Antec ONE Case Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging & Bundle3. Antec ONE: Exterior4. Antec ONE: Interior5. System Installation6. Testing Methodology and Thermal Performance7. Acoustic Performance8. Closing Thoughts9. View All Pages

The entry-level case of Antec's gaming series line-up looks to offer an alluring amount of performance at a very modest price tag. Can the ONE dominate at a price point where its sibling – the Three Hundred – once reigned supreme?

In terms of size, the ONE can be considered a compact mid-tower. It possesses 5x 3.5″ hard drive slots, 2x 2.5″ SSD mounts and 3x 5.25″ bays. Front panel USB 3.0 ports and a cable management system are worthwhile additions for a value-oriented case.

Sitting at the bottom of Antec's gaming case hierarchy, can the mid-tower ONE punch above its weight and earn a prestigious KitGuru award?

Specifications:

• Motherboard support: ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX.
• Expansion slots: 7.
• Included fans: 2x 120mm exhaust fans (rear & roof).
• Fan mounts: 4x 120mm and 1x 120/140mm.
• 5.25″ drive bays: 3 (tool-less).
• Internal drive bays: 5x 3.5″ (tool-less) and 2x 2.5″.
• Dimensions: 463 mm (H) x 241 mm (W) x 530 mm (D)

A basic brown box features an image of the case, its name and USB 3.0 support outlined on the front.

In-depth specifications and a breakdown of the ONE's design are located on the box's rear.

Mounting screws, 10 3.5″ hard drive clips, 2 zip ties, a USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 converter and the product overview form the ONE's bundle.

The product overview sheet outlines some of the case's key features. It provides no installation assistance whatsoever. If installation directions are desired, Antec forces you to download the manual from its website. This is a bad decision because it opens up the requirement of access to a separate computer at the time of building.

An attractive appearance is created by the ONE's sleek black side panel. Installation of a 120mm fan is possible thanks to a protrusion of around 10mm coupled with intelligent positioning of the mount.

Mirroring the left side panel, with the exception of a fan mount, the right side's 10mm bulge will have a positive impact on cable management.

Consisting of 2x USB 3.0 ports, audio jacks, indicator LEDs and power and reset buttons, the front panel is exactly what you would expect for a modern, value-oriented case.

Perforation of the front panel allows air to easily enter the chassis.

Break-out IO panel and PCI shields expose the corners that have been cut for this case to reach its intended price point.

Two pleasing factors are the inclusions of a vented area and water-cooling grommets.

Mounted in the top panel area, a 120mm fan will help improve cooling around the CPU area. Lacking any type of filter, this perforated slot will contribute largely to dust entering the system.

Four feet raise the ONE above the floor allowing air to enter the power supply. Omitting a dust filter from the bottom 120/140mm mount wasn't a good idea by Antec. If a fan is installed in this position, the system will very quickly clog up with dust and dirt.

Given the value-oriented status of this case, a black painted interior is pleasantly surprising. Three moderately-sized holes should provide some assistance when carrying out cable management.

A tool-less mechanism secures 5.25″ devices into position.

Cooling is provided by a pair of 120mm Antec fans. The fans draw power from a 3-pin header.

4 rubber insulators reduce the severity of noise-causing vibrations escaping the power supply. Cables can be routed through a strategically-positioned hole adjacent to the power supply area.

Simple CPU cooler installation is made possible thanks to a large cut-out.

Routing cables behind the motherboard tray is going to be tricky due to limited clearance of barely 7mm.

Hard drive installation is a quick and easy task; only the right side panel needs to be removed.

A 120mm intake fan can be installed behind the front panel. Unfortunately, this mount doesn't feature any type of dust-filtering method.

I/O ports are connected directly to the front panel itself. This will make cable management more difficult, while also causing an inconvenience if you have to remove the front panel.

A pair of rails attaches to a 3.5″ hard drive's side, forming the tool-less mechanism. The connection isn't secure until the drive is installed into its 3.5″ bay.

2.5″ drives can be installed on the 3.5″ drive bay's floor and roof. For a floor mount, the drive is secured from underneath by 4 screws. This makes it a potentially difficult procedure when the case is fully laden.

Fitting our large ATX hardware into the ONE was a challenge at times. Connecting the cables in such a confined space was the main contribution to the procedure's difficulty.

Graphics cards up to 266mm in length can be installed in the ONE. That figure will be reduced if your card uses forward-mounted power connectors; the HDD cage will cause interference.

Our 159mm-tall Prolimatech Megahalems CPU cooler was able to fit easily inside the ONE. Antec states CPU cooler clearance as 155mm, but the bulged side panel extends this figure to between 160 and 165mm.

With a case of this size being used alongside a non-modular power supply, cable management never was going to be straightforward. A lot of time and patience is required to make the build even remotely neat. While the end result certainly isn't overwhelming, it should serve its purpose of reducing the amount of blocked air.

The exclusion of a hole to route the CPU power cable is disappointing.

Finding a place to store the power supply's wires wasn't easy. Stuffed inside the 3.5″ HDD bay, a front intake fan's airflow will certainly be impeded by the mountain of cables. Unfortunately, this is a compromise that has to be made when using a non-modular power supply.

