Antec Nine Hundred Two: Second Generation Gamer Case
by Christoph Katzer on February 13, 2009 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Conclusion
The Nine Hundred Two doesn't come with many features to really separate it from other offerings, but it's still a good design overall. You get a conservative yet attractive design, with an all-black interior and exterior. Performance is very good, especially in terms of ambient and hard drive temperatures on high-end systems. CPU and GPU cooling is also good, but not at the top of the charts.
Installing our system was generally straightforward, although we ran into problems with our choice of graphics card and the hard drive cages. You will want to carefully consider what sort of components you plan on utilizing before purchasing this case; we definitely don't recommend it for anyone using longer graphics cards.
One feature that we definitely liked with the ability to control fan speeds of all of the fans from the case exterior. That makes it very easy to utilize this case to increase fan speeds when you plan on playing a game that will stress the system more, but you can turn fan speeds back down when you're finished.
At present, only one version of this case is available, and that version includes a windowed side panel. Current prices start at around $140 -- $160 at Newegg. European users just began receiving the first shipments last week, with prices starting at €105 and averaging €115. Given the newness of this case, however, we expect to see prices drop somewhat before production and supply stabilize.
What's the bottom line? The Antec Nine Hundred Two is an attractive case with a relatively conservative design, and it turns in a rather good performance. Our only real reservation right now concerns pricing, but we expect that to change soon enough. As prices continue to drop, we definitely recommend keeping an eye on the Antec Nine Hundred Two; with the right rebate, we'd have no hesitation in recommending this case for just over $100.
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7Enigma - Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - link
Circular swirling of hot air stuck inside the case? Doesn't make a lot of sense with the huge 200mm exhaust fan at the top but I guess anything is possible when you cram 3 large graphics cards and multiple HD/opticals in there. I did a double take when I saw the open case shot with everything installed. It looked like a mini-ATX!!!Christoph Katzer - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Nope,volgagerman - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Any chance we'll see a review of the Cooler Master HAF932 on this site? It seems to offer the best possible cooling at the moment, if you can get past the military data center look. Just curious as to how it would compare with the rest of your current lineup from a temp/acoustic perspective.sonci - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Not surprised that is a good cooling case, tons of fans without dust filters, certainly not for my living room..Zak - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
I'm actually running an older CM Stacker with lots of fans and no filters and due to large positive pressure very little dust accumulates inside. It can be done. Z.7Enigma - Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - link
Does....Not....Compute....Unless you have a filter on the intake fan(s), there is no way you are not accumulating dust inside unless that is a jet engine on the intake side that prevents any dust from settling. I'll agree if you have adequate positive pressure on a FILTERED intake you will see very little dust in the system. But if you are telling me you have zero filtration, I just don't see it being possible unless you're in a cleanroom.
fri2219 - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Kind of defeats the purpose of the fans.I guess they surmised that if you put enough plastic windows and blinking lights on it, you'd be able to sell a bowl of tapeworms to you average WoWTard.
Bonesdad - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
I think it's pretty hideous...MamiyaOtaru - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Looks better than the original 900 IMHO. That slanted front was hideous. I don't mind this one at all, though I wish the pastic accents would go.Nfarce - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I suppose. I think it's pretty cool looking. Apparently the "in" thing right now for cases is military stealth-type design with angular references. Kinda like something you'd see in a futuristic Sci-Fi flick.