Antec Lanboy Air Open-Frame Case Review

The Lanboy Air case is the most recent in a long line of enclosures from Antec. Cases from Antec generally score high points among computer enthusiasts not only for their looks, but also for their ability to keep air moving inside the case. An overclocked PC requires a good case with a lot of air flow in order to keep all the important components safe from overheating. While a low-end PC used mainly for internet or word processing might be fine tucked away in the drawer of a desk and enclosed in the least expensive case you can find, the same is not true of any gaming or enthusiast computer. In this article, Benchmark Reviews takes you on a detailed tour inside and out of Antec's newest case, the Lanboy Air.

Cases are a big part of the building process for these systems. Many gamers have heard the moniker "looks over stats", and appearances are also important to many users. Most good enclosure producing manufacturers strive to make cases that fit in the top category in both aesthetics and cooling. Antec does exactly this with the Lanboy Air. From a distance, the case looks a lot like many other high-end cases. There are LED lighting schemes, lots of fans, and even handles on top for easy transportation. A slightly closer inspection causes some eyebrows to be raised. Rather than the normal full aluminum or steel side panels, just about every inch of the Lanboy Air is covered in perforations and open space.

This approach to a computer chassis tries to get as much air flow around the CPU, GPU, and other vital components as possible to ensure that your computer stays cool. As an enthusiast that tests a lot of computer hardware, I generally use an open-air test bed. I do this mainly for ease in swapping components as quickly as possible, but also because it keeps the components from accumulating that pent up heat that inevitably builds up inside of a case. The Lanboy Air Open-Frame case looks like a promising alternative by offering easy exchange of components in addition to the free flow of air.

Manufacturer: Antec, Inc.
Product Name: Lanboy Air
Model Number: 0761345-150040
Price As Tested: $189.99 at NewEgg (Available in Red, Yellow, Blue)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Antec, Inc.

Antec Lanboy Air Features

• Fully-modular chassis
• Open-frame mesh panel construction
• AirMount HDD suspension mount system for up to 6 HDDs
• Maximum CPU cooler height: 150 mm with optional side fan installed, 160 mm without

Lanboy Air Specifications

Closer Look: Antec Lanboy Air

Upon first glance, the Lanboy Air looks much like any other case, and a lot like Antec's Dark Fleet series of cases. The same power/reset button and I/O layout are present, as are the two fans at on the front. There are a lot of differences as well.

Atop the Lanboy Air, the case name is idealized with two thick, swiveled handles that make for easy carrying of Antec's latest chassis. These handles make movement of the Lanboy Air much easier than that of the recent Dark Fleet series, even though the two designs are very similar in nature. This addition won't be a big selling feature for people who leave their computer case in one location for years at a time. But for those of us who are constantly pulling our computer out of hiding to make improvements or to venture to a local LAN party, these handles are a big deal.

Another thing you'll notice quite immediately about the Lanboy Air is that almost the entire case is perforated. The panels are actually seperated into a door and a removable side panel. We will discuss this later in detailed features, but it something new that you won't find in many cases. The Lanboy Air comes equipped with two 120mm fans mounted in the front of the case, just like the Dark Fleet series of cases did. The left side of the Lanboy Air also has two 120mm fans, however. That's another addition that you won't see everywhere.

As we move around to the back of the case you can see that there the increasingly common liquid-cooling tube holes. Many high end cases have adopted patterns that allow for the addition of liquid cooling hoses. Luckily, the Lanboy Air also adds holes for mounting the cooling reservoir on top of the case, a feature I have seen left off of some cases even when they have the hose holes in the back. Even the PCI slot covers of the Lanboy Air are slotted with holes that allow for the free flow of air.

As many high-end cases are doing now, the Lanboy Air has a bottom mounted PSU. Many of the cases have also come up with interesting ways to mount the PSU in order to keep it secure during transport that involves a little more than the standard four screws on the outside of the case. The Lanboy Air gives PSU mounting a new twist that isn't very common and actually has a removable cage that is used to hold the PSU.

The right side of the case looks and acts just like the left side of the case but omits the two fans. The side panel is actually made up, again, of a door and a removable panel. The side panels don't slide into place like you would find on most cases. I particularly like this feature, especially after finding that the Dark Fleet series side panels didn't quite fit properly.

