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Antec Take 4


Date
: 10/26/05 – 02:55:52 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cases

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
Antec Inc.

Price:
$339USD MSRP

There is definitely no introduction necessary when opening a review about an Antec product. Most everyone has heard of this California based company that has grown from a small startup in 1986 to the giant that they are today. Their product lineup has matured and expanded over the years into one that is a formidable force in the industry offering computer cases for every user in the marketplace. This includes the IT department of your company with Antecs rackmount offerings.

Overclockers Online is never content with standing still and getting stagnant. We try to bring our readers everything that the computer market produces so when Antec asked if we wanted to take a rackmount case from their Studio Series for a spin, we didn't think twice about evolving our list of reviews to dip into that sector. Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to the black beauty that is the Antec Take 4. This 4U rackmount case is designed for studio professionals looking for quiet superior performance, so who better to test its abilities than an overclocker? I must admit that I cannot wait so let's take this show on the road and get to the package and contents section.

Page 2 : Package & Contents

Seeing as this is a rackmount case designed primarily for studios or IT departments looking for a quiet solution, I was not expecting the typical retail package to show up and I was absolutely right.

As I said and expected, the package that the Take 4 showed up in was just a plain brown box with minimal signage and no flair for marketing purposes. This is the side of the box that possesses an Antec logo as well as the Take 4 name and Studio Series signage. This is identical to the opposite side as well.

The ends of the box are very similar and the same at each end like the sides. There is a short list of the specifications and contents listed here. Like I said, not a lot of advertising material but there is actually more than I anticipated. I wouldn't have been surprised to see nothing more than an Antec logo and a sticker with what was inside.

The top of the box has no marking of any kind so with nothing else to show I will get the box cutter out to see what's inside.

Not a whole lot to report here once we open the box. The case does have plenty of room from each side of the box to protect the exterior should anything puncture the box during shipping. The case itself is wrapped in a plastic bag and the package of goodies is tucked in the gap between the case and the box at the top of this image here.

This is the bag of goodies I eluded to earlier spread out across my studio floor. Contained within the bag is a small package of standoffs and all the screws required for mounting hardware, another bag of cable routing clips, four adhesive backed rubber feet, a couple strips of adhesive backed foam, a rear I/O panel, three additional cable ties and adhesive backed securing mounts, two keys for the case lock, a case speaker with adhesive backing, and a thin piece of plastic with double sided tape along the top and bottom for mounting. This clear piece of plastic is to block off the side vents if the case is to be mounted in an enclosed space where fresh air is not abundant to prevent hot air from entering the case. Also included in the box was a three prong power cable that we can see in the photo above.

There is no manual included with the case but one can be downloaded from the Antec website in PDF format that covers drive installation, basic setup, and any other questions one might have about the features of the Take 4.

Page 3 : Specifications

I feel the specifications section should contain some sort of specifications list, so let's start with that.

The one thing that stands out to me is the 34.6lb weight but considering this is a rackmount designed to be mounted on rails in a rack, weight really is not an issue. That weight does have one benefit to it and that is solid, sturdy construction. The inclusion of the two TriCool fans and solid 450W power supply from Antecs Smart Power line really solidifies this case as a complete solution. There are no fan mounts left un-filled and the power supply that comes with the case has every connection you may need or want. This very impressive list of features is complimented on the Antec web site with this brief blurb about the Studio Series…

Three year warranty on all parts and labor? That is definitely something that people like to hear when spending money on a top quality product. Antec continues to stand behind their products because they know their build quality is top notch, this Take 4 from their Studio Series is no exception.

Antec is also willing to disclose every bit of information about their hardware. In the PDF manual I downloaded I was pleasantly surprised to find complete specifications of the two included TriCool fans and will now pass that information on to you.

Size: 120 x 120 x 25.4 mm
Rated Voltage: DC 12V
Operating Voltage: 10.2V ~ 13.8V

Size: 92 x 92 x 25.4 mm
Rated Voltage: DC 12V
Operating Voltage: 10.2V ~ 13.8V

Based on these specifications, these fans will be great. The three fan speeds gives us the ultimate in fan control and even at the high setting, neither fan is rated to cross 30dBA which should equal to a very quiet case.

At this point I will shift my attention to the power supply that came pre-installed in the Take 4. Antec has provided one of their Smart Power 450W v2.0 units. Simons recent review sample of the Antec Sonata II also came equipped with a Smart Power 450W v2.0 and he was very pleased with it's performance and capabilities so I was thrilled to see one in this case when I opened it up. Here is a complete list of specifications for it…

I will also add this that Antec has to say about the SmartPower 2.0 line of power supplies…

The one thing not listed in the specifications is the connections this power supply offers. I will list those now by cables.

