Cooltek Antiphon Airflow Review
Category : Cases
Published by Luca Rocchi on 07.10.14
Antiphon Airflow is the last Cooltek's mid-tower, which offers plenty of interior space for standard ATX systems and apart from that it's been equipped with sound absorbing material. Like the name suggest, this case provides a very good airflow thanks to the big mesh on the front. Not to forget: pricing is also very competitive.
Today
we will be checking out the latest mid-tower case from Cooltek, the Antiphon
Airflow.
Promising silent operation and made with high quality materials, the Cooltek
Antiphon Airflow is marketing itself as a serious contender in the mid-tower PC case market.
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Preview
Specifications
| Model |
Cooltek Antiphon Airflow |
| Case Type |
Mid-tower |
| Dimensions |
500 x 195 x 445 mm, 8 Kg |
| Material |
Steel, plastic |
| Color |
Black |
| 5.25'' drive
bay |
3 |
| 3.5'' drive bay |
4 |
| Expansion
slots |
7 |
| Form factors |
ATX, mATX, Mini-ITX |
| Cooling |
Front: 2x 120mm (Included)
Rear: 1x 120mm (Included)
|
[pagebreak]
Bundle
Overview |
|
The
box of the Cooltek Antiphon Airflow is pretty simple. It is made out of cardboard and
includes a list of the most important features of the case. Inside the box,
there is the case itself, protected by a plastic cover. To ensure that nothing is going to break during shipping, Cooltek used two big pieces of plastic-sponge which is more than enough to protect the Antiphon Airflow.
The bundle is simple but complete
as you get a user manual in both German and English, with colored pictures that explain how to use the Antiphon's features, a great number of screws, standoffs and HDD slides.
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[pagebreak]
Product overview
Overview |
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The Antiphon
Airflow case features a simple and linear design, and is made out of black
plastic and aluminum. The front panel features three 5.25” slots
as well as filters which are placed in front of the two pre-installed 120mm fans. The I/O panel features two USB 3.0 ports, Power
and Reset buttons, as well as standard audio jacks and an additional USB 2.0
port. On both sides of the front panel there are two openings that allow the front fans to
pull fresh air into the case. The side panels, even if they look quite simple, are actually the most important piece of the soundproofing system
as they both feature an internal panel of soundproof material, which is actually pretty heavy and should
do a great job at blocking the noise.
The back panel is simple and you get seven PCI expansion slots, the I/O panel opening, a
single 120mm fan, two round openings with rubber groomets for water
cooling pipes and the standard ATX PSU opening. Under the case there are
four plastic feet with an alumium finish, which ensure that the PSU can
pull enough fresh air to operate correctly. On the bottom of the case you can install another 120mm fan
which is also covered by a dust filter. |
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Installation
Overview |
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| The inside
of the Antiphon Airflow is clean and simple, and features the most classic design,
which you can find on 99% of the cases on the market. The Cooltek Antiphon Airflow can fit up to three 5.25” devices, four 2.5” drives, and the same amount of 3.5” drives. These eight drives can be fitted into cages with slides based
on tool less system. Unfortunately, the cages are not removable, so the graphics card can not be longer than 320mm. The motherboard tray is made out of solid steel, and it features a big opening behind the socket,
which allows the user to install aftermarket CPU coolers without taking the motherboard out. The tray features three openings with rubber groomets to create a neat cable management. Unfortunately, these groomets tend to pop out of their place when you push a cable through. Between the motherboard tray and the right panel there is enough space to hide
plenty of cables. The whole internal space, except for the back and
bottom panels, is padded with soundproofing material in order to reduce the system noise.
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[pagebreak]
Ventilation options
Overview |
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| As far as
cooling is concerned, the Antiphon Airflow is almost at its best once you take it out of the box, thanks to
a total of three pre-installed 120mm fans. There are two 120mm fans in the front and one in the back, and
these should be enough to create a functional airflow and keep the internal temperatures
at decent levels. You can also install an additional 120mm fan at the
bottom part of the case. The CPU cooler can be as high as 160mm, which should be enough to install
most, if not all, high performances coolers. If you are a liquid cooling enthusiast, the Antiphon Airflow might be a bad choice
as you can install a 120mm radiator in the back, which is enough for a great number of All-in-One cooling systems, but unless you are going to take out the HDD cages (which are not removable unless you use a drill), you
will not have enoug internal space for a custom liquid loop and AiO
liquid coolers with 240mm radiator. |
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[pagebreak]
Conclusion
| General |
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+ |
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| The Cooltek Antiphon Airflow looks like a simple case, but it
also hides few unexpected features,
including the soundproofing material, three pre-installed 120mm fans and high quality materials. These are all
the features that you could expect on a more expensive case. Earlier we
had a chance to review the Cooltek Antiphon, which is basically the same model but
comes with a front door and a small fan controller. |
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-Price
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| Manufacturing quality / Ergonomics |
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+ |
- |
| The build quality is
on a very good
level and the Cooltek Antiphon Airflow is made out of solid steel, which proved to be sturdy during the installation of the system. The black paint finish gives it a simple and neat look, while the front mesh provides a very good airflow. We
would have liked to see removable HDD cages and rubber groomets that stay in place when you use it. |
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- High quality materials
|
- Rubber groomets
-HDD cages not removable |
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| Design / Layout |
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+ |
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| As far as
the design is concerned, we think that you could never say something negative about the Cooltek Antiphon Airflow, mainly because it features a simple look
and has no strange details nor aesthetic flaws. It
is a simple case, with an elegant look that could fit in any kind of environment. Those
three pre-installed 120mm fans will not have any problems in keeping the temperatures at the right
level. |
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- Design
- 3 pre-installed fans |
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| Recommendation |
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+ |
- |
| On Geizhals, the Cooltek Antiphon Airflow can be bought for 54€,
excluding shipping costs. It is available in two different colors, Black or Silver. For this kind of price, we think the Antiphon
Airflow is a very good case, and it
is able to ensure the maximum silence even for high-end rigs. |
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Gamers
- Office use
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| Rating |
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The Cooltek Antiphon Airflow gets good
4 out of 5 stars. |
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