CES 2011 Coverage

Antec

There wasn't much new stuff from Antec since our last visit at Computex, but Marketing Manager Christoph Katzer was nice enough to show us around once again. The company was showing off its new water cooling system, a few new versions and revisions to some popular cases, and a new sound system from its sub-brand, Soundscience.

Antec's new Kuhler H2O 920 and H20 620 are closed-system watercooling units for your CPU. What makes these units unique is that the pump is actually inside the water block itself. You can see a picture of the 920 below, along with the radiator in the second photo. In the first photo, you may also notice the rather unique fan above it. That's Antec's Spot Cool, a three-speed blue-LED fan that can be mounted on any motherboard mounting hole, and angled in any direction you desire. It's perfect for cooling your RAM, or even providing some extra cooling for your video card(s) or hard drives.

Next up were the cases, starting with the Sonata IV. The Sonata IV features a newly designed interior, which includes a 620 watt power supply featuring a 120mm fan, three external 5.25" drive bays, four internal 3.5" drive bays, and one internal 2.5" drive bay. It also features seven expansion slots and one rear 120mm TriCool 3-speed exhaust fan. The main changes are the addition of a front USB 3.0 port (accompanying two USB 2.0 ports and audio in and out) and side grilles for air flow instead of the usual front ones.

Next up was the Antec One Hundred gaming case featuring a sleek painted black interior, perforated front bezel and a large CPU cut-out for easy installation of CPU coolers. The One Hundred has three external 5.25" drive bays, six internal 3.5" drive bays, and one internal bottom-mounted 2.5" drive bay, as well as eight expansion slots. It includes one 140mm TwoCool fan up top, a 120mm TwoCool fan at the back and room for two optional 120mm fans in the front and a third on the side. The front I/O panel includes four USB 2.0 ports and audio in and out.

Antec is also updating its Six Hundred and Nine Hundred Two gaming cases. The latter features a black interior like the One Hundred, but contains a USB 3.0 port in the front. Aside from the addition of a USB 3.0 port on the 902, both cases now feature a large CPU cutout to make installation of a heat sink even easier, as well as cable routing holes and more space behind the motherboard for cable management.

Lastly, we had a look at the Soundscience Rockus 3D 2.1 speaker system. The satellite speakers are 25 watts apiece with a 100 watt subwoofer and maximum sound pressure level (SPL) of 95 dB. For inputs you have 3.5mm, RCA and optical. Unfortunately, the remote control is tethered (see last photo), as its original intention was more for PC use, rather than a home theater system. The ~$250 price tag, however, is more in line with home theater systems than PC speaker systems.