Antec Reveals the Signature S10 Premium Tower Case
by E. Fylladitakis on June 1, 2015 11:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Antec
- Case
- Computex 2015
That Antec designed a new case may not really sound like news. After all, cases are the primary focus of the company, which offers dozens of models. However, this particular release is of special interest as the company has overhauled their lineup with a new flagship case, the Signature S10, a unique tower case of massive proportions. Meant to be Antec's engineering pinnacle, the Signature S10 is an aggressive combination of advanced thermal performance, versatility, and elegant aesthetics.
Measuring 60 cm tall and 59 cm deep (23.7" × 23.2"), the Signature S10 is one of the largest tower cases in existence. It also weights about 18 kg, making it a very heavy case that is certainly not designed for frequent movement. Still, the proportions of a case alone are not stimulating and not what is unique about this particular release. What is perhaps the most important point of the Signature S10 is that it features Antec's patented three chamber design internal architecture.
Exactly as the name suggests, the three chamber design architecture splits the interior of the Signature S10 into three compartments. The entire front of the case is reserved for hard disk drives, the bottom compartment is shared between the PSU and five 2.5" device trays, and the primary compartment is reserved for the main system alone. Note that, despite its size, the Signature S10 does not have any 5.25" drive bays, so the idea of an optical drive is truly dead for this case. However, there is a slot for a short 5.25" device (fan controller, card reader, etc.). The chassis is most likely made out of SECC steel and the buyer is given the choice between aluminum and smoked tempered glass doors for the side panels. If Antec's press release is accurate and we are talking about real glass, not Plexiglass, that would be a sight to behold.
As the Signature S10 is intended to be Antec's engineering pinnacle, the stock cooling of the case is intense. The very architecture of the case is supposed to aid thermal performance, forcing top-down airflow. There are seven stock fans, five 120 mm and two 140 mm, preinstalled into the Signature S10, the models and specifications of which are unknown at this point of time. To limit the insertion of dust, Antec installed micromesh air filters to each individual chamber.
Obviously, Antec is trying to combine the very elegant appearance of the Signature series with outstanding thermal performance and expandability options, pitching the case as a good match for advanced gaming systems and workstations. Meanwhile it seems as Antec put every bit of their technology on the Signature S10, and the retail price reflects that, as the MSRP is just shy of $500. Consequently the potential market of the Signature S10 is going to be very small (if not very elite) limited to the most hardcore of enthusiasts who are willing to pay a very hefty price in order to combine elegant aesthetics and quality with thermal performance.
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Samus - Tuesday, June 2, 2015 - link
I couldn't agree more. Silverstone (especially the Fortress models) like Lian Li, can get pretty expensive, but this thing is downright stupidly expensive. The original Fortress FT-01 was ~$250 at launch and although it's one of the most amazing cases I've ever owned, I still haven't topped $250 on a case in my life.This Antec looks awesome though. It is designed nearly perfectly, down to the motherboard tray cutout under the CPU (amazing how many people forget that) but it has too many fans. It's too bad they couldn't use 1-2 large intake's and one large exhaust, but I guess Antec wants to keep this compatible with their 120x360 radiators...
Dark_Archonis - Tuesday, June 2, 2015 - link
$500 MSRP, huge physical footprint, nothing innovative, and no space for optical drives?Antec is out of their minds. Silverstone all the way.
meacupla - Tuesday, June 2, 2015 - link
you still use optical drives?Margalus - Wednesday, June 3, 2015 - link
a computer without an optical drive is worthless, unless you are in a workplace using a workstation where they don't want you to be able to do anything else. And this case isn't designed for workstations...meacupla - Wednesday, June 3, 2015 - link
I, quite literally, have not used an optical drive, since, roughly, 4 years ago.Everyone uses either portable drives or thumb drives these days, since the data can be copied, modified and deleted within seconds.
Programs are now available through digital downloads, and that's how most of the roll out goes these days too.
Dark_Archonis - Wednesday, June 3, 2015 - link
Sure, why not? I still have a ton of old back games, and data on optical discs, which I need to have a drive for to access.Plus I have a nice DVD collection I like to watch from time to time on my Dell Ultrasharp, and I'm building up a Blu Ray collection too. Not everyone has or wants an HTPC or streaming video box.
meacupla - Wednesday, June 3, 2015 - link
Stamped discs last a lot longer, but unless you are using archive grade discs, quite a lot of writable DVD discs degrade quite fast, and are completely unreliable for storing data. Even portable external drives are a lot more reliable than DVDs for storing data in the long term.As for DVD collections, sure, why not, however, for BD, I can tell you that standalone players are far cheaper and superior to what the PC has to offer. First, and foremost, the cost of a BD drive and BD playback software is, easily, twice that of a quality standalone player, because you either need to buy a 'forever license', or pay up yearly to renew the BD license to playback newer BD titles. Standalone players don't have this problem. You also don't have to buy a separate remote with standalones and don't have to worry about finicky remote emulation software that is usually found on software BD players for PC.
Dark_Archonis - Wednesday, June 3, 2015 - link
Most of my data/games on discs are either stamped (original game discs), or archive quality discs.Fair enough point about BD,and I might consider that as an alternative. However with the DVD collection, and all the other data/old games, I still have a legitimate need for an optical drive.
theness - Thursday, June 4, 2015 - link
You still use optical drives? Are you stuck in the 2000s? Upgrade man. Even NZXT H440 doesn't have it I don't see you saying anything.Optical drives pretty much useless.
I guess you're still making mix CDs for your high school girlfriend
Dark_Archonis - Thursday, June 4, 2015 - link
Cool story bro. Next time, try reading all my replies.