Fusion Max -- ATX version of Antec Fusion is coming

[gwynethh]

[quote="waiko"]Newegg

[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129055[/url]

USD 249.95 + USD 14.99



Is it overkill?
Do we really use the volume knob on the front?

It has finally landed in USA. Have to start eating instant noodles for awhile after this.... [/quote]

I wish Antec and newegg could decide on the dimensions. And antec this is a horizontal case so H, W, D laying down please.

- 17.8" (H) x 17.6" (W) x 16.5" (D) I dont think so!

[kenoka]

I addressed the measurement error in an earlier post. The 17.8" is transposed from their metric measurement of 17.8 cm. Unfortunately, this simple error has been compounded by being published not just on their website, but in their recent press release.

In any case, it looks to be ready to handle both full-height cards and a substantial CPU heatsink.

[zetaepyon]

Well I ordered one of these cases and it arrived just the other day. Overall, I like it, but there are a few things that could be better. Due to some hard drive problems (caused by my own stupidity), I haven't got the system completely up and running, but here are my impressions so far.

The Good

• Quiet with fans on low speed
  Is it dead silent? No, of course not. But it's pretty good for a stock case.
• Nice build quality
  The whole thing feels really solid. I'd like the top cover to be a little weightier, but you could add dampening material of your choice if it turns out to be a problem. The hard drive mounting spots use soft silicone grommets, which is probably enough for most people. There's no soft mounting on the optical drive bay, but those are often so loud it doesn't matter anyway. It's not an issue for my usage.
• Looks good
  Fits in right at home next to my A/V receiver. Definitely an upgrade from my 3700BQE that was laying on its side.
• Regular ATX boards fit
  Don't need a micro-ATX board, so there are a lot more options. Also, importantly, you can fit a pretty large CPU cooler, which is always good for decent performance and low noise. I'm using a Ninja Mini right now, and there's plenty of room. Caveat: Due to the layout, some connectors on the motherboard are really far away from the power supply. The Aux 12V connector on my Seasonic barely reaches, and that's with a little creative routing.

The Bad

• Abysmal manual and install instructions
  It probably sticks out to me more (I am a tech writer, so writing instructions is my trade), but the directions included are horrendous. Some things mentioned in the manual don't even exist in this case (there are no connectors for Power/HDD LED, even though they are listed in the directions). The description of how the LCD is hooked up isn't very clear at all, either.
• Very little room in a couple places
  In particular, the front HDD chamber. With the drives installed, there is not enough room for SATA power and data connectors. There isn't enough room to hook them up and then drop the drives down, and even if that worked, the connectors stick out too far and won't fit. Fortunately, I have power connectors that are at a right angle that will fit, and SATA cables with 90-degree connectors aren't expensive. Still, it's annoying and I could have had the cables ahead of time if I'd known.
  
  I also have some concerns about the heat in the hard drive chambers, although there are air vents directly below each one, I'm not sure if there will be enough air flowing through them to sufficiently cool two drives. It isn't possible to mount both the front 120mm fan and the front HDD bracket without rigging it up yourself.
• LCD is really bright
  This thing is a lot brighter than I expected. I'm hoping that once I get the software installed, there's some way to turn down the brightness. If not, I'll probably be looking for some sort of tinting film to tone it down a little, so as not to be distracting while watching movies in low-light conditions.

[zetaepyon]

A couple shots of my setup right now:

[zetaepyon]

In any case, it looks to be ready to handle both full-height cards and a substantial CPU heatsink.

This is definitely true. There's quite a bit of room above a full-height card, actually. I'm hoping that it's enough to allow for a heatpipe-type GPU cooler, but haven't been able to test that out yet.

[jacky912]

In any case, it looks to be ready to handle both full-height cards and a substantial CPU heatsink.

This is definitely true. There's quite a bit of room above a full-height card, actually. I'm hoping that it's enough to allow for a heatpipe-type GPU cooler, but haven't been able to test that out yet.

Dear friend,
Which CPU heatsink are you using? Please let me know if you think it is good enough.

[Modo]

I also have some concerns about the heat in the hard drive chambers, although there are air vents directly below each one, I'm not sure if there will be enough air flowing through them to sufficiently cool two drives.

If the NSK 2480 is anything to go by, there will be more than enough airflow for the hard disk(s).

[zetaepyon]

Dear friend,
Which CPU heatsink are you using? Please let me know if you think it is good enough.