As we can see from a brief look at the exterior of the Lanboy Air, this new case from Antec promises a lot of new features and plenty of air-flow. The case is very open, with perforations and holes cut all over the place. The free-flow of air will undoubtedly allow for a cooler environment for the computer components, but will it also allow for an uncontrolled build up of dust? I think Lanboy Air users will likely have to be very dedicated when it comes to keeping this case clean of dust and debri, which should be expected of an open-air chassis such as this.

Detailed Exterior Features

The Lanboy Air doesn't come with too much in the way of accessories. This isn't a problem, as the case itself provides most of what you need. There is a bag included with the Lanboy Air that contains an installation guide and a few extra cable management ties. Additionally, all the screws you will need to install your computer in the Lanboy Air are included, though they are somewhat hidden. At first, I was confused by the lack of installation hardware, but as I began to dismantle the Lanboy Air, I found an ingenius little feature that I haven't seen before on other cases. Just below the two 120mm front case fans is a small, removable compartment. After undoing the screws on either side of the front panel, I removed a small, sealable container that held two bags of screws and hardware. Its a little box to put your extra hardware in that attaches right into the case! What an awesome idea.

The two front fans of the Lanboy Air are also removable by taking out the single screw on either side of the fans holding them in place. Unlike the Dark Fleet series, these fans dont have removable filters, so the fact that they come completely off is a necessity in order to clean them. Both of the front fans (along will all of the fans included with the Lanboy Air) are adjustable. The front fans have screw-type adjusters that allow you to manually adjust the fan speed to your liking. While the front fans are pretty quiet, although still noticeable, at their lowest setting, when turned up to the highest setting they are quite noisy.

The front I/O panel isn't terribly spectacular, but there are some noteworthy items to take a look at. The larger button to the right of the I/O panel is the power and the smaller, left button is the reset button. Next to the reset button are the HDD and Power LEDs. Although the Lanboy Air looks a lot like the Dark Fleet series cases, there are some changes to the I/O panel as well, and all of them welcome. For starters, the USB ports are alternating with the Audio inputs. This will allow use of wide USB devices like many of the flash memory sticks are. With the USB ports too close together, you can generally only use one a time unless your device is only slightly wider than the port itself. Another nice feature that the Dark Fleet series was lacking is the labeling of the Audio inputs. Its hard to see on the picture above, but the far left Audio input is the microphone jack and the far right is for headphones. Finally, and most importantly, the far right USB port is a USB 3.0 port. The cable from this port doesn't plug into the motherboard pins for external USB ports where the 2.0 ports do. The USB 3.0 cable runs through the interior of the case and snugly fits out through an adapted PCI slot cover. The cable then runs up the rear I/O area and plugs into one of your motherboard's available external USB 3.0 ports on the rear I/O panel. This is a good way to do it, since most motherboards with USB 3.0 don't use a native controller yet anyway.

The rear case fan, like all the other fans that come with the Lanboy Air, has a speed controller. The difference between the rear fan and the other fans is that the controller is just a simple switch. You can set this exhaust fan to either hi or lo but nothing in between. Like the front fans, when the fan is set to low, it is nearly inaudible. When set to hi, however, it is a little noisy. In the picture above, you can see the two punched holes for the hoses of a liquid cooling apparatus. The holes are bordered with rubber stoppers to protect the hoses from being cut on the sharp metal edges of the case itself. One interesting note is that the Lanboy Air actually came with its own I/O shield. This is becoming more and more rare, and with good reason. If you take a look at the I/O shield in the picture above, it is difficult to imagine any motherboard made within the last few years that will fit with that shield.

As I mentioned before, the Lanboy Air has unique side panels. Most cases come equipped with side panels that slide into the place and secured with screws at the rear of the case. This was a problem with the Dark Fleet series, but it seemed like generic panels were used and they didn't quite fit all the way into place. With the Lanboy Air, the side panels are totally revitalized. They secure into place on the side of the case using three thumbscrews on either side of the panel. This makes them easily removable. Another key feature to the side panels is that they are divided into two pieces. Beside the removable side panel there is a swivel door, on both sides of the case, that sits near the front of the case. This door can stay in place when the other side panel is removed and opens to give access to the drive bays. The same type of door is on both sides of the case. These swivel doors are securing by a single thumbscrew and can be completely removed if they need to be.

As we have seen with the external details of the Lanboy Air, the case is extremely modular. Almost every feature of the case can be removed, leaving barely a shell behind. Most of the screws on the sides of the case, as well as the screw securing the PSU tray, are thumbscrews and don't require tools to use them. The screws securing the fans, bay covers, and hardware box on the front of the case require a screwdriver. Additionally, the Lanboy Air has proven true to its name, at least from an external perspective. Nearly every inch of the case is perforated or meshed in order to allow maximum airflow throughout the case.

