Antec P-180 (cont'd)

The P-180 has been designed from the ground up to be as quiet as possible, and for once, it seems that a manufacturer has not missed any minute detail. For instance, there are strips of silicone rubber lining where the power supply sits, minimizing vibration noises from its fan(s). They are visible in this picture aimed at the rear of the case that also shows the interior.


Click to enlarge.

In another effort to keep noise levels to a minimum, all hard drive mounts inside the P-180 have really soft silicone-rubber grommets that extra-long bolts go through in order to secure the drive. In this shot of all the components that we removed, you can see the grommets on both hard drive cages.


Click to enlarge.

The cages are also designed so that there is ample room in-between each drive for airflow. While this certainly is a valid concern, we think that it might have been nicer to be able to hold three drives in the top cage rather than use that whole space for only two drives. Another convenient add-on to the top cage is an accessory box for holding bolts and other spare parts.

To actually install the hard drives into this upper cage, the drive "sleds" are first removed so that the extra-long bolts can be used to go through the silicone grommets into the bottom of the drive. In practice, this - along with the dampening side panels - really does help to quiet a noisy hard drive.

And here is an attached drive ready to go back into the cage.

Yet another case in which Antec has paid attention to detail is how the rings that help one pull the cages out can be pushed into place so that they will not make any noise by rattling around. Also, similar to the rubber strips that we talked of earlier are the foam strips on either side that sit in-between the steel and the side panel to reinforce the side panels from reverberating in yet another way. Read on to find out how this intricate case keeps its components cool.

Antec P-180 Antec P-180 (cont’d)
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  • Abecedaria - Sunday, September 11, 2005 - link

    What was the criteria for choosing these cases? Most of them look nasty-plasticy and even the Antec P-180, although it looks good, has a veery plasticy feel.

    Where was Silverstone in your review? They have some of the best cases available:
    http://www.silverstonetek.com/product-case.htm">http://www.silverstonetek.com/product-case.htm
    and from their new subsidiary:
    http://www.tuniq.com.tw/Chassis/chassis.htm">http://www.tuniq.com.tw/Chassis/chassis.htm

    These things rock.

    abc
  • unclebud - Monday, September 12, 2005 - link

    please consider reviewing the performance 640 next time?
    it currently includes a smartpower v2 400w, for $129
    thanks in advance
  • Rudee - Saturday, September 10, 2005 - link

    There is an error in the article. The Sonata II does indeed have a removable air filter in the front of the case, thus should not be given a score of "0" for this catagory.
  • Tamale - Saturday, September 10, 2005 - link

    The filter is removable from the bottom of the case only.. while this certainly is 'removable', it is nowhere near as accessible as the other cases which I gave this point to. I struggled with the idea of giving the case .5 for this category, but it wouldn't have made a difference in the end, and I really don't feel that most users would go through the trouble of tipping the case over just to clean the filter, so no points were awarded.

    Thanks for pointing out the detail though.
  • Rudee - Saturday, September 10, 2005 - link

    The Sonata II case is great. I was able to overclock a AMD 64 3700 to 2700mhz using the stock AMD heatsink and fan with one Panaflo 92mm fan in the duct over the CPU. Temps are great and I ended up returning my Zalman 7700 as I didn't need it.
  • dgkulzer - Friday, September 9, 2005 - link

    After 1 month of use I am very happy with my P180. Assembly does take a bit longer than a standard case if you are trying to hide your cables but that isnt much of an issue to me. I put a Phantom 500 PSU in it and because its longer than most other PSU's I had to replace the lower fan with a thinner model (Nexus 120). I have 4 hard drives in the lower chamber and the Nexus at 5 volts keeps them very cool - I havent had the Phantom fan kick on yet either.

    This is one case that looks better in person than it does in pictures, the pictures make it look like a little fridge or something but it looks pretty sweet on your desk :)
  • mschira - Friday, September 9, 2005 - link

    I guess the two compartment design is great for watercooling. You could put the pump reservoir etc in the lower compartment. If something leaks, the electronic is save.
    I think that's great thing...
    M.
    P.S. onla trouble is where to put the power suply...
  • Griswold - Friday, September 9, 2005 - link

    Kids, having a flashy computer under your desk doesnt make the chicks like you more. Say no to stupid side windows!
  • Tamale - Friday, September 9, 2005 - link

    you seem to forget that most kids who think it would look cool to have the window in the first place probably don't care about girls anyway ;)

    p.s. - most people (girls included) seem to think my all-acrylic case is pretty cool
  • Griswold - Sunday, September 11, 2005 - link

    quote:

    p.s. - most people (girls included) seem to think my all-acrylic case is pretty cool


    Besides the total lack of EM shielding (which is enough reason to not do what you did, not only because it's not allowed in many countries (I know, I know, US is different, there, the cops wont stop you if your car has only 3 wheels..)), a full acrylic case is a nice show thingie. I just find side windows embarrassing, especially when the rest of the case looks like Optimus Prime's chest armor.

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