Page 3 - Physical Look - Inside
Getting to the inside of the Antec Performance 1 FT requires taking off the two side panels, which is a straightforward process. Both are secured to the back of the case with captive thumbscrews. Once you loosen these screws, the panels can be popped off their ball and socket joints at the top. There are also two latches at the bottom of the pane of glass to aid in aligning the panel to the case. Around both tempered glass panels, we have an opaque black rim to hide any handling marks from showing up on the glass. The back is lined with a metal frame around the rim with thin foam strips down the sides of the glass to dampen any vibration or noise created between the panel and the frame. Finally, the two side panels are tinted to hide a bit more of your cabling and anything else you might want concealed.
The front panel pops off in multiple sections. First, the plastic grille can be removed. This is held to the outer plastic rim with magnets, although the magnets are not that strong. It does not accidentally fall out, but it felt just a tad loose for my liking. Next, you can remove the outer rim, which hides the three-digit seven-segment display at the top. There are also two backlit labels marked "CPU" and "GPU", which illuminate when the respective temperature is displayed.
Behind the mesh front are three 140mm Storm T3 fans. According to Antec, these Storm T3 fans may differ from the retail version, but I will use the retail specifications for a baseline. One difference you can spot immediately is the lack of any daisy chaining header on these fans. Also, the Storm T3 fans are 30mm thick rather than your typical 25mm. Other numbers include a maximum speed of 1500 RPM, maximum airflow of 112.72 CFM, and maximum air pressure of 2.29 mmH2O. It also is said to have a lifespan of 70,000 hours with its fluid dynamic bearings keeping everything quiet at 33.69dBA. Regardless of the actual specifications, it is nice to see three fans included at the front, especially as they are the larger 140mm size too.
Once inside, you can see a typical open-concept design, with one primary divider in the Antec Performance 1 FT for the power supply basement. Everything inside follows the all-black exterior. The paint on these panels does not scratch off, which is good to see. The Antec Performance 1 FT can hold E-ATX motherboards up to 285mm or 11.2" wide. At the back, you can see the large opening so users can access the back of the motherboard. This is helpful when installing third-party coolers, as you can change the mounting mechanism while keeping the motherboard mounted. There are two more large routing holes above the motherboard. At the very top of the case, you can see mounting rails for users to install cooling options. Antec has mentioned this top area can hold up to three 120mm or 140mm fans. It can also hold radiators up to 360mm in length. At the back, we have the same rails, except limited to 120mm. Fortunately, Antec includes a 120mm Storm T3 fan here. The specification for this fan is a maximum speed of 2200 RPM, maximum airflow of 80.47 CFM, and maximum air pressure of 2.95 mmH2O. It also has a similar life span to the larger version with a fan noise level of 36.99dBA.
Down to the bottom, we can see the expansion slot covers. There is a total of eight slots, which is typical for a full-tower case. These slots feature a bridgeless design. At the bottom, you can see the perforations on the divider between the power supply and the rest of the case. Once again, the hole pattern matches the other perforations around the Antec Performance 1 FT. You can mount up to three more 120mm fans on top of the power supply shroud if you need more airflow, which will presumably draw air from the bottom of the case. There are also two large holes at the back for connecting front I/O and other headers at the bottom of your motherboard. They have rubber grommets on them, which will help in hiding cable clutter. There is no hole closer to the front to plug in the necessary PCIe power cables for your graphics card.
At the front, we have the other side view of the three front fans. As expected, these are mounted on rails to allow users to install more cooling options here. This includes up to three 120mm or 140mm fans. Otherwise, users can also install a radiator up to 420mm in size. It should be noted that longer radiators that are 360mm or 420mm are limited in thickness with a maximum space of 60mm for both the radiator and any attached fans due to the space of the opening into the basement. Moving on, you can see we have even more rubber grommets and holes to pass cables through. Unfortunately, one thing that is missing here is a GPU support bracket, as we have seen in many recent cases. It is a shame, especially when you consider how heavy modern graphics cards are becoming. Otherwise, all the openings that are not grommeted are folded over with smooth edges to prevent any cuts to cables or your fingers.
On the flip side of the Antec Performance 1 FT, we have two shields to help with hiding cables. This is necessary given the fact this side has a tempered glass panel, and therefore it reveals how well or how poorly you manage your extra wires. Removing the two sections requires a screwdriver, as there are two screws that connect the two metal plates together. Once removed, you can loosen the thumbscrew at the top and slide out the first plate, marked by a "01", and then the second plate.
Underneath, we have an indented front valley to help with thicker cables along with three hook-and-loop straps and plastic guards to lead the cables through. All the front I/O cables are black, passing through the valley of straps. This includes an audio header, USB 3.0 header, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C header, and a single block for the front panel connectors. I appreciate case manufacturers grouping this into a single block, as individual pins can be tricky to plug in. One thing we did note is the lack of any front-facing LED lights for power or drive activity, which is reflected by a lack of wires connected to this front-panel header. Otherwise, we do have more Velcro straps up the backside of the Performance 1 FT. Several more cable tiedown points exist around the back. A minimum of 25mm and a maximum of 30mm of space exists between the side panel and the back of the motherboard tray, which is quite enough space to route and organize your cables. Unfortunately, we do not have any fan controller included, but Antec did provide a three-to-one PWM connector cable, so the front fans only use one fan header on your motherboard.
As for storage options, first are three sets of 2.5" trays to mount drives here. This is found at the back of the motherboard. They are not hidden by the gray metal shields here, although all the cables connected to the drives will be. Next, we have a drive cage at the bottom of the case, where there is room to install up to two 3.5" or 2.5" drives. There is only one tool-less sled provided, but users can screw in their second 3.5" drive on top of the cage. Once again, this is not an elegant solution, and I would have preferred a second sled, especially in a case this large. In total, up to five drives can be installed in the Antec Performance 1 FT, whether it is two 3.5" and three 2.5" or five 2.5" options. This is fine, but a bit less than expected for this case form factor.
Finally, in the basement, we have an area to mount the power supply at the bottom of the Antec Performance 1 FT. It slides in from the back and sits on top of rubber pads. This ensures there is enough clearance between the bottom and the fan of the power supply for some breathing room.
One more thing I should mention before I install into the Antec Performance 1 FT is the included accessories kit, which is quite a nice inclusion. This divided box helps with organizing all the screws. It would have been nice to see some labels for each of the screws, but I should not be complaining too much. In addition, we have a bag that holds some extra Velcro straps, zip ties, and the aforementioned three-in-one fan cable. Finally, some documentation is included to walk users through the installation process and go through the warranty information. Antec covers their Performance 1 FT for two years, which is on par with the rest of the competition.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
