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Is Antec 300 Correct Choice

T

TheEnglishJob

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 21, 2009
Messages
110
I'm looking to find a good case for my new rig. This is my first time ever building my own computer so I'm a little new to the process. I've attached my prospective build below, but to sum it up I'm using a micro ATX motherboard and want to make sure that it will fit in the Antec 300 case. It says its format to ATX...does that mean it also allows for micro ATX mobos.

Also, are there any other good cases that I should be considering? Thanks

-CPU (AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz) $150.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649
-Motherboard (BIOSTAR TA760G M2+) $80.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138137
-Memory (G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800) $46.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
-Hard Drive (Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB) $75.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218&Tpk=wd 640
-DVD/CD (BurnerLG Black 22X DVD R/RW) $26.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136153
-Graphics Card (EVGA GTX 260) $220.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434
-Cooling (XIGMATEK HDT-RS1283 Red Scorpion) $33.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233012
-Power Supply (CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W) $100.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
-OS (Vista Home 64bit) $100.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
-Case (Antec Three Hundred) $60.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&Tpk=antec 300
-Monitor (Going to pick up one at local store as recommended) ~$150.00-200.00


Total: $890
+ tax = $961
+ monitor ~ $1150
 
mATX should fit with no problem. I've heard the 300 is an awesome case for the price :)
 
Get the Cooler Master 590 or 690 instead. Both are much better than the Antec 300.
 
Just a suggestion, but if your looking for quality, i have heard good things about the thermotake lanbox. With a micro motherboard, it should fit..but I dont know about the GTX 260. they are sturdy cases and they are small, if thats what your looking for.
 
The Antec 300 is basically unbeatable for the price. The coolermasters aren't bad, but I'd take two fans in front pulling in and one exhausting straight up any day over them. The second fan in the front on top pulls air straight over your video card which is nice.


 
Maybe he meant dust. I don't know if those cases have a dust filter, the 300 does though on the front two fans.
 
They don't but the Antec 300 does, 590/690 has better cable management and that is it. Antec 300 is smaller and weights less.

p.s. sorry about the word salad...lol
 
I built a pc with this case before for my friend it was my 2nd time building a computer and i have to say it was so easy to work with its pretty spacious for a mid tower and it has great airflo i liked it a lot and i would recommend it
 
I just built a system using the Antec 300 as well. If you live near a Microcenter, they can be had for $44. It's a really nice case, and the low price makes it that much better!
 
Bummer. The closest microcenter is about an hour and half away...Don't think it's worth the gas money in driving. I'll just pay the extra $15, anyone know how much shipping is on something like this..I live in Los Angeles.
 
The 590 and 690 have dust filters on all fans but the ones on the side, on which the Antec 300 doesn't have dust filters either.

There really is no comparison. CM 590/690 >>>>>>>>> Antec 300.
 
jbz7890 said:
The 590 and 690 have dust filters on all fans but the ones on the side, on which the Antec 300 doesn't have dust filters either.

There really is no comparison. CM 590/690 >>>>>>>>> Antec 300.
Click to expand...

What exactly is your justification for that statement? I agree the CM cases are nice, but for the price the 300 is the best deal out. I built a system for my son with this case and was very impressed. It's also nice and light, so it's a great pick for a system you'll take to a LAN party. The CM cases are heavier. I personally like the look of the 300 better as well. I got my son's case for $40 on sale at Microcenter and have been extremely happy with it.
 
Yeah the airflow design of the coolermasters is nowhere near as good. The two large fans on the side just doesn't make sense to me, heat rises and it's much better to have it shoot straight out the top. The side fan I have pushing air in as well and it hits perfectly on my 4870 intake fan that's facing down, so cool air shoots and and goes straight through the card venting out the back (stock dual slot design). You can put your own filters on fans, but you probably don't want to cut a hole in the top of your case. :p And filters are really only needed for intake fans anyway, so they are basically the same in that regard with both lacking filters on side fans. Also the 300 has a little nook you can tie the cables to on the other side of the drive cages, and that was plenty of management for me. I have another 300 for my Windows Home Server and I have every drive bay filled with a harddrive (6) and those two fans blowing straight across them is perfect.

And then of course you have Antec's signature professional look as a bonus. :) I'd also recommend you pickup three of the antec 120mm fans with the three speed switch. This will give you 5 large fans all with three possible speeds that can be manually set, so no worrying about enough headers on the motherboard or some using regular power and spinning faster, etc.
 
OldPueblo said:
I'd also recommend you pickup three of the antec 120mm fans with the three speed switch. This will give you 5 large fans all with three possible speeds that can be manually set, so no worrying about enough headers on the motherboard or some using regular power and spinning faster, etc.
Click to expand...

