Antec LANBOY Mini Tower Case

Reviews: Cases

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Richard Poelling
Kurtis
Atacom
Feb. 25, 2004

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First Impressions

The first impression you will get of this case is when you pick up the box. That's right, the lack of heft will become apparent from the first lift, but that is to be expected from something called a LANBOY. There are a lot of aluminum cases out there, but what will differentiate this one from the next aluminum one to come through the door? More importantly, how well will such a case hold up? Being light-weight is useless if the thing bows and flexes under its own weight.

The Antec arrived in retail packaging. The box itself has all sorts of nice graphics and nifty marketing, none of which I paid any attention to. My opinion of case packaging is purely utilitarian. Did it arrive in one piece and in good shape? If the answer is yes, then the box did its job. This is especially important for aluminum cases that are easily dented and otherwise horribly mangled by our modern shipping system.

Upon removing the case from the box, you are presented with a VERY light, "unflashy" grey case. The finish on the case is nicely done in a flat grey. All of the edges appear to line up properly; nothing really looks out of place. There is also a thin film of plastic protecting the side window. I've said it already, but I'm amazed at just how light this case is. The picture on the box shows a person holding the case with one hand. You can actually do that, I was moving this case with one hand without any problems or severe shoulder damage!

A plastic door hides the front drive bays. This design is standard among many cases today, especially those from Antec. The door is held shut by a simple friction latch, nothing horribly complicated, but it is a point which could wear out over time. There is no locking door, which is perfectly appropriate for this product category. With the door open, you will be presented with four 5.25" bay drives and two 3.5" bay drives. The power button and reset switch are located behind the front door. Also located behind the door are the status lights. These are labeled with the standard icons for power and the hard drive. The other two are labeled I and II, we'll talk more about these later!

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Page 1: First Impressions
Page 2: Opening the Case & Inside the LANBOY
Page 3: Quality Inspection & Conclusion

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6 User Comments

1 - Posted by A Person on February 25, 2004 - 4:10 pm

I like how the carrying straps come with it. Considering that they probably cost a dime to make I dont see why more compaines don't include them with their cases. Thats definitely something that would catch my eye when shopping for a new case.

2 - Posted by handrail on February 26, 2004 - 9:57 am

i bought a carrying strap for mine and it makes it very easy to transport. i got the thermaltake badboy seen here (http://www.thermaltake.com/accessories/xaserbag.ht...). although, if i had known, i would have gone for a case that offered the strap or the DFI lanparty mobo that also comes with a strap. of course neither of the free ones look as cool as the thermaltake one.

3 - Posted by Guest on February 26, 2004 - 3:46 pm

Awesome Case, very much recommended!

4 - Posted by EmoMakesMeCry on February 26, 2004 - 5:38 pm

i dont really want to pay that much for just a bunch of straps to carry my case. i'd rather just build my own.

5 - Posted by handrail on February 27, 2004 - 8:56 am

i considered making my own, but after looking at the higher quality nylon, straps, buckles and considering i would need a heavy duty industrial sewing machine to lash it all together, the price of the thermaltake one was pretty much the same as the cost of building my own, since it was made with very high quality parts.

i had some free nylon strapping that would have worked well, but it was so tough that i would have had to hand stitch it and i'm not much of a tailor.

6 - Posted by EmoMakesMeCry on February 27, 2004 - 8:17 pm

i made mine out of the climbing webbing at REI. i just sewed and melted them together at the right spots and attached buckles and pull-ties. made the whole thing for only about $15 and it works just as well.

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