Antec goes big for Nineteen Hundred case concept at Computex
It hasn't yet gone into full production, but Antec is testing the waters with a massive new gaming case
During our visit to Antec’s booth here at Computex, we couldn’t help but gawp at the massive Nineteen Hundred gaming case concept on display – although it’s not yet confirmed as heading for a full production run, the mammoth case was certainly drawing the attention of the crowd.
With room for HPTX or EATX motherboards, nine expansion slots, a whopping 17 drive bays and two PSU bays, it’s the definition of overkill. Although we liked the green accents throughout the case, we can’t think where it would go – you certainly won’t fit it underneath the average computer desk.
Thankfully Antec had several more sensible cases on display too, including the P100 – a more entry-level version of the fantastic P182 performance series, it contains many of the same features, like removable drive bays, a minimal appearance and a sound-isolating design to reduce noise.
The ISK600 Mini-ITX case was also on display, and should be going on sale in the next few months. It’s a decidedly simple affair, but one that shouldn’t cost a fortune – unlike many other small form factor cases out there.
We were also shown several new Kuhler all-in-one liquid coolers, which move the pump from the CPU block to the fan assembly, thus avoiding using an Asetek patent that would require Antec pay royalties for every unit sold. New high airflow fans force more air through the radiators than the previous generation Kuhler models.
Hopefully this new design means a reduced price, although we won’t know until they go on sale later in the year. Expect the slim Kuhler 650, full thickness Kuhler 950 and twin 120mm Kuhler 1250 to appear in the UK around august.
Finally, Antec revealed its new AMP portable Bluetooth speakers – an evolution of the existing AMP One, the Amp SP1+ gains NFC connectivity while the smaller AMP SPZero will cost just £49 when it goes on sale later in the year. The larger AMP sp3 doubles up on both speaker drivers and passive radiators, with an eight hour battery life and Bluetooth music playback. We don’t yet know whether these use regular A2DP Bluetooth or aptX, but judging by the low RRPs we expect it’s the former. All three should be on sale by late August.
