Antec Eleven Hundred: The P280's Gloves Come Off
by Dustin Sklavos on April 9, 2012 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Antec
- mid-tower
In and Around the Antec Eleven Hundred
It doesn't make too much sense to keep belaboring the comparison between Antec's P280 and the Eleven Hundred because as I discovered in the process of working on this review, there are some major differences between the two. The front bezel of the Eleven Hundred is almost completely ventilated, and that includes the shields for the 5.25" drive bays. It's actually a bit surprising that Antec didn't include any front-mounted intake fans, but given the basically wide-open-but-not-really design of the fascia coupled with the massive 200mm exhaust fan in the top of the enclosure, the Eleven Hundred may simply not need them in its default configuration.
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One of the elements I especially like about the Eleven Hundred is the I/O port and button placement: the ports along the top front of the face and the power button and reset button on the front of the top of the enclosure show that Antec understands and expects the case to be placed on the floor, but doesn't force you to pick a side for you to set it. When you do get to the top, you'll see that 200mm exhaust fan. It glows bright blue, but thankfully the LEDs can be toggled off depending on your taste.
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The side panels are fairly interesting. On the left side, Antec includes a window, pegs, and silicone grommets for mounting a pair of 120mm fans laterally. These intakes are lined up pretty specifically with where you can expect multiple graphics cards to be, and there's no side intake for the CPU cooling. Instead, there's a spacious panel behind the motherboard tray that's slightly bowed out to make it easier to route cables, but also a 120mm fan mount designed to intake cool air against the back of the CPU socket.
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Both side panels are mounted using thumbscrews, and they're hinged rather than needing to be lined up and slid onto the chassis, making it much easier for the end user to close up shop. Removing them reveals the interior of the Eleven Hundred, which features the usual rubber-lined cable routing holes around the motherboard tray along with a sizable cutout for heatsink mounting brackets. The drive cage features six mounts for 3.5" drives (using rails included with the enclosure that snap into the drive's sides securely) and two toolless mounts for 2.5" drives. There are also four internal 120mm fan mounts; two are in the front of the enclosure (the front fascia is easy to snap on and off) while two are actually inside the case, behind the drive cage.
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All told, I personally find the aesthetic of the Eleven Hundred to be a lot tamer than many of the other gaming cases Antec sells. I liked how the P280 looked, and even though the Eleven Hundred is much tarted up, it's still not the plastic-and-LED "gamer-oriented" design the Six Hundred and Nine Hundred series have. Internally, it looks relatively easy to assemble, too, and certainly spacious enough without outright wasting real estate.
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Sabresiberian - Monday, April 9, 2012 - link
Uh, if you don't get why the side vents are there, YOU are the one that's stupid, not Antec.Iketh - Monday, April 9, 2012 - link
no no no... if you are still using side vents, YOU are stupidJarredWalton - Monday, April 9, 2012 - link
Yay for intelligent arguments!The reason some people like side vents is that if you have two GPUs, especially on a motherboard where they're only two slots apart (e.g. a "GPU sandwich"), putting a couple fans right above the GPUs can be very helpful for temperatures. From a noise and dust standpoint, though, it's not a good thing and aesthetically some will dislike panels as well.
Sabresiberian - Monday, April 9, 2012 - link
It''s you, the case isn't ugly at all to me.Some people think their concept of beauty in a case should rule over every case a company makes, but, hey, there's a reason that Antec makes so many different types of cases (as well as other manufacturers).
;)
dtolios - Monday, April 9, 2012 - link
What's the point of getting a large or mid-expensive range case to combo with mATX again? I don't understand why "enthusiast" oriented cases should be tested using an mATX mobo the first place....ofc it can do mATX and one GPU...big deal...can it do 2x large GPUs and full ATX good enough is always a WAY more valid question - both for an organizational and thermal performance standpoint.Guess it is just me...
ClockHound - Monday, April 9, 2012 - link
Would it be too much to ask for proof reading before publishing?"If you'll let me beat this dead horse one last time, I'm keen to point out what the Antec Eleven Hundred is that the Antec P280 isn't: a cheaper P280."
I'm keen to understand what you meant. Does this mean that the P280 isn't a cheap P280 or did you mean that the Eleven Hundred isn't a cheap P280? And how did the Three Hundred get into the review text? It's in the text of the overclock page.
I do agree the delta is the better number to display....but it does beg the question with this new test system, why you can't test in a temperature-controlled environment? Why not test with different ambient temps, like room temperature and a 'hot' room temperature?
Thanks for the review.
JarredWalton - Monday, April 9, 2012 - link
Reviews do get proofed most of the time (by me for Dustin's reviews), but I try to take a hands off approach and I thought initially he was trying to say something else. I've fixed that. Anyway, while you're happily flogging us for minor typos, you might want to research what it means to "beg the question". ;-)As for the temperature controlled testing environment, it would be awesome to have such equipment, but we don't. Environmentally regulated test environments don't come cheap, and they also pose a different problem: 70F ambient without a lot of airflow from the AC isn't the same as 70F with an AC moving quite a bit of air. The difference may not be that large, but I'd bet it would be measurable.
Sabresiberian - Monday, April 9, 2012 - link
I get trying to keep the quality of Anandtech high, and I think that pointing out errors in communication is appropriate, but you would make a better point by making a post that is free of spelling, grammar and usage errors itself.;)
kevith - Monday, April 9, 2012 - link
Why don't you ever bother to experiment a bit with different numbers and placement of fans? In this case, it would have been VERY interesting to know, what impact that fan behind the motherboard has on temps. AND noise, since it's tugged away far from the user. And there's a lot of other empty fan placements, that, filled up with fans might change the performance and accoustics. But I guess I'l have to buy the case to find out. (And what's the purpose of reading reviews then...?)You'l probably say, that writing a review takes a lot of time, even without digging deeper into fans, their numbers and placement. But why use all that time, and then in the end the review is only half? Who wants to do or read something, that's ALMOST great? The vast majority of people, that would consider buying this case - and other hi-end cases - will definitely want to experiment.
Aand then you spend a lot of time comparing the P280 and the 1100. Except for readings...!? Why don't you show the figures of the P280 in the graphs?
And I don't think you understood Stahn Aileron's question: We all know, why you changed to showing Delta over ambient, but please let us know what the ambient is, so we know how hot the thing is.
PhoenixEnigma - Monday, April 9, 2012 - link
If you read the review, it's noted that the ambient temperature was about 23C for these tests. The 550D was apparently tested in a room about a degree cooler.Of course, it would make more sense for the reader to use their own ambient temperature - that's the advantege to having the delta and not the final number, it's easier to adjust for your conditions.