Antec LifeStyle Sonata II ATX Quiet Super Mini-Tower with 450-Watt Power Supply (Piano Black)

by Antec

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9 x 19 x 17 inches ; 25 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 27.2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0009WKBR6
• Item model number: SonataII
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Style, Performance, Silence

Antec kick-started the quiet computing revolution with the introduction of Sonata, the first computer case to combine style and performance in an enclosure designed from the ground up to be completely quiet. Since then, Sonata has sold over half a million units worldwide and the demand continues to grow. Sonata II combines the classic style and silent performance of the original Sonata with an upgraded SmartPower2.0 450 power supply and innovative new cooling design for handling the latest, fastest technologies.

Features

• Advanced Chassis Air Duct to cool the latest CPU and graphics cards on the market
• Improved overall air intake for better and quieter cooling
• Specially designed low-noise SmartPower 2.0 450W ATX12V v2.01 power supply
• Front mounted USB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire®,i.Link®) & Audio ports
• 9 Drive Bays: 3 x 5.25" external drive bays, 2 x 3.5" external drive bays, 4 x 3.5" internal drive bays in individual trays with rubber grommets to absorb hard drive vibrations
• Cooling System: 1 rear 120mm Tricool fan (standard) with 3-speed control to balance quiet with cooling; 1 front 120mm case fan (optional) 25mm thick; 1 92mm fan (optional) in the air duct to cool the CPU; 1 80mm fan (optional) for graphics cards
• Motherboards: Standard ATX 12" x 9.6"
• Double hinge door design: allows the door to open up to 270º
• Made with 0.8mm SECC Steel
• Built-in washable air filter keeps harmful dust out of your case

Product Description

Advanced Chassis Air Duct to cool the latest CPU and graphics cards on the market, Improved overall air intake for better and quieter cooling.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good case, but you'll need more..., January 15, 2006

By 

Rabbit and Rock - See all my reviews

This review is from: Antec LifeStyle Sonata II ATX Quiet Super Mini-Tower with 450-Watt Power Supply (Piano Black) (Personal Computers)

There are some great things about this case: 120mm front and rear fan slots (bigger fans mean they can spin slower to provide the same airflow and thus be quieter); the hard drive cages are individually mountable and go on rubber grommets to stop rpm vibrations; the sheer number of devices supportable by the case and the power supply. Quiet power supply and bundled fan. Good front panel connections for everything your ATX motherboard might have. Very easy to open, which is of tantamount importance if you're an enthusiast. Dual locks, 1 on the side, and 1 on the front drive bay door. And it's just cool looking (nice color, dual front LEDs if you can find a 4-pin connector from the psu, and it's rugged (it's made of real metal, except the drive bay door).

The weak spots include an instruction manual which is at times frustratingly badly written. FOR EXAMPLE: the manual tells you to plug the power switch/ reset switch/ led plugs into the motherboard "with the label facing the front." This "label" is actually a tiny arrow on each plug. Another example: The descriptions of what hardware to use in each circumstance are not descriptive enough-- "special screws" could mean any of the 4-5 types of screws they provide. This just means that first time builders will have a great deal of difficulty, and experienced ones will still have some annoyances.

Other weaknesses: the power supply cables are not braided so your case will inevitably be somewhat messy on the inside, and all the cables prevent efficient airflow. The power cables could be a little longer given the size of the case and the distance your devices will likely be from the psu. The bundled fan also has it's own speed control, which is inside the box, and it has no 3-pin connector for a fan controller, which would've been nice as well.

Also, do not be under the illusion that buying this case will make instantly for a quiet computer. More than likely, you will need a much quieter cpu cooler, and possibly a quieter VGA cooler if you have a loud graphics card like I do. In fact, I'd say if you're upgrading, get a new cpu cooler before you get a new case and see if that doesn't fix your noise problems. This is a great case though, and if I were building a new computer I would definitely get another.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Improves an already great product, March 4, 2006

By 

diljs - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Antec LifeStyle Sonata II ATX Quiet Super Mini-Tower with 450-Watt Power Supply (Piano Black) (Personal Computers)

Having previously owned the original Sonata, I was more than happy to purchase the Sonata II for my newest PC.

While the original Sonata was excellent, it did have its flaws. (see my review of the original for more detail) The Sonata II addresses the biggest issues I had with the original Sonata, and maintains the good looks, intuitive design, and overall quality of the original.

-The big "bullet hole" Antec logo is gone on the Sonata II! The sides of the Sonata II are sleek and beautiful, and don't have the ugly logo the previous case had.

-A larger power supply for power-hungry motherboards. The original Sonata came with a 380w power supply, which was probably adequate at the time. With today's CPUs using more juice, the 450w power supply on the Sonata II is definitely an improvement. The fact that its a quality Antec Smartpower makes this case a bargain considering the power supply is worth over half the price of the case on its own.

-The included 120mm fan is more useful than the one in the original Sonata as well. It features a manual control switch you can set to the speed you like. This allows you to balance cooling and silence as you would like, instead of relying on the power supply to do it for you, like in the old Sonata.

-One final improvement is the door on the Sonata II. It features a double hinge and can move 270 degrees to the other side, for aesthetic or functional purposes.

The only feature I didn't find useful on the Sonata II was the built in air duct. It didn't fit my motherboard, and after doing some research it is probably not a beneficial feature even if it fits your CPU. It was kind of a hassle to remove, but once it's out you don't have to deal with it again. I would suggest doing some research on airflow and studying how the temperatures in your case are affected before installing the air duct.

Overall this is a great case and I am very impressed with Antec's improvement on a product that was already excellent.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good case but..., May 16, 2006

By 

John "Casual User" (Temecula, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Antec LifeStyle Sonata II ATX Quiet Super Mini-Tower with 450-Watt Power Supply (Piano Black) (Personal Computers)

I bought this for an amd athelon 64 atx board so the duct doesn't line up-customer service said to remove this feature it works for intel only and amd's athelon 64 run cooler anyway.

The door broke off the first day I used it, not because it was a defect but because it is weak when open because the hinge support is a small piece of plastic.

The power supply may be to weak with my graphics card I wish I had a 500 watt. The case fan doesn't plug in to my mb which has amd's cool n quiet feature and would have controlled fan speed. The power supply fan does have feed back and is mostly quiet while the case fan has an internal 3 sped fan adjustment and can be left on low. quite frankly any case would have been just as quiet if you get the right fans or install a fan controller or DIY install a 3 watt 25 ohm variable resistor/rheostat (google fan speed modding). I think this is over priced old technology and I now hate drive door covers.