Casings Innards

The outside of the case box is well designed. It’s great to see a product speak for itself, but it’s also equally great for the manufacturer to proudly list the key primary points in all their simplicity. Why? Because this shows faith in a product that speaks for itself, something we give Antec always due credit.

In a blue and black aura aqueous reflective box, the Antec Twelve Hundred definitely stands out in terms of box design where it’s not just a piled on list of features that aren’t detailed for that gamer who wants the presentation to be quick and fast. Just like their games.

Taking it out, we can see from the image above that the case is fairly hefty in size and weight as we can see from the specifications. Weighing it on a scale for cross-check, it’s about 31.3 pounds. A little heavy, but this isn’t anything we can start rattling it for. The Antec Twelve Hundred is aimed for the professional builder looking for an enclosure with a considerable amount of space for all the bays and what not that is given, which we will detail later. Considering that, it’s just the right size.

On a more detailed look we can see a monumental 200 x 30mm fan on the top, something that would make a cooling enthusiast bulge his eyes out and hardware enthusiasts as well. The Twelve Hundred has a great digest on what it means for a case that advertises a cooling system to be great and useful. Ultimate performance per $ of fan coverage, and great performance per degrees Celsius for the heat exhaust of the case.

The Twelve Hundred additionally features two rear 120mm fans, three 120mm fans, and optional 120mm mounts to cool the graphics cards and the CPU. The top and rear fans feature three-speed switch control for maximum efficiency to control the speed of either each one of the rear fans, or both individually.

If you’re not an air person, the Twelve Hundred features a great water cooling platform that can be used to position a high speed Swiftech or Leadtek pump if you so choose. No need to get a drill bit and all of that. The drills are premade with grommets for extra edge protection. This case makes us feel safe inside through the things it offers so far, what else is left?

The front of the case provides an insight into the efficiency of airflow and pure functionality through I/O connectors. The fan control knobs for the 120mm fans protrude from the HDD cages, a great structural design to easily control the speed of the fan family in a more compact way than a three switch fan speed control. It just feels right, and works great to the benefit of the gamer who just likes the idea of everything being sleek and optimal. Without some turns, it might just get a bit too technical on the switch side. It’s great to see Antec make such a subtle, but great change to the cooling controls. The front of the fans are protected with washable air filters to reduce dust build up, which can easily be pushed out and removed for cleaning via a Methanol dry method or just plain water.

The I/O panels on the top include eSATA, 2 USB 2.0 ports, and HD Audio In and Out for easy access. Not only that, but the top structure itself comes with an accessory tray for portable media players, cameras, or any other smaller objects so you don’t end up losing it in the bin.

The Twelve Hundred retains the style that the Nine Hundred is well known for across the PC mod community with an industrial look, a black interior, and a windowed side panel for hardware magnificence. Everything in the case lights up a cool blue thanks to the top, rear, and side fans with an internal blue LED illumination, with the top one being the most strongest and switchable like lights in a room. There are around 3 x 5.25” default external bays and 9 x 3.5” internal bays. But don’t let this stop you from getting this case. These are in default conditions. You can start mixing HDD cages and then take 3 external and make it 9 external. Or take 6 external and make 6 internal. Either way, the possibilities are numerous.

An interesting design choice Antec decides to go with is a screw design for maximum vibration resistance. In addition, tool-less designs are prone to more noise, regular damage, and usually tend to have a greater support requirement. One of the key things Antec aims for is Quiet Computing.

When drives run, they create a certain vibration through the dB emission across a full-ATX tower case through the element the case is built from. By enabling the use of silicone grommets and screws, the Twelve Hundred gaming case reassures a greater mount that actually works to prevent transmission of drive vibration across the chassis. We tested it with a dB measurement CCT device that allows a connector to the main vibration source, and measure the amount of dB being emitted from the entire extent of an area. The graph charts dB idle, and then dB on very high load on the entire PC itself. No longer do we need to cover our ears.