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
Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked
Where I think the Antec GX700 is going to come out being a big winner is where old school enthusiasts will want to see it: the overclocked testbed. Remember that for a long time, overclocking wasn't about pushing the top end higher, it was about pushing the bottom end to the top and saving some coin in the process. Under those circumstances, spending $150 on a case is ridiculous if a $60 case can do the job.
With the GX700, I believe it can.
Thermals continue to be very competitive at either fan setting, with the high fan setting allowing the GX700 to hang with some of the best. Only Antec's Eleven Hundred can really do much better.
Fan speeds again remain very competitive.
As do noise levels, remarkably. It's only here that the silent cases can pull ahead at all, but Nanoxia's Deep Silence 1 does have to sacrifice some thermal performance to get here, and the Corsair Obsidian 550D runs hot. Note also that both of these cases are at least twice as expensive as the GX700, though they're also better built and more feature rich in their own rights.
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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.