Antec's new flagship in the name of modular design and better cooling has led to the creation of the new LanBoy Air computer chassis. It's made to accommodate even the largest graphics cards, and some of the largest tower style heatsinks available, and completely surrounded by mesh panels to provide maximum airflow. The case itself has the space for up to fifteen 120mm fans, which seem to be the standard fan size across nearly ever case made today for ATX based computers.
While the manual states that the the case can fit up to 15 fans, I'm struggling to find where they would all go realistically. I Currently have 3 fans installed, one exhaust, and the two front intake fans, simply because removing them is a hard task (the fan controller is glued into place). With the two front fans, I see no need in having any fans mounted along the hard drives, accounting for 6 of the total fan count for the case. Additionally, the main side panel has room for 4 total fans, however if you're using larger heatsinks, such as the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1, or even the Thermalright HR-03, the side fans might not even fit, the same going with the CPU heatsink, it may conflict with the positioning of side fans. I would think anyone who goes for this case would already have a large tower heatsink in mind, so while the case is accommodating all types of builds and parts, it's not quite as wide as the Antec 1200 is inside, to allow for both a large CPU cooler and a side fan at the same time.
The LanBoy Air supports power supply positioning both at the top of the case and the bottom of the case, which for me was quite misleading in some respects. Having the power supply at the top vs the bottom is just an endless debate over preference. While the power supply at the bottom is more isolated from the main heat source, being the CPU, it can draw a lot more dust from its dedicated vents. For the sake of argument (or preventing it) I left the power supply on the bottom of the case. For test purposes, the power supply is the Antec True Power 750. Due to how my current hardware is set up, I have none of the extra modular cables in use, all of the attached power cables were able to power my build with no problem (I have one extra PCI-e plug and the 8 pin CPU plug which I don't need). That brings me to the next point about the LanBoy Air.
Cable Management is tough love with this case. Since the side panel is split into two sections, one for the hard drives, and one for behind the motherboard tray, the center pillar of the case cannot have anything wrapped around it. Normally I would use this area to secure cables down in a neat line, but with the side panels screwing down on this area, nothing can obstruct that, as I'm not about to modify the case, just to fit some cables. For the most part however, cable management works out well. While making this case neat enough to hide all the cables will never be possible, as it's largely mesh, there are plenty of included tie straps to organize cables and keep them out of the way of airflow. I can only say that the hard drive power cables are very stiff, which I feel interferes with how the drives are suspended, but since they are very quiet, it's a situation that I'll live with, and tackle later down the road.
As I just mentioned, airflow is not really blocked by the cables running around the case mostly because there are plenty of places to tie down cables, both provided by the case and improvised, if you take a close enough look at things. Airflow, however, is a disorganized mess, to be perfectly honest about the case. While many users prefer a "traditional" front to back airflow, or a back to front airflow with some cases (most commonly BTX), this case is just mesh. For a case that relies on large heatsinks and is considered a passively cooled computer it would make plentiful use of the natural airflow in a room, get the job done very easily, and even look pretty good while doing it. In a case where airflow comes from the fans, this case poses quite a few problems.
1) Airflow can come and go on it's own in many situations. Air itself, similar to water, travels along that "path of least resistance" which seem to be those side mesh panels. Rather than air moving from the front of the case to the back, air simply gets pulled from where it comes easiest and blown in a direction, hoping to cool everything it needs to before getting pulled by the exhaust fan, or simply rising out of the top. I'll have to see how temps are affected by this compared to my previous case, which relied on negative air pressure, dust filters, and ran remarkably cool for the budget.
2) There are no dust filters. This isn't always a problem, but with a rabbit and a guinea pig that get "free range" of the lower half of the house during their playtime usually, this means that furry critters are letting their fur fly all over around my computer. With the Cooler Master Elite I previously used, the front had filters, and I blocked off the side vents, to provide easier front to back airflow. Very little dust entered the system, and every other month it got taken out for a good cleaning with an electric air compressor (because canned air just isn't worth it when there's an electric version). We'll have to see over the next few weeks how much dust and fur enters the system, and if it's really tolerable.
3) The front fans have a pretty tight mesh over them. I partly expect this to fill with dust fairly quickly in a situation where the computer is set aside and not really touched. I would like to see these grills look more like the rear fan grills, to reduce the back pressure of the fan, which does create a fair bit of turbulence noise when turned up to a higher speed. Also, using the newer fans with the smaller central hub would give the case better looks, as the newer fans do look very impressive.
