Antec One Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Although this is an entry level case we wanted to test it to see what we could fit into the tower. Using a full-sized ATX motherboard we were able to install the various components relatively easily. Due to the push out plates on the rear of the “one” we made sure we offered the GPU to the expansion slots prior to breaking the plates out.

Due to the small size of the tower at only 19.2” from front to back, we found it a little tricky to connect the PSU feeds to the components. With little room to spare around the board there were only three possible access holes available to feed the cables through.

We have been really impressed with previous Antec Drive bays and were keen to see how this new revision of the tool-less operation bay was to work. Overall the accessory clips felt thin and brittle but once attached they hugged the HDD’S and held them firmly within the cage. These were easy to install and made the drives accessible, all be it through the rear of the case. We were also impressed with the pressure fit SSD installation which gripped the Drive with the need for a single screw per bay as opposed to the standard four.

Much like its big brothers the “One” offers three 5.25” optical drive bay slots. To test the tool-less clip design found on these bays we chose to install an optical drive. However when coming to install this we found it tricky to remove the front access panel from the chassis. Once removed it was possible to take out the relevant blanking slots from the front mesh. In doing this we found that the locating lugs holding the face plate to the chassis were awkwardly positioned. To this end we were forced to remove the middle bay cover and slide the top cover down to expose the relevant position. After a little time in resolving this issue we finally managed to fit the drive and were impressed with the Tool-less clip design. Replacing the front panel was relatively easy and allowed the drive to sit flush with the face plate.

With an open style cage design there was adequate room to access the rear of the drive bay. The relevant SATA connections were easy to fit and there was plenty of room to loose unwanted cable distribution in front of the drive bays. The SSD was mounted to sit comfortably close to the rear of the cage so that you could reach the relevant connections without needing to remove the drive to connect.

While installing the front ports we found that there was plenty of cable to allow cable management thru the rear of the case before feeding it back to the relevant locations on the motherboard.

Something that we were particularly impressed with was the accessories supplied for the build. The Antec “One” is supplied with a USB header that allows you to connect the USB 3 ports into USB 2.0 pin-outs on your motherboard.

During the build we did find that due to the lack of access holes mounted on the Motherboard tray a bottle neck of cables was caused that protruded from the side of the case and prevented the side door from being fitted. Through some degree of force and a hand on each corner we were able to slide the door on. However this may cause slight problems for those who are looking to fit larger power supplies or components that are cable hungry and may be something to keep in mind when spec’ing your system.

Using our corsair test fan assembly and radiator we were able to fit a mid-chassis sized cooler into this Entry level tower which backs up Antec Claims that the case can handle the latest “heat generating gaming hardware”

Overall we were really impressed with the build and quality of this chassis. Through building one of our test systems into the “One” we have put it through its paces and feel it has come out fighting. We have found some issues with cable management still exist but overall for an entry level case we were pleasantly surprised. We understand that the everyday self-builder will not be looking to pack this chassis out with excessive amounts of hardware and for what it is we feel it ticks most of the boxes with a reliable performance.