Antec Solo II Mid Tower Chassis Review

The overall internal chassis design is not what we would call conventional for cases of today.  Antec have gone with an older deign where the power supply is located at the top of the chassis rather than in the base. Whilst this is not the most ideal location due to heat rising and causing the PSU to not be as efficient as it could be when mounted at the bottom, it does mean that the overall size of the chassis can be reduced slightly whilst still being able to accommodate long graphics cards including the 6990. Both of the Solo II’s side panels come with a layer of sound deadening to assist in reducing any acoustic noise that any fans and drives inside produce, all in keeping with the quiet running ethics of the cases design.

The reduced dimensions of the case do mean that the motherboard tray is very close to the side panel and this in turn stops us from running cables behind.  As a solutions there is a space behind the hard drive trays with a cable management system that keeps everything hidden away and tidy.

With the side panel off, it is now possible to open the front door and gain access to the air filters for the front fans, and also the optical drive bays. The front door can also be lift off at this point to give better access for installation.

Above the front fan is a thunm screw which when removed allows for access to the hard drive bay, whilst this is not the easiest or most conventional means of access, it does make for easier access over installing from the inside of the case.

Each of the  3 hard drive bays have very soft silicone grommets to reduce drive noise as much as possible, the lower 2 drive bays also have the tool less option of suspending hard drives in mid air to eliminate any resonant noise caused by vibrations through to the chassis

The one pre-installed fan that comes with the case is Antec’s TrueQuiet 120mm option that can be purchased separately. This is fitted with silicone pins and super soft grommets to eliminate any resonant noise.

Included inside are 4 optical drive brackets that allow for a semi-tool less installation. Once screwed to a drive they allow for quick removal and replacement from the front of the case.

Apart form the Antec branding on the front if the case, the only other branding is this subtle ‘Antec Design’ the is printed into the floor of the case.