Moving onto some of the other components about the case, there is the new Air Mount system for the hard drives. This is a really effective way of separating the drives from the chassis, reducing vibrations and noise, however, it does seem to have the same downfall of previous methods of suspending the drives from Antec.
In earlier cases, such as the Solo, it had a pair of rubber bands that would squeeze around the drives holding them in place, but I'm sure that while transporting, the suspension would give the risk of the drive sliding too far in a direction, with a pretty hard impact. While many manufacturers include on their labels that hard drives can withstand shocks in excess of 250g's, or some other ridiculous number like that, no shock to a hard drive is really good.
At first, I was a little confused with putting in the Air Mounts, however all the necessary screws were located in the supply box, at the bottom of the front panel. This supply box is very handy, being a place to store screws that may be necessary for the case in the future however this could be a little larger. I found that I was packing the screws in somewhat tightly, as many of my screws were unused, simply because I had just taken apart one build, and used the same screws to reinstall all the parts. Considering the space around the supply box, it could easily be a little bit longer to accommodate just a little bit more.
While I was putting the Air Mounts on my 3 hard drives, I noticed that they have lots of play in terms of how far they can move around. Once I had the drives inside the case, I noticed that these drives can all slide back and forth on the Air Mount, which makes me nervous about if the case were put on it's side, it opens up the risk of the drives all hitting the rear case panel, and that could knock a connector out, possibly even break the PCB on the hard drive. While this is all a worst case scenario, the Air Mounts should really suspend the drive in one place, with no give in movement. I put the drives in those air mounts to isolate them, not give them room to slide around. I want them just as secure as they would be screwed into a case.
The Air Mounts for the hard drives were really a half-step when it comes down to ending vibrations. After running the case for several hours under various stress tests to see how well hardware gets cooled and how well vibrations are dampened, I thought about the fans, and how the fans are just as bad when it comes to creating vibrations as anything else. After drudging up some rubber fan mounts I've had lying around, I decided to put them in for the exhaust fan, and now that the case is up and running, to my surprise, the only real noise I'm hearing is the faint sound of a hard drive that's on. Not a hum, not a turbulent sound, not the sound of a fan, but just a couple hard drives, spinning away. This should really be a stock option for these cases, front, side and back, to be honest, because it's going to help with noise. I find it a little hard to say that it's really okay without, considering I try to run my computers as quiet as possible, but after now dealing with this case, I see what I've been pestering other users about. It's not necessarily about spending the money for the parts, I grab all of my rubber fan mounts out of thrown away Dell computers, but it's about isolating everything as much as you can. Even the 120mm fan on my Scythe Ninja is isolated with rubber corner pieces, which makes a small, but noticeable enough difference in noise character. The only thing left would be to do the same to the front fans, only after swapping them out for the smaller central hub design.
The removable motherboard tray did make my migration very simple. Yes, many cases sport this, but I was able to remove my motherboard from the Cooler Master Elite 330 (with some trouble, but not much) while leaving my Scythe Ninja installed. Being able to take the motherboard tray out of the LanBoy Air meant that I could leave the Ninja installed, and just screw it down on the new tray. The back of the motherboard tray also has very convenient cutouts and raised areas for cable organization, which I was very easily able to make use of, although I did only use a couple out of all that were available.
Having the case under my desk and running is quite an experience. At the moment, I really only have a few problems with the case.
First is the fact that I can't flip the motherboard tray over for a BTX setup. This would be the pièce de résistance simply for cooling purposes. The graphics card would be located on top, nearest a pair of 120mm fans for cooling, the CPU would be in the path of air from an intake fan, for cooling purposes, and it would allow for the best use of the layout of the case OOTB. To make this case BTX compatible, only one change would have to happen as well, which could even lower production costs. The same pillars that hold up the motherboard tray would have to be the same that are on the outside of the case on the opposite side, because it would leave upper and lower support for the power supply, while allowing modders to choose ATX and BTX motherboard mounting options.
Second, is that if I want to do any work inside the case, I have to remove 6 thumbscrews to get access to the motherboard, and yet another to get access to the hard drives. If I want to add a hard drive, depending on how everything is sorted out, I may have to remove up to 14 thumbscrews. I think the side panels could easily share similar design to the front panel, which uses a single thumbscrew, and swings out like a door. This change would lower the number of thumbscrews the case uses and includes in packaging.
