[O/C]Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 Case and CP-1000 PSU

Overclockers.com · 09-03-10, 02:25 AM

Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 Case and CP-1000 PSU
by David

Quote:

Antec has kindly sent me a Dark Fleet DF-85 case and CP-1000 PSU to review. These products are aimed at the upper end of the market; both products are in Antec's 'CPX' form factor and designed to work together.

... Return to the article to continue reading.

Discuss this article below. If you are interested in contributing to the front page (www.overclockers.com), please feel free to contact splat, mdcomp, hokiealumnus or David. For the latest updates, follow Overclockers.com on Twitter (@Overclockerscom)

Dolk · 09-03-10, 09:58 AM

Case looks great with the teddy bears

Good review

jmdixon85 · 09-03-10, 10:19 AM

Thats a meaner looking case than any off the HAF's! Great review

velozzity · 09-03-10, 12:33 PM

I was ordering some spare parts a few days back for my nine hundred directly from Antec and was told they were phasing out the Gaming series, considering to me the gaming series is a lot more conservative looking than the Dark Fleet I hope they release another high airflow series that appeals to people not taken up with bling and like simplicity and function over crazy looking plastic over the front. Also they really need to stop using that same old side door look from the gamer cases if they want to create a new series...besides that performance wise they are headed in the right direction dropping the big boy fan and using 120mm slot that you can buy any quality drop in you chose.

Good Review...wish they would somehow make all their future cases compatible with their new form factor of power supplies.

EarthDog · 09-03-10, 12:38 PM

Excellent review content!! Im damn curious to see some details about that PSU though... Hokie... when are you getting that rig of your up so we can take proper reviews (ripple, noise, etc)

I have to agree about the case. Not the biggest fan of that styling its pretty agressive and blingy, but something tells me Im not the demographic they are looking for (early 30's "professional", and I use professional quite loose, LOL). It kind of reminds me of the HAF-X a bit but I did like how that one looks...

hokiealumnus · 09-03-10, 01:11 PM

Whenever my father-in-law is done with it. He has made progress (saw it over a weekend in August) and has all the parts (he was waiting on some shunts), it will just take time for him to complete it.

I asked him to take it and work on it, but it would take him more time to draw out his plans on paper than to just build the thing, both of which would happen in his spare time. Unfortunately that spare time isn't very plentiful...he still works at 68 and loves what he does (engineer).

David · 09-03-10, 02:28 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys.

The teddy bears belong to my girlfriend. When we moved in I started stacking my PC stuff there but she wouldn't have it

. PC stuff got relegated to the spare room (where most of the review was done, had more space there).

I think the HAF-X looks a bit nicer than the DF-85 at the front top half, but the DF-85 looks better at the bottom. I do like the fact that the DF uses a standard size of fan, which ought to make things easier if one fails in the future.

Jonnyguru have reviewed the CP-1000 from an electrical point of view (see the link in the article) as well as the CP-850. The CP-1000 isn't a bad unit (the only major downside is the cable lengths are far too short) but it isn't much better than the 850 really.

The CPX PSUs are huge, which ought to be a good thing (more room for components and cooling) IMO.

EarthDog · 09-03-10, 02:44 PM

Its the front that did it for me... Then again, Im staring at a completely flat front panel box in the 800D... *looks admiringly over at the 800d*...

Again, great write up... and I loved the addition of that pint of coffee, err beer.

love the latin in the sig too...

Jolly-Swagman · 09-04-10, 12:24 AM

Very nice looking case indeed, looks better than the HAF-X and at least the CPU cutout on the Mobo tray is wider too, than that on the HAF-X

Pity that the PSU cables were short, and was also quite surprised for a PSU of that size it doesnt have both 4+4 and 8 pin CPU mobo power plugs as other PSU's of similar size do.

Great Review overall,thank you David

David · 09-04-10, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EarthDog

Its the front that did it for me... Then again, Im staring at a completely flat front panel box in the 800D... *looks admiringly over at the 800d*...

The 800D looks amazing, but costs 1.5x what the DF-85 does over here. If I spent £200 on a case I'd get murdered. To be honest, I've never spent >£60 on a case, but the DF-85 has convinced me that spending a bit extra (ca. £120-£140) does actually get you something better

Quote:

Again, great write up... and I loved the addition of that pint of coffee, err beer.

My girlfriend makes a fantastic stew with Guiness, but only ever uses a little. So, naturally, I need to finish it off

.

