Not quite as many hundreds as other cases in the Antec range...
A good case is the most important part of any serious build, if not just for somewhere to put all the components. They'll provide you with shelter, fresh air and some serious street cred for all the tech you choose to place inside their cold, metal frames, but no two cases are built the same (unless they're the same model). We've seen all sorts from Antec before, but the Six Hundred is a little like a see-saw that has been stacked with all sorts of ideas. Heaped upon this metaphorical mental pile of concepts is a fascia that looks like a fancier version of the Two Hundred case, a case layout that echoes the original Nine Hundred design and an internal layout similar to the other members in the Hundred range.
There's plenty of thought put into the I/O panel at the top of the case, with some very clicky buttons that have excellent response, though the labelling isn't clear on the audio jacks - you'll have to learn which port does which through use. From here the case stretches onwards with an abstract grillework to reach the large 200mm fan exhaust at the top of the case, framed underneath with a smoked plastic panel so you can peer into the depths of the case, if you're so inclined. While the intricacy of the design does look pretty good at first glance, it is unfortunately constructed from plastic that while obviously saves costs, but does make it seem cheap.
The sidepanels on the Six Hundred are constructed from a thin sheet of steel like much of the case, though the left-hand side comes with a pretty stylistic window panel cut into it. This isn't quite as elaborate as the Nine Hundred's elongated design, but it's still more than enough to show off all your expensive parts within. The window even comes with a 120mm cutout for an intake fan, and what's more is that it comes with vibration dampened mounts to reduce the plastic-on-acrylic vibration noise!
The rear of the case is the typical Antec design, boasting a large 120mm exhaust fan that lies adjacent to a simple fan speed controller which, with simple flicks of a switch, can disable the LED lighting in the larger exhaust fan and slow down either of the two rear fans. There are cutouts for watercooling next to the expansion slots, but these aren't grommeted and will slice through tubing faster than an Irishman can drink in a whisky factory.
Once inside the case you'll find it as bare as a moth-infested cupboard, with only the most basic ATX layout available and a power supply that merely rests on raised metal bumps. The harddrives install inside a large column of steel at the front, with up to six available (and even space to install two 120mm fans for intake), and three 5.25in devices at the top. While there's plenty of room for tech none of it is tool-less, and the budget skew of the case rears its head once again. The feet underneath the case aren't cheap plastic ones however, with a grippy rubber disc in each corner keeping the case pretty stable.
For the price you're getting a pretty nice case, and it's definitely a good amount of value for your buck. It does skimp on some of the premium features, but at the end of the day it holds and cools all your tech - and that's all you can really expect from a case.
Issue: 133 | February, 2012