The first major feature of the Overture is the desktop enclosure design, allowing the case to lay flat on a shelf rather than stand up like a standard tower. The case is painted with a glossy black paint job, hence the name Piano Black. The front bezel is silver plastic, with chrome accents and buttons. Audio jacks, USB and Firewire ports are tucked along the bottom edge of the bezel. Four of the seven drive bays are external; with two 5.25” and two 3.5” bays located in the front bezel. The main power switch features a glowing blue backlight when switched on. Access to the inside of the case is simple thanks to a removable top panel, which is secured with thumbscrews. In typical Antec fashion, a small cleaning cloth is included for removing finger prints from the shiny paint. Attention to details like this is what separates Antec cases from the droves of bargain ATX cases on the market.
As the specs reveal, the Overture is designed to handle a standard ATX motherboard, giving the user a great degree of flexibility when building a system. The layout of the Overture is unique, to accommodate the desktop design. The power supply resides in the extreme front right corner of the case, with a power cord snaking to the rear of the case for the external plug. The power supply fan intake is hidden on the side of the case with a nice black grill, and includes a removable, washable filter. The 5.25” drive cage is removable, using a latching mechanism similar to other Antec cases we have reviewed in the past. The front internal 3.5” drive cage is mounted on top of the low profile power supply, and is secured with two small screws. To the rear of the case is an additional 3.5” drive rack, which is also secured with two screws. Removing this drive cage aids in motherboard installation, as the inside of the Overture can get tight when all the internal components are in place. Keeping with the silent PC design, the 3.5” drive cage features rubber grommets to minimize vibration and dampen drive noise. A rear 92mm Antec Smart Cool exhaust fan is located just behind the 3.5” internal drive cage, providing additional cooling for installed hard drives.
The cabling inside the case is wrapped in a black sleeve, helping keep the inside of the case free of clutter and stray cables. This is almost a necessity, since the position of the power supply requires that the ATX power cable be routed over the motherboard. Motherboard installation inside the Overture is fairly straight forward, and we encountered no difficulties during the assembly process. With the unusual design and layout of the Overture, attention should be given to cable management inside the case when all components are installed. As previously mentioned, the ATX power cable runs over the motherboard because of the location of the power supply, while the hard drive ribbon cables are routed to what would normally be the top of the case. This could interfere with larger heatsinks or cooling solutions, but given that the Overture has been designed as a home theater system, some concessions had to be made. Cooling inside the case is accomplished through two fans; one pulling air in through the power supply, and the second exhausting out the rear of the case behind the 3.5” drive cage. Not exactly the cooling system we are used to seeing, but more than adequate for standard cooling.
All-
Yeah the Antec case looks great, but the Power supply is a custom deal, with the cords, coming out the same side as the power plug inside the case. Because of this, replacing it is annoying, as you have to get the replacements from Antec. Having now gone through two power supplies I can attest that this is the big draw back from this case.
I second Richard’s comments. I’m waiting for my third PSU replacement from Antec – 10 days after warranty ended. Not sure if they will. PSU design is obviously bad. No alternates will fit mechanically. Don’t buy Antec!
The PSU on my Antec Overture died, so I ordered a generic replacement only to discover that the original PSU was customized for the case. From the sounds of the comments above, I’m not sure it’s worth ordering a replacement from Antec.
Anyone ever find a replacement PSU for this case? I have had two power supplies go bad on me, and now need a replacement. I would say buyer beware for this case! It looks great, but the odd ball Power supply makes it a bad selection.
I had a dead PS in the Overture from the get go. While waiting for Antec to replace the bad supply, I cut up another make and made it fit. This was not an easy job and required sheet metal modification of the PS case, kwik-nuts, soldering and other exotic work arounds. I now have a spare supply (the replacement from Antec), and a prototype custom supply that still works after two years of constant use! — (Picked a good one to mod, and have been real lucky!) It took quite a few hours for my not so nimble fingers and brain to figure out how to make it work without blocking the vents or the fan. I had to relocate the power cord input and put a plate over the original standard power supply cutouts for the power input and the switch on that supply.
I love the case, but the “Special” power supply from Antec was probably the worst one they ever designed, and a web search on this case will verify a lot of folks had problems with it. Look around for a “garbage” Overture case and you will at least have the “blown” supply to swap good guts into. Then you will at least have all the connectors for the latest motherboards. Oh yeah, don’t bother to swap out a “cheapo” supply if you bother to do this. Might as well spend some bucks and get a good reliable “heavy duty” supply from a known manufacturer. My experience would indicate that any supply will fit into the antec power supply case, and you’re effort would be soldering some wires etc, and you wouldn’t have to do sheet metal work. I used Enermax for my project.
Tom