O11 alternative? Antec P120 Crystal Review - Sign of life of a traditional manufacturer | Page 2

Quality impression

Unpacking the case, you immediately notice that you are definitely not dealing with a creaky plastic bomber here. Antec has obviously put some serious material effort into it and delivered a rock solid case. The construction is extremely solid! All sheets have a high material thickness and nowhere will you be confronted with flabby covers or sharp edges. The right side panel weighs more than 1.7 kg and is so heavy that I first assumed it was insulated with heavy bitumen.

The mechanism for hooking the said side panel and the robust hinges of the glass door also leave no room for criticism. In general, the case is equipped with many great detail solutions, which I would like to discuss in more detail in the following gallery. By the way, you can even remove the screwed glass front relatively uncomplicated.

Clever details

Push to open: The huge glass panel can be unlocked at the touch of a button and then opened like a normal door. Of course, the panel can be unhooked in the blink of an eye while components are being installed.

GPU mount: Antec has integrated a discreet but extremely effective GPU mount directly into the motherboard tray, which effectively prevents the ugly sagging of heavy graphics cards.

Dust filter can be pulled out to the front: The integrated dust filter for the Intake fans can be easily removed for cleaning purposes by pulling it out to the front. Thus, no annoying groping behind the housing is necessary.

I/O illuminated and protected from dust: Even though the front USB ports are a bit awkwardly placed for my taste (see criticisms at the end of the article), they are at least well visible in the dark. In addition, all connections are sealed with a rubber plug, which reliably prevents dusting.

Thumb-Screws don’t fall out: Really only a small thing, but saves you from annoying “bending down and looking for screws” – the thumbscrews of the back panel and the power supply bracket are worked into the respective components in such a way that they don’t fall out when you loosen them.

Slotted holes for flexible fan mounting: All mounting points for case fans are designed as slotted holes, which creates a certain flexibility and allows the position of the case fans to be ideally adapted to the circumstances.