Getting My Nerd On (Part 2.4)

While browsing through my Facebook feed, I came across a post by PCHub, they were having a promo for the Antec LanBoy Air case, it was originally priced at 8,640 bucks (PhP) which is approximately $206 (USD) based on today's exchange rate and the promo mentions a 50% discount which cuts the price down to 4,320 bucks (PhP) which is about $103 (USD). My eyes lit up at seeing this huge price drop so I decided to give them a call, unfortunately, the case was already sold out. Before giving up hope, I checked PCNetmiles (which is nearer to me and more accessible) to see if they were selling the case as well and to my surprise, they too were on sale! Their original selling price was 8,800 (PhP) which is around $210 (USD) and they dropped the price to 4,300 (PhP) which is around $102. This deal was too good to pass up for the following reasons and to explain this I will quote my good friend Martin: "One, it's an Antec. Two, the price.". When this case was first released and after seeing the promotional demonstration as well as the video and written reviews, I was sold. However, what held me back was the original price which was way over my budget. The case that I had in mind in place of the Antec LanBoy Air was the Cougar Evolution, because of the features it presented as well as its price (4,000 Php or $95). But then this deal became the game-changer, because the price drop fell right onto my budget range which is 4,000-5,000 (PhP) or $95-$120 (USD) and on top of that, this was the case I had originally wanted. My plan was to get the case as the last part but this was an unexpected opportunity that I could not pass up. Only downside was the blue one was no longer in stock, so I chose the red instead. Now I know how women feel when their favorite stores go on sale. Haha!

(Antec LanBoy Air, Photo courtesy of Antec.com)

Now getting into the case itself, if you take a look at the photo provided on their website, it's easy to see that this case is truly out of the ordinary, it's like nothing else on the case market as far as I've seen, it actually reminds of a Transformer (especially when you choose the yellow one, which reminds me of Bumblebee, it comes in blue and red by the way). As the label on the photo says, it is a Modular case. This means that almost every panel on this case can be removed and shifted to at least one new location if desired, this also includes the motherboard tray as well as the Power Supply cage. This case can support up to 15 120mm fans, that's a huge number compared to the other cases on the market today. Antec was kind enough to provide their customers with 5 case fans right out of the box, 2 TwoCool LED fans in the front panel (these both have variable speed stepless control knobs), 2 TwoCool LED fans on the side panel and 1 TwoCool fan in the back. One of the things that made me hesitate buying this case was the fact there are not dust filters whatsoever and to me this spelled "Dust Trap" right off the bat, but after doing some reading, the case is designed to generate positive pressure if you configure your fans correctly, Antec claims that this positive air pressure will blowout hot air and dust throughout the panel perforations of the case where there is no airflow involved. Once my setup is complete, I will put definitely put this claim to the test. You have some of the basic front panel port configurations, 2 USB 2.0 ports, Audio In and Out as well as 1 USB 3.0 port.


Another unique thing about this is case is the way you mount the Hard Drives, Antec uses what they call AirMounts which pretty much means that your 3.5" (the case can hold 6) are suspended in midair held by small bungee type cords that hook onto the case, don't worry, they are secure enough unless you do something foolish during installation and to add the concept of customization or "modularity", you can mount the in 3 different directions based on what suits you, of course this isn't a senseless concept, the reason behind this is that this setup reduces vibrations and reduces noise. You also have 2 internal 2.5" SSD bays at the base of the case. And on top of that, you also have the ability to rotate your 5.25" drives which add to the multitude of customizations you could do with this case. The case also comes with flip up carry handles for easy transportation of your rig in the event of a LAN Party or whatnot, hence the name LanBoy. Based on the photos, the case looks pretty flimsy but having handled the case in person, it is the complete opposite, it is a pretty solid case, it's well constructed and sturdy, weighing in at about 20lbs on its own. Once I begin my assembly, I will write about it so that everyone can get an idea regarding the ease or difficulty that is involved when putting the rig together in this case.


Looking back at my checklist, I just need my RAM and I'm set to put it all together. I can smell the completion of my rig getting closer.

(Antec LanBoy Air, Photo courtesy of Antec.com

Thank you PCNetmiles for my case and for the quick and easy transaction as usual! And thank you Janine, my awesome girlfriend for helping solidify my decision in terms of color choice!


Stay tuned for my next post which will essentially end Part 2 of this series which will allow me to move on to Part 3 which is putting everything together.



For Part 1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-1.html
For Part 2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-2.html
For Part 2.1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-21.html
For Part 2.2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-22.html
For Part 2.3, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-23.html

Getting My Nerd On (Part 2.1)

A couple of days ago, I was able to sell my old mobile phone (HTC Wildfire) for a fairly good price given it's condition and age. With the funds earned from this, I took out my PC Rig Checklist and took a look at which part I could purchase with the funds that I have. I decided to go with the Power Supply Unit (PSU). I sent out the necessary inquiries to the stores of my choice and was able to get one reserved from the shop I bought my Motherboard from mentioned in Part 2 (http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-2.html). Now the Power Supply Unit is an important part when building a rig because as the name suggests, this is where you would get the supply of power for all the components of your rig. Simply put, PSU = Power for your machine! But to delve a little deeper, the main function of the Power Supply Unit is to convert the high voltage from the wall outlet into lower voltages that are required by each component of your system. If this voltage conversion is done improperly, it can cause damage to your components and/or system instability. Hence the importance of choosing a PSU that meets the needs of your setup. One of the things to consider are the components that draw the most power, in most cases, it would be the CPU and the GPU. But the PSU generally brings to life the whole system once everything has been put together.

I have selected, I chose the AeroCool Strike X 1100w 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply Unit. I will not go into extreme detail about this item but for more information you may refer to the website: http://www.aerocool.com.tw/index.php/products/strike-x/47-strike-x-power/137-strike-x-power-1100w

But rest assured, this PSU has enough juice to power the current setup I have mapped out as well as leave pretty decent headroom for future upgrades and for a price that isn't too shabby either. The main highlights of this product in my opinion are as follows:

(Photo by Thomas Joseph Huang)

1. High Efficiency Rating: (80 Plus Gold)
2. High Reliability: 120,000 hours MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures)
3. High capacity power output: 1,100watts
4. Over Current, Over Voltage, Over Wattage, Over Temperature and Short Circuit Protections in place.


Now I know that this is a whole lot of power and you might be thinking, what am I to do with all of this? As mentioned, I like to leave decent headroom for future upgrades as well as future-proofing my rig. I'd like to be overpowered than underpowered, better to be over prepared than caught off guard.


We'll see how well it performs once the rig is completed.


Thank you PCNetmiles (Eton Cyberpod) for the quick and hassle free transaction!

Stay tuned for the continuation of Phase 2 of the Hardware shopping step (Step 2.2)!


For Part 1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-1.html
For Part 2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-2.html