I would also like to see more accessible fan controls, so I don't have to crawl under my desk or someone else have to climb over it to get to the back to adjust a rear fan. This also links back to lowering the number of thumb screws to remove to get inside, because of the side panel fans, or even the top fans. I wouldn't want to have to remove 6 thumbscrews just to change the fan speeds, and when it all breaks down, if the fan speed is adjustable, but I can't easily adjust it, there's something wrong with the design. I would like to see different fan speed controls, mostly ones that are removable from the front, because it makes it hard for me to change the fans if the controls are glued in, and hard wired to the fan itself.
The Air Mounts do an excellent job of keeping the drives very quiet, as the noise from my Western Digital Raptor is like night and day compared to having it solid mounted on a case, but I still think that the Air Mounts should not have so much room to play around.
Finally, there is simply too much plastic. I can understand the use of plastic to keep the weight down, especially in similar cases, or larger ones, such as the P182 and P183 cases, which are very popular, and also very heavy for a case alone, however the LanBoy Air could make much better use of Aluminum panels in certain areas, such as the top and side panels. Knowing that I keep my cases under my desk, to minimize the amount of weight on top, I sometimes kick the edge while I find my legroom. I worry that one accidental kick that's hard enough to fracture the plastic side panels, or dropping anything on top of the case would break that. I think that while the handles are a great feature, they too should be made of something that isn't prone to shattering if it gets hit too hard by anything. Over time, the plastic will become more and more brittle, and break more easily, however that should really be avoided, as getting this case is a large investment that should not be skimped out on.
Some real world testing does reveal however, that all this mesh is not all a good thing. With the two front fans unplugged, relying only on a similar airflow setup as my Cooler Master Elite 330, the CPU and GPU temps remained similar, if not identical. The CPU had a ~34C idle, and the GPU also had a ~35C idle, which is just about on par with my previous case. Unfortunately however, the hard drives, which previously relied on negative air pressure for their airflow, receive no such pleasure in this case. Without the front fans plugged in and moving air, the hard drives have little to no natural airflow. My Western Digital Raptor (150gb model for those curious) used to idle at 37C in the Elite 330, as it was near a main air intake of the case. Sitting in the Air Mount setup with no direct cooling, temperatures quickly reached 44C, which is far too warm for my liking, requiring me to plug in the front fans. I'm still curious about the potential of vertically mounting the hard drives, but for now, I'll have to make sure airflow is kept on the drives, as they have almost no breeze without help in this case, which only goes to back up the lack of airflow focus. Since the air is not forced to travel between two areas, it will move along the path of least resistance, which causes all the components in a LanBoy Air to almost require active cooling. A low wattage computer could easily be built in this case, and use larger heatsinks, as the case has many more vents and places for hot air to rise and escape, but the top of the case is designed in such a way that would cause a problem, as the holes seem to be raised in a sense. This would allow for pockets of heat to build up, and since plastic is not a very good conductor of heat, these pockets would not dissipate easily on their own.
Can this case really hold a silent computer? It depends on how hellbent the user is on getting that silence. After tearing the case apart, and doing the 7v trick on every single case fan, the WD Raptor is the only audible component. Every fan in the computer is running at 7v, only exception being the PSU fan, which is running on a PWM circuit of its own. Running a steady idle shows the CPU and GPU to be sitting at a steady 35C each. The hard drives, now with a constant low breeze (considering the fan controller of the front fans, they aren't even running at 7v, maybe closer to 5v) are running at 35C, with not much fluctuation. The only downfall I can think of at this point is that the LEDs on the fans are all noticeabley dimmer. For me, considering this room is full of computers, and also one of the household pets, This doesn't bother me at all. Having an option with no LEDs would be nice, if the computer needed to be on all night, it wouldn't keep the critters up all night.
In all, the case offers huge possibilities, with 15 different locations for fans to be mounted, great mesh side panels to allow maximum airflow, and a sheer size to allow for even the biggest components. The LanBoy Air combines the answer to many complaints users sometimes have, such as drive suspension, a smaller power light (although it's still not any dimmer), and to fit in with the changing interfaces, USB 3.0 support. The eighth expansion slot makes a great difference for triple SLI users, allowing for dual slot cards to be used even in the lowest PCI-Express slot of a motherboard. In my experience however, I find the USB 3.0 solution to be annoying, although it is the only way to make it happen that I know of. The USB cable that gets routed through the case and out the back panel is something I find to be an annoyance, as it needs to get all the way to the back panel, by traveling out from an expansion slot. While I do not use this cable, I also find it somewhat annoying that I don't have a way to remove it while it's not in use. The center cable holder in the top of the case helps with bundling unused cables above the optical drive, but also almost forces users into the second 5.25" slot for the optical drive, as the first bay is seemingly completely blocked by bundled cables, and longer devices would conflict with the cable tie that's pre-installed.
