the 65W power supply did its job well.

Here's the main problem with the case. The external brick power supply runs to a BNC connector plug in the back of the case, and from there the plug is connected with a 4-pin Molex to a rectangular horizontally mounted internal circuit board regulator at the front that has an extremely short (5 inches?) ATX power supply cable running from its right edge. If your motherboard's ATX power input is in front of your CPU's heatsink, then there's no problem, but if the CPU is in front (like in the popular Intel D510MO mini-ITX board, which I was installing) then the power cable will be touching or even inside the prongs of the heatsink. Given how hot heatsinks can get, this could end up with a call to 911, and even if the power cable's plastic doesn't melt then a single frayed wire will probably fry your entire board. The circuit board is mounted with screws, so I tried turning it 180 degrees so that the power cable ran out from the left edge to give me more slack (the D510MO's power connector is in the lower left), but then the 4-pin power cable running from the back was hovering dangerously close to the heatsink, albeit it wasn't in the heatsink. Even if that were acceptable for you, remounting the circuit board brought the thick power cables flush against the left side of the case's cover. To say that it made closing the case really annoying is to point at the best case scenario. Over the years, the strain could also loosen the connector from the cables.

The other major problem for me was the really flimsy CD drive cover door that they implemented, which broke as soon as I took it out of the box. Really a let down considering how sturdy the rest of the case is, and even if I hadn't had such bad luck other reviews online agree that the door's quality is poor. There were a few other issues:

-Closing the case didn't feel firm and left me wondering whether I had closed it properly.
-When I mounted my drives on the dual 2.5" drive tray I pushed down on each side of the drives to make sure that they were mounted securely, and I could feel that they wobbled ever so slightly. They didn't move nearly enough that it would rattle during operation, but it was annoying and Antec should do better.
-Lots of wasted space inside the case. This doesn't affect its performance, but from a purely technical appreciation perspective I was left wondering who in their right mind would have designed a case in such a way.

One "undocumented" plus (at least, I don't recall reading about it) was that the case has dedicated holes in the back for the Antec TriCool's speed switches. This could also be a negative, however, if like me you were planning on replacing the fan with something else. It only comes with one fan, but it has space for another (actually, props to Antec for their really cool fan mounting solution. There's a slot on the left side where you just slide them in and a removable cover to block the unused space next to the first fan.) TriCool's aren't bad from what I've read, but I prefer single speeds.

I'm giving the case two stars instead of one because it's sexy and the frame's build quality is top notch except for the CD tray cover, and also I recognize that I just happened to have bad luck with that part. On the other hand, I can't give it anything above two stars because the short power cables are a serious defect. Be sure to check that your board's ATX connector is at the front (i.e., opposite from the rear panel connectors) before you purchase this case. Specifically, make sure that it's in front of any heatsinks or fans. If it's within the first three or four inches of the front of the board, you shouldn't have any hesitations despite my nasty review. If you're looking for the smallest possible footprint, this case isn't for you. However, if your power connector is fortuitously located and if you don't mind the chintzy front CD flap and if you don't mind the form factor, this beautiful and sturdy case will probably make your day. It almost made mine.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good case!, November 21, 2010

By 

C. Tsai (Austin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Antec Mini ITX Case ISK300-65 (Personal Computers)

I bought this to replace another mini-ITX that I had that used a standard power supply. However, getting a good mini-ITX power supply was proving to be more costly (the fan kept going out them). I decided to just buy this case that had a power supply that was higher efficiency with less noise. I didn't need the extra power because the board I was running was an Atom board using a WD Caviar Green drive. Essentially here are the pros and cons.

Pros:
Small form factor
Quiet
Sleek
Solid metal case

Cons:
no 3.5" drive space (though if you DON'T use an optical drive you can fit the 3.5" hard drive with some double sided tape in the area where the optical drive would be... It works.. but beware of standing the unit on its side.)