Introduction

I would like to thank Antec for supplying the review sample.

Antec's website has a very refreshing "About Us" page, with the following text:

The year was 1986. Starbucks had only a few stores. Don Johnson was actually cool. The average PC had less memory than today’s cellphones. And in Fremont, California, a little company named Antec was born. Antec’s first employees never imagined that their upstart firm would rise to the very top of the high-performance computer components industry. But rise it did. And rather swiftly, too.

So what can Antec do for you? That depends on who you are. If you’re a computer user, and you’d like to upgrade your existing computer or build a new one yourself, we’ve got the computer cases, power supplies, cooling fans, lighting components, and accessories that you need. If you’re a system builder or VAR, we’ll help you deliver reliable and cost-effective systems to your customers. And if you’re a retailer, we’ll help you reach an explosively growing market: namely, “do-it-yourself” computer users who enjoy building and upgrading their own computers.

How do we do all this? Our product lineup includes a wide variety of unique computer cases, such as the elegant Veris series of Media PC cases and accessories, ultra-powerful Performance One series, sturdy Server line, and the cost-effective New Solution Series. Our world-class power supplies – including the Neo Power, TruePower Trio and EarthWatts lines – have won countless international awards for their reliable performance. Our flexible rackmounts are ideally suited to the demanding ISP, telecom, and networking markets. And for those of you who’d like to add a little visual flair to your computers, we offer an eye-catching range of fans, lights, and other PC accessories.

We’re headquartered in Fremont, California, with additional offices in the Netherlands, Europe. We’ve also established distribution partnerships throughout Australia and Southeast Asia. So you’ll find Antec products in over 25 countries. But no matter how large we grow, we’ll never forget our mission: to give you the power you need to create the computer you really want. That’s the Antec way. That’s the Power of You.

What is the difference between Antec & Veris?
While we have not mentioned the new brand name "Veris" within this review, this is what Antec will be calling their HTPC range of cases, as well as different accessories like the A/V rack cooler and the HDD enclosure they displayed at CeBIT 2007 this year. The addition of the new name should give buyers a better overview as to what these items are geared toward. We refer to the new case as the "Antec Fusion", but it may be called Veris Fusion in the near future. For further information on Antec's newest products, take a look at our CeBIT coverage here. We have decided to keep it simple for this review and have not used the Veris brand name within the review, but will do so as soon as the packaging or item itself reflects the name change.

Packaging & Contents

The packaging of the Antec Fusion is full colored and features a big picture of the case itself on the front. The back lists all the features in multiple languages and, while an easy read, is nothing you would be able to decipher from more than a meter away. Once opened up, a very well packaged and secured case can be seen. Antec has placed the bag of accessories to the case right on top instead of inside the case itself.


The case is shipped inside a clear plastic bag and secured with foam molds. Foam may be more expensive when compared to Styrofoam, but has the advantage of surviving a drop without breaking or denting permanently. Inside the plastic bag are two covers for fans, a bag with screws and standoffs, a manual and a CD with the display software. The booklet contains detailed installation instructions in multiple languages - something sorely missed from many other case manufacturers.

A Closer Look

The front of the Antec Fusion is made of a single, five millimeter thick aluminum piece. It looks great on the case and should fit perfectly on an A/V Rack. The back of the case does not feature anything out of the ordinary. As you can see a power supply is included with the Antec Fusion. The bottom of the case does have some unique features. Antec decided to use two solid and two rubber feet for the case. This gives the case a solid stance and does absorb some vibration. There are four holes to secure hard drives from the outside of the case. It would have been better if Antec already placed some sort of mountings inside the case, instead of forcing the user to secure hard drives on the bottom of a potentially full case during installation.


One one side of the case there is only an air grill, while the other side features two large 12 cm fans.


The front can be divided into three parts. All the way on the left you will find the LCD and the single optical drive cover. The usual front I/O connectors, consisting of two USB 2.0, one FireWire and headphone/microphone jacks can be found in the center. All the way to the right you will find a large volume knob, a small reset button and a power button. All of these are made from aluminum, to keep the high quality look and feel of the case.


You have to remove a single thumb screw to take off the top cover of the Fusion. As you can see there are three general compartments - one for the mainboard, one containing the hard drives and a third which houses the power supply and optical drive. The PCI slots for the mainboard have air vents while there is another grill above the mainboard as well. The air vents inside the PCI covers are rather large, as compared to the fine variants used in the Thermaltake Lanbox we reviewed here. The power supply is placed upside down inside the case, but you may choose to turn it around if you wish. Antec has constructed the case so that you may use any normal ATX power supply within the enclosure.


The two afore mentioned fans can be found in the mainboard compartment These two fans blow air out of the case and use a 12V Molex connector. The interesting part here is the fact that each of the fan comes with a switch to vary the speed at which it turns at. Antec has also placed a plastic sliding door between the power supply and mainboard compartments, which should aid in cable management. The screw to secure the door is easily accessible as long as the case is empty. You will have problems reaching the screw as soon as a mainboard and graphic card are installed.


The optical drive can can be removed to allow for easy installation. Even though it may look like two drives can be installed, this is not the case. The top space is blocked by the LCD. Antec will also be offering a budget case, based on the same internal design of the Fusion, but without the display. These have the NSK model name and will also feature two optical drive bays. The hard drive mount can be taken out of the case by removing four normal screws. There are rubber mountings to absorb any vibrations the hard drive may produce.