Final Thoughts
Price
The Antec ISK-600 is priced very competively given its overall component support and build quality, it’s available at CCL Computers for just £53.14 (including shipping) here in the UK and $57.90 + $10.19 in the US from Amazon. There are solutions from brands such as Cooler Master that are a little cheaper, but the aluminium side panels and clean looking front panel of the ISK 600 certainly justify the extra cost. Something similar from the likes of Lian Li will likely set you back around 50% more than the Antec chassis.
Overview
It’s been a while since we had a new Antec chassis in the eTeknix office and I’m really happy to see them come back with something as nice as the ISK-600, and at such a perfect time for the industry too. I know a lot of people that are working on building their own compact gaming rigs since the reveal of SteamOS and SteamBox type systems. There are a lot of people out there who enjoy console gaming on the big screen, myself included, but the “glorious PC master race” can’t get by without anything less than a GTX 690, and it’s this crowd that cases like the ISK-600 appeal to, allowing you to build a kick-ass gaming rig that you can pop under your big screen TV via a home cinema system, just plug in your favourite controller and off you go. That being said, the ISK-600 is pretty competent as a HTPC too thanks to its clean looks and competent storage capabilities, you could fill it with hard drives, a half decent GPU and use it as a home entertainment unit.
It seems then that Antec have hit on a little bit of everything with the ISK-600, it’s got a great design that makes it look perfectly at home in the office, under or on top of your own desk, under your TV, or even just to take with you as a LAN gaming rig. The style isn’t without its details, but it still manages to be understated. I really like the use of aluminium on the top and side panels and the deep brush finish as well as the clean front panel makes it look like a much more expensive product than it actually is, which is no bad thing at all.
Removable hard drive bays are always nice, and the ones here really do make for easy installations of your drives, while also making it easier to install other components when the bays are removed. I would have liked to see another fan mount somewhere near the front, but plenty of ventilation and room for a 120mm water cooler at the back is a good enough trade off and will be more than sufficient for almost any rig in this form factor.
There isn’t really anything I don’t like about this case and while I’m not under the impression that its the best case ever, it’s certainly one of the best ones within this price range and form factor.
Pros
- Great overall design
- Aluminium top panel
- USB 3.0 support
- Spacious interior
- Removable hard drive bays
- Water cooling capable
- Competitive price tag
Cons
- Full length ventilation on the left side panel would have been nice (for the GPU)
“The ISK-600 is a highly versatile chassis, it’ll look great in almost any environment and makes the perfect solution for a HTPC, gaming rig, or even just a day-to-day desktop PC and at this price it’s an absolute bargain, providing premium quality at low-to-mid budget prices.”
Only problem that I forsee with this case, every kind of mITX motherboard and the H80i cooling system is, most (/every) of the time, there is :
– Only one USB 3.0 and 2.0 internal slot on the MB,
– On the other hand, the case have one usb 3.0 and one usb 2.0 on the front panel,
– And the H80i need also an usb connection internaly.
=> So, you will have to choose between plug usb case or H80i on the MB.
My understanding is that the internal USB3.0 headers on the motherboard will serve both 3.0 and 2.0 ports. Most cases include a cable that splits into 3.0/2.0 because some may not have USB3.0 support on their MB. They often warn to plug in only one or the other.
So there should be just enough for both the H80i and case I/O. Also, you could get an AIO that doesn’t require an internal USB connection.
I just bought this case (£30 del from Maplins) and while the looks are very good and construction is also v good I am finding that a 3.5 HDD in the middle holder is acting a bit like an echo chamber so the noise of the hard disk seeking is louder than it should be. This would be great as an SSD only case and the internal layout is good too. Not a fan of internally mounted power off switch tho. And the front LED strip is perfect for HTPC, very low level and discreet.
Really wanted an lian li q36 but @ £30, great value.
Which Mobo did you use?
With the H80i installed, were you able to mount a 3.5″ HDD on the side of the case?
Also with the H80i, were you able to fit the hanging 3.5″ HDD in the bracket above the mobo?
Dear Sir, Madam,
I really believe job well done Te only thing is the fan bar horizontall is not there yet. Please be advised that it should be a 1 to 3 point to the point of the start of the heating all together.
I think a cooling bar or something should go up an the end!
I am going to buy this later when i worked for it!
And I am happy I have an antec case here myself!
I am upping my old workstation!