I think I have provided enough statistics to keep even the biggest geeks in the room happy so we will now be moving on to the Take 4s exterior photo shoot.

Page 4 : Exterior

As with all case reviews, we start off with a full body shot to give you an idea of what it looks like:

There is nothing fancy or elaborate about this case. The finish is not shiny, there are no LEDs to illuminate cutouts or clear plastic pieces and should there be? Absolutely not. This is a rackmount case designed for performance and rugged durability. You can already see the textured matte black surface that begins to speak for the tough design. The two handles at each side are very handy when throwing this beast around. They feel amazingly solid and secure and I did a lot of lifting, moving, and carrying of this case to get these photos.

As we come around the side, we see the four large screws that would be used to mount drawer rails. We also get our first look at the 120mm side fan and 90mm rear fan mounted and ready to run out of the box. Just above the rear fan is one of the large thumbscrews that secure the top on the case.

We see a fairly typical rear panel except for the PSU being below, or in this case to the right, of the motherboard. We will see why the PSU is in this position once we get around to opening the front and top panels. The position of this rear fan will put it in perfect position to pull the hot air coming off the CPU and out of the case.

We continue to move around the case and on this side we are greeted with some slotted vents. These are the vents that were referred to earlier that should be closed off with the clear plastic piece should the case not be in a well ventilated position once mounted. Again, the full line of screws half way up the side are for mounting a rail. Along the very top edge is a single screw. There is one on the other side and these need to be removed in conjunction with the rear thumb screws to remove the top.

Finally, we get a head on shot with its top down showing all that the Take 4 has to offer. There is more grill here than a Mac truck which will allow for plenty of fresh air into the case. The hard drives are stacked to the right, in the middle is where floppy drives can be located, and on the left are two slots for optical drives near the top. Just below the optical drives is the intake for the tunnel leading to the power supply and if you look closely you can see the shiny fan grill at the back.

A close up of the center section shows the firewire and USB 2.0 ports as well as a pair of blue indication LEDs, as well as the power and reset switches. This close up also gives us a good view of the textured surface. You will notice a lot of screws and these will come in to play later during installation. They hold the Optical and floppy drive cages in place.

I thought I would throw this shot into the mix to give you a better idea of what that bottom grill leads to. You can see that it is separated from the optical drives and in fact, separate from the entire interior of the case supplying fresh cool air to the power supply to aid in its cooling.

The right side of the front of the case is where our four hard drive mounts are. They are conveniently accessible with a pair of thumbscrews, one on each side. Again each tray is mostly vents on the front allowing a large amount of air in to assist in cooling.

The trays pull out smoothly and when you loosen the thumbscrews, they do not pull out from the tray. This is very nice for network admins as the chance of losing a thumbscrew is zero. The trays can come completely out and slide back in very easily. There are also four rubber grommets around the mounting screws on the bottom to help eliminate any vibration noise from the hard drives.

The last of the exterior to look at is the underside. There are screws all over the place here and everywhere on this case. All the screws are used to mount the brackets and walls on the interior. This allows you to remove pretty much everything from this case, and for whatever reason you might have, you can take this case completely apart. The holes here had their screws removed so they would stand out. Guess what they hold in place? That's right, the removable motherboard tray. Antec has not overlooked anything with the Take 4. It's time to pop the hood and see what's inside.

Page 5 : Interior

With the top off we get a better idea of the layout and how things are situated behind the scenes.

I magnified the cable tie just to emphasize that Antec did not skip out on anything. Yes they provide some cable ties and the adhesive pads to secure them, but they also pre-install one here basically leaving you to do nothing but mount your hardware and plug it all in to get up and running. The bar across the top adds stability and will get in the way when trying to mount the motherboard but like everything else in this case, it easily comes out with a single screw.

From this side view you can see the tunnel that supplies the power supply with the fresh air from that front grill coming from under the optical drive slots. We can also see the motherboard tray and a couple of the mounts that it is secured to the case with from the underside.

These are the two Antec TriCool fans with their three-speed fan controls secured to the side of the case. I really like the idea of having a manual fan control for each fan and the little clips that secure these to the case are nice as they will stay up and out of the way. The power cables that come with these two fans are nice and long so they will be easy to arrange out of the way.

