Under the product line of Antec 25 we got a chance to take a short review of Antec One S / One S3 Mid Tower CPU case. It is a large CPU case that comes with multiple drive bays and nice looks. If you are looking to build up a new system, then you must have a look on image of this CPU case. Along with enough space there is ample of fan location provided. You can use 3 full size fans easily on the same with additional space provided. It is a gaming rig that means it has enough space to use multiple gpu, liquid cooling and multiple hard drive with a bigger board fitted inside. We reviewed the same and found that Antec One S is capable of giving all those features. It is a value product does not have really impressive look, but straight forward qualities which are well enough to understand. Looking into the detail what can be added I found that there is enough space to hook 3 drive of 5.25”. That is mostly optical media. Also you can add five 3.5” drives and two 2.5” hard drives to the system. There are total 7 bays which are utilized for the hard drives. You will need to take a special care of cable management if you are going to use multiple hardwares on your system because this can be bit complicated to make it less messy.
There is only one single fan provided on the top side which is 120mm large. The PSU has space at the end side. So that it does not blocks the air from top. The CPU case has space for four 120mm fans. You can see it is clearly marked on the chassis. You can see that in the image below. There is fan space provided where you can add 3 more. At the bottom side it is also possible to add a single 120 or even a bigger 140mm fan. This quality clearly says that the CPU case has enough air ventilation. It is recommended to add a good PSU to the case so that there is no power shortage.
You can add a standards size ATX motherboard, or a micro or mini-ITX. The CPU case comes at a reasonable cost and it can be a good part of your beginning gaming pc list. The back panel is very clean. Proper openings are allotted to get your connectivity work perfectly. You can take a look on the detailed specification to get more idea about the case and its features. As you can see in the below specification that Antec has emphasized more on giving a higher number of fan support. So to some extent this removes the need of adding a costly liquid cooling kit. You can just add up some set of fans to drag out maximum heat from the system. I will not recommend air ventilation at extreme level. But for gaming needs it is more than enough. The case can also serve better to server hardware. Multiple drives are a solution for those who are looking for a decent case to configure a storage server on their network.
The front panel does not give more. It is well placed on the top side covering just less than 10% area. So that the lower place can be occupied for more drive-bays. The front panel is equipped with USB 3.0 port. There are 2 of them provided. They also supports 2.0 interface. Antec added usb 3.0 port directly on the front side, and not separate 2.0 ports. The power button is just at the top right. So this really gives the design a very dull look, but it also makes it more convenient compared to other cases. Due to all connections and buttons on the top side you do not need to bend down and on or reboot your system. Also you can easily hook a high speed data transfer usb device on the front side easily.
Specification:
- Chassis Type — Mid Tower
- Dimensions — 17.2” (H) x 8.2” (W) x 19.2” (D) & 438 mm (H) x 208 mm (W) x 488 mm (D)
- Fan Support — 1 x 120 mm top, rear, side intake, front intake fan and 140 mm bottom fan.
- Drive Bays –3 x 5.25” tool-less drive bays, 5 x 3.5” tool-less drive bays and 2 x 2.5” drive-bays.
- Expansion Slot — 7
- Front I/O Panel — Audio In/Out, Power and Reset buttons, and 2 x USB 3.0 with internal motherboard connector
Let’s check some more information on the back panel. As you can see in the image back panel looks neat and clean. There is ample of space and slots that are added to give enough connectivity space. The lower panel is dedicated to the power supply. You can book up a good PSU at the end. The top side is covered by back panel connectors and a big fan which lies very near to the CPU and graphic cards. So in some cases if the CPU heats a lot you can simply add the fan here and drag the heat out. The central parts are slots which can be used for PCI card. It is not so complicated to figure out how to assemble a computer on Antec One S3.
The drive bays as you can see on the above image if for optical drives or for those drives which comes with a set of enclosure. The second image gives you a bit glimpse of the 3.5 and 2.5” drove bays. It is simply a open space with panel to hold the drive. I was expecting to get something more better here. What I liked about One S3 that the space inside is quiet large. It is designed insuch a way that the air inside is not trapped. It will flow easily through the case and keep the internal temperature much cooler. The black paint over internal surface might be able to absore more heat. There are very few accessories provided with One S3. The only additional stuff you get is five pairs of drive bay rails for 3.5” drives. And other set of screws are commonly found. The CPU case is sold for Rs.3,000 approx and it comes with only single 120mm fan. I was expecting to atleast 1 more fitted on the back side.
Conclusion:
One S / One S3 might not lie on the list of expensive CPU case, but it is capable of giving you enough compartments for assembling a high end gaming CPU. You can easily figure out how to connect which thing where. Due to a simple straight forward design, you intermediate knowledge I am sure enough that you can stand-up your system in less time. Although you cannot expect much on sever level system, but the upper body looks enough durable. It’s not very heavy to carry. This case lies at the mid level of gaming pc and server cases while regular PC it is best. Upgrades are easy on this and in future you do not require to worry about left space. You can upgrade new hardware anytime in this. Remember that this is a standards size ATX case, not full size. So do check the motherboard before buying. Some boards are bigger which needs a full size case and that will not fit.
Pros :
- There are 2 USB 3.0 ports provided on the front side with USB 2.0 compatibility.
Cons :
- One PCI Slot on the back is of no use.
- Lack of enough space between right side panel and rear part of motherbaord
- Antec 302 offers similar support with resonable price
