Antec ISK 300-65 ITX Case Review

Posted by: James Clewer (gt_junkie) on: 09/21/2009 02:51 PM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]

Exterior

The ISK 300-65 arrived well packaged in a layer of bubble wrap surrounding a sturdy cardboard box. As i’m sure you’ll agree it’s not the most attractive design - the parcel comes with a simple line drawing of the case and some basic specification information. Of course it’s ‘only’ a box so as long as the ISK 300-65 within is well protected it’s done its job!

A simple box design.

Upon opening we see the documentation supplied with the case. This comprises an instruction sheet in a selection of languages, a wiring schematic and also a copy of the Antec Quality 3 Year Warranty certificate.

Manuals and documentation greet you on opening the box.

Additional foam packaging protects the case itself and also an extra box containing various items. These include a variety of cabling, the 65w power pack needed for the onboard PSU, cable and zip ties, a selection of screws and an upright stand too.

Cables, screws, PSU, stand and other goodies.

The case itself is an incredibly tidy unit presenting clean lines in what is a very compact form factor.

The ISK 300-65 itself.

Up front you see a tidy uncluttered space.

A tidy front panel.

By pressing the glossy plate where the Antec name is you reveal the bay cover for an optical drive.

Optical drive bay is is just a 'press' away!

Below the optical bay facia we find the standard Power and reset switches and also the power and HDD access lights too. Also present are the standard audio ports, a couple of USB sockets and even an eSATA.

Around the side we get our first glimpse of the ISK 300-65’s trump card. Most ITX cases have to compromise on cooling a little due to their small size but not this Antec. The designers have managed to squeeze an 80mm tri-cool fan into the ISK300-65. Indeed there’s actually space for a second fan as well meaning the cooling potential of the case should be quite impressive.

The 80mm tri-cool fan intake.

The rear of the case offers a fairly standard layout with I/O plate, power socket and a half height PCI expansion plate. The only unusual addition is the speed selection switch for the 80mm tri-cool fan.