Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Antec Three Hundred computer case, September 6, 2008
Purchased the Antec Three Hundred computer case through Amazon to build a new home computer which would be used for everyday computing as well as gaming.
I've used Antec cases before, so was familiar with their very good build quality and features. The Three Hundred is a good compromise between a full-tower gamer's case like the Antec 1200 and the typical case designed solely for home or business computers. It is a mid-tower case, so it doesn't seem huge sitting on or next to our home desk, but it has ample room inside to take a full ATX gamer's motherboard and easily fits two large gaming video cards in "SLI" or "Crossfire" configuration without interference with other internal components.
Interenal hard drive bays are accessed from the front of the case, which makes it easy to service, install or swap drives without disturbing other internal components (although you do have to remove the left side cover to access the latches that allow removal of the front bezel, but this is much easier than it sounds). There are no sharp edges inside the case; all edges are rolled, and the build is sturdy for a case in this price range. Antec supplied an adequate number of case and drive screws and motherboard stand-offs.
Other features:
- This case puts the power supply (not included) at the bottom, which makes the case more stable, but you may need a PS with long cables. I used an Antec TruPower Trio (also purchased through Amazon), which worked out fine. Excess cables can be tucked inside a built-in cable compartment alongside the internal drive bays, which has its own cable ties, for neatness and better cooling.
- Antec supplies 2 large 3-speed fans with this case, one 120 mm blowing out the back and a 140 mm blowing out the top. It has provisions to add 3 additional fans, one on the side to provide additional cooling to the video cards, and 2 behind the front bezel, directly in front of the hard-drive bays. I closed-off the opening in the side panel, but added a 120 mm fan (with blue lighting!) blowing in from the front. So far this cooling arrangement seems adequate to my needs, but I can still add 2 more fans if I need to.
- The front bezel is plastic, but removes and installs easily, and contains a washable, removable filter covering the area in front of the hard-drive bays.
Cons:
- The Three Hundred provides front access ports for headphone, microphone, and two USB 2.0 connections, but no IEEE 1394 or e-SATA ports.
- There are 3 external 5.25-inch drive bays, but no 3.5-inch external bays. If you need to add a floppy drive, card reader, or other external 3.5-inch component, you'll need to find and purchase a 5.25-3.5 bay adapter (I did).
- No case speaker is included.
Summary: This is a very nice case for the price. Fit and finish are very good, and features are adequate for home/business or gaming. Not too large, but not too compact, either. Recommended.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazon supports free shipping to Hawaii!, September 30, 2008
The Antec Three Hundred case is perfect, it is very lightweight, has a sleek design, comes with ample cooling and all mounting surfaces have been logically placed. The black finish seems a little rushed on the dorsal surface but all other areas seem great. I have built more than 15 computers and this is by far the best price/quality case I have ever used. The only thing I dont like about it is that the mounting surface for the motherboard does not have raised plateus but rather utilizes the old hex male/female screws which should be fazed out by now.
For people in Hawaii it is next to impossible to get free or cheap shipping on anything the size of a computer case. Amazon is the best place to find items which would be too costly to purchase online otherwise, and they dont charge a surcharge.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The VW of computer cases, February 25, 2009
An other reviewer said "The Antec Three Hundred case is perfect" I could not agree more. Great cooling, good quality sheet metal and easy to assemble. Very ascetically appealing perforated face for air flow. The case is limited to 3 external 5.25 drive bays to make room for the 2 120 mm intake fans in front. Those intake fans are easy to install and have dust screens. The front bezel looks great and is easy to remove.
One issue on my case (not a big deal) the front panel headphone and microphone jacks are recessed a little too deep.
Installed:
Antec BP500U ATX 12V 500W Power Supply
Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 2.4 GHz 2M L2 Cache 800MHz FSB LGA775 Dual-Core Processor
Masscool 8WA741 - Processor cooler - ( Socket 775 )
Intel DG35EC Media Series G35 Desktop Board, uATX, DDR2, Intel Graphics DVI+VGA, PCIe x16, 1333MHz FSB, LGA775, Retail Motherboard, Free HD Video "The
Corsair DHX 2 GB (2 X 1 GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit
Western Digital 500GB 3.5", SATA, 16MB Cache Bulk/OEM Hard Drive WD5000AAKS
Lite-On DH-20A4P-04 SuperAllwrite OEM DVD Burner - 20x DVD±R Burn, 16x DVD±R Read, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD±R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, 48x3
Antec TriCool case fan ( TRICOOL 120MM )
Antec TriCool case fan ( TRICOOL120MM BLUELED )
running Ubuntu 8.10 intrepid
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