Antec
I don’t mean to be hard on the folks at Antec, but for me, they peaked about 6-8 years ago, when it seemed they had a truly robust product range. I think they lost their way as they focused on mobile, and some of their chassis went a bit “meh” for me. Not all, but most of them at least. However, they’ve dug deep this year, and their 2019 and beyond range look set to put Antec back on the enthusiast map.
TORQUE
One of their maddest designs (one of) is the Torque. Pictured above and below, it looks like an alien spaceship smashed into a PC case. It’s all off angles, open air, tempered glass, RGB, and it’s just damn right epic to look at. Sure, it’s not wholly practical for every build. However, it’s unique and I can’t help but find it a wonder to look at.
P82
Their latest mid-tower looks superb too. It’s a pretty clean design overall, but there’s room on the interior for some rather serious hardware. It’ll handle up to an E-ATX motherboard, and has 7 expansion slots. However, it also has a triple slot vertical PCIe mount, so you can get some pretty hefty cards on their side too.
If that’s not enough, a top mounted PSU shroud, tool-free drive bays, right side mounted radiator/fan intakes, full radiator/fan spece in the bottom, 120/140mm rear mount, and so much more. It’s a clean yet very capable looking beast.
P82 Crystal
Theis is basically the same chassis, albeit the front panel is replaced with more glass. This is a demo build, obviously, but it really shows you what it’s capable of. Personally, I think it looks like a Lian Li chassis; and that’s pretty damn high praise.
STRIKER
This one is another favourite of mine. The name is still to be determined, but they’re calling it the Striker for now.
They’re hoping to launch it in Q3 for around $150, but again, that’s all TBD also.
It features lashings of aluminium and tempered glass and a truly unique design.
The most striking thing being the front mounted GPU. They use a riser cable to get the card in the front, and I’m eager to see what this does for GPU cooling performance.
GTR
One of the most bonkers designs on show is the GTR. It’s a prototype right now, and even if they do make it, it’ll be in limited supply. Well done Antec for really going wild on this one. I think it looks ridiculous and I’d never buy it, but I still love how mad it is. Even if they only made 100 of them, I don’t think they’ll have any issues selling them at all.
Cube Max
Remember the Antec Cube? It was a bit love/hate, but this new one is all love! Gone are the plastics, and in are stacks of tempered glass, RGB, and improved airflow. It’s still got a similar shape to the old model, but it’s otherwise a completely new chassis.
Blazer GT
This one is a little less crazy, but still pretty darn cool. It’s also massive, but hey, there’s a market for that. What’s unique here is that it can be mounted vertically as a normal ATX chassis, or if you have the room for it, on its side like you see below. Take the side panel, or should I say top panel, off. This way it becomes a hybrid open air test bench!
Computex 2019
We just want to say a massive thank you to our sponsors for Computex 2019; EK, Taitra, Patriot, Corsair and Viper Gaming. We’ll be bringing you the latest products and news for all these brands and many more while we’re in Taiwan. Check out our Computex 2019 event page for the latest!