Major advancements have been made to get computer cases to the level that this one has reached, but there are plenty of advancements left to make. In short:
Pros:
-Well ventilated
-New Antec two speed fans with smaller central hub
-Air Mount for hard drives
-Optional top or bottom power supply mounting
-Support for massive graphics cards, and numerous dual slot cooled cards
-Support for many different fan configurations
-Easy motherboard installation procedure
-Water-cooling Ready
-Case Mounted supply box
-Convenient tray area on top of case, intentional or otherwise (when handles are down)
Cons:
-No dust filters, and too many holes for dust to enter the system
-Little airflow direction (airflow has little focus on most hardware, if any)
-Air Mounts have too much play (move back and forth far too much for my liking)
-Not all fans are interchangeable (permanently installed fan controllers)
-Too much plastic used, too many parts can break too easily if hit hard enough (Lan Party issue mostly)
-Too many thumb screws to get into the case
-No eSATA
Extra Thoughts:
-Would like to see BTX support
-Rubber fan mounts would be a nice touch
Pictures (56K WARNING):
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/172/IMG_9874.JPG
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/172/IMG_9886.JPG
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/172/IMG_9859.JPG
http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/172/IMG_9881.JPG
Those are the main features. If you would like more photos, just ask, I just don't want to post a million pictures that you could get with newegg, google, or antec.
Comments/Questions/Ideas are MORE THAN WELCOME.
2010 Antec LanBoy Air - Build pictures, Review, Thoughts
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
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bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
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Very thorough. I was especially keen on reading about the drive mounts. It's too bad that they were so loose but with some tweaking to the design I hope to see more of them in Antecs future cases. Too bad about the structural sturdiness of the case, but already the full-mesh design makes it less suitable for LAN'ing. I don't think it's too mean to call it a gimmick case more than anything else. Those have their places too.
Here's a few adjusted images that might fit other viewers, hope you don't mind.
Here's a few adjusted images that might fit other viewers, hope you don't mind.
Bonnestone, I have the same case/PSU combo ready to install 
I put together a list of first impressions and was going to post it, but then I saw your preview/review.
I agree with all of your comments, and would add only a few things.
1) The PSU bracket is terrible. I haven't used it yet, but the chintzy nature of the sliding action, means that it's likely to transmit any vibrations from other components or the PSU. I know I'll likely have to use something to dampen it.
2) The numerous small screws on the front of the case are a bad idea. Besides the fact that they are painted and will scratch easily, leaving an beat-up look if done too many times, there are simply too many of them on the front which can take forever if you do a complete tear-down and rebuild. Thumbscrews should have been used here, since Antec showed us on the side panels that it's not afraid to use them.
3) The case isn't really as modular as it sounds. The side panels are two pieces. The large rear panel, though it looks like three panels, is actually one held in by three long thumbscrews (two would have been plenty). And to completely change up the case orientation, takes far too much time with all of the numerous and various sizes of screws.
4) The top case panel is rigid smoke acrylic...'nuff said.
In short: great idea, not so great implementation.
I like the idea that Antec is trying. and I may end up liking the case. I have yet to put my system in it but I did disassemble the empty case and found it pretty exhausting...
Attached are some pics that I took of that tear-down.
Some of the parts...(still attached are the mobo tray and 5.25" bay brackets.
Toolbox...
Side Panel....
Top Panel...
I put together a list of first impressions and was going to post it, but then I saw your preview/review.
I agree with all of your comments, and would add only a few things.
1) The PSU bracket is terrible. I haven't used it yet, but the chintzy nature of the sliding action, means that it's likely to transmit any vibrations from other components or the PSU. I know I'll likely have to use something to dampen it.
2) The numerous small screws on the front of the case are a bad idea. Besides the fact that they are painted and will scratch easily, leaving an beat-up look if done too many times, there are simply too many of them on the front which can take forever if you do a complete tear-down and rebuild. Thumbscrews should have been used here, since Antec showed us on the side panels that it's not afraid to use them.
3) The case isn't really as modular as it sounds. The side panels are two pieces. The large rear panel, though it looks like three panels, is actually one held in by three long thumbscrews (two would have been plenty). And to completely change up the case orientation, takes far too much time with all of the numerous and various sizes of screws.
