Conclusion:

Antec's One is intended to appeal to the mainstream market, offering a case that has many enthusiast level features at an extremely low price. Some of the finer features of the One include the two 120mm exhaust fans, tool-less drive installation, power supply intake filter, power supply anti-vibration feet, large CPU bracket cut-out, and plenty of options for cable routing. This is all offered without the premium price that enthusiast cases typically have. Antec's build quality is well respected, and the One follows this tradition.

The hard drive tool-less clips have been used on many cases, and make it extremely easy to install drives. I really like that drive installation is completed totally on one side of the case, since it is common for the drive to be installed on one side, and then the cables are connected on the other. Both of the exhaust fans were pretty quiet; there are certainly quieter fans out there, but these work quite well.



There were a few areas of concern on the Antec One. The biggest of these is the issue of the motherboard covering part of the cable routing holes. There is still plenty of room to put your cables through the holes, including the main power cable, however this is not the most ideal situation. Next, while Antec provides mounts for an intake fan, there is no filter in place. You will need to make sure you purchase a filter for the intake fan. Finally, if you remove the wrong expansion port bracket, you will be left with an open slot, or you will need to supply your own cover.

The Bigbruin.com shopping page did not find the Antec One mid-tower case available for sale. However, a quick search elsewhere online found it at Amazon.com for $44.99, with free shipping! For mid-tower case of this quality, and with the advanced features such as tool-less drive installation and USB 3.0 internal connection, this is a great price for such a case.

My biggest suggestion would be to add a 120mm front intake fan, such as Antec's 761345-75120-9 120mm casefan for $10. Another option would be to add a LED fan to give the case a little flair.

If this had been a higher priced "enthusiast" level case, the areas of concern I encountered would have prevented me from recommending this case. However, this is not geared to be a replacement of an enthusiast type case, which is typically much more expensive.

As a mainstream budget case, it offers features that are seldom found on cases at this price point. Taking everything into consideration; the sub $50 price, tool-less drive installation, USB 3.0 internal connector, fully painted interior, and cable management considerations, I give this case the Bigbruin.com "Recommended" award along with the "Good Value" award.



Pros:

» Large CPU backplate cutout
» USB 3.0 internal connection
» Good cable management
» Power supply fan filter easily removed for cleaning
» SSD drive bays
» $45 shipped

Cons:

» No included intake fan or filter
» Expansion covers are not reusable
» Cable routing holes partially covered by motherboard

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