Antec Overture II (cont’d)
After putting the optical drive in its cage, we decided to put it in the case first. This cage, in particular, fits in very easily and latches in place quickly and solidly.
Click to enlarge.
Here, we see another need for the specialized power supply, as the power cord needs to be routed out the same side of the unit from which the leads come out. What’s also noteworthy in this photo is the illustration of how easy it is to route the cables coming from the front panel of the case.
Click to enlarge.
Next, we laid the motherboard in place, and simply to get a shot of the bottom of the included power supply, we lifted it in this picture from its normal position.
Click to enlarge.
It fits! Even with our oddly-placed IDE connector, the Overture II allows barely enough space between the motherboard and power supply to accommodate those rare motherboards out there.
Click to enlarge.
With the motherboard in place, we put the rear hard drive cage in next, and put two more of the included screws (designed to go through the rubber grommets) into the hard drive in the picture. The cage slides securely on rails into position and is held in place by the two mounting points visible towards the top of the picture.
Click to enlarge.
Finally, after securing the rear hard drive cage and connecting all the cables, which was no easy task considering the massive amount of cables coming out of the included power supply, it was time to attach our video card. Unfortunately, this is where we ran into a relatively ugly problem with the Overture II. The PCI slot covers have an incredibly cheap feel to them, and short of prying them off with a pair of pliers, they are quite difficult to remove. If one wasn’t very careful, he could get cut wrestling with one of these.
The card did plug in though without problems, and we then put the front 3½” cage in place over the power supply and the install was completed. Like the Mstation, the install was straight-forward, but for the most part, the components didn’t fit quite as well.
Click to enlarge.
When turned on, a plastic ring surrounding the power button glows blue for a subtle effect on the front of the case.
Click to enlarge.
After finishing up with the Antec case, we noticed one other problem. When installing the lid, it must have been a little bit off a couple of times, and even with the brand new coat, a sharp enough edge scraped the paint off the top edge of the side.
Click to enlarge.
This is simply something that happens when ideas like a glossy paint job and a removable top cover (as opposed to a three-side cover) come together. Regardless, a careful user really has no reason to let this affect their opinion of the case.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
26 Comments
View All Comments
warped6 - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I purchased one of these back in the late spring. I too tried putting the DVD in the bottom position and it didn't fit. I then found out that it wasn't meant to hold an optical drive. It's meant to hold a VFD display so you can have the extra little door open to see the display. You can see this on there web site.Unless there is a short optical drive that I haven't found yet.I also replaced all of the fans with quieter ones. That helped quite a bit as far as noise.
I've been very happy with the box, now if I could just get the software to work the way I want it too and so the wife can deal with it, I could move it into the living room. :-)
bearxor - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I know a lot of people are complaining because you reviewed some fairly low-end HTPC cases, but these are all in the price range that I'm looking at, which is 90-130. I was settled on a Cooler Master case, but after reading what you guys wrote about the Tenor, I might just go with it. I had decided against it because of the blue LED lights, but like you said, I could just disconnect them.Not all of us are willing to spend 200-300 dollars on just a case for our HTPC, this review was for us.
bschuler2004 - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I still contend the best HTPC is a HTPC out of sight controlled via RF remote. Why even have a pc in the living room? Your cable company doesn't put it's Video On Demand servers in your living room.. why would you? It just doesn't make sense. Plus, then you can use any case, can be as loud as you want.. cuz nothing in the living room is as quiet as an Svideo,Rca, etc cable.. You save money, space, and alot of headaches.BigLan - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I agree, to a point. My HTPC is a generic mid-tower which has similar dimensions to my sub. It doesn't really look too out of place except fot the blue LED in the power supply.I've been thinking more and more that the ideal setup would be a non-descript PC box on the floor or hidden, with an external usb DVD drive (or two) and the remote control receiver placed near the amp/receiver.
Most of the current htpc cases seem to appeal to the bling factor, which I learned the hard way meant loud fans and inadequate cooling.
PDubya - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
On page 5, the "removable cap" looks to be recessed, so I'm guessing you could place some filtration medium in that capped area. Just my two cents.Tamale - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
but that's the exhaust.. I'm still not sure what good putting a filter on the exhaust side of the power supply would do...bldckstark - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I agree that putting a filter on the exhaust side would be useless, but the cover is there for some reason. I have several machines here at work that have covers very similar to this that are used for air intake filters. Was the PSU checked for air flow direction? Maybe they reversed it in this application.bldckstark - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
The users manual states in the cooling section that you should not "block the air intake vents on the top panel, the front left side (at the filter) or the back (ventilated PCI slot covers." They are calling it an intake. This is the EC manual, not the US version. They are quite different, and there is no mention of the cover in the US version.http://www.antec.com/us/support_productInfo_detail...">EC users manual in English - pdf
Check page 6 under "Important Notes On Cooling"
UrQuan3 - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I understand that this review is geared more towards gaming rigs in the livingroom than for video recording/playback machines, still I'd like to know about some of those systems as well. I've been looking at picking up either an ATX P4 or a mini-ITX Pentium M machine from http://www.hushtechnologies.net/">Hush. Just wondering if anyone has tried one.OrSin - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
500 is the low end of those case. They you pay extra for stuff like a reset buttom.Crazy over priced. I could see going as high $ or even alittle more if you want the front display, but $500+ ?. I guess if I spent $10,000 on Theathe systems it would not too bad. But $500 you could just hide a regular systems in the wall or something.