Antec GX1200
Today we're having a look at another Antec product, this time the GX1200 – Lights Magician computer case. The case comes in, like all other cases from Antec, in a very sturdy and protective box with as little printing on as possible – but clearly shows what's inside.
Antec always protects their cases very well with styrofoam and protective plastic, both around the case but also on any case window that might be present, like in this case.
The GX1200 is a mid-tower case measuring 52cm high, 20cm wide and 52cm deep. The case, obviously, is all black with a window on the component side. The front is covered with a steel mesh acting as a protective layer in front of the fans. There is also a filter on the inside, which we will take a look at in a moment.
The top also features a mesh, with a filter. On the sides in the back we find some air vents, which takes my thoughts to for example a Mercedes Benz, letting air vent out on its own in the top of the case like on a car behind the engine is certainly a cool feature. However, I'm sure that most air will be pushed out by the fans either in the rear or top if you install some there. But it certainly is a sporty and stylish look.
Top front we have the power and LED button, as well as two USB 3 ports and the usual headphone and microphone jack.
If we warp around the back we find the usual setup, hole for the ATX I/O shield, space for one 120mm fan which surprisingly isn't included, 7 expansion slots, and the mandatory spot for a power supply.
Fastening the side panels is of course done with screws, most often with thumbscrews. Antec has also used some sort of thumbscrews, but instead of those made completely out of steel, these are made out of steel (screw) and plastic (the other part) which feels much better when you turn them with your fingers. Somehow, it feels like you get a better grip with your fingers on these than on the regular ones.
Flipping the case over we find the rubber feet which are built into the case, some mounting holes for a disk drive or SSD in the bottom and a filter for the PSU which both is easily removable but also stays in place quite securely.
The component side of the case features a window, this time a tinted one which sort of hides the inside, until you lit it up with your favorite lighting solution of course. Nothing really special, but it looks good!
Removing the side panel reveals quite some space for your components, while at the same time a big box in the bottom, restricting the space quite a bit. However, this is an excellent solution to hide away the power supply and making sure that it doesn't feed its heat into the rest of the system. Antec has done this in many different ways over the years and the solution the GX1200 certainly seems to be a very nice one.
As we can see in the front we have two 120mm fans, blowing air first over the SSD spots and then onto the motherboard. Supported motherboards for this case are mini ITX, micro ATX and the standard ATX form factor.
Something I miss is 5.25" slots, at least one. It might not be something that gamers are in need of these days and that is probably why Antec has skipped those. However, if we take a look at the top right inside the case there are shapes in the metalwork indicating that the panel is prepared for two 5.25" slots. But of course, the front isn't prepared and there is no counterpart to hold the other side of the 5.25" units, so obviously this case isn't made for those. But why are those left in the panel?
Perhaps the panel is a standardized one and used for several cases? Could save costs and would certainly be useful for Antec. This is of course nothing that hinders the functionality of the case, just a seed for thoughts. When we take a look on the other side we will find out what it is used for in this case at least.
In the top we can see the air filter and a spot for two 120mm fans and space for a water cooling radiator. I love it when it's built in without taking up space for the rest of the components. It is so simple, so I don't understand why it isn't always built in like this. Many manufacturers, even Antec sometimes, lets the top cooling eat up space that is needed for the motherboard making it either difficult or at least hard to install water cooling. The solution in the GX1200 is perfect!
Opening up the front of the case reveals the air filter which unfortunately is just a simple filter that is stuck between the plastic of the case and the metal mesh – making it quite difficult to remove and clean. I really miss the excellent air filters that we saw on the Antec DF-85 some years ago – easily removable and they stop quite a lot of dust and dirt.
Please Antec, a rerun or similar design to the DF-85!?
In the front we can also see space for an additional fan, so in total we can have three 120mm fans. Another solution is to fit a water cooling radiator with three 120mm fans, summing up to a 360mm radiator.
The right side of the case is just plain, like all other cases. If we open up this side however, it reveals some fun things.
First off we can clearly see all the routing holes for cables, there is space for an additional SSD drive behind the motherboard and we get access to the PSU chamber which holds two 3.5" or two 2.5" drives.
The plastic part with an A on it – where we normally fasten our 5.25" devices – is actually a fan speed and LED controller. We can control the speed for up to 6 fans and the LED color of three fans. At the moment we have two LED fans in the front, which are called RGB fans. However, we don't get the true RGB function of these but instead 7 defined colors. This certainly isn't bad, but calling them RGB fans is a little bit on the wrong side.
Nonetheless, this controller is what does the job of controlling the speed and the color of the fans. The controller has its button on the top of the case, next to the power button, described as LED button earlier in the review. There is also a button for controlling the light directly on the unit as well as a speed control button, this makes it quite hard to reach as you need to remove a side panel if you want to change the speed, but how often will you change the speed of the fans? Not very often I guess – so, it's ok.
Together with the case we get some accessories such as zip ties and screws of all sorts.
The GX1200 is quite a nice case, but feels a little bit on the light side on features. It certainly is a well working and spacious case, it does look nice but for me it feels like it has a much lower quality than the rest of the cases from Antec. It does miss a fan in the back, which for all other cases is standard, even when you have fans in the front installed. The top and front fan filters are not easily removable which really is an easy thing to incorporate, as we've seen on other cases – like the Antec DF-85.
The missing rear fan could be an attempt to let you use a 120mm water cooling radiator there instead and obviously stick a fan onto that. But I love fans, so every extra fan we get, can be used for the next monster case project.
Overall the case certainly does the job and looks good in the process – but personally it isn't my favorite case.
