It’s quiet, it’s feature-packed and it’s small, but you’d never know it at first glance. And that’s the idea. As chassis continue to get larger and larger in order to accommodate more hardware-intensive builds, the true mid-tower has been all but left out in the cold. And whatever happened to aesthetics? All of that changes with the SOLO II, as each feature has been carefully thought through in order to give you the best “bang-for-the-square-inch” in a true mid-tower. Did that require us to make some concessions? You bet. But if you read on, I think you’ll find what you get is well worth what you give up.
We started with the enthusiast in mind.
There’s a tremendous amount of room in the SOLO II to accommodate any and all graphics cards that are currently on the market. In fact, the chassis is fairly future proof, able to accommodate graphics cards up to 15″ (381mm) long. You’ll notice also that keeping the power supply mount at the top of the chassis gives the inside of the case a very balanced, clean aesthetic.
The Solo II can support GPUs up to 15" (381mm) in length
Besides the reshuffling of internals to accommodate longer graphics cards, we’ve a veritible laundry list of upgrades and new features in the SOLO II that we brought in direct response to user requests:
- Two front panel USB 3.0 ports with internal connector – yes, it’s finally here, the first (and certainly not the last) Antec chassis with the USB 3.0 internal connector. We’ve also got a pair of USB 2.0 ports on the front for your convenience.
- Removeable PSU support beam – you ask, we give. Gone are the rivets of old; the PSU support beam can now be removed via four screws. This makes PSU installation much easier and quicker.
- Enlarged CPU cutout – Let’s face it; this feature is here to stay. Not only does a CPU cutout make it easier to swap heatsinks, but it also makes the first installation of a heatsink that much easier. We continue to push the CPU cutouts as large as they’ll go because realistically, motherboard manufacturers have a bit of variability in the placement of CPU sockets, and a CPU cutout that blocks two of the mounting holes becomes a useless marketing bullet point.
The SOLO II CPU cutout is about as big as they come.
- Easy-access air filters – Air filters are a nice feature, but if they’re not easy to remove and clean, they become useless and clog your intakes, and we certainly identify with that. With the SOLO II, air filters are easily accessed by opening the front bezel (which has hinges like a door), and unsnapping the filters. Easy to clean, easy to maintain.
The easy-access air filters of the SOLO II
- Standard 120 mm rear exhaust TrueQuiet™ fan – because our Sonata family has always been heralded for its Quiet Computing™, SOLO II continues that legacy by being the first Antec chassis to have this fan preinstalled. With silicone grommets and tool-less silicone mounting pints, TrueQuiet delivers the cooling you need, while keeping noise at an absolute minimum.
- Dedicated top PSU intake – With a fine mesh that filters dust, you can be assured that this intake not only provides ideal airflow for your PSU, but also keeps that air (and your PSU) clean.
- Durable dual-layer 1.0 mm SECC with polycarbonate – it just wouldn’t be Antec if it wasn’t built to last. While other manufacturers are shaving costs by going to .6 or even .5 mm thick chassis, we want to make sure your chassis stands the test of time. 1.0 mm thick steel ensures chassis integrity, while the polycarbonate layer keeps everything quiet.
The TrueQuiet™ fan keeps system cooling whisper quiet
Polycarbonate-layered doors stop noise dead
Two optical drive bays?! But I want to run a CD/DVD duplicating array!
Sorry, you’ll be SOL trying to do that in the SOLO II, but realistically, don’t you think you’d rather build that duplicating array into a Twelve Hundred anyway? Generally speaking, most of us use optical drive bays for one opitcal drive and perhaps one card reader or fan control module.
Three HDD trays? What about my compact NAS hopes and dreams?
The capacity of hard drives (like the price of stamps) keeps going ever higher. In this case, we went with versatility over volume. With three trays, you can put together a nice, simple RAID-5 configuration (if that suits you). Each tray is pre-drilled so you can mount either 3.5″ or 2.5″ drives. But that’s not all. If you want to take your noise-reduction to the next level, you can use the included tool-less suspension mounts. Just make sure to pull these drives out for transport!
But what if you’ve used all the 3.5″ drive bays and want to use an SSD boot drive? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered there with a dedicated mount for SSD drives below the drive cage on the motherboard tray.
Now what?
With the SOLO II, we focused on giving you an efficient set of features designed to maximize the variety of types of builds that are possible in a true mid-tower, and to bring that set of features to you in an elegant, piano-black, anodized aluminum package. The rest is up to you. Happy Building!
