Super Case

Antec puts out good stuff and they have a little something for everyone. The Antec Super Lanboy is a mini-ATX case that will let you show off your hardware and case-mods with ease, and actually encourages it! It is a compact, lightweight, aluminum case with a large, clear, 13' by 13' plastic-windowed side panel. If done well this case can add a kick to your computer area or show up your friends at lan parties, which is made easier by the carrying-strap that comes included for just that purpose.

The case has a good amount to offer despite the compact size. It sports three 5" external drive bays, two 3" external bays, and four internal racks for harddrive storage. Each of the racks come with a little "tray" that you mount your harddrive on which allows you to snap it in and out quickly and with ease. The case even has a 5.5" by 2.5" by 1.5" tooldrawer accessible from the front by a push-lock mechanism. I was thrilled when I saw this since I like having neat places to store things (small toys, money, notes, pen, batteries, remote for sound card etc). The case has a door that can close and cover the front panels and tooldrawer. The front sports two USB ports, power switch, reset switch, mic-in and line-out, and a 120mm blue LED fan (3 LEDs if you're wondering). There is room for one 120mm fan to mount on the back of the case. The power supply unit is the Antec 350w Smartblue that is lit up by blue LEDs. It looks nice, but I had to swap it for a 430w PSU for my pc's power requirements. Dang.

The case frame is aluminum, with part of the front being a silver-grey plastic. The power and reset switch area is laid in a chrome stripe which separates the case-door and the translucent fan-grill in the front nicely. The side panels are easy to slide off, but is a little finicky to slide back on sometimes. With the entire case being mostly aluminum, it's very easy to bump it or handle it in some manner where you can bend the aluminum a bit. So if you warp the side panel just slightly, it will be enough to give you a second of fiddling to get it back on. This also applies to the frame and not just the side panels, so owners will want to be sure to grab the frame carefully when moving the case around or else you'll have to re-bend it proper. The clear plastic of the side panel is attached to the aluminum portion of it by 12 rivets. After peeling off the protective plastic sheets (ack, now the plastic panel is statically charged on both sides!) I noticed that the rivets aren't as solidly attached as they may seem. Rough handling could loosen the rivets, which aren't secured by a washer and just stick through the plastic like they were hole-punched through.

Most people wouldn't have a problem with the case's fragility but it's something to keep in mind. Otherwise the coolness factor of this case is top-notch! The window is large and gives you a huge view into the inside of your case. People who are into case-modding, or who are interested in doing to their pc what people might do to a suped-up car, would enjoy adding more to the internals to complement the blue LED fans. Suggestions would be rounded cables, UV reactive cable sleeving, custom fan grills, cold cathode tubes. People looking for a great site for case-modding supplies should visit http://www.frozencpu.com. I recommend them for their large selection, clean layout, and fast shipping. Those buying the Antec Super Lanboy may want to keep some extra money handy, just in case you feel you need to upgrade your hardware to match the powerfully sleek look of the computer itself.



Edit (2009.04.20):  Downgraded the product rating from 5 to 4 stars.