Don't know if this is nationwide but found in Houston, sold out in webster/S45 location (there's 1 on display don't know if frys sell their display) Lowest found on google $100 IMO a really good HTPC case (quiet)
Features: * Quiet and highly efficient 80 PLUS® Certified EarthWatts 380W power supply --- o Universal input --- o Active PFC and high efficiency design for superior environmentally friendly operation --- o 80 PLUS® Certification * Triple-chamber structure to isolate power supply and hard drive heat for cooler & quieter operation * Advanced cooling system: o 2 sidemounted 120 mm TriCool™ 3-speed fans * 4 Drive Bays --- o Front Accessible: 2 x 5.25" --- o Internal: 2 x 3.5" removable HDD trays with silicone grommets to isolate drive vibrations * 4 Expansion Slots * Front-mounted ports for easy multimedia connections * 0.8mm cold-rolled steel construction * Accommodates up to MicroATX motherboards (9.6" x 9.6")
Awesome HTPC case, but beware of the potentially faulty front USB port. Mine was a real pain and would crash my system EVERYTIME I tried to use it, even after manually soldering a wire to ground the front USB header to the PSU... I think there's a serious grounding issue on this case. Other than the front USB ports, mine works GREAT... great cooling too!!
MarsOnEarth
Broke Member
posted: Mar. 18, 2010 @ 2:58p
Great find and great case (I've got two). Called Renton, WA; they no longer carry it as it has been discontinued, I was told. Whatever Antec will replace it with it doesn't matter; this is probably the best mATX HTPC (horizontal) case one can buy.
man, we need a frys up in the NY Tristate area!!!!!!!
bbli2000
Member
posted: Mar. 18, 2010 @ 3:27p
I had the same issue. Really bothers me. Thougth it was from the MB. It's great over all.
g0dMAn said: Awesome HTPC case, but beware of the potentially faulty front USB port. Mine was a real pain and would crash my system EVERYTIME I tried to use it, even after manually soldering a wire to ground the front USB header to the PSU... I think there's a serious grounding issue on this case. Other than the front USB ports, mine works GREAT... great cooling too!!
bbli2000 said: I had the same issue. Really bothers me. Thougth it was from the MB. It's great over all.
g0dMAn said: Awesome HTPC case, but beware of the potentially faulty front USB port. Mine was a real pain and would crash my system EVERYTIME I tried to use it, even after manually soldering a wire to ground the front USB header to the PSU... I think there's a serious grounding issue on this case. Other than the front USB ports, mine works GREAT... great cooling too!! I swapped out the mobo too and that finally did the trick (in conjunction with my ground wire soldering to the usb header). The case obv has issues since numerous ppl have this problem.
PuvMan said: man, we need a frys up in the NY Tristate area!!!!!!! Ya I'm from NY. TELL ME ABOUT IT!!!!!!!
Yep putting this together as I type this. I thought the use of rubber against HD was awesome to keep it silence. Only con I could find is that there's no way to match the DVD with the silver color, used black bezel for the DVD and I think it look all right.
Hopefully someone sells a dvd-rom trim kit someday. But meantime, you could get a stainless steel adhesive Cover from Kitchen Isle at Target. I think they stop carry them. Oh well.
veneetle said: Yep putting this together as I type this. I thought the use of rubber against HD was awesome to keep it silence. Only con I could find is that there's no way to match the DVD with the silver color, used black bezel for the DVD and I think it look all right.spray paint...the best and easiest solution. I think buck 2 at that wretched place whose name begins with a 'W'
Mnlv
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 18, 2010 @ 7:51p
is this a sale price or clearance? I don't want to drive all the way for nothing. I can check tomorrow but if it is a sale today is last day. If clearance different story.
okevino
Happy Member
posted: Mar. 18, 2010 @ 8:14p
Saw this at the S. Arlington, TX store, but none on shelf. I didn't ask them to check the inventory. Good deal though.
I just called Fry's in Concord, CA. Apparently this is a discontinued item. The CSR I spoke to said it's OOS nationwide except for two units in Dallas, TX. LOL? Feel free to confirm/refute, please.
I put together a media PC about a year ago with this case and blogged about it in detail. There are some pictures too. Grease case - very roomy and affordable. At $50, it's a steal.
Got the only 2 available last week from Las Vegas frys. It even had free financing! Got to love Fry's, and hate Best Buy. I hope they drive em out of business.
