Written By:
Date Posted: October 26, 2001

Like I mentioned in my Lian Li PC60 review, ATX case looks are pretty important when you want to turn heads at LAN parties, or for picking up chicks when you're driving around with your case strapped to a Radio Flyer. As much as I loved my elegant Lian Li, I decided that I needed something more imposing. Since it's supposed to be the "Viper Box", I wanted something more menacing.

I was able to pickup an Antec SX1030B SOHO File Server case. I'm not exactly why it's refered to as a "SOHO File Server" case, since I've seen bigger ones for home use, but nevertheless, the 1030B isn't small. It's also one of the nicer coloured cases I've seen in my local shops, though I picked this one up privately. Most black cases I've seen have been marred by poor design, and poor paint quality. Not so with the Antec. It's functional, looks great, and comes configured with decent stock cooling and a 300 Watt power supply. It's a bit expensive, around the 100$ - 125$ price range, but it's a small price to pay for the quality. Also, unlike the more expensive aluminum cases, or most other cases in fact, this one comes with an AMD/Intel P4 approved power supply. Like I said, I picked this one in a private sale. The seller modified the case with two additional side blowholes and a fan control panel. Very nice job I must say.

Specifications

• All Black construction
• Mostly Tool-free
• Lockable doors
• 3 x 80mm fans standard.
• 4 x 5.25" external bays, 2 x 3.5" external bays, 4 x 3.5" internal bays
• 20.6"(H) x 8.1"(W) x 18.6"(D)

A nice feature of the Antec 1030B is it's security. Granted, it won't stop some crook from simply lifting it up and walking away, but the locks will deter your nosy mom from powering up your PC and discovering your pr0n collection. How is this possible? The power button is located behind a swinging door, that's how! Well, front doors are nothing new, but it does server another purpose. Like most coloured cases, a problem is the fact that your various optical drives are likely beige. Now, you can paint them to match, or in the case of the 1030B, you install your devices, and simply close the door and hide them. On the flip side, the door does cause some inconvenience if you have any front mounted USB ports, headphones or any other front cabling, forcing the door to remain open while the computer is in use.

Like the front door, the side panel is also lockable. There are holes to screw the side panel on, like most cases, but I rather enjoy the locking system. If you change parts as often as I do, the swinging side door is a godsend for parts swappers. Just a FYI regarding the side door, you don't have to lock it for it to stay shut. There is a latch that keeps the door in place, so most of the time, I leave the lock unlocked.

Here, you can see the side locking mechanism, as well as the additional side blowholes I had done for me. You can also see in the pictures to the right that there is a lot of room for you to work in. As far as I can tell, the 1030B should be able to accomadate most motherboards. I have an Abit KG7-RAID, which is a bit larger than most ATX boards, and it fit in here quite easily.

Stock cooling is pretty good. You get 3 x 80mm fans, broken down to two intake, one exhaust. Include the power supply and that brings the total to four! There's room for an additional rear exhaust fan and I didn't hesitate to add another.

Update: Seems I was mistaken and by default, it's two exhaust, one intake. Either way, you have room for 2 exhaust and 2 intake.

Need a power supply that's both AMD and P4 approved? The 1030B includes it with the case. The power supply is a healthy 300W, which is more than enough for a couple optical drives, hard drives and a gigahertz+ CPU. Power users will definently want something beefier, but I loaded up this case with a lot of gear, and the power was pretty reliable. The power supply is Antec's "SmartPower" series where it runs more quietly and cooler than competitors. I can't really comment much on the claims of it being cooler, but it certainly is a lot quieter than my generic 300W in my last full tower case. AFAIK, the power supply comes stock, and cannot be ordered without the case. I suppose a smaller "Mom and Pop" store will make an exception.

Antec provides plenty of room inside to satisfy most power users. There are 4 external 5.25" bays available, which would be more than enough for a couple optical drives, and in my case, fan controls and a Live! Drive II.

There are eight drive rails included with the SX1030B. There are plastic rail holders on the bottom of the case to hold unused rails as well. These are one piece rails, and not the two piece ones found in most server racks. Take it from me, the latter are a pain in the ass to setup. These rails supplied by Antec are not nearly as annoying, and say what you want about rails, but they save a lot of time when you need to change a jumper, or redo your external bay setup.

Installation couldn't be any easier. Simply screw them on on either side of your device, and slide it into a free external 5.25" bay. You'll hear a click, which indicates the drive is now locked. To remove it, you press down on the metal tabs and pull it out. Message to anyone giggling....grow up! :P

I just wanted to add that the above picture is just a demo of the rails at work. The drives actually do end up being flush with the case when you install them properly. I was concerned a bit with the Live! Drive II, but the front door does fully shut behind it.

The hard drive bay is a pleasure to work with. Rather than bending your elbow in weird angles to reach into a badly placed hard drive bay, simply flip a latch and remove the bay. The lower bay is meant for the hard drives, and the upper one is for external 3.5" devices. Anyone with fast spinning drives will be happy to see that Antec placed the fan directly into the removable bay. Another handy thing about this feature is if you have a larger than normal motherboard, you can remove the two bays to make more room for yourself.

Final Words

One thing I haven't mentioned was the cooling. As some of you may know, one of the big selling points of the various all aluminum cases is that they run cooler, since the chassis acts like a big heatsink. I compared the system temperatures with the Lian-Li PC60, and it didn't really change much. Antec provides a lot of room for airflow, and so long as you keep your cables tidy, you shouldn't have to worry about overheating.

Some things I liked most about the Antec SX1030B were the various convenience features. Removable 3.5" bays, drive rails, good stock cooling were nice design decisions. Other small details like no sharp edges, roomy interior and an above average power supply make the SX1030B a decent buy. The case is a little more expensive than most generic beige ones, but chicks don't dig 30$-mini towers. I do wish there was a removable motherboard tray though. Although the case is large enough to work in, it's still not as convenient as sliding the motherboard out. Having been used to the light weight of my Lian-Li, this case is a lot heavier and it isn't something I'd like to move from room to room too often. Those were minor problems though, and I must say, I like how it looks!

Antec Inc.:

88%

Pros: Large size, looks cool, solid design, lockable doors, tooless entry, 300W power supply, drive rails.

Cons: Moderate price, heavy, no removable motherboard tray.

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