Detailed Interior Features

The interior, much like the exterior of the Lanboy Air, exemplifies the name. There is a lot of open space. The drive bays, commonly surrounded by metal trays, are wide open here. Antec uses a completely new style of HDD mounting in the Lanboy Air, something they call AirMount. It's a suspension mounting system and the Lanboy Air has space for six HDDs mounted with these brackets. Optical drives and other 5.25" drive bay items are mounted in a mores standard fashion and secured with screws. There are only two screw holes per side for each 5.25" drive bay, however. While most Optical drives can support four screws on each side, I hardly ever use all four to secure a drive, so only have two for each side doesn't bother me at all.

The bottom of the Lanboy Air, like all the other sides, is almost completely perforated. Recently, you will find a lot of partially perforated undersides, especially in cases with bottom mounted PSUs. You can see more clearly in the picture above where the removable PSU tray fits into the Lanboy Air. The PSU sits up on a small tray that keeps it up above the bottom of the case by about a quarter of an inch. If you have an air intake on your PSU, which many do, you may want to pull it out and clean this area of the case fairly regularly, since there aren't any removable filters or anything. Also on the bottom of the case, up near the front, is an area for mounting SSD drives. The case comes with hardware to mount one SSD, complete with buffer washers too. The space up front has room for two 2.5" SSDs.

The motherboard tray on the Lanboy Air is an interesting monster. As you can see, there is plenty of room around the motherboard tray to route cables from the PSU or from the I/O panel in order to appropriately manage them. There are three cable management ties that come attached to the back of the motherboard tray of the Lanboy Air. There are four additional ties that come in packaged with the installation manual. The ties are not zip ties, which is nice if you ever want to change around your cable management without cutting the ties.

The motherboard tray looks like it should technically be removable. I think it probably is, but I spent about half an hour taking out screws and manipulating the holding bars trying to the get the thing out. It never happened and I gave up. If I spent some more time, I could probably get it out, but if it's that difficult, it's really not worth it. Also, the motherboard tray does have the common hole for aftermarket CPU coolers. The problem is, it doesn't fit the motherboard I put in it. I used a Biostar 890GX AM3 motherboard originally in the Lanboy Air. The motherboard fit fine, of course, but when it came time for me to remove the CPU cooler to change CPUs, I couldn't get to the top two CPU cooler screws. I had to remove the motherboard anyway. This is a serious design flaw, and can be fixed by simply extending the hole in the motherboard tray up higher by an inch.

Attached to the left side panel of the Lanboy Air are two 120mm fans. These two bring the grand total number of fans included with the Lanboy Air to five. That's an impressive amount of cooling supplied with this case. These two side-panel fans also have fan controllers on them of a switch-type. You can set the fan speed to hi or lo, as with the rear case fan. The switches are attached to cables so you can pull them out of the case through one of those slits in the side panel. As with the other fans, these two are nearly silent when on low, but somewhat noisy when set to high. With all five fans running on low, they are still slightly audible.

The PSU cage for the Lanboy Air is an interesting feature. A few other new cases have been showcasing this feature, so it might be something that starts to become common, at least in enthusiast cases. The hard drive mounting tools are quite unique.

The hard drive is secured onto the top of the AirMount fasteners and hangs suspended within the Lanboy Air case. There is room for six hard drives to be mounted with the AirMount system and it seems like this is all about protecting your hard drives from jostling and vibration during movement. The AirMount fasteners will act as shock absorbers for any unnatural movement like picking up a heavy case and setting it down. However, I'd only trust these as far as I can throw them, or the computer.

Lanboy Air Final Thoughts

Antec's Lanboy Air is clearly a determined case with a singular dedication. The design is focused on one thing - air flow. Every inch of the Lanboy Air is covered in perforations, meshed metal, open slats, and fans. The entire case is modular and removable. The Lanboy Air meets its goal in this regard; the case has absolutely impeccable air flow, especially when all the fans are turned up high.

Because the Lanboy Air is so definitively built for a single purpose, cooling, other features that enthusiasts have come to enjoy from the cases are lacking or non-existent. Noise level is a big concern for the Lanboy Air. If you are a worried about noticeable noise coming from your computer case, this probably isn't the case for you. Even with all five of the included fans set to the lowest settings, the computer will be audible, although not annoyingly so. When all the fans are set to their highest levels, the noise gets to a point where it's hard to ignore.