I would highly recommend a modular power supply or low-power unit with a minimalistic amount of cables for use with this case.

Complimented by the front panel's style, a 5.25″ drive fits perfectly in the ONE's effective tool-less mechanism.

Cables can be viewed through the front panel's slim material due to the absence of an intake fan.

Replacing the side panel was a task made almost impossible by our power supplies fat 24-pin cable. Antec should have designed the rear space with a few extra millimetres of clearance to elude such easily-avoidable issues.

To put this case through its cooling paces we will be using an enthusiast-grade test system comprised of an Intel Core i7 2600K, Radeon HD 4870 and multiple storage drives. This system allows us to produce a substantial amount of heat and effectively test the Antec ONE's cooling capabilities.

For stress testing we use a mixture of Prime95 and MSI Kombustor to create the maximum heat output. Prime95′s ‘Small FFTs’ setting allows us to stress our CPU. MSI Kombustor’s ‘GPU Burn-in’ mode creates the maximum amount of load our GPU is ever likely to see.

Test System:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 2600k.
• Motherboard: MSI P67A-GD65 (B3).
• Cooler: Prolimatech Megahalems CPU cooler with 2x Noctua NF-F12 fans in push/pull configuration.
• Memory: 8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3 1333MHz.
• Graphics card: Radeon HD 4870 1GB with Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo Pro.
• Power supply: Corsair TX650.
• Storage drives: 128GB Kingston V100 (OS), 1TB Samsung F3, 320GB Seagate 7200.12.
• OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.

Thermal Performance Test Procedures:

• The case’s default fan configuration is used to give an accurate interpretation of the out-of-the-box performance.
• The Antec ONE's default fan configuration is 2x 120mm exhaust fans.
• The fans are operating at full speed.
• We allow the system to idle for 15 minutes and record the stable temperatures.
• We allow the system to operate under extreme stress for 15 minutes and record the stable temperatures.

The Antec ONE′s default cooling configuration of 2x 120mm exhaust fans was used. Room temperature was maintained at 24.5°C.

Sufficient temperatures are achieved by the 2x 120mm exhaust fans. Hard drive temperatures began to suffer when there was more hot air circulating inside the system.

I would recommend purchasing an intake fan so that a more balanced cooling configuration can be achieved.

Acoustic Performance Test Procedures:

• We placed our Digital Sound Level Meter one metre away from the front of the case.
• Only the case fans and our power supply are active to accurately isolate the acoustic performance of the case fans.
• The case fans are set to maximum speed (connected to the 12V molex connectors of our PSU).
• The Antec ONE's default fan configuration is 2x 120mm exhaust fans.

Please refer to our KitGuru noise guide for a comparison between the noise levels of this case and everyday scenarios.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

Quiet operation isn't the main aspect of Antec's pair of 120mm fans. A noise level of above 40 dBa isn't particularly quiet, but it isn't frustratingly high either.

The Antec ONE targets a user base who demand a quality design, but with a limited budget. The chassis delivers a wealth of strong features at an alluring price point.

Angular styling of the chassis' exterior creates an attractive style when coupled with the sleek black colour. Continuing to the case's interior, the black finish allows a good-looking system to be easily created. The mesh front panel's subtle appearance should also satisfy a wide user base.

The pair of 120mm exhaust fans is able to extract heat produced by enthusiast-grade hardware such as an Intel Core i7 2600K and power-hungry graphics card.

A further 3 fan mounts give users the flexibility to improve cooling performance as they wish. Disappointingly, none of the fan mounts feature any type of dust-filtering mechanism. Cleaning your system is definitely going to become a regular chore.

Expansion is a strong point for the ONE. It is able to house 5x 3.5″ hard drives using the effective tool-less mechanism. A pair of 2.5″ drives can be mounted via the old, 4 screws method. 3x 5.25″ devices can be easily installed and held in place using an efficient tool-less technique.

Component clearance is a point where the Antec ONE excels. 266mm of graphics card clearance means that a powerful gaming system can be built within this case without a problem. The ability to house high-end, 160mm-tall CPU coolers creates the possibility for a heavily overclocked system to be based around the ONE.

Cable management is not a strong suite for Antec's ONE. A price-conscious case which includes cable management holes and numerous tie-down points is a positive factor for the model. On the other hand, an insufficient amount of clearance is provided behind the motherboard tray meaning that certain cables have to bypass their intended routes.

Priced at £40.74 and bottom of the line in Antec's prestigious gaming series, the ONE is able to offer sufficient cooling performance and good expansion options. If you are searching for a low-priced USB 3.0 case with the ability to house many storage drives, a pair of SSDs, large hardware and 5 fans, Antec's ONE is a very worthy choice.

Pros:

• Attractive style.
• USB 3.0 support.
• 5x fan mounts.
• 2x 120mm fans included.
• Good component clearance.
• Plenty of drive bays.
• Secure tool-less 5.25″ and 3.5″ installation methods.

Cons:

• Limited cable management.
• Fan mounts aren't dust-filtered.
• No installation guide included.

KitGuru says: A praiseworthy chassis which punches above its weight… or  price tag.

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