Quote:

love the latin in the sig too...

Nullias in verba - "On the word of no-one" (Royal Society of London Motto)
Nemo me impune lacessit - "No-one strikes me with impunity" (Scottish motto)
Nec temere, nec timide - "Neither rashly, nor timidly" (University of Edinburgh motto)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolly-Swagman

Very nice looking case indeed, looks better than the HAF-X and at least the CPU cutout on the Mobo tray is wider too, than that on the HAF-X

The tray looks pretty good, apart from the fact I'd have loved for it to be removable.

Quote:

Pity that the PSU cables were short, and was also quite surprised for a PSU of that size it doesnt have both 4+4 and 8 pin CPU mobo power plugs as other PSU's of similar size do.

I'm really surprised they aren't longer - surely someone at Antec tested the CP-1000 in the DF-85, the P183 and the Twelve Hundred? I don't get it.

Which mobo power plugs do you mean? There's the ATX power plug, an 8 pin and a 4+4 I'm sure (I can check)?

If anyone wants any specific pictures taken or parts checked, just let me know and I'll do my best to oblige

JonSimonzi · 09-10-10, 05:04 PM

Well written review. But that case... Gaahh... Why is getting harder and harder to find an elegant case with nice lines? Not gunked up with plastic, and knobs and bobbles all over the place?

georanma · 09-10-10, 05:44 PM

Jesus...that case looks like everything I wish my HAF was.

edit: closer inspection, and Im not as partial to the front facing hdd bays. I always prefered the sideways ones. I see CM listened and made the 942 black inside. I do like the fan covers on that antec though.

Grosjambon · 09-10-10, 06:54 PM

Any possibility to know if an triple rad fit in the front?

hackintosh · 11-03-10, 12:52 PM

Prior to seeing this reviews I was looking into this case to do the paraflow mod on it with dual 120.3 rads on the side.
If you still have the case could you measure from the bottom, to the first 5.25 bay please?

David · 11-06-10, 05:54 AM

For those looking to fit rads in:

It's 39 cm from the floor of the case to the first 5.25 in bay. In that space there is a rack for holding 3.5 in drives which is, as you may guess, the width of a 3.5 inch hard disk drive. It's riveted in, which may make it a challenge to remove. It may also contribute to the sturdiness of the case.

Joshcrozer · 11-08-10, 05:31 AM

Looking at upgrading to a full-tower that supports liquid cooling, pretty sure this is the case I want to go for, only other cases that have really caught my eye are the thermaltake armour series, are these much better?

hackintosh · 11-09-10, 01:54 PM

Thanks for the measurment david, looks like I can go ahead and order this up

xoke · 11-09-10, 03:24 PM

I love the case, nice review David. I have heard those PSUs are very good...but I wonder what the boys at Antec were thinking making the wires too short on what is basically a proprietary PSU designed for their own cases. Amazing, walk down the hall...measure something.

hackintosh · 11-10-10, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grosjambon

Any possibility to know if an triple rad fit in the front?

Well I was wrong when I typed that up. The rads fit vertically into the case, you just have to give them a little push to get them in. They fit very snug between the bottom of the case and the first bay.
But the mobo tray is about 3/4 of an inch to long and needs to be trimmed in order to make the back rad fit.

ps. my rad is the gtx360

hackintosh · 11-13-10, 09:29 PM

bump for a correction to my previous post

09-03-10, 09:58 AM	#2
Dolk I once overclocked an Intel in a nightmare and it was HORRIBLE Senior OCF's Plaything Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: St. Louis MO	Case looks great with the teddy bears Good review __________________ （╯°v°）╯︵ ┻━┻ currently has .2738428927348 internets create your own rules to find the answer be proud of the pink stars Earthdog: New codename for SB for extreme overclockers... BLEH. Phenom II Result Thread Phenom II Guide Llano Result Thread
	QUOTE Thanks

