Page 2: Interior, Use, Conclusion
Interior:
Other than the position of the power supply, the case is fairly ATX standard. There are already mounting stands for micro ATX cases and an extra three stands are used for full size boards. This shot clearly shows the 9 total drive bays in this case.
The back holds the 120mm Antec exhaust fan. Antec actually includes plenty of cooling with this case so you shouldn't need to install additional fans unless your system is a space heater.
Here is the back area of the drive cages. The middle drive cage also holds the mount to put an addition fan (grill shown with the parts) for directly blowing on the graphics card. Antec knows where heat is being generated and it is nice they thought of these options. Most people shouldn't need to use it, though. The thumbscrews you see are not to the drives themselves. You need to remove them to gain access to the drive cage. This case is not screwless.
There are two drive cages in this case. Each cage holds three drives total. It is done in this arrangement because of the intake fan on the cages. The intake fan on each cage is 120mm. Interestingly, each fan in the entire case has a speed adjustment switch (the white thing dangling on the left). You get low, medium, and high. The highest setting is pretty loud. Medium is probably the setting for everday use. You can cut the noise significantly on low.
The cages slide out from the front of the case which is good. If you have a motherboard mounted, the last thing you want to do is try to get a new hard drive in with other components in the way. With this, you easily mount the drive in the cage and then slide the cage back in. The thumbscrews secure the cage in place. You need regular screws for the drives themselves.
The optical area of the case is pretty standard with no drive cage. The front grills are screwed into the case so you need to unscrew them before attempting to remove them. Each optical drive needs screws to secure it in place.
More screws for the PCI brackets. These brackets are good quality ones that are easily removed and reinstalled. Each bracket has a grill in it for extra airflow.
Use:
Why is the power supply mounted on the bottom of the case? Gravity. All the extra plugs and cables that aren't in use simple stay on the bottom of the case and not hanging all around the CPU and memory area. The only thing you need to worry about is if the cables are long enough to reach the proper places. In fact, the location of the power on headers for the Intel DX38BT was so far away from the top of the case, the cables on the Nine Hundred barely reached.
With the power supply I was using, there was so much cabling I couldn't just stuff into the bottom, but if I moved the drive up on on the ladder, it would all fit. The location of the power supply adds for some unique cabling situations that you need to plan for yourself. The case is very expansive and there is room to do virtually anything you would need.
The case is extremely quiet with all the large fans on it with the medium setting and even quieter if you put all the fans on low. You will suffer on airflow, but you gain near silence. An interesting trade-off if your system can handle it. The highest settings gets fairly loud but pumps a huge amount of air.
Conclusion:
The Antec Nine Hundred retails for about $85. This is an excellent price for an excellent case. Antec is a well known computer hardware manufacture and this case certainly extends the brand. Pair this with an Antec power supply and your build is in good hands. I highly recommend buying this case for your next computer build.
Other than the position of the power supply, the case is fairly ATX standard. There are already mounting stands for micro ATX cases and an extra three stands are used for full size boards. This shot clearly shows the 9 total drive bays in this case.
The back holds the 120mm Antec exhaust fan. Antec actually includes plenty of cooling with this case so you shouldn't need to install additional fans unless your system is a space heater.
Here is the back area of the drive cages. The middle drive cage also holds the mount to put an addition fan (grill shown with the parts) for directly blowing on the graphics card. Antec knows where heat is being generated and it is nice they thought of these options. Most people shouldn't need to use it, though. The thumbscrews you see are not to the drives themselves. You need to remove them to gain access to the drive cage. This case is not screwless.
There are two drive cages in this case. Each cage holds three drives total. It is done in this arrangement because of the intake fan on the cages. The intake fan on each cage is 120mm. Interestingly, each fan in the entire case has a speed adjustment switch (the white thing dangling on the left). You get low, medium, and high. The highest setting is pretty loud. Medium is probably the setting for everday use. You can cut the noise significantly on low.
The cages slide out from the front of the case which is good. If you have a motherboard mounted, the last thing you want to do is try to get a new hard drive in with other components in the way. With this, you easily mount the drive in the cage and then slide the cage back in. The thumbscrews secure the cage in place. You need regular screws for the drives themselves.
The optical area of the case is pretty standard with no drive cage. The front grills are screwed into the case so you need to unscrew them before attempting to remove them. Each optical drive needs screws to secure it in place.
More screws for the PCI brackets. These brackets are good quality ones that are easily removed and reinstalled. Each bracket has a grill in it for extra airflow.
Use:
Why is the power supply mounted on the bottom of the case? Gravity. All the extra plugs and cables that aren't in use simple stay on the bottom of the case and not hanging all around the CPU and memory area. The only thing you need to worry about is if the cables are long enough to reach the proper places. In fact, the location of the power on headers for the Intel DX38BT was so far away from the top of the case, the cables on the Nine Hundred barely reached.
With the power supply I was using, there was so much cabling I couldn't just stuff into the bottom, but if I moved the drive up on on the ladder, it would all fit. The location of the power supply adds for some unique cabling situations that you need to plan for yourself. The case is very expansive and there is room to do virtually anything you would need.
The case is extremely quiet with all the large fans on it with the medium setting and even quieter if you put all the fans on low. You will suffer on airflow, but you gain near silence. An interesting trade-off if your system can handle it. The highest settings gets fairly loud but pumps a huge amount of air.
Conclusion:
The Antec Nine Hundred retails for about $85. This is an excellent price for an excellent case. Antec is a well known computer hardware manufacture and this case certainly extends the brand. Pair this with an Antec power supply and your build is in good hands. I highly recommend buying this case for your next computer build.