Antec Skeleton Open Air Case Review

Impressions cont.


A rats nest of header cables are bundled up behind the front IO panel. Unlike some of the rainbow colored cables we’ve seen, Antec has kept things looking clean with black insulation on all of the leads.


Aside from the massive top-mounted 250mm fan, Antec includes a special 92mm fan that clips to the front of the hard drive cage. Because the lower deck of the Skeleton is obstructed, none of the components below will receive airflow from the “Super Big Boy”. There are no markings visible on the underside of the fan to hint at its OEM manufacturer or its specifications unfortunately. Antec doesn't tell us a single thing about this fan aside from the fact that is a 92mm fan with a 4-pin molex connector. Considering the Skeleton’s enthusiast target audience, buyers would have appreciated a posted CFM and RPM rating at the very minimum.


Behold the “Super Big Boy” in all its glory; a 250mm fan with clear plastic fins and multiple LEDs. Again, Antec provides absolutely no information on the fan. We can’t tell you its rotational speed, or rated CFM output. We have no idea why Antec wouldn’t boast about this huge fan’s output, especially considering the PR friendly numbers associated with oversize fans.


Two optical drives and two 3.5” hard drives can be installed in the Skeleton’s lower deck and metal latches are included for a semi-tool less design. Screws are still used on the exterior walls of the case to secure the drives.


The mesh grille can be removed on either side of the Skeleton and makes fishing wires behind the optical and disk drives a bit easier. There are also some openings on the top of the grille to secure hard drives outside of the case, which we’ll get into a bit more later.

There are two thumb screws on either side of the frame to lock the lower deck in place. Releasing them allows the entire deck to slide out on rails.


With the deck pulled all the way out, it is easier to access the motherboard and other components. The motherboard tray sitting on the deck can also be removed, although we don’t see why it would be necessary to remove it. Antec really should have secured the expansion card bracket to the deck or motherboard tray and not the frame. Because of this, expansion cards have to be removed when pulling out the deck and has to be removed for taller heatsinks.