I'm using the Scythe Ninja Mini, on an overclocked Core 2 Duo E4300. Seems to be fantastic so far, but I haven't had a chance to do any real stress/temperature testing yet.

If the NSK 2480 is anything to go by, there will be more than enough airflow for the hard disk(s).

Good to hear, I've yet to hook up my two main storage drives in the front HDD bay. (Still waiting on 90-degree SATA cables.)

I also discovered that it's not too bad to fit in normal Molex power connectors on the HDDs in the front bay, so if you have SATA drives that still have the old connectors too, that might work. A normal SATA data connector might fit, but I don't really want to push it, as I'm afraid that the connector on the drive might break off; they tend to be a little fragile.

[6million]

Your Scythe Ninja Mini seems to take about all the space so I guess a TRU wouldn't fit in there.

Did you measure the exact height of your case?

[zetaepyon]

It's 17.8cm (7 inches) tall, which has been messed up in all the specs I've seen.

There's a fair bit of space above the Ninja Mini, but certainly a normal Ninja or most other heatpipe coolers would not fit.

[6million]

Cool, I'm tempted to buy that case and go Ultima-90 fanless, it's specced at 139mm, so that leaves almost 4cm clearance for mobo would that fit?

[zetaepyon]

The Ninja Mini is 115mm, and I'm pretty sure that there is indeed more than 24mm (0.94in) between the top of it and the case. I can measure it when I get home tonight.

[jacky912]

The Ninja Mini is 115mm, and I'm pretty sure that there is indeed more than 24mm (0.94in) between the top of it and the case. I can measure it when I get home tonight.

So between Ultima-90 & Ninja Mini, which one should I choice?

[kenoka]

So between Ultima-90 & Ninja Mini, which one should I choice?

I think it depends on your plans. You can't really go wrong with either one, but I'd probably go with the Ultima 90 for an overclocked configuration, and stick with the Ninja mini for a fanless system. I think the Minja's open structure would allow more low pressure airflow than the U90's rather tightly packed fins.

[zetaepyon]

By the way, I did measure (roughly) the space above the Ninja Mini, and I'd say there was probably close to 2 inches between it and the top cover. As such, I imagine that the Ultima-90 would fit with room to spare.

[fangtastic]

I finally got my fusion max a few days ago, and I pretty much agree with zetaepyon's pros/cons.

The LCD brightness is controllable by the imon software in case anyone is worried.

Another small con is that if you choose to use the remote to turn your computer on, the power button is useless and vice versa. You can only plug either the remote or the case power button into your motherboards front panel connectors.

Also the case is huge - if you happen to put the case into a rack/cabinet with a backing, make sure to add in the length of your accessory plugs (I forgot to add in the length of my monitor cables and now I cant center the case on my rack)

Other than those small issues, the case is great

[fangtastic]

[bevan.coleman]

Well I ordered one of these cases and it arrived just the other day. Overall, I like it, but there are a few things that could be better. Due to some hard drive problems (caused by my own stupidity), I haven't got the system completely up and running, but here are my impressions so far.

Is it 44.6cm wide as Antec's specs state?

I was all hyped for the Antec Fusion cases, and then realized that 43.5cm is the standard HiFi component width, and the stand for my gear assumes thats the max width. So apart from the Micro Fusion... I am about 8mm short of being able to use Antec's cases

[jacky912]

I finally got my fusion max a few days ago, and I pretty much agree with zetaepyon's pros/cons.

The LCD brightness is controllable by the imon software in case anyone is worried.

Another small con is that if you choose to use the remote to turn your computer on, the power button is useless and vice versa. You can only plug either the remote or the case power button into your motherboards front panel connectors.

Also the case is huge - if you happen to put the case into a rack/cabinet with a backing, make sure to add in the length of your accessory plugs (I forgot to add in the length of my monitor cables and now I cant center the case on my rack)

Other than those small issues, the case is great

I can turn on the computer by remote and case power button but I spent a lot of time on try&error. That's why I am not happy with the manual

[jacky912]

So between Ultima-90 & Ninja Mini, which one should I choice?

I think it depends on your plans. You can't really go wrong with either one, but I'd probably go with the Ultima 90 for an overclocked configuration, and stick with the Ninja mini for a fanless system. I think the Minja's open structure would allow more low pressure airflow than the U90's rather tightly packed fins.

Thanks, I will go for Ninja mini with my E8400 E0...
hope it won't burn my CPU when there is no fan with the heatsink

[fangtastic]

yup i measured as 44.5cm wide, 45.3 long

hey jacky do you mind telling me how you got that to work?

