Antec Three Hundred v2

Optix

Basket Chassis
Staff member
Antec is no stranger to the enclosure market and they do not seem to be any stranger to refreshing their enclosure line up as of late. Their re-release of the low end Two Hundred and scaled back Sonata Proto are proof of that.

It looks as if another of their refreshes has made it's way to market under my usually astute, hardware sniffing radar. Even Antec's website is not updated with these changes to the design and while they may not revolutionize the computer enclosure market it is nice to see that Antec is listening to their customers.

Rather than rehash the same information you can find in the dozen or more reviews of the original version of this case I thought I would touch on the changes first.

The most obvious change is the large cut out in the motherboard tray to allow users to change out their aftermarket heatsinks without removing the motherboard. Countless Three Hundred owners have modded their cases to include this feature and now it comes straight from the factory.

The second change is the addition of mounting points on the bottom of case in the 3.5" bay area for a 2.5" drive. While this may not sound like much of a bonus since 3.5" to 2.5" drive converters have been around for a while but for those on a budget it eliminates the need to buy anything other than the case so money can be better spent on other components.

Couple these two features with the Three Hundred's great cooling ability, fit and finish, sturdy construction, inclusion of more thumb screws than you will likely need and two excellent Tri-Cool fans along with a front bezel and dust cover that is the easiest that I have ever removed and this is one case that should be recommended for any budget enthusiast.

Compared to the Thermaltake V3 in my previous post I did not run into a single clearance issue even with my 8-pin power connection and DIMM slots being at the upper edge of the motherboard.

This is the case I should have bought like I had originally intended.

Sorry for not including pictures of the case but I was so excited when it showed up I instantly switched over my hardware. Oops.
 
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Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
Nice look, man! I can understand the lack of pictures, but a shot of the finished product would be cool :D

It's about time the CPU cooler swapping as been made easier, and the same can be said about the additional HDD mounting points... that's a nice touch. I admit though, I don't like the front panel of the V2... it just screams... "ugh" to me for some reason. The "V1" was much cleaner in design, but I admit I tend to be drawn to that to begin with. I feel out of place within myself just because I've been using a CM Sniper as my work PC chassis!

Glad you are digging the chassis though. It's too bad that Antec as a whole doesn't seem to be as large a fighting force as it once was, but it does release a winner from time to time.
 

Optix

Basket Chassis
Staff member
I don't see a difference between the bezel on the original Three Hundred and the refreshed one. If you mean the Two Hundred then I am right there with you. Blech!

Here are basic pictures of everything loaded in.

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One of these days I'll get around to changing the orientation of that heatsink.
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
I have no idea how I missed your reply to this thread :eek:

Your PC looks sweet man! Nice and clean, that's for sure. I've never quite seen SATA cables like that... did you do that by yourself or buy them that way?

You probably won't have to worry about the orientation of the heatsink really, unless you are going to go super gung-ho on the overclock. As long as it's blowing the hot air up, all should be good. I assume it doesn't even get that hot in there to begin with.
 
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b1lk1

Tech Monkey
I'm on the fence with that heatsink orientation myself. I kinda like how it will pull the hot air off that video card's backside and I doubt it would add much if any heatload to the heatsink. It will work fine like that if there are any clearance issues anywhere so I would leave it if it works good.

Nice build btw.
 

Optix

Basket Chassis
Staff member
I found a neat little tip about the SATA cables on another site but I can't for the life of me remember which one. Behold! The ultimate in high tech cable modification!

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It really cuts down the clutter in your case and they stretch out as far as you need all while keeping the coil shape.

Another great thing about this case is there was enough room for me to get in and work away in order to use the silicone mounting posts that come with the SilenX fans and I don't care what anybody says, you notice a difference and I'm surprised at how secure the fans are.

The top 140mm fan is pretty noisy and I apologize for not putting that in the first post. On the high setting it causes a lot of vibration, which translates into a high pitched hum. On medium it is tolerable while low it is still audible but just barely. I can't believe how much air it moves, even on low.

Unfortunately the way the fan is designed the plastic where the screw meets the fan is solid all the way through so there is no room to pull the silicon mounting posts through to eliminate the hum at high speeds. On most fans it is just a screw hole on the outside of the frame and nothing behind it so you could pull it through. With this one it's a solid plastic tube straight to the other side although I'm tempted to break out the Dremel when I modify the final SilenX fan for the heatsink so I can get rid of that noisier than a crying baby (believe me, I know!) stock fan from Cooler Master. I think the bearing is show to be honest. It's either that or look for four very small, soft rubber washers.

If falling in love with a case is wrong, then I don't wanna be right. It's great!
 
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Greg King

I just kinda show up...
Staff member
I have a pair of those cases for servers and I cannot begin to throw enough praise at them. That is a very solid build you have there, kudos for the clean look.

With such little space between the video card and the fan, is there any noticeable increase in sound? It seems like with such little clearance, there could potentially be an increase in noise. Perhaps I am wrong.

Either way, I really like the small details that you put into this build. I LOVE the maker badges on the inside of the case, running down the drive column. Most anyone on this site, or any comparable site for that matter, enjoy showing off their hardware. I don't see any better way to do so than to have the side panel off and with the badges there, you keep the exterior clean.

The only thing I don't care for about these cases are the fan mounts on the side panel. I would prefer a solid panel. I have never used a fan there and it really detracts from the overall look of the case IMHO.

Regardless, that's a sharp PC. Good job.
 

Optix

Basket Chassis
Staff member
With such little space between the video card and the fan, is there any noticeable increase in sound? It seems like with such little clearance, there could potentially be an increase in noise. Perhaps I am wrong.
I'll let you know in the next week or so. When I installed the heatsink the first time it was in that orientation so I don't have anything to compare it to but I'll be giving it the ol' 90 degree turn shortly. In my previous case I was going for bottom to top airflow and ended up getting lazy when the Three Hundred arrived so it hasn't gotten rotated.
Either way, I really like the small details that you put into this build. I LOVE the maker badges on the inside of the case, running down the drive column. Most anyone on this site, or any comparable site for that matter, enjoy showing off their hardware. I don't see any better way to do so than to have the side panel off and with the badges there, you keep the exterior clean.
I had thought about putting them on the left side of the plastic that runs up and down each side of the bays but decided against it in the end. It actually took me about two months to make the decision. It's not like I take my case out anywhere so if I have it open it's either to tinker on it by myself or because someone else has asked. I'm all about understated looks now and keeping the case badges on the inside helps with that.
The only thing I don't care for about these cases are the fan mounts on the side panel. I would prefer a solid panel. I have never used a fan there and it really detracts from the overall look of the case IMHO.
For someone who overclocks their system, it really comes in handy to bring in some extra cool air. There are no heatsinks or fancy heatpipes on this board, just a standard one on the southbridge so any extra air A-OK by me.
 
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Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
Haha, that SATA cable tip is great. So simple to pull off, too. I'm not sure if I'll take that route in the future or not. I tend to have an issue where the cables are too tight due to chassis design, so I don't think I'd be able to do something quite like that.
 

Optix

Basket Chassis
Staff member
I didn't expect to have to use the cable trick but since the short, clear cables were on back order with no ETA I had to use the ugly Fisher-Price Gigabyte cables which are quite a bit longer.

At least Gigabyte changed the color scheme of their boards.

I may have a solid side panel now but it would bug me if I knew an ugly board was behind it. OCD FTL!
 
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