Antec Nine Hundred

Antec has been making cases for as long as enthusiasts have been around to stick highly over-powered computer kit in them. The company has traditionally stuck to steel behemoth cases, even though others in the space have moved to aluminium and small form factor machines.

The Nine Hundred is Antec's latest attempt at making the finest gamer case on the planet. It certainly has distinctive looks, and differs quite substantially from the previous design ethos that governed Antec's line of cases - but can it live up to the billing?

The case obviously has a steely, matt black colour to it. The front is made up of a series of mesh-like drive bay covers, whilst the top is totally dominated by a massive 200mm fan. The design is unexciting, if a little futuristic. There's a recessed section on the top for keeping your keys, or USB sticks, or whatever.

The top of the case has a couple of USB 2.0 ports, 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks along with a Firewire port. It's obviously designed to be positioned on the floor, with the reset and power buttons on top. The finish to these ports is solid. You can see here the gigantic fan, which is covered in a honeycomb-style mesh. In practice, this is power-limited to spin slowly, making for some good cooling with the minimum of noise.