Clearly labeled with the Antec 3 Speed label we can see both fans use a pass through 4-pin molex connection for power.

I thought I would take a close up of the cables that make their way from the front panel to the rear of the case. They are just your standard LED and switch connections for the motherboard and all are labeled for easy setup.

The 1394 and USB connections are also labeled for easy identification. If you do need the pin layout for these connections you will need to download the PDF manual from Antecs web site.

I am not one to accept things as they come so I had to remove the power supply to satisfy my own curiosity. To remove it I had to take out a screw to remove the support bar that spans the top of the case and then the 4 standard screws from the rear of the case. This photo shows us exactly how the tunnel comes to the power supply and expands to cover the entire intake fan. There is a thin layer of foam around the edge to seal against the power supply which will also eliminate any vibration noise. Note the size of the space, this will only allow for the standard size power supply and not any of the newer, bigger ones should it need to ever be replaced.

Once the drives were attached to the cages it is just a matter of sliding them back in place and fastening the handful of screws to secure them to the case. Some may think it is a bit un-orthodox and inconvenient to have to take the cages completely out to install the drives but it is actually a very quick and easy procedure, plus, remember the role of this case because drives aren't likely to be going in and coming out that often.

The hard drives are very simple to install. It's just a matter of pulling the tray and using four of the supplied screws to secure the drive to the tray. With rubber grommets between the drive and the tray we just want to lightly tighten the screws so the grommets have a chance to do their job.

As you can see the drives line up flush with the facing on the front and the fit around the edges is as good as it can get.

With the drives in place up front we now move to the rear of the case and get the motherboard mounted. First step is popping the appropriate I/O panel for the motherboard being used in testing. The fit is good and the panel pops in with ease and is held securely in place.

Getting the motherboard secured to the removable tray is as easy as using nine of included sixteen standoffs and the supplied screws for attaching the motherboard to the standoffs. Mounting the removable motherboard tray to the case is fairly straight forward and just a matter of securing the five screws from below. It can be a bit tricky getting the first couple in place because the motherboard wants to slide around but once a couple are started its smooth sailing from there.

I have the motherboard mounted here and you can see that we are given a decent amount of room around it in the case. The fans don't have to come out to install the motherboard but the top support bar is required to come out to allow access. Next up I had to install the processor and the stock heatsink and fan for testing but I thought I should check to see if the larger CPU coolers would fit in the Take 4.

I have the Titan Vanessa L-Type and Asetek VapoChill Micro on hand with the Vanessa L-Type being the taller of the two. As you can see it is close but the cooler will definitely fit, and I was able to put the lid on with no rubbing. Seeing any large CPU coolers in this case in a real world application is unlikely but it is good to know they will fit. Depending on the motherboard use and the placement of the CPU socket, the support bar across the middle of the case might not fit with certain coolers but most coolers will fit without the bar in place.

The last piece of hardware to get installed is the video card. As noted there is no tool free design so a single phillips head screw needs to be removed to take the plate out and that same screw was used to secure the video card. The PCI expansion slots line up perfectly with the slots on the motherboard so this is pretty straight forward.

With everything in place it is time to start hooking up cables. The support bar is going to play a major role in keeping the cables up and out of the way. I started with the hard drives and just worked my way around the case.

With everything connected I did some shuffling, organizing and cable tying and this is the result. There should be plenty of room for air to get sucked out the front of the case and across the motherboard and drives before exhausting out the rear. The one thing to point out is the fact that the 4-pin power connector is fairly short. It is taunt to reach to the spot on this Asus motherboard. On some motherboards, the Foxconn NF4SK8AA-8EKRS for one, has the 4-pin power connection near the top of the motherboard and the 4-pin cable coming from the power supply would not reach.

I contacted Antec about this and they explained they were aware of the issue and were sending out 4-pin extension cables with all Take 4s to alleviate the issue and longer 4-pin cables would be added to the included power supply in the future. This is the 4-pin extension I was sent and it solves the issue 100%. We will now have a look at the thermal performance of the Antec Take 4.

Page 7 : Performance

These will be the components used for testing the Antec Take 4:

I don't have any other rackmount cases to compare test results with so I will just be running the test on the three different fan speeds and compare those results. For each fan setting the system was ran under load for a period of three hours by running Prime95. At the end of the three hours the CPU, MB, HD0, and HD1 values were recorded from SpeedFan. The system was then left to idle with nothing but background services and SpeedFan running with the idle values being recorded at the end of three hours and plotted on the charts below. During testing the temperature of the room flip flopped back and forth from 23C to 24C.

