Antec P120 Crystal Mid-Tower PC Case Review
Peter Donnell / 4 years ago
Complete System
This is a really nice case to build a system inside, as it’s just so open and, while I mean this as a compliment, a bit bland and simple. There are no silly panels, no huge fans to work around, it’s just a blank template really and that means I could just drop my components in with ease. Even with an E-ATX motherboard in there, there’s still plenty of room on offer.
I didn’t bother putting fans in the bottom, it’s not really what this build was about. However, what I do like is just how much space there is for me. If you’re not using the bottom PCI slots, you could put some seriously thick radiators and fan combinations down here.
There’s good clearance from the glass, so if you wanted to install a large air cooler, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble even with larger models. However, it’s pretty clear that this case is tailored much more towards liquid cooling configurations. With that in mind, there’s good clearance for those running more complex tubing runs such as hard tubing.
There’s plenty of space to the rear mount too, so even fitting an
AIO or custom radiator here is no issue. Of course, some kind of 120mm or 140mm fan is recommended here to remove heat from the case.
The cable routing is interesting on this case. If you’re using ATX then you’ll have the cable routing holes on the right side of the motherboard. However, E-ATX covers them up. You could run the cables through the radiator cut-out, but if you have a radiator there… well, you can’t. Fortunately, there’s a vertical pass-through so you can drop cables down from the top, which is pretty cool!
There’s even a cut-out down here, so my RGB PSU is throwing out some funky lighting. Albeit, it’s also for airflow to the PSU.
Plus there’s the bigger side cut-out, so you can show off the PSU design. I quite like the Performance Series logo here also, there’s not a lot of branding on the case, and this part is quite tasteful.
Of course, you don’t mount fans in the front of this case either. It’s sealed up pretty tight so you’ll have to rely on the bottom, rear and these large side mounts. The case is set up for a bottom to top airflow pattern.
There’s a full-size dust filter on the bottom, a full-size dust filter on the side mount, and the glass is all tightly fit, and even the side panel door has a rubber seal so there should be no air or dust leaking in or out with this case.
With all the glass back in place, the case looks ultra-clean and simple, because it kind of is. It looks a bit old school, but on the inside, it’s still got all the modern kicks. The crystal clear glass is awesome for showing off your RGB hardware too if you’re into that kind of thing.
The view through the front panel glass, best keep that cable routing tidy, as it’ll be on show to the world!