Antec - Dark Fleet DF-30 and DF-85

[pjladyfox]

I came across these cases quite by accident when doing my usual tech website reading and was surprised to see that, at least according to my search, nobody had posted about these cases yet. So, I did some digging and came up with some websites and pictures that showcase them with the idea of getting some conversation going. ^_^

News articles:

CES 2010 PCWorld.fr
http://www.pcworld.fr/2010/01/10/materiel/boitier/ces-2010-nouveaux-boitiers-antec/468641/

CES 2010 Japanese tech blog
http://journal.mycom.co.jp/articles/2010/01/18/ces10/index.html

CES 2010: Antec
http://www.techwarelabs.com/ces-2010-antec/

CES 2010: Antec showcase
http://www.pcper.com/comments.php?nid=8230

Antec Introduces Latest PC Casings And Power Supplies At CES 2010
http://www.hardwarezone.com.ph/news/view.php?id=15636&cid=3

CES 2010 - Antec
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/ces2010/17.htm


Notes:

- DF-30 appears to have similar dimensions to the 200/300/600 and is most likely a mid-tower

- DF-85 appears to have similar dimensions to the 1200 and is most likely a full-tower case

- both DF-30 and DF-85 appear to have removable filters similar to the Antec 902 and 1200

- both DF-30 and DF-85 have provision for a top-mounted 2.5 SATA drive and appears to be hot-swappable

- both DF-30 and DF-85 have tri-cool fan controls mounted in the rear top of the case similar to the 600/900/902/1200 cases

- both DF-30 and DF-85 STILL do not have provision for mounting the PSU fan-side down

- DF-30 STILL does not have any motherboard routing holes (WTF Antec??!!)

- DF-30 STILL is not sufficiently long enough in order to accomodate all 3.5 drive bays being filled with 270mm long video card being present

- DF-30 STILL does not appear to be long enough to accomodate 310mm cards such as the HD 5970


Unanswered questions:

- what are the actual dimensions of the DF-30 and DF-85?

- are the size of the upper fan mounts on the DF-30 and DF-85?

- When will these be available?

 

[Icejon]

Ill bet you $15 that Antec is just doing a "facelift". I am certain that these chassis are identical to the ANTEC 1200 and Antec 902 bodies. The new Dark Fleet, is just the front bezel or lack of it. It is a cheap way to upgrade a chassis without changing any tooling. If you make new tooling for steel, it creates a fixed cost. Plastic injection moldings are less expensive and can be done quicker.

 

[pjladyfox]

Ill bet you $15 that Antec is just doing a "facelift". I am certain that these chassis are identical to the ANTEC 1200 and Antec 902 bodies. The new Dark Fleet, is just the front bezel or lack of it. It is a cheap way to upgrade a chassis without changing any tooling. If you make new tooling for steel, it creates a fixed cost. Plastic injection moldings are less expensive and can be done quicker.

I'm thinking that you are right since, internally, they are pretty much identical which is pretty frustrating. I mean, come on, cheap skate much?

 

[pjladyfox]

I actually got a reply from a rep at Antec!!!!

http://www.overclock.net/8698590-post5.html

Hi Pjladyfox,

Dimensions:
DF-30 is 19.1” (H) x 7.8” (W) x 19.1” (D)
DF-85 is 23.5” (H) x 8.4” (W) x 19.9” (D)

Fans:
The DF-30 has a 1 x top special 140mm TwoCool™ fan
The DF 85 has 2 x top 140mm TwoCool™ fans

I personally haven't seen these cases in person yet but I will in a few weeks when we start getting shipments in. The two cases should be available sometime in April.

The Dark Fleet series at CES 2010 is pretty much the final product.

Now I just need to figure a way to slide this by the CFO, err hubby that is, when this comes out in April.

 

[TIGR]

Dark Fleet DF-85 Reviewed at HardwareSecrets
Dark Fleet DF-30 at Newegg

 

[pjladyfox]

Dark Fleet DF-85 Reviewed at HardwareSecrets
Dark Fleet DF-30 at Newegg

Thanks for posting this! Hmmm, now I've got some reading to do.