09-03-10, 10:19 AM	#3
jmdixon85 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Cumbria (UK)	Thats a meaner looking case than any off the HAF's! Great review __________________ Main System/File Server/Secondary System/SmoothWall CPU: I2500K @ 4.8Ghz (H2o cooled)//Q9650/Q6600 @ 3.5Ghz/AMD Athlon 215 Mainboard: AsRock Z77 Extreme 4/Asus P5Q Deluxe/Gigabyte P35-DS3P/Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz/6GB DDR2 800Mhz/4GB DDR2 1066Mhz/2GB DDR2 Video: nVidia GTX 460/nVidia 210/NVidia GTX295/Radeon 3000 HDD: 128GB SSD (System)/WD VR 300GB(Games)/ 80GB HDD (TV Recordings)/Samsung 160GB (Sytem), 4x 1TB (RAID5 Data)/3TB (Backup) HighpointRR 3520 RAID Card/VR 160GB (system) 1TB (Data)/160GB PSU: FSP 800W/Enermax 495W/Ximatek 500W/FSP 300W Case: Coolermaster HAF932/CM Cosmos S/Cosmos 1000 Audio: Toslink -> Pioneer VSX-820-K (Dolby TrueHD/DTS Master Audio)/Logitech X-530 i7/i5/i3 Overclocking Guide /Intel Core2 overclocking guide/AMD AM2 overclocking Guide
	QUOTE Thanks

09-03-10, 12:33 PM	#4
velozzity Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Athens, Georgia	I was ordering some spare parts a few days back for my nine hundred directly from Antec and was told they were phasing out the Gaming series, considering to me the gaming series is a lot more conservative looking than the Dark Fleet I hope they release another high airflow series that appeals to people not taken up with bling and like simplicity and function over crazy looking plastic over the front. Also they really need to stop using that same old side door look from the gamer cases if they want to create a new series...besides that performance wise they are headed in the right direction dropping the big boy fan and using 120mm slot that you can buy any quality drop in you chose. Good Review...wish they would somehow make all their future cases compatible with their new form factor of power supplies. __________________ MSI P55-GD80 I7 875k @ (160 x 25) 4ghz @ 1.336 (load) 4GB (2 x 2) Patriot Gamer Edition 1600mhz ddr3 (8-8-8-25 2t) Prolimatech Megahalems with Gentle Typhoon 1850's push/pull Antec 900 custom painted with S-Flex throughout WD Caviar Black 1TB ~ Zotac Gtx 580 Antec Signature 850
	QUOTE Thanks

09-03-10, 12:38 PM	#5
EarthDog Senior PITA Member Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stuck in Maryland...	Excellent review content!! Im damn curious to see some details about that PSU though... Hokie... when are you getting that rig of your up so we can take proper reviews (ripple, noise, etc) I have to agree about the case. Not the biggest fan of that styling its pretty agressive and blingy, but something tells me Im not the demographic they are looking for (early 30's "professional", and I use professional quite loose, LOL). It kind of reminds me of the HAF-X a bit but I did like how that one looks... __________________ C2D/C2Q Overclocking Guide / i3/i5/i7 (s1366/1156) Overclocking Guide/Info / SandyBridge/ Ivybridge Overclocking Guide / AMD Overclocking Guide / Power Supply Guide SSD Reliability/Write Endurance / JOIN THE BENCHING TEAM! / Bulldozer Overclocking Guide / Forum Etiquette Want to see your writing featured on the overclockers.com Front Page? PM me, I can help! "We have more information and more ways of accessing it than ever, yet seem increasingly less inclined to do so."- Michael Wilbon
	QUOTE Thanks

09-03-10, 01:11 PM	#6
hokiealumnus Water Cooled Moderator Overclockers.com Lead Editor Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC	Whenever my father-in-law is done with it. He has made progress (saw it over a weekend in August) and has all the parts (he was waiting on some shunts), it will just take time for him to complete it. I asked him to take it and work on it, but it would take him more time to draw out his plans on paper than to just build the thing, both of which would happen in his spare time. Unfortunately that spare time isn't very plentiful...he still works at 68 and loves what he does (engineer). __________________ Enjoy benchmarks? Join the benching team! \| New to water cooling? Read the Beginner's Guide to Water Cooling Your PC. xsuperbgx - "As a wise man once said: "Less talky. More clocky."" \| cyberfish - "When overclocked, it's undefined behavior." I.M.O.G. - "Vaseline on Ivy Bridge is a bad idea. But not so bad of an idea that it can't be fixed with a torpedo heater, a dishwasher, an oven, and a few hours. " \m/ OverClockers mATX L33T Club \m/ - Join Now! - My mITX Build
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[O/C]Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 Case and CP-1000 PSU