4) The top case panel is rigid smoke acrylic...'nuff said.
In short: great idea, not so great implementation.
I like the idea that Antec is trying. and I may end up liking the case. I have yet to put my system in it but I did disassemble the empty case and found it pretty exhausting...
Attached are some pics that I took of that tear-down.
Some of the parts...(still attached are the mobo tray and 5.25" bay brackets.
Toolbox...
Side Panel....
Top Panel...
the case was not created for a silent configuration. this has been made known from day one by antec.
the case has to be built with positive air pressure in mind not negative. there are 15 places for fans but some spots will not work in all configurations. mine currently has 10 fans all intake. will be adding 4 scythe typhoons soon to complete the positive pressure.
my corsair hx1000 makes no vibrations in the psu tray.
all included fans are easily removed. the glue for the control nobs are not hardened and easily removed. my 10 fans are all yate loons. there are no led fans left in my case.
have been running for a week and the only dust is what i wiped of the outside panel. none has entered the case or settled on fans.
after sleeving the fan cables and soon will sleeve some psu cables management is/will be simple. there is also many areas of the case unseen to put cables besides on back panel.
the case has to be built with positive air pressure in mind not negative. there are 15 places for fans but some spots will not work in all configurations. mine currently has 10 fans all intake. will be adding 4 scythe typhoons soon to complete the positive pressure.
my corsair hx1000 makes no vibrations in the psu tray.
all included fans are easily removed. the glue for the control nobs are not hardened and easily removed. my 10 fans are all yate loons. there are no led fans left in my case.
have been running for a week and the only dust is what i wiped of the outside panel. none has entered the case or settled on fans.
after sleeving the fan cables and soon will sleeve some psu cables management is/will be simple. there is also many areas of the case unseen to put cables besides on back panel.
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bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
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As I have said before, because of this specific community, I decided to test for silence. I, nor has anyone else, tried to say that this case is designed for silence.
Also, considering that the case consists of so much mesh, there isn't much of any part of the case that could be called "concealed" by any stretch of the imagination.
I'm glad to see that other people are taking interest in this thread, and posting their experience, but I want to see the "modular functionality" that the case is sold around expand to what it really should be. If there's a control knob for a fan, it should be made to work with all fans.
Just being on this forum specifically means that if you have more than 5 fans, you're pushing it. Many users here only have 3-4, including the power supply. No, I'm not judging the case by saying it has too many fans, I'm saying that the airflow itself is lacking.
1 strategically placed fan is going to do a whole lot better than 2 or 3 fans blowing air straight ahead. Having built my computer in this case, I'm well aware of what airflow it's designed to use, however, my computer gets away with 3 case fans, 1 CPU fan, and one GPU fan, and the PSU has it's own fan. Considering the size and height of my coolers, adding several more fans will not make a difference for any component at all, it would only add the noise that I do not want.
I'm very well aware of the targeted market for this case, however I see potential in other markets, so I have a hard time saying that the case is "good enough." With time and communication, I'm sure that this case could become more user friendly that it is, for any system builder, not necessarily the gamers, the overclockers or any other person. The case has the potential, and new advancements to set some standards, however the case also needs improvement in other areas so that it can be as good as possible.
I also think that dust is very much a product of the household. I live in a house with 4 other people, and two fuzzy animals. Compared to someone living either alone in an apartment, or sharing space with only one or two other people, it's going to be very different. Even these factors come into play with computer case choices, sooner or later.
I never said the case was bad, not one line in that review says the case is poorly designed whatsoever, I'm merely stating my thoughts and opinions about how a case that's marketed as being so flexible can miss some of the most obvious parts, such as BTX mounting, or just opening it up.
Can you, justmoe, justify taking off 6 or 7 thumbscrews to get into your computer, from one side? I know I find it to be pretty annoying.
Also, considering that the case consists of so much mesh, there isn't much of any part of the case that could be called "concealed" by any stretch of the imagination.
I'm glad to see that other people are taking interest in this thread, and posting their experience, but I want to see the "modular functionality" that the case is sold around expand to what it really should be. If there's a control knob for a fan, it should be made to work with all fans.
Just being on this forum specifically means that if you have more than 5 fans, you're pushing it. Many users here only have 3-4, including the power supply. No, I'm not judging the case by saying it has too many fans, I'm saying that the airflow itself is lacking.
