Operation and Temperatures:

The Antec One mid-tower case was tested under idle and load conditions. To achieve an idle state, the system was left running at the desktop for 30 minutes with nothing running but Windows 7. However, in order to get the load conditions, 3DMark Vantage was run multiple times with everything set at maximum; with the maximum temperature recorded.

The Antec One's cooling performance was a little surprising. It came in third, however it was still well within what I would consider a safe range of temperatures. Receiving a temperature of 42 degrees Fahrenheit at idle is sufficient. The Thermaltake Chaser MK-1, a full tower with multiple fans cooled much better, but it also comes with a much higher price tag. The Rosewill Ranger is a mid-tower with similar features to the One, however it has a front intake fan. It cooled, just 3 degrees Fahrenheit better than the Antec One.



Under the load conditions, the temperatures were as expected, with the Antec One being the warmest at 58 degrees Fahrenheit. A small 4 degrees Fahrenheit separated the second highest temperature.



One thing I quickly noticed is that the fans in the Antec One are quieter than the ASUS GTX 560TI installed inside (when set to default speeds). There is a slight hum coming from the fans, which is fairly common among 120mm case fans. The top exhaust fan on the Thermaltake Chaser MK-1, when on high is louder than the 120mm Antec One fans; however if I turn the Chaser top exhaust fan onto low settings the Antec One's fans are slightly louder.