Antec New Solution Series NSK6580 Chassis

Good Mid-Tower Computer Case

Strengths: Plenty of bays and room to work; 3-year warranty; thumb screws; removable hard-drive tray; CPU air-intake; easy to remove side-panel

Weakness: Might have issues with Front panel firewire cable; 92mm front fans non-standard

This is probably one of the easiest cases that I have worked with! I really like how the front drive cage can be easily pulled out with thumb screws (that are spring mounted, so you can't lose them or let the cats haul them away while they are on the ground!). This provides a ton of space to work while putting in your motherboard. There is no motheboard tray, so you have to install it right to...
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This is probably one of the easiest cases that I have worked with! I really like how the front drive cage can be easily pulled out with thumb screws (that are spring mounted, so you can't lose them or let the cats haul them away while they are on the ground!). This provides a ton of space to work while putting in your motherboard. There is no motheboard tray, so you have to install it right to the case. You will need to attach the brass standoffs based on where the mouting holes on your motherboard are.

For hard-drive installation, there are convenient trays that have rubber-grommets on them to allow for noise free vibration. You just slide the hard-drive in, and it locks in place. I installed the drives with the cage outside of the case, then put it back in and locked the thumb screws. Piece of cake!

There was an issue with the front-panel firewire cable. The connector header that you would use to plug into the corresponding firewire header on your motherboard had the wrong pinout! Another Antec case that I had (P180B) was keyed differently. Meanwhile, the firewire and USB for this case were identical. Maybe it was an issue with my motherboard, but I had no problems with it before. I had to punch out the key and move around some wires (matching the diagram in the included manual with the one for my motherboard). Not sure if I got an isolated issue, or whether they did this for all of these.

The side panel is easy to remove with two thumb sliders. There is also a cool air-intake tunnel for the CPU. I guess it's designed to allow for a source of fresh air to the CPU (and dust too!!). As I'm using a standard Intel LGA775 CPU fan, it seems to work just fine as the fan blows down onto the CPU. Not sure what it would do if you have an aftermarket CPU/heatsink that blows air out of the case.

The only other knock is that there are areas for two fans on the front panel, to allow for cooling of the hard-drives. Well, these are 92mm fans, which are harder to find than more common 80mm and 120mm. No big deal.

Overall, a great value with an included EarthWatts 430W power-supply.

By SDTechDeals - Jul 20, 2008

Pretty decent basic computer case

Strengths: It's pretty big for a midsize case, includes antec earthwatts 430w power supply, all around steel (except the front), pretty heavy meaning it will last...overall a great quality case from antec.

Weakness: none that I have found yet.

I got this case from a local retail store for an excellent price, I didn't even need it, but for the price it was too good to pass. Now after seeing it out of the box, I love it and am building a new system with it. Installing the motherboard was very easy, and the hard drives have a removable tray. if you're looking for an easy case to work with, and don't care about a see thru side, this is a...
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I got this case from a local retail store for an excellent price, I didn't even need it, but for the price it was too good to pass. Now after seeing it out of the box, I love it and am building a new system with it. Installing the motherboard was very easy, and the hard drives have a removable tray. if you're looking for an easy case to work with, and don't care about a see thru side, this is a good case to go with.

By Serj - Jun 15, 2008

Good ideas, but it falls short

Strengths: Sound isolating grommets on HDs, quiet power supply

Weakness: Replacing power supply tough, non-standard front fan mounts

When I first got this case, I was loving it. The hard drive bracket slides out entirely and is setup with rubber grommets to isolate vibrations from the case. A minor issue was that the thumb screws that hold the HD cage in were both somewhat stripped. The power supply and fans are both quiet. However, when I decded to upgrade my power supply, low and behold the top of the case was riveted on...
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When I first got this case, I was loving it. The hard drive bracket slides out entirely and is setup with rubber grommets to isolate vibrations from the case. A minor issue was that the thumb screws that hold the HD cage in were both somewhat stripped.

The power supply and fans are both quiet.

However, when I decded to upgrade my power supply, low and behold the top of the case was riveted on (which seems to be the standard these days) and there was no clearance to slide it out the side. So I had to remove ALL of my external drives and faceplates to slide it out the front.

The motherboard tray is also riveted in, so don't plan on pulling it out.

Finally the front fan mounts (92mm) are not standard, so if you want to use anything other than the supplied screws (such as the quiet rubber mounts that come with better fans) you are going to have to drill them out.

By thepancakeman; - Feb 27, 2008

Antec NSK6580

The NSK6580 is a standard case from Antec. An improved NSK6500 with an included 430W 80+ certified power supply, the NSK6580 has many possible applications, including a multimedia PC for a living room, a miniature gaming rig or a small office PC. With an included 120mm exhaust fan and a very thin design, the NSK6580 promises a quiet and cool PC, even with its smaller more cramped internal layout....
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By productwiki.com - Feb 6, 2009