Antec 300 Three Hundred

[Savas]

Hello

I think I've settled on two preferred cases. Antec 300 Three Hundred or Lian Li PC-9F. Need help deciding on which one. Should I splash out and get the Lian Li which is around £100 or Antec which is £50?

For the price it's quite perfect for my preferences. Quite an excellent case. One minor issue I have with it is it's lack of anti-vibration on the hdd trays. Is it possible to manually add anti-vibration screws onto it? Anyone who owns one can maybe shed light on this question?

Is there any other cons you can find with it?

 

[diverse180]

Hey Savas

As much as I like the Antec 300 (I have one myself) I probably wouldn't spend £50 on one now as I'm sure there are better cases, with more features, out there for a similar price...although they may not look as nice as the 300 (I paid £30 for mine when they were first released btw )

The HDD bays on the 300 are an issue as they are quite tight when sliding in your drives (there's no room for rubber spacers etc) and so HDD noise is quite audible (seek noise especially).

It's an issue that really bugged the **** out of me after a while and so I ended up bungee mounting my drive in the optical drive bay.

The lack of cable management holes and the lack of a PSU floor vent are also cons...although I solved these problems by modding the case (i.e cutting them out myself).
If it came with these mods as standard then perhaps it would be worth the cost, but as it is I'd opt for another case.

edit: Ouch...since when did OcUK start charging £70 inc for the 300!?

 

[Muel]

The 300 is an ideal beginner modder case. I've done a few to mine. Removed HDD bays and suspended HDDs in optical bays etc. Chop some holes for cables and they can look really neat.

If you want to mod, go for it. If not then I'd splash out and head higher, Haf X etc.

 

[Savas]

Thanks for your responses guys.

That's the thing diverse180, look matters and that's probably why I'm preferring it. Also most other cases have extra stuff that I don't really want, or need.

With the Hdd trays, I could opt for a SSD for my main OS and that would mean no need for any anti-vibration stuff. But that would also mean my HDD's are left out. You're kind of right, those cons seem like it's best to keep looking. That's where the Lian Li PC-9F comes in, but I can't seem to find anywhere in stock even.

Muel, that pretty good. But I don't think I want to cut my case right from the box, I might as well find something just right. When I saw that in the gallery, I assumed it was the actual case.

 

[PapaLazaru]

Just an idea Savas, but I used to have a 300 and like you, I liked the simple clean lines of the case. When i decided to get a new one I took a while to find one but settled on the Coolermaster CM-690 II.

You may not need all the extra stuff it comes with so a cheaper alternative that might take your fancy is the lite version - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-212-CM&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

It looks like the 300 apart from it is slightly rounder at the top and has a couple of silver strips running down the front. It is still a very simple clean looking design.

 

[diverse180]

Have you considered or taken a look at the Fractal Design cases, Savas?...such as the Define R3?

They look quite sleek and simple and get pretty good reviews too.

There doesn't seem to be any in stock either at the moment though, although a few places are suggesting they'll have them in stock in a few days.

Maybe worth a look?

 

[Savas]

Thanks PapaLazaru. The inside and the outside of the Coolermaster CM-690 II is near perfect apart from the unnecessary external dock on the top of the case. I believe the lite version doesn't include that? Also it's too ventilated that the sound and dust is/was a concern for me.

Hey diverse180. Yeah I took a look at that and I think what stopped me from completely going with it was the door (don't really want a door) and also the possible shaky HDD trays. (Saw it on a review, not sure if it's correct).