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
Testing Methodology
For testing Micro-ATX and full ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-2700K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 4.3GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 |
| Graphics Card |
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DCII TOP (tested at stock speed and overclocked to 1GHz/overvolted to 1.13V) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Plus 750W 80 Plus Silver |
Each case is tested in a stock configuration and an overclocked configuration that generates substantially more heat (and thus may produce more noise). The system is powered on and left idle for fifteen minutes, the thermal and acoustic results recorded, and then stressed by running seven threads in Prime95 (in-place large FFTs) on the CPU and OC Scanner (maximum load) on the GPU. At the end of fiteen minutes, thermal and acoustic results are recorded. This is done for the stock settings and for the overclock, and if the enclosure has a fan controller, these tests are repeated for each setting. Ambient temperature is also measured after the fifteen idle minutes but before the stress test and used to calculate the final reported results.
Thank You!
Before moving on, we'd like to thank the following vendors for providing us with the hardware used in our testbed.
- Thank you to Puget Systems for providing us with the Intel Core i7-2700K.
- Thank you to Gigabyte for providing us with the GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 motherboard.
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory.
- Thank you to Cooler Master for providing us with the Hyper 212 Evo heatsink and fan unit.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
33 Comments
View All Comments
infoilrator - Saturday, January 19, 2013 - link
Blocking off top fan holes is easy. Cutting boards, toaster oven bake pans, wood, or that imitation graphite sheet appliqué. With a couple standoffs a fan guard that allows air flow and on top stacking works.Trouble is I do not see a reason to choose this over other cases.
ac2 - Sunday, January 20, 2013 - link
Thanks for the suggestions folks...dingetje - Friday, January 18, 2013 - link
yeah but for the right money i'd still give hilary what she wantsEzioAs - Thursday, January 17, 2013 - link
I'm somewhat surprised by the cooling and acoustic performance, it kinda reminds me of the Eleven Hundred. Really didn't figure this case could compete with more expensive cases on the market. I suppose looks are an acquired taste and the short front audio header could be an issue (really hope they fixed this one) but performance is where it counts in my mind and to be honest, for $60, people buying this thing really shouldn't expect much except that they've got excellent cooling and low noise.The only true drawback in my opinion is the small GPU clearance that could present as an issue to some longer HD7970 (reference could fit, no problem). There's also no removable hard drive cage. Although people having a $400+ card should really look into more expensive cases as well.
The four 5.25" bays are still silly though. When are manufacturers going to realize that?
Robert in Calgary - Thursday, January 17, 2013 - link
For me, this is another indication that Antec is now an "also ran" when it comes to computer cases.They couldn't make the Solo II any bigger, yet this piece of junk is both longer and taller. And the Solo II is still in available is any colour, as long as it's black!
Is the market for this bigger than the Solo II? Antec pours resources into this, Corsair into the massive 900D.....
The Fractal R4 is what the Solo II should have been.
Skidmarks - Friday, January 18, 2013 - link
I don't know if it's just me but I thought different people have different tastes.It's not the type of case I'd buy but I think they didn't to too bad a job for the price.
dj christian - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
"Solo II is still in available is any colour, as long as it's black!???What do you mean? Where you drunk when you typed that? There's only the black version and none else.
Ening - Friday, January 18, 2013 - link
looks fine to me...nagi603 - Friday, January 18, 2013 - link
It might be cheap, but that ugly mil camo means you either hide it in the basement or spend some extra cash on black paint to cover it. It is hideous!Bonesdad - Friday, January 18, 2013 - link
far too ugly to look beyond any goodness inside...try try again Antec.