Antec VSP-5000 – Hardware Review
The VSP5000 is Antec’s latest entry into their gaming enclosure line-up. It features about everything that Antec has learned from their previous cases at an affordable price. On the box it says: “Designed to be bold.”, let’s see about that.
Specs
- Colour: black
- Dimensions: 476 mm (H) x 205mm (W) x 458 mm (D)
- Case Type: ATX
- Front Ports: USB3.0 x 2, Audio I/O
- Drive Bays: 4 x 3.5” HDD Drive bays, 1 x 2.5” SSD Drive bay, 2 x 5.25” bays (tool-less), 1 x 3.5” Floppy bay
- Motherboard Support: Mini-ITX, microATX, ATX
- PSU Support: standard ATX
- Expansion Slots: 7
Exterior
The VSP-5000’s slogan is probably aimed at both its look and performance capabilities both show most in the way the case looks. From the aggressive looking side panels to the controls on the top of the case, it does all look quite bold. The look of the front panel was kept clean with only two 5.25” and one 3.5” bays which can house something like a disc reader. To the side there also is a grill allowing air to get to the optional 120mm front fans of which two can be installed. As stated before, the side panels look quite aggressive which is mostly because of the relief. Both side panels are solid and made out of a polycarbonate which is supposed to add sound dampening. The bottom of the case has a removable dust filter for the intake fan of a power supply. Rubber feet ensure the case doesn’t go anywhere. The back of the case doesn’t offer anything out of the ordinary: a cut-out for the back I/O, power supply and the expansion slots. The top side however is something different than what you might be used to. The front part houses the front I/O, two USB3.0 ports and audio I/O, but also contains three fan control switches on which we’ll get into detail later. The back part of the top panel has a removable cover under which the two top fans are installed. The cover can easily be removed for cleaning. Included with the case is also a solid cover for when you’re not using any top fans, this will add additional sound dampening.
Interior
Antec went big on trying to make this case as toolless as possible. The side panels are secured using thumbscrews, out-of-the-box they were secured too tightly though so I was forced to use a screwdriver, and the trend continues on the inside of the case. Both 5.25” bays and the hard drive bays offer solutions where you don’t have to even touch a screw. It is a shame however that there’s only one mount point for an SSD, also no 3.5” to 2.5” adapters are included. For the motherboard, there’s a cut-out on the panel to which you mount it to allow easy access for the installation of a CPU-cooler back plate. Good airflow is obtained quite easily in this enclosure, a total of 5 fans can be installed of which 3 are included. In the front, one of two possible fans blows into the case without any obstructions with the second one blowing into the hard drive bay cage. On the back, a single fan comes installed out of the factory as well as two fans on the top. The way the fans on the top are installed does mean that it’s going to be difficult to install any form of radiator there. It’s also strange that all pre-installed fans are positioned so that they blow out of the case, which means that when you get the case you are forced to either turn the back fan to blow inwards or to move it to the front.
Features
The most interesting feature on this case is probably the fan control on the top side of the case. The three switches offer a “Off” mode as well as “Low” and “High” modes. The unit is powered by a Molex connection and allows up to five fans to be connected to it. The whole concept works quite well, certainly better than previous solutions we’ve seen on Antec cases. Modern motherboards do offer similar solutions however and often they offer a deeper level on control allowing you to set up fan speed curves based on CPU and ambient temperatures. Antec’s solution doesn’t offer that, there’s only the three modes which you can select using the switches. It’s probably a matter of whether you prefer a software or hardware solution. The whole thing does look cool though so there’s that.
Own Opinion
Going over the case and building in it, I really could appreciate the attitude it has. The way the case and panels are designed also makes it quite easy to work with. I still don’t like Antec’s two screw fan mounting solution though, it makes the fans lose their shape a bit after a while and doesn’t secure them as much as I’d like them to be. I found the fan control system quite easy to work with and it does exactly what you’d want it to do. The covers for the front I/O are a nice little touch to keep dust out when you’re not using them or the case is stored away.
Conclusion
The included fan-control solution and the material and design of the case effectively allow it to be near silent with the fans set to “Low”. The way it looks also makes it stand out and the affordable price makes it a great choice for a gamer on a budget. The only things holding it back are the fact that it could use some structural integrity and some cuts which were probably made to keep the price low such as the low-quality thumbscrews.
Antec VSP-5000 - Hardware Review,
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