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Antec Super LANBOY Case |
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In my earlier review of the Antec SmartPower SL350 PSU I said that Antec had sent two parcels with items for review, so if you’ve been waiting to find out what the second parcel contained, this is it: an Antec Super LANBOY case.
The Super LANBOY is not just an update on Antec’s earlier LANBOY case; it’s a whole new smaller and lighter model. It comes with two 120mm cooling fans, and has an improved internal 3.5” drive cage (cooled directly by the intake fan) with provision for four hard drives.
Before we start, I think it might be worth me mentioning something about the spelling of “aluminium”. I know that “aluminum” is the correct spelling in American English, but that’s not what I use. A historical anecdote may explain the difference: apparently, the first shipment of aluminium to go to the US came from the UK, but the clerk spelled it “aluminum” on the manifest, and that spelling has stuck ever since.
Anyway, on with the review.
The Package
The box the Super LANBOY comes in is unlike any case box I’ve ever seen before. Every other case that’s come in to my hands arrived in a plain brown corrugated cardboard box. As you can see from the image, Antec went for a full colour design which not only features a generic fighting game dude, but also shows off the case and lists some of its features.
The box is multilingual: predominantly English, but with German & French sections. Spanish and Italian text is limited to small notes informing readers that the manual includes sections in those languages.
While it’s no doubt an illustrated box will help to inform consumers about what they’re buying (and have a corresponding positive effect on Antec’s sales), it really adds nothing to the experience of owning the case in the long term. However, if you’re buying the case as a gift, (or even receiving it as one), it’s a nice touch.
Specifications
Before we go any further, let’s have a look at the specifications:
* Anodised aluminium construction;
* Weight: 4 kilos (8.8 lbs);
* Size: Dimensions: 42.4 cm (16.75”) high x 43.3cm (17”) from front to back x 20.7cm (8.25”) wide; described by Antec as a “super mini tower”;
* Takes motherboards up to full size ATX standard (12” x 9.6”);
* Front audio & USB connectors;
* No PSU supplied, but takes a standard ATX 12v unit;
* Nine drive bays: two external 3.5”, three external 5.25”, four internal 3.5” with removable trays;
* Pre-fitted front clear/blue LED low noise 120mm fan (1200rpm, 38.94cfm, 24.85 dB(A));
* Provision for 120mm rear fan (clear low noise 120mm fan (same specs as above) & rubber mounts supplied but not fitted);
* Removable front fan grille;
* Clear full side window;
* Carrying harness;
* Seven slot back panel;
* Front mounted mini toolbox.
Weight vs. Strength
My first impression upon getting the Super LANBOY out of the case was how light it was. It’s nicely designed & good looking, but my overriding impression was just how thin, flimsy & insubstantial it felt.
However, after poking around & taking some photos, I experienced something of a paradigm shift & realised something important about the case; what had initially seemed like Antec skimping for the sake of cost was in fact a very carefully thought out compromise between weight and strength.
Two features in particular helped me come to this conclusion. The first was the press design in the bottom of the case (it’s best described as a large, pointed figure eight) for extra rigidity. The second was the fact that a substantial area on the on the back of the case is double skinned. This area covers the PSU mounts, skirts around the integral fan grill, extends halfway down the panel, and gives extra support to even heavyweight power supplies.
Filling the case with PC components stiffens the case up considerably, turning a case that felt initially to be just too flimsy into something much more confidence inspiring.
The weight, or rather lack of weight of a built up Super LANBOY, is quite impressive. For example, fitted with the same basic test hardware (a floppy drive, DVD drive, CD re-writer, a single hard drive, a Gigabyte GA-7IXEH mother board, sound & graphics card, modem, rounded IDE & floppy cables & an Antec Smartpower SL350 PSU), my steel construction but heavily windowed Chieftec desktop case (which has the same internal configuration as the case we know all know as being synonymous with Antec) weighs in at an arm stretching 19 kilos (42 lbs).
