Antec Skeleton Case

Exterior

Noticeably the Antec Skeleton is quite a unique enclosure for a PC. The ‘skeleton’ of the case is constructed from 0.8mm cold rolled steel whilst the exterior is high density ABS. It feels strong enough to take the weight of a person on top – we’ll find out later if it is – albeit the PCI bracket looks as though it could easily snap.

With the swallowed Antec text and large gaps in the ABS frame, the frontage looks pretty menacing. From left to right, in terms of ports and switches, we have quite an array:

• Reset
• Firewire (who on earth uses this?!)
• Dual USB 2.0
• eSATA
• Headphone
• Microphone
• Power

Going birds-eye, we can see the massive 250mm ‘Super Big Boy’ fan which largely dominates this case. This fan is unlike the norm – 3 speed settings and 9 different LED lighting effects. We’ll have a gander later on.

To control the speed and lighting of this fan, a 3-way switch is neighboured to the fan (for the speed) and another single-switch is nested to this (for lighting affect). The choice of lighting ranges from colour oscillation, one-colour, off and more (9 in total). As for the speed settings, they range from 800RPM (32dBA) to 400RPM (17dBA).

A side-on view of the Antec shows its form. It uses an arch-shaped design with large gaps which can be used as handles. This bodes well in this product being ideal for LAN’ers. As you can see, at the lower section of the frame is a vented honey-comb panel. This panel can be removed – allowing you to easily install components in the under-section (more on this later). Moreover, these panels have slots in the top and with the use of the hard drive mounting plates; one or two drives can be installed onto these panels.

At the back is the clear PCI-mounting bar which runs across the Antec. The manual insists that you should not carry the case by this. It certainly isn’t strong enough. Notice that there isn’t anywhere to install an I/O shield for your motherboard. Directly underneath is where a PSU is to be installed.

The PSU tray slides out by simply lifting a metal catch. A power supply is to be installed side-ways on to support larger units. Also allowing it to support different sized units, the tray can slide onto one of two rails. In the Skeleton’s manual, Antec states that a PSU with an 80mmm fan will be more effective; units with a 120mm fan will need their fan facing the top of the case when installed.

By squeezing the tabs at each end of the side panels they will fold down and can be removed – if necessary. This allows for you to secure the drives safely with screws.