Antec Eleven Hundred Case Review

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Founded in 1986, Antec has been around for over 25 years and today is one of the most experienced high performance PC case manufacturers. In an effort to keep every enthusiast pleased, the company offers a very long list of products. It was not two weeks ago since we studied the P280, a chassis designed to merge high performance with elegance. Today we are going to examine, test and review a case of comparable size and design, which however has been adjusted to cover the needs of an entirely different market group, hardcore gamers and overclocking enthusiasts. This product is no other than the new flagship in Antec’s Gaming series, the Eleven Hundred.Manufacturer features and specifications

• Compatible with up to 3-way NVIDIA® SLI® / 4-way AMD CrossFireX™
• Grommet-lined cable routing holes with 36 mm of space behind the motherboard tray
• 2 front panel USB 3.0 ports
• Included 200 mm blue LED top fan / 120 mm rear fan / 7 additional fan mounts
• Fan connector PCB: allows you to connect four 3-pin fans to a single Molex for improved cable management
• PSU intake & front air filters
• 120 mm intake fan behind motherboard (optional)
• 3 tool-less 5.25” drive bays
• 6 x 3.5” tool-less drive bays (rail-mount design)

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Read more: Antec Eleven Hundred Case Review by VR-Zone.com

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The Eleven Hundred comes supplied inside a dark, large cardboard box. The artwork on the box is virtually limited to pictures of the case itself, while information on the case’s features can be read at the top side of the box. The box is fairly strong and should provide enough protection during shipping. Inside the box we found the case protected by two polystyrene foam slabs and wrapped in a nylon bag.



A common sight with Antec’s products, the bundle of the Eleven Hundred has been reduced down to the bare essentials. Antec only supplies a set of the necessary screws and stand-offs, a very simple black and white leaflet and a few small black cable ties. Those who require a full manual can download it online. Unfortunately there are no quality cable straps or any other cable management material, which would be a welcome addition in a case of this class.

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Although Antec designed this to be their lead gaming case, the design of the Eleven Hundred is relatively elaborate and not excessively aggressive or in any way extreme. The case is all black, with pointy angles and straight lines forming a sharp design. This sharp design conceals the true size of the Eleven Hundred, which is measuring 53cm high, 55cm deep and 24cm wide, the case is appreciably large even after considering it being a high-end gaming product.



Fitting for a gaming design, Antec made the frame of the faceplate out of thick plastic and covered the largest portion with steel, round holes type of mesh. Since the largest percentage of the faceplate is covered by the perforated metallic mesh, the Eleven Hundred can virtually draw air inside from across the entire faceplate; a design perhaps not ideal for acoustics but certainly effective when thermal control is the primary concern.



The faceplate can be easily removed by pulling it outwards from the bottom of the case. Since almost the entire faceplate is perforated for maximum air intake surface, Antec installed foam dust filters over the 5.25” device covers and a simple by effective nylon “sieve” type filter covers the rest of the faceplate.



Practically following the same efficient placement we have encountered while examining the P280, Antec installed the power on and reset buttons at the top of the case, near the faceplate. The otherwise simplistic round buttons appear to be well made and of high quality. Near the top of the faceplate the company installed all of the front I/O connectors; the standard headphone 3.5mm jacks, two USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.0 ports. There is no eSATA or a firewire port, an omission most users will not care about since USB 3.0 is by far the most common interface for high speed transfers today, yet it might trouble users who already own a sensible number of eSATA and/or firewire based hardware.

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A single massive 200mm opening holding a fan can be found at the top panel, near the rear side of the case. The opening slightly extrudes from the rest of the panel and forms a honeycomb mesh to cover the fan’s blades.



The rear of the Antec Eleven Hundred case is entirely black, indicating that the entire chassis has been sprayed with the same paint. One can easily discern that Antec, like many other manufacturers, moved the PSU compartment at the bottom of the case.



Unfortunately, we found the spot housing the simplistic but effective fan controller of the P280 to be almost empty. There is only a single switch, used to turn on and off the LED lighting of the 200mm fan.



Two rubber grommets cover the round holes Antec opened for those wishing to route watercooling hoses to the outside of the case.

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The right side panel of the Antec Eleven Hundred is almost entirely plain, with the exception of a slot to install a massive 120mm fan for cooling the rear of a motherboard. The embossed panel also increases the room available to route cables behind the motherboard tray.





Most of the left side panel is covered by a relatively simple, rectangular window. Although the pins holding it are visible, the metal body forms a frame to perfectly fit the clear window and the result is a flawlessly flat side panel. Antec also perforated the window itself and created spots for two more 120mm fans, waiting to be installed on vibration absorbing rubber stands.



The interior of the Antec Eleven Hundred case is spacious and tuned to assist quick hardware changes and cable routing. The area behind the CPU is cut open, a tactic which many manufacturers now follow in order for their designs to allow the installation of large CPU coolers without removing the motherboard. In an attempt to maximize the compatibility with motherboards and coolers, Antec made this opening as large as possible. The motherboard tray is large, able to support up to XL-ATX motherboards, while large rectangular openings covered with rubber grommets for cable routing can be seen surrounding it.

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At the bottom of the case lies the PSU compartment, designed so as to allow the power supply to draw fresh air from the bottom of the case. Antec cleverly placed a filter for the power supply, designed for the user to be able to remove it without opening the side panel. The filter comes off from the side of the case and not towards the rear, offering convenient access to it without having to pull and/or move the case. It is interesting to note that the user can choose and install the PSU with its fan facing downwards or upwards.