[jacky912]

yup i measured as 44.5cm wide, 45.3 long

hey jacky do you mind telling me how you got that to work?

You must use the power extended cable provided with the case.
and there is a VERY special plug for the front display...
Then refer to a piece of manual which stated ABCD connector, you connect one of the PW connector on your motherboard (I forgot which one, please try all 3 plugs, one by one)
I have to say that the manual is terrible...do you agree?

[zetaepyon]

Yeah the power connection confused me considerably too.

Essentially, you have to hook up the black & white power connector to the front LCD (there is a 2-pin header), and then the red & black power connector to the header on the motherboard.

The manual makes it seem like the black & white one is already hooked up to the LCD, which obviously isn't the case.

[fangtastic]

ahhhh got it thanks guys, yeah that manual is horrible :p

Also did antec get lazy and just not add the HDD LED plug? There are two lights in the front, one possibly for the HDD led but theres no way to get it to function as a HDD LED light without some modification

[zetaepyon]

Yeah I have no idea. I kept looking for a HDD LED lead, but couldn't find one. Fortunately, I don't care about it that much.

Still, it seems like they just took an existing manual from one of their other cases, changed a few things here and there, and sent it out, without really checking the accuracy.

I also noticed my LCD is a little bit crooked, so I'll have to see if I can adjust it. Even dimmed, I'm not too fond of the LCD, so I pretty much just have it turned off now. Maybe sometime I'll replace it with a nice VFD instead.

[mrb55]

ahhhh got it thanks guys, yeah that manual is horrible :p

Also did antec get lazy and just not add the HDD LED plug? There are two lights in the front, one possibly for the HDD led but theres no way to get it to function as a HDD LED light without some modification

Yeah, what is the deal with the two wire molex plug? When I plug it in, I get a solid blue light at the bottom center of the case front as well as another closer to the power button. However, they just remain solidly lit and don't do anything else. Was there a point to having these two lights?

Also, where on the back of the LCD can the black and white power switch connector be plugged in? How should it be plugged in (white or black wire facing the bottom or closest side of the case, depending on pin alignment)? Is there room to plug it in even with the 5.25 drive cage inserted or do I have to pull it out (again)?

I wish a 120mm fan could be installed between the power supply and the lower hard drive cage (like on the P182).

Finally, it would be nice to be able to position the optional 120mm fan in the main hard drive case closer to the PCI/PCI-e/Video Card Slots. The only installation option in the manual is to put it at the very front of the case which increases the distance to the video and tuner cards.

I like the case but it is "huge." Too big to fit on my TV Stand.

[zetaepyon]

I actually have the power LEDs disconnected entirely right now, so I can't comment on that.

As for the switch connector on the LCD module, there was a 2-pin header towards the top right of the module (looking at it from the back), which I hooked it up to. Orientation shouldn't matter, it's just a momentary switch, so it shouldn't be directional.

I hooked it up before putting in the 5.25" drive cage, but I doubt that you'll be able to access it without pulling the cage out again.


Some sort of fan in the PSU/HDD chamber would be nice, I have to imagine that there's not a lot of airflow around those drives, even with the vent right underneath them. At least, not with a PSU that has a 120mm fan pulling from outside the case, as most do these days.

[vnv01]

I actually have the power LEDs disconnected entirely right now, so I can't comment on that.

As for the switch connector on the LCD module, there was a 2-pin header towards the top right of the module (looking at it from the back), which I hooked it up to. Orientation shouldn't matter, it's just a momentary switch, so it shouldn't be directional.

I hooked it up before putting in the 5.25" drive cage, but I doubt that you'll be able to access it without pulling the cage out again.


Some sort of fan in the PSU/HDD chamber would be nice, I have to imagine that there's not a lot of airflow around those drives, even with the vent right underneath them. At least, not with a PSU that has a 120mm fan pulling from outside the case, as most do these days.

I counted only 3 two wire connectors from the front panel. Is that right?
1)black/red power sw;
2)black/white power sw (into the lcd);
3)purple/white reset sw.

I can power down my case with the remote, by turning it on is front power switch only. I haven't grabbed the new Imon drivers off of the site yet (SLOW!) but I'm wondering if anyone else has, and what improvements they've seen in screen display.

[zetaepyon]

Yeah, three 2-wire connectors is what I had.

I can turn the PC on and off with the remote if I want, not sure why turning it on wouldn't work for you.

[Blue]

Here is an Antec Fusion HTPC case shootout review from Anandtech.