In addition to the SpeedFan readings I also placed three temperature probes on the NorthBridge, RAM, and lower WD Raptor. I recorded those values at the same time as the SpeedFan values at the end of the three hour load and three hour idle tests. These probes were from the Ultra Fan Commander and its digital readout. With the additional probes we will get a good idea of how much air is actually being drawn from the front of the case and being swept over the motherboard components and hard drives. Let's have a look at the results starting with the idle numbers:

The hard drive temps are very cool and I was surprised to see that there was that much air being sucked in over them. You will notice that the high and low setting of the fans does have a noticeable impact on the temperatures.

These numbers are even more impressive than the idle temperatures. The CPU is able to stay at or below 52C even with just the stock heatsink and fan. Considering the overclock and voltage increase of the processor, the Take 4 has done an amazing job in this aspect. The hard drive temperatures again are fantastic and they don't really raise that much from the idle temperatures which tells us that the rear fans are doing a solid job removing heat from the case.

On top of the great temperatures, I was really impressed with the noise that the Take 4 generated or I should say lack there of. With both fans on the high settings there is definitely sound being generated but it is not like that of a standard mid-tower design and far quieter than any case I have witnessed. It is mostly just a low suction type noise from the air being drawn through the case. There is no high pitch whining or buzzing sound, just a low whoosh type sound that seems to blend into the background noise of the room remarkably well. When I turned the fans down the noise gets quieter and sounds like the wind died right down. On the loweset setting, the fans are still drawing a good amount of air through the case but you wouldn't be able to tell as they are almost non-existant with little if any noise coming from the Take 4.

The one thing I could not hear was the sound of the stock AMD HSF until I took the top off the case. This is the most impressive feat of all as the fan on the stock heatsink can be quite loud. After a couple days I became quite fond of the quiet low bassy sound coming from the Take 4 and when the TV or stereo were on it almost completely disappears. The one thing I almost forgot about was hard drive noise, this is because you can not hear the hard drives at all. Normally the pair of WD Raptors chugging away let you know they are working but in the Take 4, none of the four hard drives can be heard.

The last thing I will be testing is the voltages of the included 450W Antec Smart Power v2.0. I let the system run at 100% load for 4 hours and took 4 random readings then averaged the results for the load values. For the idle values I let the system idle for 4 hours taking another 4 random readings that were averaged for the charts below. The Power-On values are from turning the power supply on without any load by having no processor in the motherboard or any other devices connected.

We can see that the voltages are well within the 5% range and do not fluctuate very much at all between Idle, Load, and the Power On state. Now yes, the power supply is brand new and a true test of a power supply cannot be conducted in a week or two, but this still gives us a good indication that the unit is of Antecs typical high quality. The power supply performed admirably throughout testing and for the past week that I have had the Take 4 case. It has been running the above overclocked, overvolted system non stop for the last week at 100% load running folding@home without a problem. There have been absolutely no random reboots or anything of that nature.

Page 8 : Conclusion

To say I am impressed with the Antec Take 4 is a major understatement. The idea of a rackmount case taking the place of a standard mid tower on my floor might make some in the IT industry cringe but that will be the situation in my apartment. The Take 4 excels at cooling an overclocked and relatively hot running set of components without a problem. It does so in an extremely quiet fashion and on top of all of that, it just screams grace and beauty sitting on the floor beside my desk.

The Take 4 was designed for professional audio recording as a part of Antecs Studio Series. In this role this case will impress everyone who adds it to their studio. The lack of noise generated by the Take 4 is amazing and the cooling ability is something I have not seen out of a two-fan case in all my years building computers. The included power supply has wonderfully stable voltages that indicate a long healthy life in its future, plus, it is an Antec power supply. The name alone tells us it is a quality unit as Antec has been known for superb quality for a number of years.

The Take 4 is not a great rackmount case, but just a great case, period. I encourage anyone looking for a new computer case to take a look at the Take 4 even if you are not looking for a rackmount design. The quality and performance would challenge any other case you might be looking at and there is plenty of room to fulfill most users needs.

Advantages

• Superb cooling ability
• Whisper quiet performance
• Rugged, sturdy, and beautiful elegant design
• Complete package with included power supply

  Disadvantages

• It does weigh almost 40lbs
• The price tag is not for everyone

  Overclockers Online would like to thank Antec for providing the review sample.

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