The expansion slot covers are mostly cut open, allowing small volumes of fresh air to enter (or, depending on the configuration of the cooling fans, exit) the case. Thumbscrews are used to hold the expansion cards, although a screwdriver should be used for firm long term installation of heavy cards.



Two fans are installed from the factory floor, a massive 200mm fan at the top panel of the case and one smaller 120mm fan at the rear of the case. The 200mm fan features blue LED lighting which can be turned off from the tiny switch found at the rear of the case. A small PCB with four 3-pin fan headers powered by a single 4-pin Molex plug can be seen right above the rear fan of the case, which is where the two case fans are being powered from.



A total of six HDD trays are present at the lower front part of the case, at the top of which a smaller non-removable compartment for 2.5” SSDs can be seen. The trays are facing sideways, allowing the easy removal of disk drives even when long cards are installed. Unlike the P280 which makes use of plastic frames, the Eleven Hundred is utilizing classic plastic rails for HDD installation. The plastic rails are efficient but they can only be used with 3.5” devices. Two 120mm intake fans can be installed at the front of the drive bays, between the chassis and the faceplate, while another two can be installed after the drive bays, right where the motherboard tray starts. This is the only feasible position for an internal dual watercooling radiator, which would unfortunately limit the maximum length of the GFX cards one may use.



The rear of the motherboard’s tray is very clean and spacious, allowing for the easy management and routing of cables. The clearance between the tray and the side panel is massive, ensuring that any kind of cable can easily fit. There are also numerous points for attaching cable straps for more secure and tidy installations.



Our ICTT system easily fits inside the Antec Eleven Hundred and our Flex-ATX size board is not large enough to even cover the opening for installing CPU coolers. Only an XL-ATX motherboard would end right where the rubber grommets are, while a standard ATX motherboard would stop 4-5cm before the cable routing holes. Long GFX cards of up to 33cm will easily fit inside the Eleven Hundred, given that no internal fans (or a radiator) will be installed. It is also interesting to note that the drive bays are not cramped together as with most designs but there is a significant distance from drive to drive, which limits the number of 3.5” drives this case can house down to 6 but dramatically improves the thermal properties of the system.

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In order to assess the thermal performance of the case we will be using our Integrated Casing Torture Test (ICTT) system to take readings over a period of one and a half hour. All of the case fans are operating at their maximum speed during the test and both side panels are closed. The exhaust temperature probe was placed above the rear fan of the case.



As expected, the thermal performance of the Eleven Hundred is superior to that of the P280, even if only slightly. The Eleven Hundred is a case optimized for thermal performance with a design considerably less restrictive when it comes to airflow which, in conjunction with the use of a larger 200mm exhaust fan, explains the better performance figures even though the core chassis design is almost identical to that of the P280. The Eleven Hundred displayed exceptional resilience to our massive thermal load, indication that the case should easily handle accommodating a tightly overclocked, serious gaming system.

Although the Eleven Hundred is not a case designed with acoustics performance in mind and with Antec taking few to none noise reduction measures, the acoustics performance was better than we initially expected. With its fans running at maximum speed our instruments recorded a maximum of 35.1dB(A), an audible but relatively comfortable noise level for most people.

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Quality (30% of the total score)

Antec has always been marketing high quality products and the Eleven hundred is no exception. The case is remarkably well made, both internally and exceptionally, with the chassis displaying exceptional mechanical cohesion despite the numerous openings. There is no design or manufacturing flaws to talk about, not even a single sharp edge or dent. Furthermore, the well contemplated design and fair size of the motherboard tray make the Eleven Hundred a highly functional product, especially for enthusiasts who frequently fiddle with the interior of their systems and modders who like to design perfectly clean systems.

Quality Score 10/10



Performance (30% of the total score)

The Eleven Hundred did not set any milestones during our testing, yet we are certain that no enthusiast will be disappointed by the thermal performance of this product. Even though this case is optimized for maximum thermal performance, we found the acoustics performance to be relatively good as well. It is unfortunate however that the addition of the 200mm fan does not allow the installation of a 240mm watercooling radiator at the top panel of the case. A radiator does fit inside the case, yet that would forbid users from installing very long graphic cards. Regrettably the Eleven Hundred also lacks any fan speed control options, denying the end user the ability to choose their own balance between thermal performance and acoustics; considering that this is a gaming class case however, we hardly believe that a gamer would notice the humming noise of the fans over the sound of clashing swords and smoking barrels.

Performance Score 9.0/10



Aesthetics (30% of the total score)

Gaming class enclosures often feature very complex, aggressive designs; however this is not the case with the Eleven Hundred, with Antec having designed a product which superbly balances a futuristic appearance with a serious form. The Eleven Hundred is a stylish, modern product which will match most environments and will certainly be loved by enthusiasts and modders.

Aesthetics Score 9.0/10



Value (10% of the total score)

With a retail price of 129.99$ USD (about 160$ SGD at the time of this review) the street price of the Eleven Hundred is quite competitive, especially after considering the quality, appearance and performance of the case. The expansion options of the Eleven Hundred and its overall size and design will most certainly make it a favorite among modders. Sharing the same street price with the P280 however could create some internal competition, with the users seeking better acoustics performance leaning towards the more serious and versatile P280.

Value Score 8.5/10