Antec Fusion HTPC Shootout
by Christoph Katzer on October 9, 2008 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Installing the Components
Since the Fusion Micro is so small, installing the components is a bit tricky. We removed the power supply not because there was no space but because it was hooked up to our Chroma ATE. It's a good idea to install the motherboard before anything else, since otherwise some of the other components can get in the way. The Zalman cooler we selected fits nicely under the top cover with a centimeter or two spacing. Installing the hard drive requires you to remove the hard drive cage, which necessitates the removal of the VFD first. You can then slightly cage back into place, and the cage rests on rubber feet to dampen noise. Similarly, installing optical drive requires you to first remove the drive cage and install the CD/DVD/BRD. You will want to test the positioning of the drive and make sure the button matches up with the front before fully tightening the screws. Even with the limited space, we didn't have any problems fitting all of the components inside. Just make sure you select the right components up front; otherwise you will need to dismantle much of the case in order to swap components. During operation, we couldn't hear any noise from the power supply, and the result was a very quiet system overall.
Due to its height, it is a little easier to install the components in the Fusion Remote Black. The motherboard is still a tight fit without much room on the sides, but with a bit of patience you shouldn't have any difficulties installing it. Be sure you don't have any cables going through the opening at this stage, since the motherboard will not be able to pass. Installing the hard drives is simple, and you can secure them with the special rubber noise dampening screws that come with the chassis. There is some extra space above the power supply that you can use to store cables if you don't have a modular PSU.
Installing the Micro ATX motherboard into the largest of the three cases is easy as you would expect. Even if you are installing a normal ATX motherboard there is sufficient space to get it into place. The hard drives have the same mounting frame that we find in the Fusion Remote Black. Be careful with the front mounted hard drives, though, since the space is very limited and the separation wall can bend/break the connectors. It would be useful to have angled SATA connectors here so that they won't press up against the casing. If you are installing a long power supply like the Antec Signature series, be sure you pass all of the necessary cables through the little opening in advance since after you install the power supply you might not have enough room to feed additional cables through. For example, we had to remove the PSU before we could pass the 24-pin ATX cable through the opening.
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joeythecat - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
More comments.I have the silver Fusion which comes with a VFD instead of the LCD, and contrast looks much better. But like you said, driver support is horrible and my VFD consistently freezes or displays garbage, and I have to actually unplug the power cable to reset it, just rebooting the PC doesn't do it.
And yes the IR receiver sucks. Although one nice feature is that it works with the MS MCE remote. But its easy enough to disable the IR from the software and not have to deal with it.
Overall, I'm fairly happy with the case, but I wish I got the one WITHOUT the built in VFD so that I can put in a card reader instead.
jajig - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
Expanding on a couple of your comments with my thoughts:1) I have the same case and agree that iMon LCD is of poor quality. I wouldn't say it is as bad as you make out though. The contrast is adjustable; it took me about 10 minutes, but the display looks nice now.
2)ir receiver is useless. For some people it is too sensitive and gets interference from other remote controls and for others it just doesn't seem to work.
SirKronan - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
AGAIN Antec misses a HUGE feature that should be included or at least a possibility! There's nothing more convenient than pulling that card out of your SLR and immediately being able to display your high resolution photos on your big screen after a trip. Antec again fails to even provide a SLOT for such a device. Only one 5.25 bay.The 120mm fans and superior design are wins, and I would love to have one of these, especially the Fusion, as part of my home theater, but I don't want to have to plug in my camera or use an external card reader. More sleek and simple is always preferred in home theater setups. Not everybody needs a card reader in their HTPC, but it's still a PC and a logical place for a convenient card reader.
It doesn't have to even be visible. Cover it by a flap or put it on the side, as I have seen some cases do. All that space on the front, the MAX even has a flap, and still no option.
/rant
puddnhead - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
"Huge?" you're kidding, right? They put the standard interface USB ports right on the front. Every media format in the world has a USB reader available for it like $3. I have this case, and I have two cameras, one xD and one SDHC. maybe i just have more manual dexterity than you but I have no problem plugging either of these into a converter & that into the USB.In fact, thank god they just put the USBs on here, instead of some ugly "11-in-1" set of ports for SD, xD, miscroSD, miniSD, CF, blah, blah, blah. I want this to look nice and sleek in my living room, not like some kind of crappy computer with plug sockets all over it that looks like it belongs in an office.
RMSe17 - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
More manual dexterity? How about more childish behavior? The user makes a constructive criticism of the case, and what do you do? Regardless of your view on his opinion, how about acting civil?SirKronan - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
Maybe you don't want that feature, but I think a card reader dangling off the front of my home theater equipment, or a USB adapter sitting out a port is ugly, and inconvenient for something we use all the time. And like I said, it doesn't have to be visible. I've seen cases put it under a flap or even on the side.My wife likes to be able to bring the SLR home and stick the card right in the front without attaching anything, and I finally found a case that has them integrated. It still looks dang nice (1/4 inch black aluminum front bezel) and the card readers aren't an eyesore at all, as they are completely black, too. This is a convenience that we wanted, but that doesn't mean everyone does. I know another friend of mine returned his Fusion because of this, and I bought something else because of this feature. I wouldn't mind having at least an option to install one, either. Several Silverstone cases have a 3.5 inch external bay hidden behind a flap.
Oh well. To each his/her own.
strikeback03 - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
I was going to post the same thing you did. I can see not including a card reader on the Micro model, but especially the largest case with the door should have a card reader behind it. Using a USB card reader is a lot more of a hassle and looks far more out of place than a reader integrated into the system.Now I generally wouldn't use this with my SLRs as I shoot all RAW and process, but for family pictures and such would be useful.
SirKronan - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
Yeah, I shoot in RAW for jobs I do for clients, too, but I use the same camera for family stuff too. (some day I'll be able to afford a second body!!) a It's nice to just stick the card right in and sit down with the family to view photos from a trip or a day at the park. My wife takes pictures at all her country concerts, too, and she loves being able to just slap it into the card reader and do a slideshow right on our TV. From there she can instantly burn the images onto a DVD, too. Card readers are much faster than plugging in the camera (up to 15MB/sec on reader vs. 5MB/sec plugging in camera). And Vista (with a free patch) gives you native raw support to at least preview images.ceefka - Thursday, October 9, 2008 - link
In that case (no pun intended) I suggest you buy a USB adapter stick that can accept whatever card is in your camera and keep that USB adapter close to your HTPC.Windblazer3 - Sunday, July 11, 2010 - link
I'm looking at buying the Antec Fusion Remote Black case, and I noticed that you said a PSU with an "80 mm fan at the front" would work well with this case.I really want to get a quiet, efficient PSU in the 550-650 Watt range, and I was looking at the Antec Signature 650 that you reviewed here (http://www.anandtech.com/show/2632/2), where the 80 mm fan is located at the BACK. Is that PSU not really compatible with this case, then?
I was also looking at the Corsair VX550W PSU (however, that one seems to run a bit louder in the ranges I'm likely going to load my system) and the Seasonic X-650 PSU.