Antec SOLO Mini Tower Case Review

     Today we are looking at the latest mini tower enclosure from Antec; the SOLO.  This new offering to the Antec LifeStyle series features the same beautiful piano finish we have grown to love pared with the latest in noise reduction technology.  The LifeStyle line of enclosures was created to integrate into your daily life and attractively accent the environment.  We pushed our SOLO to the limit with a high end gaming build to see how it would measure up, right here!

     I love the direction Antec is taking with the packaging on the LifeStyle series.  The front of the box lets the case design speak for itself. 

     The back and sides provide everything you need without appearing busy.  Even the color scheme supports the look and feel of the case's piano black finish.

Out of the box the SOLO makes an immediate impression.  Although simple in design, the high gloss finish just looks outstanding.

     The front of the SOLO is done in a polished aluminum look that accents the black well.  The four external drive bays can clearly be seen here with the option to mount a single external 3.5" drive in the bottom slot.  The power and reset buttons are plastic and done in the same shiny black and have a smooth action to them.  The activity light is visible to the left side and the usual front ports are included for ease of use.

     The back of the SOLO is dominated by the Antec 120 mm TriCool fan.  The SOLO does not ship with a power supply included at this point.  Antec stresses the choice of power supply is critical for truly silent computing.  If this is your goal, I would recommend running a fan-less power supply.

     At first glance, the inside of the SOLO has a pretty traditional layout with only the odd looking drive bays to hint at things to come.  As will all new Antec cases, the SOLO feels very solid and well put together.  No sharp edges to be found here.  The all steel construction does make things a bit heavy for lugging around to the LANs.

     Taking a closer look at the door reveals the first of many innovative additions to the SOLO.  Each of the outside surfaces have a layer of sound deadener applied to them.  This porous plastic layer not only dampens vibrations it also provides reduced bleed through from noisy components.  The door also features two attached thumbscrews and a loop to allow secure locking of the system.

     From the inside back view, you can see the TriCool 120 mm fan named for its three speed control shown here leading off top the right.  Notice also the 5.25" rails are stored across the bottom; four in front and four facing the rear.  As the Antec case does not ship with a power supply there is not much else to see here.

     Looking towards the front, you can see the top and right side sound deadening layers more clearly.  You can also get a glimpse of Antec's two different hard drive mounting systems.  More on those in a minute.  The SOLO has a total of 8 drive bays separated into 4 internal 3.5" bays and 4 external 5.25" bays (Counting the 5.25 to 3.5" convertible bay.)

     The bottom also opens like a door and can be removed to allow access to the 3.5" drive bays.  This door also allows for the mounting of two 92 mm fans behind the included  washable air filter.  Although two extra fans will keep things cooler, they will add to the sound level so choose wisely.

     With the fan door removed you can get a much clearer picture of the drive mounting options.  Antec has provided a set of three elastic bands to allow you to mount three of your hard drives suspended in space.  By sacrificing one bay slot, your drives will have no contact with any hard parts of the case reducing your drive vibration to zero!

     For a more traditional approach, Antec has provided removable trays for your 3.5" drives as well.  These trays feature rubber grommets to float your drives in the trays to allow for reduced vibration in a more familiar way.  Since this build is my constant companion at LAN parties, I opted for the old fashion approach.

     Installing the 5.25" drives uses the standard rail system shown here.  The ease of installing and changing drives in a modern Antec case is one of the great reasons to upgrade from that old school beige box as soon as you are able.