I'm used to Antec cases so after a number of years I finally got round to building another computer and decided to go with the Antec Three Hundred Two case compared with the Zalman P11 Plus case (which is even bigger than this!). I can safely say their build quality is still top notch after all this time.
Everything fitted pretty well apart from the Gigabyte Z87-HD3 motherboard I purchased where the right side doesn't quit seem wide enough to fasten it down with an extra screw as many commenter's have said so feels like the board flexes when you attach the RAM or anything on the right side of the board. There is a bit of flex but nothing to worry about but this has nothing to do with the case itself but is a bit of caution for anyone looking to get that board with this case!
Other than that, you get a generous amount of space and can fit at least two full-size graphics cards easily and more hard drive bays than you could shake a stick at so this is definitely a case for future-proofing your system if you ever want to upgrade. The in-built cable tidy system is quite handy that sits between the motherboard and the outer/back panel.
Unfortunately there are flaws already but relatively minor. The one that confused me the most is attaching the HDD light, reset button etc connectors to the motherboard. While the Antec instructions said that '... coloured wires are positive and black or white wires are negative' which sounded great but if you look at the cables you get they are just black and white wiring! With the motherboard above I took an educated guess and attached them with the words on the cables facing upright (assuming the case is upright and you are looking at the motherboard face on) and thankfully got them right.
You get two standard Antec fans with this case; a 140mm top fan and a 120mm rear fan with optional fan spaces at the front (2x) and one on the side. Even cranking the fans up to maximum (they have switches on the back of the case at the top) I could barely hear anything which is always good.
Final summary with positives and negatives:
Positive:
+ Nice, solidly built case that you expect from Antec. Lots of steel that isn't thin and not much plastic makes it sturdy but also doesn't weigh a tonne.
+ Basic fans are extremely quiet with options to add more in future.
+ Lots of space inside and it could probably even fit longer graphics cards (using a MSI GTX 770 2GB Twin Frozr with plenty more space) and good if you want to add more stuff in future.
+ Good airflow if you buy an extra fan and attach to front.
+ Generous amount of screws that come with it.
+ Lots of space for hard drives that are extremely easy to fit; snap on the rails to the drive and slide it in - job done!
Negative:
- Power button, reset button, HDD light wires etc were black and white even though the manual says a positive wire is coloured (red, green, blue etc) and negative is white or black.
- The reset button itself is very small and sometimes accidentally press the power button.
- There is space for two 2.5" SSD's but they are in very unusual places; one at the bottom of the case which isn't too bad but one is located behind the motherboard mounts which means if you use it you need to add an SSD first before the motherboard! Easier to get a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter.
- Has two holes in the top near the fan for watercooling but seems quite an unusual place for them.
Overall a very good case and well worth buying if you want something not too flashy, solidly built, decent price and opportunity and space to add more items in future.
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Customer reviews
This case is just what I needed. I have had a Xclio Wind Tunnel for around 5 years now and I have just gotten fed up with it, it's bulky, has no room for cable management and weighs a ton.This case is half the weight and looks great, I have managed to cable tie all of my PSU and other cables to the back of this case as there is plenty of room. This is mainly what I wanted as my airflow was terrible in my old case.I have also ordered 2 blue LED fans for the front of the case which should make it look great.There are dust filters for the front 2 fans and one underneath the PSU. A very silent case and I would recommend to anyone looking to build a system but doesn't want to spend a load of cash on a fancy one. Last note, the size of this case is a Mid tower but is is only just less than a full tower, great size and a great case.(I will try and add photos of cable management)
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