Antec GX700 Case Review: Just What You Can Get For $59.99
by Dustin Sklavos on January 17, 2013 10:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Antec
- ATX
Introducing the Antec GX700
Most manufacturers are quicker and happier to show us their medium-to-high end cases, but for a lot of users the case is admittedly a steel box they put their computer into. While I personally advocate spending up a bit and getting a quality case, the enthusiast looking to maximize the distance their dollar can go may not be willing to shell out for something big and fancy. For those users, there are cases like the Antec GX700.
When I saw it on display at CES, I was surprised at the incredibly low $59.99 price tag. Now that I've had it in house for testing and review, I see more of how they got there. This isn't necessarily a good or bad thing, but simply a fact of life when you're buying budget. Still, a case at this price point featuring a pair of 140mm fans, a single 120mm fan, a fan controller, and support for increasingly common 240mm radiators? There has to be a catch, right? As it turns out there are a couple of small ones, but not the ones you'd think.
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That's what a review and in depth analysis is for, but the Antec GX700 is interesting if for no other reason than to just see the approach Antec took towards serving this market segment. The GX700 was one of the cases that impressed me at CES this year because of the integrated fan controller, and that's something I think we're going to see more and more of at these low price points in the future. That's a good thing, too, because it simply and cheaply allows end users to decide if they want to skew more towards acoustics or performance instead of having to find some nebulous halfway point to satisfy both.
| Antec GX700 Specifications | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 3x 5.25" |
| Internal | 5x 2.5"/3.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | 2x 120mm fan mount |
| Rear | 1x 120mm exhaust fan | |
| Top | 2x 140mm exhaust fan (supports 2x120mm) | |
| Side | 1x 120mm fan mount | |
| Bottom | - | |
| Expansion Slots | 7 | |
| I/O Port | 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 1x Headphone, 1x Mic | |
| Power Supply Size | ATX | |
| Clearances | HSF | 160mm |
| PSU | 200mm | |
| GPU | 290mm | |
| Dimensions |
19.7" x 7.9" x 17.7" 500mm x 200mm x 450mm |
|
| Weight | 13.8 lbs. (6.26 kg) | |
| Special Features |
USB 3.0 via internal header Two-speed, four channel fan controller Support for 240mm radiators |
|
| Price | $59 | |
As you can see, the GX700 has a pretty healthy amount of cooling capacity. Antec continues to lean on negative air pressure cooling designs, but to be fair, that hasn't really set them back. Positive pressure is generally better in terms of keeping dust out of the enclosure, but the Eleven Hundred's stellar performance proves negative pressure can work just as well.
What's mostly impressive is just eyeballing the spec sheet and then seeing the price. The GX700 isn't readily available yet, but if Antec really does hit $59, the other vendors may wind up having to at least take notice.
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headbox - Thursday, January 17, 2013 - link
The catch: uglier than Hillary Clinton in a thong.It's 2013. So much more can be done with plastic than this. When it comes down to it, "how it looks" is one of the main factors in choosing a case.
The Von Matrices - Thursday, January 17, 2013 - link
I haven't yet seen a case that pulls off a military/camo theme. I wish manufacturers would just stick to solid colors.StevoLincolnite - Friday, January 18, 2013 - link
I personally think the Corsair C70 gets close to the military theme.But they could do a bit more like release a digital camo or multicam version, lots of enthusiasts would eat it up as they don't have to pull out the spray cans.
Oh and a decent Corsair PSU and fan controller that matches the theme/colours would be perfect, we already Gold Corsair Vengeance memory and the Asus Sabertooth motherboards that match colour wise.
ac2 - Friday, January 18, 2013 - link
Don't worry, you don't need to sleep with it...Want to change my el cheapo case, but for ME this one won't work... Kid managed to spill a glass of water over existing case, luckily it doesn't have a top vent so all is well...
Now which good case can I get that doesn't have a top vent I wonder... Most of the good Antec, Corsair and Bitfenix ones seem to be ruled out...
Samus - Friday, January 18, 2013 - link
I don't want to lock it in the cellar like some retarded offspring, either. You need to live with these things. I look at my case every day, and I'm glad its a silverstone. Not everyone can have a 10, though. But everyone should have at least a 6 or 7, and for $50, you can. It just isn't this.ShieTar - Friday, January 18, 2013 - link
Bitfenix have the Merc Beta, and Antec has the whole "New Solution" line without any top vents. Prices are similar to the 60$ price point too.Blibbax - Friday, January 18, 2013 - link
Fractal Core 1000?infoilrator - Saturday, January 19, 2013 - link
Fractal Core 1000 is good for what it is, a cheap mATX case, but it does have compromises. Not in love with verticle HHD mounts, among others.Wonder why Lian Li doesn't get mentioned (price probably).
danjw - Friday, January 18, 2013 - link
Put it on top of the desk. Top vents are very common in cases these days; You will have trouble finding one that doesn't have on. I actually think Antec hit a home run. It is light, so easy to move around. It hits a very low price point. I couldn't care less about front audio headers; I prefer USB headsets for voice and speakers for everything else. I am more concerned with functionality then I am with looks. This case gets the job done, just don't go kicking or hitting it. As light as it is, it shouldn't be a problem to carry in a way that doesn't do it harm.I currently have a P180 case, and it is hell to work in. I just swapped a Core2Quad for a new Ivy Bridge Z77 system. I had scrapped up both my hands pretty good just getting the thing put together. I hated working in the case; I wouldn't mind babying a case a bit, if I didn't have to deal with the wiring hell I had with the P180. Sure, it doesn't have the sound dampening of the P180, but I usually am playing music, so it doesn't matter.
bigboxes - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
Yeah, but Antec made improvements in all that you say with the P180b, P182 and P183.