I also have the Antec fusion, which is similar to this case, and I absolutely love it. I have had the case for over a year and the only complaint I have is that I didn't buy it sooner. I would advise those who purchase this case to pay attention to the CPU cooler. This case is small and a lot of the coolers are just too tall for the case. I would recommend the Scythe Ninja, which is what I have, and my MB and CPU temps stay at 30-32 degrees Celsius while being on 24/7.
CrimsonAlchemist
New Member
posted: Mar. 19, 2010 @ 12:14p
i called around the sacramento area but they said none instock. a friend was going in and i asked if he could check since he was there. found a the floor model but was at full price. asked them to check the price and it was clearanced for $50. ended up getting it and they took another $20 off, probably because it was floor and they just wanted to get rid of it.
anyway, came out to a tad over $32 with tax. if its not far, i suggest checking the store yourself if you really want it. a lot of times, clearance items never have good inventory.
Wow that's must be fast 'cause I check last week and the other 2 store in Houston have more than 10. I also got 2 and one of them I had to asked some one to look in the back. Good luck hunting people.
uvmgrad said: I also have the Antec fusion, which is similar to this case, and I absolutely love it. I have had the case for over a year and the only complaint I have is that I didn't buy it sooner. I would advise those who purchase this case to pay attention to the CPU cooler. This case is small and a lot of the coolers are just too tall for the case. I would recommend the Scythe Ninja, which is what I have, and my MB and CPU temps stay at 30-32 degrees Celsius while being on 24/7.
Same case, same cooler. I couldn't be happier. This case is great for an HTPC!
g0dMAn said: Awesome HTPC case, but beware of the potentially faulty front USB port. Mine was a real pain and would crash my system EVERYTIME I tried to use it, even after manually soldering a wire to ground the front USB header to the PSU... I think there's a serious grounding issue on this case. Other than the front USB ports, mine works GREAT... great cooling too!!
Have the same exact issue with mine. Weird thing is, it only started happening after I loaded Win 7.
Green for OP! Picked up one in DFW. I have had an original Antec Sonata with similar power supply for 7 or so years. Case and PS have been flawless. The PS has been a workhorse, even when loaded to the max. The quality, fit and finish of the high-end Antec cases are among the best available. I'm anxious the re-build the HTPC and put it on the shelf with the rest of my components.
I don't know if I like the nsk/fusion series. I have owned both cases and honestly they have a few big issues
1) The motherboard compartment is JUST big enough to fit most microATX boards. This means that boards like gigabyte ones with SATA/PATA connectors that aim sideways off the edge of the board will have those connects flat up against metal and be unusable without modding. I had to use cutters to remove some of the metal wall between the hard drive area and the motherboard area AND use SATA cords with 90 degree ends. LArger video card also will not fit. Anything 9" or over will probably have issues with at least it's power connector.
2) The Fusion is very cool but only having one usable 5.25" drive bay on it was kinda annoying when I wanted to put in 2 optical drives for copying. I don't see why on it they didn't just put the display in the middle of the face instead of occupying a 5.25 bay. Not an issue with the 2480 but the 2 drives are also very tight so a drive that generates a lot of heat or a very deep optical drive could cause issues.
3) no external 3.5" bay. This might not seem like a big deal with people not using floppies but it does keep you from installing an internal card reader which is a pretty standard thing on home theater systems nowadays. Even the Aria/1300 had it so I'm not sure hwy Antec would forego it on their bigger cases.
Now the rubber grommets and 120mm fans are nice but these cases have some big downside. You're talking about a case that's as physically big as a lot of towers just laid on its side.... but that's missing a lot of things that towers have and is strangely cramped inside. All in all I wondered if it would have been better to just buy a P-series towers case and lay it on its side. The big front door would give a nicely finished look to the front and you could just flip It up or down when you needed access to the front bays. Some of them also have ACTUAL sound dampening sandwich panels like the Aria did which the 2480 and Fusion do not.
Thanks OP! Found one in the Micro ATX isle at the Renton store this past Sunday the 21st. It was clearly marked as a clearance item too!
MarsOnEarth said: Great find and great case (I've got two). Called Renton, WA; they no longer carry it as it has been discontinued, I was told. Whatever Antec will replace it with it doesn't matter; this is probably the best mATX HTPC (horizontal) case one can buy.
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