Installation and Case Cooling
During the installation portion of our review of the DF-30, we used a mid-range LGA 1156 system with basic watercooling to access how this chassis accommodates a typical gamer’s needs. The first hardware component we installed was our Corsair 650W power supply. This was easily completed by securing four screws at the back of the case.
Next, we installed the motherboard, CPU watercooler, and system memory modules. This was a simple matter of securing nine screws to the included motherboard standoffs.
We removed the back panel’s 120mm fan so we could install the Corsair H50’s radiator and fan assembly. We used a few custom thumbscrews to expedite how fast we could complete the PC build.
After getting the CPU watercooler installed, we moved onto installing the Lite-On DVD burner. This involved swinging away the optical bay cover and securing the optical drive with four screws.
ried to 
We moved on to installing the 500GB SATA hard drive using four screws. I tried to place the hard drive to take advantage of the front panel’s two 120mm fans.
After installing the hard drive, I moved on to installing the graphics card and adding all the data and power cables to all our hardware components.
After more than 35 minutes, we completed the DF-30 system install. Overall, I was happy with the space for cable management and how everything came together. The build would have happened a lot faster if Antec included some tool-less options for the optical and hard drive bays.
Here is a shot of the back panel of the DF-30 and how we routed the power and data cables to the DVD burner and hard drive. You’ll also notice their is plenty of room for hiding cables behind the motherboard tray and hard drive cage. Now if Antec would just add a few more tool-less install options then I would be a happy camper.