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09-03-10, 02:28 PM	#7
David Forums Super Moderator Overclockers.com Lead Editor Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Hiding from Americans and making pretty colours in a drybox in St Andrews	Thanks for the feedback guys. The teddy bears belong to my girlfriend. When we moved in I started stacking my PC stuff there but she wouldn't have it . PC stuff got relegated to the spare room (where most of the review was done, had more space there). I think the HAF-X looks a bit nicer than the DF-85 at the front top half, but the DF-85 looks better at the bottom. I do like the fact that the DF uses a standard size of fan, which ought to make things easier if one fails in the future. Jonnyguru have reviewed the CP-1000 from an electrical point of view (see the link in the article) as well as the CP-850. The CP-1000 isn't a bad unit (the only major downside is the cable lengths are far too short) but it isn't much better than the 850 really. The CPX PSUs are huge, which ought to be a good thing (more room for components and cooling) IMO. __________________ David J. Nelson MChem(Edin) PhD(Strath) AMRSC [Academia Profile] OC Forums Super Moderator // Overclockers.com Editor The Workhorse: [Lenovo W510] Intel Core i7-720QM / 8 GB DDR3 / nVidia Quadro FX880M / Crucial M4 256 GB SSD / Windows 7 The HTPC/Server: AMD Phenom X4 9650 / 6 GB DDR2 / nVidia 8300 / 5 TB of HDDs / Antec Solo II Case / Windows 7 The Gaming Rig: AMD Llano A6-3650 / 4 GB DDR3 / nVidia GTX260 / 2x 500 GB HDD in RAID0 / Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 Case / Windows 7 The Benchmarking Setup: Various LGA775 chips / Asus Rampage Formula / 2 GB OCZ 1066 MHz DDR2 / nVidia Quadro NVS 285 / 320 GB HDD / Windows 7 My research fellowship is eating all my time, so I may be slow to reply to emails and private messages.
	QUOTE Thanks

09-03-10, 02:44 PM	#8
EarthDog Senior PITA Member Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stuck in Maryland...	Its the front that did it for me... Then again, Im staring at a completely flat front panel box in the 800D... looks admiringly over at the 800d... Again, great write up... and I loved the addition of that pint of coffee, err beer. love the latin in the sig too... __________________ C2D/C2Q Overclocking Guide / i3/i5/i7 (s1366/1156) Overclocking Guide/Info / SandyBridge/ Ivybridge Overclocking Guide / AMD Overclocking Guide / Power Supply Guide SSD Reliability/Write Endurance / JOIN THE BENCHING TEAM! / Bulldozer Overclocking Guide / Forum Etiquette Want to see your writing featured on the overclockers.com Front Page? PM me, I can help! "We have more information and more ways of accessing it than ever, yet seem increasingly less inclined to do so."- Michael Wilbon
	QUOTE Thanks

09-04-10, 12:24 AM	#9
Jolly-Swagman Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Folding@Home in Downunder Australia.Victoria	Very nice looking case indeed, looks better than the HAF-X and at least the CPU cutout on the Mobo tray is wider too, than that on the HAF-X Pity that the PSU cables were short, and was also quite surprised for a PSU of that size it doesnt have both 4+4 and 8 pin CPU mobo power plugs as other PSU's of similar size do. Great Review overall,thank you David __________________ MyHeat I'm a Team 32 Folding Mentor - Ask me about Folding Jolly's CM-690 Acentos de Cobre E8500@4.27Ghz(450x9.5)\|GA-X48T-DQ6\|CoolIT VANTAGE ALC\|DDR3 4GB GSkill Ripjaws 8-8-8-27\|Evga-GTX-295 +9800GT\|EA-750W\| BenQ e2200HD 1080p OS-Win7 Ult x64 The Milestone Thread 4.0 \| TEAM32 Folding@home- FACEBOOK PAGE \| The Sled Acrylic Tech Bench www.gastephen.com
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09-10-10, 05:04 PM	#11
JonSimonzi Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Providence, RI	Well written review. But that case... Gaahh... Why is getting harder and harder to find an elegant case with nice lines? Not gunked up with plastic, and knobs and bobbles all over the place? __________________ Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z - i7 2700K - Corsair H80 Diamond 7970 - 3x Dell U2412M 16GB G.Skill Sniper - 256GB Crucial M4 - 3TB Hitachi 7K3000 Corsair AX850 - Corsair 600T Heatware
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09-10-10, 05:44 PM	#12
georanma Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: jacksonville, fla.	Jesus...that case looks like everything I wish my HAF was. edit: closer inspection, and Im not as partial to the front facing hdd bays. I always prefered the sideways ones. I see CM listened and made the 942 black inside. I do like the fan covers on that antec though. __________________ Benderbox:i3 530 @ 4.4ghz //TRUE Black//MSI GD65//2x2 gig g-skill ripjaws DDR3 2000//XFX 5850//HAF 932//Corsair 750TX Bendermedia: i7 920 @ 4.0//Rampage III Extreme//H50// 2x3 gig OCZ ddr3 1600//MSI 4890 OC ed.//OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W Last edited by georanma; 09-10-10 at 05:51 PM.
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09-10-10, 06:54 PM	#13
Grosjambon Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Montreal - Canada Or @Cegep Maisoneuve	Any possibility to know if an triple rad fit in the front? __________________ Main Gear ------------------------------------Second Gear Phenom II 955 @3.8 -----------CPU -------Athlon x2 6000+ Asus Gtx 280--------------------GPU--------MSI 9600 GT Quimonda 2x2gig Ddr2 800----RAM--------Kingston 2x1 1x1 ddr2 800 M3N-HT Deluxe-----------------MOBO-------M2N-E Antec Earthwatt 650w-----------PSU--------Antec 500watt Wood Case \|\| Wood Case 02 Water: MCP655 With speed controler / -- mrc320 / ek res 250 / d-tek fuzion v1 HEATWARE
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11-03-10, 12:52 PM	#14
hackintosh Member Join Date: May 2010	Prior to seeing this reviews I was looking into this case to do the paraflow mod on it with dual 120.3 rads on the side. If you still have the case could you measure from the bottom, to the first 5.25 bay please?
	QUOTE Thanks

