Antec P120 Crystal – A Closer Look
The Antec P120 Crystal 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 Antec P120 Crystal 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 P120 Crystal. 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 Antec P120 Crystal is equally beautiful, featuring the same black finish. The rear cooling system consists of a single pre-installed 120mm Antec fan. The Antec P120 Crystal 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!
Installation and Finished Looks
Antec did a great job by making the HDD and SSD installation process a breeze. The process for mounting the 3.5″ HDD is completely tool-less. That being said, you will need a screwdriver to install your SSDs into the included brackets.
Installing the power supply was also a walk in the park, thanks to the removable power supply bracket.
With all of the hardware installed and cables ran, there is still an incredible amount of room for other components! The build looks clean and operates silently. The RGB is absolutely brilliant!
And there we have it! The Antec P120 chassis brought to us by Antec! Let us cover a few final thoughts in the conclusion of our review.