Fitting exactly the same components in the Super LANBOY bring its weight up to 10 kilos (22 lbs) – a whole 9 kilos (20 lbs) lighter - or nearly half the weight.
Portability
As I’ve already mentioned, the light weight of a PC built using the Super LANBOY case makes it very portable. To make it even easier to carry it around, Antec also includes a removable carrying strap. The strap is adjustable and could be used on much larger cases as well.
Using the strap is a matter of adjusting it to be a tight fit, then clipping/unclipping the plastic buckles as required. The position of the vertical wrap around webs is important, as the anodized aluminium surfaces of the case offer very little grip. To get around the problem of slippage, fit the straps so they run in front of the front case feet, and behind the rear feet.
The Panels
Let’s have a look at the outside of the case from a few different angles:
First, the front panel. The painted plastic door is hinged on the left side, and has space for a standard 1” square case badge. Antec supplies one of their badges should you want to fit it.
The door catch is a little too stiff in my opinion, opening the door either requires both hands (one to steady the case & one to pull on the door), although if you develop the correct technique (pushing from the side/behind) it becomes very easy to open with one finger.
Opening the door reveals the three 5.25” and two 3.5” drive bays (the blanking plates of which are a very neat fit); an Antec logo, and the “toolbox” (more on that feature a bit later).
Across the centre of the front is a chrome plated plastic panel featuring (from left to right): a reset button big enough to use without having to scrabble around for a pen, jacks for headphones and mic, two USB ports, power, HD and “turbo”(yes, really) LEDS, and of course a power switch. The cable from the USB ports has a separate connector for each wire: fiddly to fit, but really useful as some motherboard manufacturers seem to have skipped the header pinout part of the USB specification.
Why a “turbo” LED though? How long is it since anyone actually needed a case with one of those? The presence of this superfluous LED is particularly perplexing, as a much more useful PC speaker (for BIOS beep error codes) is nowhere to be found.
Another omission is the lack of any locking facility for the toolbox and/or door.
Moving on, the remainder of the front panel is taken up by a transparent blue grille for the 120mm intake fan. This is removable, should you want to do some dusting. The lighting effect varies with the ambient light level and viewing angle; in indirect daylight it looks strangely like streams of blue smoke being drawn in. As day turns to night, it just gets more and more blue.
Moving on to the side panels, both of which are lightweight anodized aluminium with a light horizontally brushed appearance, the left panel features a full window in moulded clear plastic. Optically, it’s not as good as Perspex / plexi, but this is only apparent when looking through the window at a very oblique angle.
What appear to be rivets holding the window in place are in fact button head fasteners with screws on the inside, which means it is possible to remove the window fairly easily.
Both sides of the window are covered with polythene sheets to protect it in transit: Antec use a very low-tack adhesive to secure them, and removal left no residue.
The side panels are held on with two thumbscrews apiece, and pulling the panels off is easily done with the aid of the painted plastic grips fitted to their rear edges. As is common with all lightweight cases, refitting the side panel requires some patience to ensure all the hooks and eyes are correctly aligned.
I found the right hand side panel in particular was difficult to refit, but rather than forcing it, carefully inspecting the possible causes showed that the screws used to hold the small plastic handle on the rear edge of the panel were fouling the holes in the case back that they were meant to pass through. Like so many other things it proves to be a matter of technique – lifting the panel up by a millimetre (1/16th") by the handle, then pushing down and in at the same time does the trick.
The back panel is conventional enough, with seven card slots, a back plate for keyboard, mouse, USB connections & the like, and a cutout for an ATX power supply. The fan grille (shown in an earlier section) is a fine honeycomb mesh, which demonstrates the accuracy of Antec’s manufacturing.
One slightly odd feature is that a shutter has to be slid aside in order to fit expansion cards, but as the shutter is fitted with thumbscrews it’s no real problem.
