Hardware Antec Dark Fleet Case Review

Ok, that is an ugly as hell case, how on earth can it get a 7 for aesthetics?

 

Design != Aesthetics.

Looks are subjective, but the internal design is something you can't get around. If it's hard to work with or poorly thought out, the design score goes appropriately.

The only really badly thought out bit, in my opinion, is the hot swap bay at the top.

 

THe Hot Swap is terrible for LANs. But awesome for anything else tbh. Thing is I only think this is an ugly case, it's not that it's badly designed, hell the HAF is ugly too, but it's well designed.

Interestingly though, it's still made cheaply.

 

I'd like the hotswap more if it looked more integrated into the case, instead of stuck on, and if the drive actually went all the way in, and was seal-able. As it it, your drive sticks out and looks awkward, and the display displays half SSD and half SATA connectors. And the boarder covers up part of your nice shiny SSD's top.

I just think it could have been implemented a little better. I wouldn't mind losing a 5.25" drive bay if the hot swap had the plastic display smooth with the roof, and when the SSD was slid into place, the little drive bay cover thing swung into place with a little combination lock to protect your SSD.

Or something. They should make a Dark Fleet Sleepygamer Edition with more metal, a better hot swap, and a redesigned side window.

The side window worked on the other Antec cases, but I think this design calls for something a little more trapezoid shaped. I like the one on my NZXT M59 (one of the main attractions for me) which kind of has the trapezoid vibe.

I might get my hands on one of these just to see if I can mod it to the way I think it should be.

 

Wonder why they didn't have a door? Or a solid window? I don't want a random thing in the middle of mah window.

That hot swap definitively needs a door or something to secure it.

 

Yeah. I'd just be happy if the SSD went all the way in. Getting it out would require a little thought, but if it had a kind of door, the door could be attached to a little drive slide, maybe, which pushed the drive in and pulled it back out.

 

Do it like the CM style HDD caddies inside the case, it just has a lever so you can pop it out.

Or just give the SSD a separate casing that goes in the hot swap with a handle on the rear. Might cost a bit more, but it would be cool.

Or do it PS3 HDD style.

 

I LOVE the look of this ANTEC case , for me is OK , and I think the twins 140mm on the roof, are a better option because already there are plenty 140mm fan makers , and the offer of new versions of 140mm fans, increase day by day, on the other hand 200mm ANTEC BigBoy fan is really hard to swap with another maker


.

 

Guess people really do have different taste for things. That's a thing that always tends to slip my mind as my taste is ofcourse the absolute truth.

Anyway yes, the monolith design aluminum cases may seem quite alike, but to me all these gaming-malarkeys look exactly the same as well - Fugly.

 

I looked at one of these up close yesterday. I actually like he Power Rangers look, but for an Antec it's terribly disappointing. Although it's huge externally, there's not all that much internal room. It is IMHO unsuitable for water cooling because of this. Also, it lacks the almost by now traditional dividing compartment down low which is what allowed me to mount my WC pump. Also heat from the PSU will rise. In addition, unlike the P182 style, the walls are a single thing sheet of metal which is going to make this noisy. I DO like the built in manual fan adjusters. The 'guards' that protect the 5.25" slots unlock and swing out on a hinge but it's not intuitive and would be a pain for accessing an optical drive.

WTF Antec? You used to be so good.

 

This case should be banned !

Antec should recall and cancel the whole of the Dark Fleet series.

You cannot compare this case to a 1200.

I prefer more sleeker designs. Something super modern with clean lines.

When I say sleek, I'm not talking about a P180. I can't get how a bland P180 can be held up as 'sleek'. I would call the P180 neat and nice, but how sleek can a bland square box get, unless you just simply make its finish more shiny. But then Antec could also paint the Dark Fleet shiny as well and call it sleek.

I have never heard that a square tin box is sleeker than a Lamborghini or Aston Martin.

As others have already suggested, we need a next level of pc design from Aston Martin or something. Not Dark Fleet nor the stagnation with neat boring square boxes. The run-of-the-mill ordinary square box design was once the ultimate look. But now this is the year 2010.

The new Corsair Graphite looks good but still not perfect. For a start, I would prefer it with cleaner sides without the odd door latches. Put in a neat tinted side window, and change the graphite to jet black matte paint.

Or just give me a case with a theme similar to an Aston Martin One 77 with futuristic dynamic lines on each angle, and a massive awesome front air intake grill.

 

what were Antec thinking? bbllllaaa this case just made me vomit!

 

Hey now... I've said it before and I'll say it again: This is not a gamer case.







It doesn't have blue LEDs.

 

OK, thats enough now Antec, the joke aint' funny anymore... just give us a REAL successor to the P180 and we'll pretend all the turds you've laid over the last couple of years never happened, OK?


PS: I've said it before and i'll say it again, this is the most beautiful PC enclosure ever made;



As stock it takes the monolithic look to the absolute limit (only if was made of pure onyx or granite would it be sexier... if monstrously impractical).

 

TBH I quite like the look of them.....

 

Fixed. If there was a case made of granite, it would be excellent for 1 reason...it could double as a real footrest.

 

I like the look of it.

 

rattner and the word crap come to mind , but this aint gold

 

Not feeling this case at all its an ugly brute, think I'll stick to my favourite atm the corsair obsidian 800d which hopefully will be in my possession within the next month and all braided up

 

I guess one could say it's function over form, but seeing as Lian Li's managed function with form, I can't see why Antec can't do the same as well.

Is designing a good looking metal housing for a computer really hard if all we want are boring(if pretty) edges?