Antec LANBOY: LAN party anyone?
Written: Jul 10 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sharp silver/gray color, sturdy, plexiglas window.
Cons: Instructions are sparse, only room for two case fans.
The Bottom Line: Great looks for any system and LAN party friendly.
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| rice75's Full Review: Antec LANBOY ATX CHAS 350W ALUM W/WI ATX Mini-Towe... |
There are two popular trends among computer enthusiasts that have really taken off in the last two years: LAN parties and Case modding. These two trends serve two main purposes. Computer geeks (for lack of a better word) are protective of their originality and uniqueness. With case modding, they are modifying their cases to better reflect their personalities. LAN parties give people that would otherwise prefer to be alone the chance to meet with friends for some fragfests and get some fresh air. Not to be left out of the commercial opportunities these two trends present, Antec has given us the Antec Lanboy case.
Lanboy for the masses
To satisfy the case modder, the Antec Lanboy is sharp looking, with a sleek silver/gray aluminum case with lots of modder-friendly features. The most prominent feature is the spacious Plexiglas window that graces the business side of the case. The window gives a great view into everything found on the inside. Since it would be hard to find drive face plates to match the gray exterior, the Antec Lanboy sports a nice drive door that closes to hide the mismatched drives installed in the ample drive bays.
For the LAN party animal, the Antec Lanboy comes with a sturdy nylon strap for easy transportation. Just strap on the two sides of the strap and grab the handle on the top and you are ready to transfer your machine safely and easily to your next fragfest.
All the junk that fits
The Antec Lanboy provides plenty of space for all your computing needs. There are four 5.25” drive bays, plenty for all your CD/DVD drive needs, two external and two internal 3.5” drive bays, two front USB ports, and the front panel sports both power and IDE LEDs and the requisite power and reset switches.
The case is considered a mini tower, but don’ let that fool you, it has ample space. The case accommodates the ATX form factor in all its flavors. I have a regular ATX board (Asus A7N8X Motherboard) and it was installed without a hitch. There are plenty of expansion slots and the Antec Lanboy also has a nice little cover that fits over the expansion slots, protecting the interior of the case from dust while at the same time acting as a little storage spot of extra hardware for the case.
The power supply is the SmartBlue 350, and 350 Watt ATX12V power supply, with pretty blue LEDs lighting its interior, similar to the blue LEDs used in my case fans. The SmartBlue power supply is ATX12V compliant for both AMD and Intel CPU based systems. It has plenty of power connectors for everything that needs power and it is relatively quiet. It has an intake fan on the bottom and another fan blowing out at the back of the unit. This aids in overall airflow in the case and keeps the components of the actual power supply cool in the process.
Everything comes together
To remind everyone again, the system that I have put together looks like this:
Asus A7N8X Motherboard
AMD Athlon XP 2600
512 MB PC2700 RAM, PNY Technologies
Asus V9280/TD GeForce-4 Ti4200 8X 128 MB Video Card (AGP)
Western Digital 120 GB HDD, WD1200JBRTL
Cendyne 48x24x48 CD-RW (review on this in the future)
ViewSonic A90 19” Monitor
Antec Lanboy Case with 350W SmartBlue ATX12V power supply
Antec 80mm Blue LED Fan
I have finally reviewed everything (with the exception of my CD burner) that makes up my new, upgraded system. The next two pieces I'm posting will aid anyone planning on building their own system. One of those pieces will deal with the details of installing everything. You will find the details for the installation of my system in the Antec Lanboy there as well. It’s coming shortly, I promise. I will say that installation was a cinch even if the instructions are sparse.
The Antec Lanboy is a well built case. It has two fan ports for case fans, which are ample for the casual builder but probably won’t cut it for the serious overclocker. The case is durable, and Antec backs their products with a three year warranty so you can rest assured that your case will hold up to transportation and jostling, which is to be expected when you go to all those LAN parties. With only a few nit-picking detractions, I heartily recommend the Antec Lanboy as a case to suit everyone’s needs.
(**Note that the picture that Epinions has posted with this is not the Lanboy case. The actual case can be seen at Antec's website, at this address: http://www.antec-inc.com/pro_en_specialty.html
Everything else is in order in Epinions database, though)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
rice75
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Tony Rice
Location: Columbus, OH
Reviews written: 73
Trusted by: 66 members
About Me:
Resident Evil 4 will own your soul. Do not resist.
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