Antec DP502 F-LUX: Mindful Airflow
Antec has been working on an original cooling solution called Flow Luxury, or F-LUX, and they’ve released a few more cases with that design in mind. I had the opportunity to play around with the Antec DP502 F-LUX White for the past month, and this case has some really interesting design ideas such as reverse fans.
DP502 F-LUX Unboxing
The DP502 F-LUX White comes in your standard cardboard box and Styrofoam packing to support the case. When I received it the packaging was visibly damaged, but that looks like it was due to the shipping carrier. Otherwise, the case itself and the contents of the package were in great shape.
DP502 F-LUX White Design
Constructed out of steel and plastic, the DP502 F-LUX White mid-tower case has a 4mm tempered glass side panel that slides into place and enough space inside to fit ATX, M-ATX, and ITX boards. The PSU will require mounting directly to the case since it doesn’t have a mounting bracket. Other specs are:
| Dimensions | 463 x 220 x 486mm (DWH) |
| Form Factor | Mid Tower |
| Materials | Steel, Plastic |
| Mainboard Type | ATX, M-ATX, ITX |
| Front Access & Controls | Power, LED Control Button, 2 x USB3.0, HD-Audio |
| Expansion Slots | 7 |
| Internal Drive Bays | 1 x 5.25″ 3 x 3.5″ or 2 x 2.5″ 3 x 2.5″ |
| Fans | Front: 3 x 120mm/2 x 140mm Top: 3 x 120mm/2 x 140mm (w/o ODD and ODD Bracket) 2 x 120m/ 2 x 144mm (w/o ODD but with ODD bracket) 2 x 120mm / 1 x 140mm (with ODD installed) PSU Shroud: 2 x 120mm Rear: 1 x 120mm |
| Pre-installed Fans | Front: 3 x 120mm PSU Shroud: 1 x 120mm (reverse fan) Rear: 1 x 120mm |
| Radiator | Front: 120/240/280/360mm (Up to 55mm thickness with fans installed outside of the front panel, up to 33mm if fans installed directly with the radiator). Max length 405mm. Top: 240/280/360mm (w/o ODD and ODD bracket) 240/280mm (w/o ODD but with ODD bracket). Max length 405mm. Rear: 120mm |
| Max Compatibilities | GPU Lenth: 405mm CPU Cooler Height: 175mm PSU Length: 205mm |
| Dust Filters | Front/Top/Bottom/Right Hand Side |
| Net Weight | 7.55Kg |
| Gross Weight | 8.7Kg |
Building in the Antec DP502 F-LUX White
Antec provides a reverse fan in the case, which had me very interested. It sits on the PSU shroud and brings air in from the bottom of the case. The right-side panel will be very helpful with this since it’s located below the PSU shroud and provides an alternative route for air intake. Antec’s Flow Luxury concept is to bring in air from the bottom, right side, and front of the case while exhausting the air to the back and top.
They took a different direction with the front panel, allowing more airflow by providing a grill-like design, as opposed to their DP600 F-LUX design where air intake came from the sides of the front plastic panel. The 2.5-inch drive mounts allow you to remove the mount, attach the drives and then slide them back in place. The extra drive bays can be removed at the bottom and top (ODD) to provide more space for fans or increase airflow.
RGB and Fans from the PCB
The default RGB lighting right out of the box is minimal. You’ll see the front accent light up, but the PCB located in the back does allow you to add up to 6 additional RGB abled extras. This board also controls the five DC fans that come with the DP502 F-LUX White, leaving room for one more DC fan connection. All the fans will power on via SATA. Additionally, the board includes a PWM connection to your motherboard, thus turning all the fans connected to the board into PWM.
As mentioned previously, another nice feature of the Antec DP502 F-LUX White is that it offers a set of RGB lighting options from the PCB. You can also connect the board to your motherboard and control the RGB lighting through your mainboard’s software:
Cooling in Luxury Airflow
The five fans that come with the DP502 F-LUX White do provide a fair amount of airflow throughout the case. The PCB will keep fans running at max speed, so there will be a fair amount of noise until you reduce speeds down to 80% or lower.
While testing a Ryzen 6 3600 with an Iceberg Thermal X7 Dual and an ambient temperature of ~21.05C (69.9F), the case kept the temperatures at ~41C (105.8). While running a few benchmarks, the CPU temperatures peaked at a high temperature reading of ~69C (~156.2).
One thing I did notice was the lack of air intake coming from the right-side panel (the one with the vents located below the PSU shroud). However, after I added a couple of 140mm fans at the top to exhaust air, I did notice an improvent in airflow.
Great Case for a Great Price
The Antec DP502 F-LUX White is a unique case that offers a feel of old school with the Optical Drive bay and front panel door but maintains a modern-day look and feel. It misses a few spots like a PSU mounting bracket for easier installation but makes up for a lot of other features like bay removal, radiator options, and dust filters in all intake vents.
At the time of this review, the Antec DP502 F-LUX White is priced at $69.99. I don’t think you can find another case at this price with all these great features and airflow design.
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