Antec DA601 Dark Avenger Silent – Packaging and Contents
The packaging for the Antec DA601 Dark Avenger Silent is rather plain; however, it is effective for protection I will say. The packaging did take a bump or two on the way to our lab. Thankfully, there was no damage to the chassis itself. In this particular situation, the function was far more important than aesthetics. Even still, the packaging does present the appropriate specs and features, as it should.
As expected, the shipping material is pretty standard these days. Along with the two protective foam pieces to brace the chassis is a foam bag. Additionally, you will receive a small box containing the various screws, zip ties, and instructions for installing your hardware as well.
Now let us take a closer look at the chassis itself!
Antec DA601 Dark Avenger Silent – A Closer Look
The DA601 Dark Avenger is about as large as a mid-tower chassis can be. Although, the case is not as heavy as I expected it to be, despite its size. The black matte finish is superb and the grey parts contrast nicely. There is a tempered glass side panel that is secured with thumb screws. It is clear at this point that the aesthetics are one of the Dark Avenger’s main selling points. The design does look modern and is only marked by the small Antec logo in the middle of the front panel. The matte finish looks great and is fingerprint-resistant to boot.
On the rear of the chassis, we find a pretty standard ATX layout, which will suffice for the majority of users out there. The expansion slot covers are, thankfully, the removable/reusable kind and are finished with the same black paint as well. The overall theme that Antec is aiming for with this chassis is definitely a step up from previous generations.
The front I/O panel is located at the top and front of the chassis. Antec included two USB 3.0 ports for the front panel of the DA601. Unfortunately, these ports are not LED illuminated, like some of Antec’s other cases, which makes finding the ports in a dimly lit scenario much easier. The power button is LED backlit, thankfully so that helps a bit. There is also and LED button to change the RGB illumination manually, with the option to sync to your individual motherboard’s settings. Also present is a reset button and hold up, you also get the standard 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks as well.
The top of the chassis is also covered with a magnetic removable filter. The front panel is easily removed and exposes the front cooling intake complete with a filter as well as one pre-installed 120mm Antec PRIZM ARGB fan. Similarly, we find another filter installed on the bottom of the chassis that is easy to remove as well.
The interior of the DA601 Dark Avenger is equally beautiful, featuring the same black finish. The rear cooling system consists of a single pre-installed 120mm Antec fan. The DA601 Dark Avenger also has a power supply chamber that is pretty common in chassis these days. This design allows for the hiding of those pesky-but-necessary power cables and the like. The result is a clean-looking build, something that I think we can all appreciate.
The backside of the motherboard tray is host to SSD mounting brackets, the fan hub/ARGB controller, several options for cable routing and management as well as the 3.5″ HDD mounting cage. What I like here is that Antec did not try to over complicate the situation as some other cases have failed to do so. Sometimes simple is the better choice!
Now let us move on to the installation portion of this review!
