Antec, whats with the new ugly cases?

I own both the HAF X and the DF-85 and they both are interesting. If you saw both in person you would understand how nice full towers have gotten these days.

Front view
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Top view
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Expansion ports
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Insides
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No offense Icejon, DF85 looks good from a practical stand point, but the fact remains that it's ugly as sin. I don't like the HAF line, but even I have to prefer HAFX over that.

Basically it's a case of a girl having a supermodel body with a witch's face. :p
 
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Direfox said:
Thanks for commenting and I can appreciate that the cases may look much better in person. However... I don't need to see them any better than the Newegg pictures to know that Antec is shifting more toward the Cooler Master etc. styles. I generally like Antec cases and when doing a build for family or friends I look at Antec first because there are so many good looking cases with decent power supplies. If I wanted a case that looks like these new one I have LOTS of choices from different brands. If I want a more conservative case thats well built with a decent power supply, I have always looked to Antec.

Just saying these cases aren't going to wow your original customer base (like me). What I would love to see are some Antec cases that compete with Lian Li's AO5 and I would love a redesigned mini 180. Or just some more classic styling with better airflow and bigger/better PSUs. Sonata-ish with room for multiple long cards and lots of air.
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Hay man, thats directly my opinion, what I want to Antec :)
 
Konias said:
Hay man, thats directly my opinion, what I want to Antec :)
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Well, they already checked this thread out once, hope they come back and read more. We can't be the only ones who feel this way. On the good side the inside of those cases look well designed.
 
^^^Maybe their market analysis indicates more money is to be made going after low endish gaming boxes..Young guys like that kind of look..probably.
 
I think these cases look fine and still look way better than Raidmax cases.
 
went to frys yesterday and they don't have them yet. I'll wait till I see one in person to buy it but as long as it doesn't feel cheap the df 85 is on my short list
 
^^^Its a pretty cool case feature wise - saw the youtube video from hardware cannucks about it..
 
I think with a name like dark fleet these cases could have looked for like the silverstone raven II, sleek but sinister. I don't mean a copy, but the same style with nice clean lines.
 
Antec_Rep said:
Hello everyone,

Thanks for the opinions on our cases. Of course, everyone is welcome to their own views, however, you really should be checking these cases out in person! In fact, most of the early reviews are very positive!

The differences between the DF-30 and DF-35 are that the DF-30 has blue LEDs on the fans, and the DF-35 has white LEDs and is equipped with 2 x internal FleetSwap 3.5" drive bays.

Also, to answer another question up there, the VSK-2450 comes with a 450W power supply.

Thanks,
Antec
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The question you didn't answer was what are the Antec DF designers smoking?
 
It’s great that there are so many different opinions! We wanted to let all of you know that Antec is
designing cases and components with you in mind. The new Dark Fleet line is a direct result of your
customer feedback, and an example of how it can lead to high quality and reliable products. We have a wide-range of products so there’s something for everyone. Keep the comments coming!

For more pictures and initial reviews check out the DF site and the links below.


Dark Fleet “You Spoke We Listened”
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/df/feature.html

Reviews:
Extreme Tech
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2365696,00.asp

Think Computers
http://www.thinkcomputers.org/antec-dark-fleet-df-85-full-tower-case-review/

Hardware Secrets
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-Dark-Fleet-DF-85-Case-Review/1033/1
 
I was curious to see how this case fared against any one of the HAFs or other Antec similar airflow cases, and none of those reviews mentioned anything specific about temps (other than "they're good" :rolleyes:. Nearly just as bad, only the TC article has pics of the case with something installed inside of it.

Maybe someone here at [H] will get one and share that information... :eek:
 
Besides the 180's, did they actually make a good looking case, I mean they were all the same cheap stamped steel frame, with a HDD bay that didn't change from one chassis to the next (I don't recall any that faced towards the side anyway)?
 
zero2dash said:
I was curious to see how this case fared against any one of the HAFs or other Antec similar airflow cases, and none of those reviews mentioned anything specific about temps (other than "they're good" :rolleyes:. Nearly just as bad, only the TC article has pics of the case with something installed inside of it.

Maybe someone here at [H] will get one and share that information... :eek:
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The problem is that case reviewing is largely subjective. Few will actually put the temperature equipment to it and also measure noise. I think Kyle has the stuff to do it but the [H] hasn't done a large amount of case reviews as far as I know of. The main ones that were looked at all had a gimmick like built in phase change or something like that. I'd love to review cases, but then again I'd hate to have a large stack of chassis all around the house to review. (I've already got that problem to some degree as it is.)
 
I am curious, why is Antec not using a tool less design as compared to other top brands. Also, for some reason, when I look at what some of the review sites have assembled, the wiring still looks less organized than it should be. Its not the rats nest of old, but its still not as clean as it could be. I don't care for the latches over the drive bays, that would get on my nerves with all the drm requiring cd's every time I play.
 
Kwisatz Haderach said:
I am curious, why is Antec not using a tool less design as compared to other top brands.
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Eh, by and large, tool less stuff sucks, that's why. ;)
Even the decent tool less stuff is still only moderately good; most people still prefer screws. :) Granted, I loved the tool less stuff in the HAF 922 and now in my FT02, but other people hate the stuff....to each his own. :eek:
 
Fugliness aside, I love how Antec allows such easy access to the intake fans and the drives behind them. I'd like to see this copied by other manufacturers.
 
“You Spoke We Listened”

Who is it that spoke? I'm sorry but these things look terrible. Massive step back from the 300/900/1200 series aesthetically.
 
Reus said:
“You Spoke We Listened”

Who is it that spoke? I'm sorry but these things look terrible. Massive step back from the 300/900/1200 series aesthetically.
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Actually I think these cases look better than those. The Antec 300/900/1200 were hideous crap akin to park benches on the back of Honda Civics.
 
Personally, I think the DF cases are a bit over the top. I can understand some people want flashy, but those cases are not to my liking.

Now the 2450 is another story. That one *almost* works for my taste but it looks like it might be a bit of a step backwards in the thermal department. Take that front grill and make it flush with the drive bays, paint the plastic to match the color of the grill, and get rid of that weird rig cage look behind the grill and I think you would have a huge winner. Maybe move the PSU back to the bottom too and put the top fan slot back! Just a little bit more magic on the front panel appearance, and then it would be perfect.

Got one or two other ideas that you might like too, but I will keep those to myself until someone pays me a commission to design a case :).
 
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