11-06-10, 05:54 AM	#15
David Forums Super Moderator Overclockers.com Lead Editor Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Hiding from Americans and making pretty colours in a drybox in St Andrews	For those looking to fit rads in: It's 39 cm from the floor of the case to the first 5.25 in bay. In that space there is a rack for holding 3.5 in drives which is, as you may guess, the width of a 3.5 inch hard disk drive. It's riveted in, which may make it a challenge to remove. It may also contribute to the sturdiness of the case. __________________ David J. Nelson MChem(Edin) PhD(Strath) AMRSC [Academia Profile] OC Forums Super Moderator // Overclockers.com Editor The Workhorse: [Lenovo W510] Intel Core i7-720QM / 8 GB DDR3 / nVidia Quadro FX880M / Crucial M4 256 GB SSD / Windows 7 The HTPC/Server: AMD Phenom X4 9650 / 6 GB DDR2 / nVidia 8300 / 5 TB of HDDs / Antec Solo II Case / Windows 7 The Gaming Rig: AMD Llano A6-3650 / 4 GB DDR3 / nVidia GTX260 / 2x 500 GB HDD in RAID0 / Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 Case / Windows 7 The Benchmarking Setup: Various LGA775 chips / Asus Rampage Formula / 2 GB OCZ 1066 MHz DDR2 / nVidia Quadro NVS 285 / 320 GB HDD / Windows 7 My research fellowship is eating all my time, so I may be slow to reply to emails and private messages.
	QUOTE Thanks

11-08-10, 05:31 AM	#16
Joshcrozer Registered Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Scotland	Looking at upgrading to a full-tower that supports liquid cooling, pretty sure this is the case I want to go for, only other cases that have really caught my eye are the thermaltake armour series, are these much better?
	QUOTE Thanks

11-09-10, 01:54 PM	#17
hackintosh Member Join Date: May 2010	Thanks for the measurment david, looks like I can go ahead and order this up
	QUOTE Thanks

11-09-10, 03:24 PM	#18
xoke Join Date: Jun 2010	I love the case, nice review David. I have heard those PSUs are very good...but I wonder what the boys at Antec were thinking making the wires too short on what is basically a proprietary PSU designed for their own cases. Amazing, walk down the hall...measure something. __________________ Jiggy X58A-UD7 - Intel i7 920 D0 +4.9ghz - Kingston Hyper-X DDr3 2333 - 2x MSI GTX 480 Jiggy 890FXA-UD5 - AMD 1090t BE +6.0ghz - Mushkin Ridgeback DDr3 2000 - ~~2x Biostar HD 4890~~ R.I.P. Antec TPQ 1200w - Sunbeam Tech Bench - WD Raptors - Koolance v2 - 2x K\|ngp\|n Tek-9 v6 Slim - ShamWow
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11-13-10, 09:29 PM	#20
hackintosh Member Join Date: May 2010	bump for a correction to my previous post
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