Open-air cooling
Building into the LanBoy Air should be easier than it is, but once you're done you can sit back and admire your handy work. Seriously, how cool does that chassis look?
To see if it's equally cool in use, we're putting the LanBoy Air up against two pricier full-tower alternatives; Thermaltake's Level 10 GT and Corsair's Obsidian Series 800D. Here are the pertinent specifications of all three chassis, as well as a breakdown of our test system configuration:
Comparison Chassis |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Antec Lanboy Air | Thermaltake Level 10 GT | Corsair Obsidian Series 800D | |
| Case type | Mid-tower | Full-tower | Full-tower |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 222mm x 518mm x 490mm | 282mm x 584mm x 590mm | 229mm x 609mm x 609mm |
| Weight | 9.2kg | 12.7kg | 10.2kg |
| Available colours | Yellow/Black, Red/Black, Blue/Black | Black with red highlights | Matte black |
| Material | Steel frame and mesh panels | Steel and plastic | Aluminium faceplate and steel structure |
| Motherboard support | mini-ATX, mATX, ATX | mATX, ATX, eATX | mATX, ATX, eATX |
| 5.25in drive bays | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 3.5in / 2.5in drive bays | 6 x internal 3.5in 2 x internal 2.5in |
5 x hot-swappable 3.5in/2.5in 1 x external 3.5in |
4 x hot-swappable 3.5in 2 x internal 3.5in |
| I/O panel | USB 3.0 x1 USB 2.0 x2 Audio x 1 Mic x 1 |
USB 3.0 x2 USB 2.0 x4 Audio x 1 Mic x 1 eSATA x1 |
USB 2.0 x4 Audio x1 Mic x1 FireWire x1 |
| Expansion slots | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Supplied fans | 2 x 120mm LED fans (front intake) 1 x 120mm LED fan (rear intake) 2 x 120mm LED fans (side intake) |
1 x 200mm colorshift fan (front intake) 1 x 140mm fan (rear exhaust) 1 x 200mm colorshift fan (top exhaust) 1x 200mm colorshift fan (side intake) |
1 x 140mm fan (drive-bay) 1 x 140mm fan (lower compartment) 1 x 140mm fan (rear exhaust) |
| Power supply | ATX (not supplied) | ATX (not supplied) | ATX (not supplied) |
| Price | $189.99 / £149.99 | $259.99 / £209.99* | $269.99 / £229.99 |
| *Estimated, UK pricing to be confirmed | |||
System Configuration |
||
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | ASUS P6X58D Premium | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition (with reference cooler) | |
| Memory | 6GB (3 x 2GB) Corsair Dominator DDR3 | |
| Graphics card | AMD Radeon HD 6970 | |
| Power supply | Corsair HX1000W | |
| Hard drives | Corsair Force Series F80 SSD | |
To measure CPU cooling performance, we set fan speed to standard and record CPU temperature when the system is idle. We then apply a 15-minute load of the Prime95 stress test and record CPU temperature again. To demonstrate the chassis' optimum cooling capability, we then set all fans - including the CPU cooler - to high-speed mode and re-run the Prime95 torture test for a further 15 minutes.
Similarly, GPU temperature is recorded in three states; idle, load with fans at standard speed and load with fans at high speed. In this test, GPU load is defined as a 15-minute stint of FurMark.
All three chassis are tested only with the standard manufacturer-supplied fans, but readers should note that ambient temperature during testing does vary. Room temperature at the start of testing was recorded for the three chassis as follows:
Antec LanBoy Air - 18.1ºC
Thermaltake Level 10 GT - 18.9ºC
Corsair Obsidian Series 800D - 18.3ºC
The LanBoy Air is off to a good start and keeps CPU temperature well within check. To our surprise, it keeps cooler than both of the high-end full-tower solutions.
Similarly, our Radeon HD 6970 graphics card appears to enjoy having two side-mounted intakes directing air in its general direction. Both idle and load temperatures are excellent, but we reckon there's a caveat to be aware of - Antec's open-air design performs well with a cool 18.1ºC ambient temperature. We don't imagine it performing quite so well in the year's hotter months.
And, if you happen to enjoy a quiet computing experience, the LanBoy Air might not be the best fit. With its open-air panels, the system fans are clearly audible. We measured noise at 36.5dB with the fans at low speed, and that figure rises to 46.4dB with the fans cranked up to maximum. In comparison, the Corsair Obsidian chassis hums along at 35.3dB at low speeds and keeps noise down to 39.2dB with fans at full tilt.
