Antec SX830 Case Review
Now, it's time to assemble a system in it! I chose to
slap in the god-box bundle we reviewed for
Overclockwarehouse.com, along with some of my own goodies which consisted of
the following:

Asus CUSL2 i815 mainboard
Alpha FC-PAL35 Heat sink/Fan
128megs Gen-X-Tech PC150 SDRAM
Hercules Prophet 3D/DDR/DVI Geforce 32meg
Creative Labs Soundblaster Live Value
Adaptec 2930C Ultra SCSI controller
Realtek 8029AS Ethernet card
Maxtor DiamondMax 13.6G UDMA66 IDE HDD
Plextor 8x20 SCSI CD-R Drive
Toshiba 6x/32x DVD Drive
I had previously installed this setup in a Casedge LX374
case that I had modified for a previous article with a plexi sidepanel and
4-80mm fans, which had worked exceedingly well in reducing case temperatures of
the Athlon 500@787 system that was in it at the time of the review. Temperatures
with the components installed in the Antec SX830 were spot on identical to the
modified Casedge case. Kinda made me think I could have avoided the blowholes if
I would have bought the right case the first time. :)
This case has impressed me greatly! It's reasonably
priced (it can be had for a good bit less than the MSRP price), roomy, easy to
assemble, sturdy as a tank, and has thoughtful ventilation design. I would have
liked to see all four fan mounts populated, and I would have liked to have had
the option of having at least 2 fans with 3-pin connectors, for fan monitoring.
I know some of you may be going "a case is a case is a case, c'mon already!" For
those of you looking for a little bit more in a system case than the usual, the
Antec deserves SERIOUS consideration, due to it's useful and thoughtful design
features. For those looking for even more, check out their SX1030 Server Tower.
I hope to be doing a follow up on one of those soon! Kudos Antec!!
Pros:
Sturdy as a TANK. Very heavy steel, solid
construction, and no sharp edges!
Excellent ventilation layout! 4 80mm fans, with easy snap in mounting for easy installation, removal, and CLEANING. (fans get cruddy people) ;)
Includes Antec's highly rated PP303x 300watt power supply.
Latchable and lockable side-panel.
Cons:
Would have liked 4 fans included stock instead of 2.
No fans with 3-pin mainboard headers
Rating:
9/10