Antec Fusion HTPC Shootout
by Christoph Katzer on October 9, 2008 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Antec Fusion Remote Black
- Aluminum plate front bezel with LCD, built-in IR receiver, and volume control to work with media center applications
- Windows MCE and Vista compatible IR receiver
- Triple chamber structure to separate heat and noise of power supply, hard drives, and motherboard for cooler and quieter operation
- Removable HDD brackets with extra soft silicone grommets to reduce vibration noise
- Advanced cooling system
- 2x side mounted 120mm TriCool 3-speed fans
- Low profile desktop height to fit in any environment
- 3 drive bays
- Front Accessible: 1x 5.25"
- Internal: 2x 3.5"
- Front Accessible: 1x 5.25"
- 4 expansion slots
- Motherboard: Micro ATX form factor (9.6"x9.6")
- Front-mounted ports for easy multimedia connections
- 2x USB 2.0
- 1x IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
- Audio In and Out
- 2x USB 2.0
- Durable 0.8mm cold rolled steel construction
- Dimensions: 5.5"(H) x 17.5" (W) x 16.3" (D)
- Net Weight: 18.7lbs / 8.5kg
- Gross Weight: 21.6lbs / 9.8kg
The second chassis is the Antec Fusion Remote Black, which also comes with an aluminum front bezel -- this time anodized in black. The height of 140mm is a little more than the Micro Fusion, which allows Antec to install two 120mm fans next to the CPU. The front looks similar to the Micro Fusion, with the only noteworthy difference being that the VFD and the optical drive cover are above one another rather than next to each other. You still get the same number of ports on the front.
Looking at the other sites, the left side is slightly perforated so that the power supply can get some fresh air. Since this case doesn't come with a power supply, Antec didn't try to get too fancy; this case will most likely work best with a PSU that has a 120mm fan on top or an 80mm fan at the front. Another change from the Micro Fusion is that users will be able to install full height expansion cards.
Opening the chassis reveals a very different inside compared to the previous model. The optical drive is on the left side (looking from the front) together with the VFD. The power supply sits behind the optical drive, and there's a limited amount of length -- not that we expect anyone to try and install something like a PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 1200W in this sort of system. The hard drives have their own little compartment at the front of the case, separated from the motherboard by a metal wall. The two large 120mm fans are on the right side and will pull quite a bit of air through the case; a lot of this air will come through the ventilation slots underneath the hard drives, thus helping to keep them cool. Antec includes an easy mounting mechanism for the hard drives; remove the top plate and then just slide the drives in. The included rubber pads on special screws hold all of the drives in place.
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joeythecat - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
More comments.I have the silver Fusion which comes with a VFD instead of the LCD, and contrast looks much better. But like you said, driver support is horrible and my VFD consistently freezes or displays garbage, and I have to actually unplug the power cable to reset it, just rebooting the PC doesn't do it.
And yes the IR receiver sucks. Although one nice feature is that it works with the MS MCE remote. But its easy enough to disable the IR from the software and not have to deal with it.
Overall, I'm fairly happy with the case, but I wish I got the one WITHOUT the built in VFD so that I can put in a card reader instead.
jajig - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
Expanding on a couple of your comments with my thoughts:1) I have the same case and agree that iMon LCD is of poor quality. I wouldn't say it is as bad as you make out though. The contrast is adjustable; it took me about 10 minutes, but the display looks nice now.
2)ir receiver is useless. For some people it is too sensitive and gets interference from other remote controls and for others it just doesn't seem to work.
SirKronan - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
AGAIN Antec misses a HUGE feature that should be included or at least a possibility! There's nothing more convenient than pulling that card out of your SLR and immediately being able to display your high resolution photos on your big screen after a trip. Antec again fails to even provide a SLOT for such a device. Only one 5.25 bay.The 120mm fans and superior design are wins, and I would love to have one of these, especially the Fusion, as part of my home theater, but I don't want to have to plug in my camera or use an external card reader. More sleek and simple is always preferred in home theater setups. Not everybody needs a card reader in their HTPC, but it's still a PC and a logical place for a convenient card reader.
It doesn't have to even be visible. Cover it by a flap or put it on the side, as I have seen some cases do. All that space on the front, the MAX even has a flap, and still no option.
/rant
puddnhead - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
"Huge?" you're kidding, right? They put the standard interface USB ports right on the front. Every media format in the world has a USB reader available for it like $3. I have this case, and I have two cameras, one xD and one SDHC. maybe i just have more manual dexterity than you but I have no problem plugging either of these into a converter & that into the USB.In fact, thank god they just put the USBs on here, instead of some ugly "11-in-1" set of ports for SD, xD, miscroSD, miniSD, CF, blah, blah, blah. I want this to look nice and sleek in my living room, not like some kind of crappy computer with plug sockets all over it that looks like it belongs in an office.
RMSe17 - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
More manual dexterity? How about more childish behavior? The user makes a constructive criticism of the case, and what do you do? Regardless of your view on his opinion, how about acting civil?SirKronan - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
Maybe you don't want that feature, but I think a card reader dangling off the front of my home theater equipment, or a USB adapter sitting out a port is ugly, and inconvenient for something we use all the time. And like I said, it doesn't have to be visible. I've seen cases put it under a flap or even on the side.My wife likes to be able to bring the SLR home and stick the card right in the front without attaching anything, and I finally found a case that has them integrated. It still looks dang nice (1/4 inch black aluminum front bezel) and the card readers aren't an eyesore at all, as they are completely black, too. This is a convenience that we wanted, but that doesn't mean everyone does. I know another friend of mine returned his Fusion because of this, and I bought something else because of this feature. I wouldn't mind having at least an option to install one, either. Several Silverstone cases have a 3.5 inch external bay hidden behind a flap.
Oh well. To each his/her own.
strikeback03 - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
I was going to post the same thing you did. I can see not including a card reader on the Micro model, but especially the largest case with the door should have a card reader behind it. Using a USB card reader is a lot more of a hassle and looks far more out of place than a reader integrated into the system.Now I generally wouldn't use this with my SLRs as I shoot all RAW and process, but for family pictures and such would be useful.
SirKronan - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
Yeah, I shoot in RAW for jobs I do for clients, too, but I use the same camera for family stuff too. (some day I'll be able to afford a second body!!) a It's nice to just stick the card right in and sit down with the family to view photos from a trip or a day at the park. My wife takes pictures at all her country concerts, too, and she loves being able to just slap it into the card reader and do a slideshow right on our TV. From there she can instantly burn the images onto a DVD, too. Card readers are much faster than plugging in the camera (up to 15MB/sec on reader vs. 5MB/sec plugging in camera). And Vista (with a free patch) gives you native raw support to at least preview images.ceefka - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
In that case (no pun intended) I suggest you buy a USB adapter stick that can accept whatever card is in your camera and keep that USB adapter close to your HTPC.Windblazer3 - Sunday, July 11, 2010 - link
I'm looking at buying the Antec Fusion Remote Black case, and I noticed that you said a PSU with an "80 mm fan at the front" would work well with this case.I really want to get a quiet, efficient PSU in the 550-650 Watt range, and I was looking at the Antec Signature 650 that you reviewed here (http://www.anandtech.com/show/2632/2), where the 80 mm fan is located at the BACK. Is that PSU not really compatible with this case, then?
I was also looking at the Corsair VX550W PSU (however, that one seems to run a bit louder in the ranges I'm likely going to load my system) and the Seasonic X-650 PSU.