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
Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked
Where I think the Antec GX700 is going to come out being a big winner is where old school enthusiasts will want to see it: the overclocked testbed. Remember that for a long time, overclocking wasn't about pushing the top end higher, it was about pushing the bottom end to the top and saving some coin in the process. Under those circumstances, spending $150 on a case is ridiculous if a $60 case can do the job.
With the GX700, I believe it can.
Thermals continue to be very competitive at either fan setting, with the high fan setting allowing the GX700 to hang with some of the best. Only Antec's Eleven Hundred can really do much better.
Fan speeds again remain very competitive.
As do noise levels, remarkably. It's only here that the silent cases can pull ahead at all, but Nanoxia's Deep Silence 1 does have to sacrifice some thermal performance to get here, and the Corsair Obsidian 550D runs hot. Note also that both of these cases are at least twice as expensive as the GX700, though they're also better built and more feature rich in their own rights.
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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.