Date: December 2nd, 2008
Article by: Joe Anderson (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited By: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Antec
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PRODUCT PICTORIAL AND WALKTHROUGH
The Max is black. There are a few accents, but black definitely dominates the look. Antec mixes up the front façade by separating the matte top from the glossy bottom with a silver mesh band that, coupled with the subtle “ANTEC” logo and accented volume knob, give the Max a simple, elegant appeal. Personally, the chassis looks a bit out of proportion to me. If it were an inch or so shorter, (or a couple of inches wider) the Max would have a more visually appealing stance.
Both sides of the chassis have vents near the rear. As we'll see, this vent is for the PSU while the opposite side vent provides intake for a fan. The top has louvered venting just above the graphics cards to promote cooling airflow in this area.
This photo illustrates the exhaust fan placement at the rear, but the cool stuff is happening up front. On the right side of the front panel, the Max delivers an LCD screen, a stealthed ODD door and the power button secreted into the silver mesh dividing strip.
The glossy bottom section is hinged and flips down to reveal the front panel I/O ports and some other surprises as well.
If you're going to put fan filters in a case, this is the way to do it. One could argue that the placement isn't optimal, but they are easily removed and washable. Simply pressing in on the filter releases a catch and they slide right out. Just above the smaller filter is the chrome reset button. The hinges and latches feel quite sturdy and should provide years of trouble-free service.
The front panel I/O ports are both plentiful and nicely arranged. The two USB 2.0 ports are on opposite sides of the array, letting the user use two bulky devices simultaneously. Along with the customary FireWire and audio ports, Antec has included an eSATA port, too. One feature Antec hasn't included is a memory card reader. Personally, this isn't a problem for me, but some users may find this omission objectionable. There is a problem here, but it actually happens outside the door. I don't like the ODD and power buttons being so close to each other. Users will definitely want to go in the BIOS and enable the 4-second option to avoid accidentally shutting down the PC when swapping DVDs.
