Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
The Antec DF500 is as if a modern look got smacked together with the traditional. Let us go over the modern part first. The front plastic panel, that would would look amazing with some LED fans, looks pretty modern, especially with the red accents on the side. Otherwise, the panel is also angled forward, deviating from the traditional box style. The front of the case presents the Antec DF500 as a proper gaming chassis. But there is more. Moving to the side of the case, there is a modern looking plastic panel covering the entirety of the side. It seems as if the bezel-less trend from smartphones have reached PC cases. Hopefully they will not introduce a notch too, haha. The first time I saw the case, I mistook both the front and side panels for tempered glass, which would have added a greater sense of quality. The rest of the case is matte black with the I/O on top of the case at the front.
The Antec DF500 is an ATX mid-tower, although it is on the smaller side for its class. The dimensions come in at 470mm in depth, 200mm in width, and 480 mm in height. The weight reflects the smaller size and the building materials chosen for this chassis, as it comes in at only 5kg. This puts it on the lighter side of mid-tower cases as well. Overall, we have a slightly smaller case here and this could be a winner for form factor, but hopefully this does not impact too much of its capability.
The front I/O connectors are pretty standard. Up here, we find two 3.0 USB slots, the necessary 3.5mm audio jacks, power, and reset buttons. The power button is surrounded by a red LED ring indicating if the computer is on or not. The LED really limits color scheme choices to basic black and red. For any other choice, the red LED will stand out like a sore thumb in my personal opinion. The button itself does not have the best tactile feedback, but it is just a power button. The reset button is the smaller circle right next to it and is also flush with the case, ensuring you will not accidentally press it. The angles around the I/O also fit with the overall gamer aesthetic.
As far as the back of a case goes, the Antec DF500 is as traditional as it gets. Although there are a couple of smaller things that stand out once you notice it. I am missing the supposedly included 120 mm fan for the rear exhaust. I do not know why it was missing, but I am sure this will not be the case with retail sold cases. The other thing I noticed were the mismatched expansion slot covers. At first I thought it was just a mistake, but after installing all the components, it was clearly a cost saving measure. Six of the seven expansion slots are attached to the case and need to be broken off to install any components there, and they cannot be reinstalled. Antec includes two more removable slots matching the one already installed. I found this to be a really strange choice from Antec, as it does mean the covers do not match. It is at the back of the case and is not in view, but it could be a bother. At its price range of $60 at press time, it should be a given for all the expansion slots to have the ability to be reinstalled. Furthermore, even though the looks do not match, if someone does fill all the slots and then downgrade to a single video card, there will be open holes at the back of the case. Pictured below is how different these expansion slot covers are.
The bottom of the case is standard fare. There is a power supply opening with a bare basics dust filter and a couple of screws that holds the 3.5'' hard drive bay. Loosening the screws make it possible for the 3.5'' bay to be slid closer to the front of the case, creating more room for the power supply at the cost of cooling at the front. Moving the bay to the front leaves barely enough room for either a 120mm or 140mm fan. This also kills the possibility for a 360mm radiator. I had to move the bay all the way forward for my power supply, which has a length of 160mm, excluding the extra couple of millimeters the cables add. Otherwise, it has decent sized feet, ensuring the power supply can effectively draw in plenty of air by raising the chassis a little bit up.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