Finally I would like to thank Antec for sending out the review unit and I'll end the review with some lighting photos.
Antec always protects their cases very well with styrofoam and protective plastic, both around the case but also on any case window that might be present, like in this case.
The GX1200 is a mid-tower case measuring 52cm high, 20cm wide and 52cm deep. The case, obviously, is all black with a window on the component side. The front is covered with a steel mesh acting as a protective layer in front of the fans. There is also a filter on the inside, which we will take a look at in a moment.
The top also features a mesh, with a filter. On the sides in the back we find some air vents, which takes my thoughts to for example a Mercedes Benz, letting air vent out on its own in the top of the case like on a car behind the engine is certainly a cool feature. However, I'm sure that most air will be pushed out by the fans either in the rear or top if you install some there. But it certainly is a sporty and stylish look.
Top front we have the power and LED button, as well as two USB 3 ports and the usual headphone and microphone jack.
If we warp around the back we find the usual setup, hole for the ATX I/O shield, space for one 120mm fan which surprisingly isn't included, 7 expansion slots, and the mandatory spot for a power supply.
Fastening the side panels is of course done with screws, most often with thumbscrews. Antec has also used some sort of thumbscrews, but instead of those made completely out of steel, these are made out of steel (screw) and plastic (the other part) which feels much better when you turn them with your fingers. Somehow, it feels like you get a better grip with your fingers on these than on the regular ones.
Flipping the case over we find the rubber feet which are built into the case, some mounting holes for a disk drive or SSD in the bottom and a filter for the PSU which both is easily removable but also stays in place quite securely.
The component side of the case features a window, this time a tinted one which sort of hides the inside, until you lit it up with your favorite lighting solution of course. Nothing really special, but it looks good!
Removing the side panel reveals quite some space for your components, while at the same time a big box in the bottom, restricting the space quite a bit. However, this is an excellent solution to hide away the power supply and making sure that it doesn't feed its heat into the rest of the system. Antec has done this in many different ways over the years and the solution the GX1200 certainly seems to be a very nice one.
As we can see in the front we have two 120mm fans, blowing air first over the SSD spots and then onto the motherboard. Supported motherboards for this case are mini ITX, micro ATX and the standard ATX form factor.
Something I miss is 5.25" slots, at least one. It might not be something that gamers are in need of these days and that is probably why Antec has skipped those. However, if we take a look at the top right inside the case there are shapes in the metalwork indicating that the panel is prepared for two 5.25" slots. But of course, the front isn't prepared and there is no counterpart to hold the other side of the 5.25" units, so obviously this case isn't made for those. But why are those left in the panel?
Perhaps the panel is a standardized one and used for several cases? Could save costs and would certainly be useful for Antec. This is of course nothing that hinders the functionality of the case, just a seed for thoughts. When we take a look on the other side we will find out what it is used for in this case at least.
In the top we can see the air filter and a spot for two 120mm fans and space for a water cooling radiator. I love it when it's built in without taking up space for the rest of the components. It is so simple, so I don't understand why it isn't always built in like this. Many manufacturers, even Antec sometimes, lets the top cooling eat up space that is needed for the motherboard making it either difficult or at least hard to install water cooling. The solution in the GX1200 is perfect!
Opening up the front of the case reveals the air filter which unfortunately is just a simple filter that is stuck between the plastic of the case and the metal mesh – making it quite difficult to remove and clean. I really miss the excellent air filters that we saw on the Antec DF-85 some years ago – easily removable and they stop quite a lot of dust and dirt.
Please Antec, a rerun or similar design to the DF-85!?
In the front we can also see space for an additional fan, so in total we can have three 120mm fans. Another solution is to fit a water cooling radiator with three 120mm fans, summing up to a 360mm radiator.
The right side of the case is just plain, like all other cases. If we open up this side however, it reveals some fun things.
First off we can clearly see all the routing holes for cables, there is space for an additional SSD drive behind the motherboard and we get access to the PSU chamber which holds two 3.5" or two 2.5" drives.
The plastic part with an A on it – where we normally fasten our 5.25" devices – is actually a fan speed and LED controller. We can control the speed for up to 6 fans and the LED color of three fans. At the moment we have two LED fans in the front, which are called RGB fans. However, we don't get the true RGB function of these but instead 7 defined colors. This certainly isn't bad, but calling them RGB fans is a little bit on the wrong side.
Nonetheless, this controller is what does the job of controlling the speed and the color of the fans. The controller has its button on the top of the case, next to the power button, described as LED button earlier in the review. There is also a button for controlling the light directly on the unit as well as a speed control button, this makes it quite hard to reach as you need to remove a side panel if you want to change the speed, but how often will you change the speed of the fans? Not very often I guess – so, it's ok.
Together with the case we get some accessories such as zip ties and screws of all sorts.
The GX1200 is quite a nice case, but feels a little bit on the light side on features. It certainly is a well working and spacious case, it does look nice but for me it feels like it has a much lower quality than the rest of the cases from Antec. It does miss a fan in the back, which for all other cases is standard, even when you have fans in the front installed. The top and front fan filters are not easily removable which really is an easy thing to incorporate, as we've seen on other cases – like the Antec DF-85.
The missing rear fan could be an attempt to let you use a 120mm water cooling radiator there instead and obviously stick a fan onto that. But I love fans, so every extra fan we get, can be used for the next monster case project.
Overall the case certainly does the job and looks good in the process – but personally it isn't my favorite case.
Finally I would like to thank Antec for sending out the review unit and I'll end the review with some lighting photos.
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