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
Conclusion: May Be Worth the Sacrifices
One sentence needs to really be repeated over and over again (just as it has been in the preceding review): the Antec GX700 is $59.99. Without that, it's tough to put this case into perspective.
The core of the GX700 is pretty much all good news. This is a case that offers excellent thermal performance with middling acoustics, or excellent acoustics with middling thermal performance, and the integrated fan control leaves that up to you. If you're willing to run the fans whole hog it's difficult to find cases that run too much cooler than the GX700 does. On top of the thermals and noise, end users get to enjoy a largely toolless assembly and competitive I/O functionality. At $59.99, that's a pretty easy sell.
Where I think Antec gets hung up, and why I'm not rushing out to give it an Editor's Choice award, is because the construction is in some places just too chintzy. The design, despite how excellent a lot of it is, also needs some work. We simply don't need four 5.25" bays anymore, and the fact that the top one is basically blocked by the internal cables for the I/O cluster means the front of the case gets broken up needlessly. I think they could've just covered up that bay and called it a day, personally. Maybe put the I/O there or alternatively, put the Antec badge there. Something. There's also the confusingly short HD audio cable, the lack of expansion bay slot covers, and the aesthetic is bound to put off at least a few users.
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I think Antec did an interesting job of cutting corners to hit their price point, but I feel like they may have invested in the wrong places in some instances. The fan controller is an unqualified win at $59.99, but the metal drive bay shields feel excessive and unnecessary.
A lot of this is pretty subjective, though. At $59.99, you may not care too much about how the case looks or how well it's built, and you're probably going to be willing to overlook some of the GX700's shortcomings. I probably would too. It's very difficult to find a better deal in this price range, so users interested and only interested in pure performance or being able to balance acoustics and performance on their own terms, users who just want bang for the buck, they're the ones that need to be carefully eyeballing the GX700. If you know what you're getting into and you need something good and cheap, Antec's GX700 is the way to go.
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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.