1 strategically placed fan is going to do a whole lot better than 2 or 3 fans blowing air straight ahead. Having built my computer in this case, I'm well aware of what airflow it's designed to use, however, my computer gets away with 3 case fans, 1 CPU fan, and one GPU fan, and the PSU has it's own fan. Considering the size and height of my coolers, adding several more fans will not make a difference for any component at all, it would only add the noise that I do not want.
I'm very well aware of the targeted market for this case, however I see potential in other markets, so I have a hard time saying that the case is "good enough." With time and communication, I'm sure that this case could become more user friendly that it is, for any system builder, not necessarily the gamers, the overclockers or any other person. The case has the potential, and new advancements to set some standards, however the case also needs improvement in other areas so that it can be as good as possible.
I also think that dust is very much a product of the household. I live in a house with 4 other people, and two fuzzy animals. Compared to someone living either alone in an apartment, or sharing space with only one or two other people, it's going to be very different. Even these factors come into play with computer case choices, sooner or later.
I never said the case was bad, not one line in that review says the case is poorly designed whatsoever, I'm merely stating my thoughts and opinions about how a case that's marketed as being so flexible can miss some of the most obvious parts, such as BTX mounting, or just opening it up.
Can you, justmoe, justify taking off 6 or 7 thumbscrews to get into your computer, from one side? I know I find it to be pretty annoying.
nope do not like all the screws. looking for a way to put some sort of handle in the smaller panels for easy access to my side mounted optical drive. i'm sure something similar could be rigged with the other panels.
sorry about hijacking this type of thread. my search engine is too good! registered only to reply to you without looking into its purpose. another issue is the fan mounts on panel being plastic and not enough screws for even 10 fans at 2 per fan.
i just bought a 2 2.5" to 3.5" drive adapter to avoid ssd mounting on the floor.my optical drive is mounted several inches off the floor and hides all my drive cables. after sleeving all cables management is very simple.
as per the subject of a quiet system i was shocked to learn how quiet a 100% intake setup is. not sure if it is because of lack of metal or lack of negative air pressure.
anyway i am so happy to be rid of all the leds.
sorry about hijacking this type of thread. my search engine is too good! registered only to reply to you without looking into its purpose. another issue is the fan mounts on panel being plastic and not enough screws for even 10 fans at 2 per fan.
i just bought a 2 2.5" to 3.5" drive adapter to avoid ssd mounting on the floor.my optical drive is mounted several inches off the floor and hides all my drive cables. after sleeving all cables management is very simple.
as per the subject of a quiet system i was shocked to learn how quiet a 100% intake setup is. not sure if it is because of lack of metal or lack of negative air pressure.
anyway i am so happy to be rid of all the leds.
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bonestonne
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:10 pm
- Location: Northern New Jersey
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I was playing around with this case again tonight and installed the TP-750 inside.
A couple more observations:
1) I'm still not sold on the PSU bracket, but from what I can tell, it wasn't vibrating at all. I don't have anything else inside, but I jumped the PSU to hear the fan(s) inside it and the case fans.
2) The fans on the front are pretty darn good for OEM fans, very quiet at minimum speed. The LED's on the fans are atrocious though. I wish there was a switch on all these things to turn them off.
3) I'm getting more and more irritated with the amount of screws. Maybe I'm just spoiled with previous Antec cases (two screws per panel and maybe a couple of latches). But someone has to tell me the logic of the front panel screws...how does it make sense to require a tool to gain access to the "toolbox".
4) The AirMounts were not entirely thought through. As Bonestone mentioned, there is quite a bit of play and drives might bang around in there. There should be a way to secure the mounts to keep the drives from swinging on them. I think ZipTies will work for this, though.
A couple more observations:
1) I'm still not sold on the PSU bracket, but from what I can tell, it wasn't vibrating at all. I don't have anything else inside, but I jumped the PSU to hear the fan(s) inside it and the case fans.
2) The fans on the front are pretty darn good for OEM fans, very quiet at minimum speed. The LED's on the fans are atrocious though. I wish there was a switch on all these things to turn them off.
3) I'm getting more and more irritated with the amount of screws. Maybe I'm just spoiled with previous Antec cases (two screws per panel and maybe a couple of latches). But someone has to tell me the logic of the front panel screws...how does it make sense to require a tool to gain access to the "toolbox".
4) The AirMounts were not entirely thought through. As Bonestone mentioned, there is quite a bit of play and drives might bang around in there. There should be a way to secure the mounts to keep the drives from swinging on them. I think ZipTies will work for this, though.