The noise level isn't terribly surprising. After all, the case is basically an open-air system with five fans attached. I don't think the objective of the Lanboy Air was ever to be silent. However, that is something that some look for in a case and with the Lanboy Air, they will be disappointed.

The Lanboy Air also falls somewhat behind in visual performance, in my opinion. High end, enthusiast cases have long been attracting LED lit fans and clear side panels for a cool look at the interior components of the computer. The fans on the Lanboy Air do boast blue LEDs and they light up a room pretty well, but the lights don't cast that familiar glow onto the interior of the computer case like you may be used to. If looks>stats is your moniker and you don't like a mesh jungle, you may need to look for another case.

At the end of it all, the main point remains that the Lanboy Air is a case for cooling. Enthusiasts that have an innate need to overclock their components and push everything to the maximum level possible are always looking for a great cooling solution. Antec's Lanboy Air provides that in a way that is generally foreign to the computer chassis market. Many enthusiasts use test benches rather than cases because of the open-air cooling factor. With the Lanboy Air, you get that open-air feel, with a lot of air movement due to the five 120mm.

Antec Lanboy Air Conclusion

As we talked about before, the Lanboy Air truly shines in cooling performance. It mimics the properties of an open-air test bench, while still providing the ease of movement of an entirely enclosed case. The Lanboy Air certainly isn't a quiet case, especially with the fans turned up, but that's not really the point of this open-frame design. The Lanboy Air has great cooling features, but lacks fan filters like many enthusiast cases tout. This can make it difficult to keep a perforated and mesh case such as this clean. Luckily, almost every part of this case is removable, so it can be cleaned that way.

While the Lanboy Air is great at moving air across a system's components and keeping them cool, it lacks somewhat in the appearance department. This, of course, is my opinion, and everyone will have their own on this matter. The mesh design just doesn't move me. While many of the cases features make me say, "WOW", the few LEDs on the fans don't make up in appearance for the lack of a see-through side panel or cool designs on the Lanboy Air. The appearance of the Lanboy Air may not be spectacular, but that's not the point of the case. The point is airflow, and the Lanboy Air does that very well.

The Lanboy Air is very solidly constructed of meshed metal and plastic. The case is a little heavy, but not too much so. A nice construction feature is the two top handles that make moving the Lanboy Air easy and trouble-free. Much of the Lanboy Air is tool-free, such as the side panels, the PSU cage, and the HDD bays, but not all of it is. You will still need a screwdriver to install the motherboard and optical drives. The Lanboy Air sits about half an inch off the ground, giving good enough clearance for air flow if it is sitting on a desk or a bare floor. A carpet could cause air constriction around the PSU, but it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

For the purpose of airflow and cooling, the Lanboy Air is one of the most functional cases I have had the pleasure to work with. Antec didn't make the Lanboy Air to be silent, and so it isn't. Another great function of the Lanboy Air has to be portability. With the two top handles, the 20 lbs isn't too overwhelming (about 32 or so with my complete system installed). The Lanboy Air is a great companion for an enthusiast or overclocker who wants testbench style airflow but the complete system portability of an actually computer chassis.

Antec's Lanboy Air can be had for $189.99 at NewEgg (Available in Red, Yellow, Blue). That's a little expensive for a computer case, but not terribly so for the features found within the Lanboy Air. For a mid-tower case with five 120mm fans, top handles, an external USB 3.0 port, and extreme airflow, the Lanboy Air offers a lot for the price. So while I can't give the Lanboy Air top marks for value, just because the $189.99 price point will keep this case out of the hands of all but the enthusiast or gaming market. That market, however, will find a lot to like in the open-air Lanboy Air case.

At the end of the day, the Antec Lanboy Air will provide an extreme gamer or enthusiast will find a lot to like in the Lanboy Air. If your likes are flashy looks or silent cases, you'll want to look somewhere else for a computer chassis. But if you need a lot of airflow and, high-powered fans, and portability, the Lanboy Air would be a great place to house your PC.

Pros:

Cons:

- Pretty Noisy
- Motherboard Tray CPU Cooler Hole doesn't fit all Motherboards

Ratings:

• Performance: 9.50
• Appearance: 8.25
• Construction: 9.00
• Functionality: 9.25
• Value: 8.00

Final Score: 8.8 out of 10.

Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.

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