Antec LanBoy Case is Made for Super Air Cooling

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[citation][nom]Benihana[/nom]If anybody gets to check one of these out, do a smoke test to check airflow. Light a cigarette, and see how the smoke goes. My bet is that it's not really flowing very unified over the components, rather it'll be seeping.[/citation]

I'd like to see a video of that.
 
Saw this case at Blizzcon 2010. The rep actually showed us the entire thing and the default spots in which fans reside, have removable filters so you can clean them easily. Pretty awesome. Not a fan on how the hard drives sit in there but a really good air cooling solution.
 
[citation][nom]theramman[/nom]THE DUST!!! OMG THE DUST!....Would need to buy an air compresser to clean it every week...[/citation]

I have an air compressor to clean my HAF932...
 
[citation][nom]Benihana[/nom] If the air is just "seeping" in/out from the mesh, then it's not really putting much airflow over your components. Now, if you have an industrial carpet blower blowing on the side of this case, then yes it is a "super air cooled" case compared to a closed case. But other than that, it's probably not that cool.[/citation]

Exactly. Doesn't appear there's any path for air to "flow". You'd need a gigantic fan or a TON of smaller 120mm fans.

I'd like to see a detailed review complete with thermal analysis of the various components in a system and compared to a few other cases. My gut feeling is this is just a useless gimmick but you never know.
 
I agree with most commenter's that the design is ugly, but I disagree that it is flawed because of its mesh walls. Even with mesh sides you could still easily create air channels just like you would in any other case. The main difference here is that in a normal case there are always going to be pockets of trapped air that doesn't circulate as well. These pockets of warmer air could simply dissipate through the sides in this case which would overall keep the components cool.

You can create air channels without walls, what do you guys think a tornado is doing? You just need to have your fans placed properly which this case would allow more than any other considering it allows up to 10 additional fans, as well as rearrangement of certain components to provide a customized air channeling solution.

But the real question that needs answered is how much of a difference does this $200 ugly case do compared to normal cases? It would also be nice to let a system run for a month and compare dust buildup with other cases. In the end this article seems to be more of an advertisement than anything else. Sure Antec says it will keep your system cool, but Tom's Hardware probably shouldn't simply be repeating Antecs marketing department but instead testing those theories.

So please, test this, and while your at it, test Antec's Skeleton case too. I'd never buy either, but I'm sure curious as to if either offer much better cooling than a "normal" designed case.
 
$220 huh? Pretty spendy!

I'll stick to my Antec 300.
It's got 4 X 120mm case fans and one 140mm case fan.
Plus fans on the CPU (120mm), GPU (120mm) and Power supply (80mm).
It moves A LOT of air for a hell of a lot less money!
 






Just adding my vote on properly reviewing this case and the Skeleton. Questions I would like answered are:
How well are the air channels created and how effective are they?
Where are the areas of turbulence? This is where I would expect dust build-up to settle.
Recommended fan/component combinations to maximize efficiency.
 
Just saw one of these recently... amazing but you also get a lot of dust on the sides making it look more dusty then a normal case.
 
you just assumed (or were paid to say) it has great cooling when really it looks like its great at keeping everything at room temperature.
Click to expand...
If it would do that, which I'm sure it don't, it would be a damn good achievement! Are you expecting ANY case relying on air cooling can get your components BELOW room temperature?

The case ain't bad, but as everyone else, I'd be concerned with dust and spills. And 220$ is too expensive, especially since it doesn't have a power supply included.
 
I like antecs cases usually, but this is a def pass for me. Not only would it be a nightmare to maintain in an environment with pets or drinks anywhere nearby, it just doesnt seem that it would be able to create that good of a wind-tunnel effect. That is, there are too many spots for the air to exit/enter the case through. A big fan on the front bottom and a big exhaust on the rear is still the best way to go IMO. Give the air one direction to go, so you can make sure it flows over all the heatsinks it needs to.
 
[citation][nom]TommySch[/nom]I have an air compressor to clean my HAF932...[/citation]
I have a red HAF932 and it's a dust vacuum as well.
 
Ooooh, I like. I may have finally found the case for my next build. I really like my Antec NineHundred but really wanna try a new case and I don't like the NineHundred2 or the TwelveHundred.
 
Having mesh on all sides seems like it would be awesome for airflow (and a nightmare for dust) but it doesn't look like there is any good place to hide excess cabling...since you can see everything...
 
I imagine, in a dark room, and with a motherboard with led indicators on it, and ram with led indicators plus led fans, this thing would be lit up like a Christmas tree. It would either delight people with it's bright colors, or disgust people with its garishness. There is no accounting for taste, after all, and we all know beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I do like the ability to customize this case. There is enough room for a triple graphics card setup.

As far as cooling is concerned, ever run a system sitting on a box? You hardly need any fan running since it is open to the air and radiates its heat as well as conducts it well. In a mesh case, it would be similar. I think a few fans would actually make things cooler than in a solid case. One thing that is hard to determine in a solid case is if there are any dead areas where the air just spins in a circle and the heat builds up.

Dust doesn't settle much if there is a lot of air moving. The dust motes can float out every hole in the mesh. I have a Thermaltake Element T case and I experimented with fan placement, using Real Temp to monitor temps. I moved one of the two front silent fans I had to the rear of the case. My temps moved up under load about 5deg F. My case has holes on the side panel and a 230mm fan on the top. I have an Nvidia GTX480 card, and that sucker gets hot. I would love to try the Lanboy Air case to see how well it works. The Antec Skeleton works pretty well to keep things cool and that is an open case.
 
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