Are all of those fans really necessary if I'm not planning on OC'ing? In addition to the 120mm in the front and 140 mm in the top, which come with the case, I was planning on adding a third 120mm on the side. Should I be looking at one of the three speed fans over this:

-Cooling (XIGMATEK HDT-RS1283 Red Scorpion) $33.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233012
 
Red_Star said:
Just a suggestion, but if your looking for quality, i have heard good things about the thermotake lanbox. With a micro motherboard, it should fit..but I dont know about the GTX 260. they are sturdy cases and they are small, if thats what your looking for.
Click to expand...

I don't know if he's looking for a small form factor system. I really like my lanbox but it is kind of a pain to work with. If you don't want small form factor I'd just stick with a tower.

I used an antec 300 in a previous build and I loved it. I bought an extra fan filter and 3 fans, and it kept everything solidly cool.
 
wtburnette said:
What exactly is your justification for that statement? I agree the CM cases are nice, but for the price the 300 is the best deal out. I built a system for my son with this case and was very impressed. It's also nice and light, so it's a great pick for a system you'll take to a LAN party. The CM cases are heavier. I personally like the look of the 300 better as well. I got my son's case for $40 on sale at Microcenter and have been extremely happy with it.
Click to expand...

There are a number of reasons why the CM 590 and 690 are better.

The first is size. Unlike the 300, the CM cases can easily fit a large video card without having to remove the adjacent hard drives.

Second is cable management. The CM cases have cable management holes spread throughout the case, including at the top for the CPU power cable. The 300 doesn't have these holes. Furthermore, the PSU can be mounted with the fan facing downward in the 590/690, making cable management all the more easier.

Third is airflow. I know the Antec 300 and 900 are reputed for their high airflow, but the CM 590 and 690 actually have better airflow. The 590 can support up to 7 120mm fans (assuming you put one in the empty drive bays, which have dust filters) and the 690 can support up to 8 120mm fans (ditto) and 1 80mm fan. Several of these fan mounts can actually support 140mm fans if you need even more airflow.

A couple other things worthy of mention in the CM cases that the 300 does not have:

-Hard Drive sound dampening
-Water cooling holes
-eSata port (on the 690)
-Tool less design for expansion cards, hard drives, and DVD drives (you can always use screws if you prefer)
 
As you can see above there is plenty of room for a large video card, the odds of you having 6 drives in your gaming system are pretty low. :p

Sure cable management might be nicer but the 300 hardly sucks at it and it of course depends on how many cables you have. So it's not much of a deal breaker. You can also mount the PSU with fan facing down in the 300, it's raised up to allow air to get in below.

More fans does not equal better airflow, it has to be fluid movement bring cool air in and running hot air out efficiently, not just blasts of air all over. Bad airflow can actually create heat pockets that just sit in the case. Two fans on the side I can see creating those pockets. All things considered I suppose the cases are pretty equal and it depends on what's important to you. For me air flow is king since I run in a hot office.
 
So are the three fans I have listed (two of which come in the case) good enough if I'm not OC'ing? Also, my CPU comes with a heat sink. Will I need to buy thermal compound, will it come with, or will I not need it at all?
 
You are definetly going to need thermal compound, and whether or not the stuff the CPU comes with is "good enough" is probably debatable. I'd just pick up a tube of Arctic Silver.

As for the Antec 300, I like mine. I think you can find it cheaper elsewhere though. It's got great airflow, and if you don't have 6 HD's in it, you won't have a problem with vid card space. I think you'll want at least one more fan on the side to blow on the vid card, and I'd suggest another on the front, but the suction from the back two fans is probably sufficient at a minimum.

This isn't a build critique thread, but you might want to start one if you haven't, because I'm certain we can crank out more performance per dollar.
 
Even if you don't overclock, keeping everything cool can make them last longer if you are in a room that gets a bit toasty. You can always add fans after the fact though, so no biggie.
 
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1395983 That's the link to the "build critique" thread. As for fans, if you look at radio shacks near you, they have had some thermaltake fans and speed controllers on clearance. I forget exactly what price. Pretty much for low noise and good air flow you are going to want a 120mm fan. I know when I got my new case (the rocketfish/lian li) and it came with the 120 mm I was surprised how much more air it was able to move while spinning more slowly and thus being quieter. I think I've also heard really good things about scythe fans. I could be misremembering though.
 
The antec 300 is a nice case. It's even bigger than the 900. All it doesn't have is a side panel window.
 
So how many of those tricool fans should I be buying and where should they be placed (right now I was thinking one front, one top, one side)? Should I be replacing the ones that came in the case with these tricool fans or just supplementing them?
 
That's the nice part, the two that come with it are already tricool with the three switches. So you only need to buy three. Two in front, one on side. If you did want to replace the top fan for some reason, it's actually larger then 120mm not sure on the exact size.
 
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