Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Antec P180, October 5, 2005
I had bought this pc case a month ago after doing a search on the internet for a computer case on a new build. What I have found out about the case after I've recieved it is that it is a very quiet case due to the way the case itself is constructed, unlike typical aluminum case which are thin the design of the walls of this case is made of 3 layers; aluminum-->dense plastic-->aluminum. By doing this the walls themselves absorbs any vibrations caused by the internal components such as fans, hard drives, optical drives...etc. The main point to this is that the case was design to be air cooled since the insides are a bit cramped due to the fact that the psu is isolated on the bottom level with a gondola for 4 3.5in drives, this is done so that there are two different levels of heat zones in the case; kinda like the apple G5 tower. Because of this the upper level where the motherboard, cpu, drives, and the rest of the components are located is not too spacious so if you'r going for liquid cooling a external unit is much better than a internal one. Plus there is a black box screwed to the inside of the case called a vga cooler which you can attach a optional 80mm fan to; this is done to cool down your video card or cards if you have SLI. When you get a power supply for this case make sure you get one that is compatable with the case itself, I had bought a 500w Ultra X-Connect psu from amazon.com and getting the 24pin Mobo cable through the small openings inside the case was a pain since the cables on this psu are a bit stiff so it took a bit of force to get it to go through. So regular psu's with a bunch of cables coming out of the back of the unit is a better choice here.On the out side every thing was fine; the silvery exterior goes well with home theater setups; very simple and clean looking. The only gripe I have with the outside is that the front case door itself is a bit flimsy so rough handeling would probably cause it to break off. So here is my over all view of The Antec P180 case--> PROS: quiet case design, attractive exterior, comes with 3 120mm antec 3 speed case fans. CONS: flimsy front case door ,and skimpy manual on how to put the case together. Over all a good buy on a mid price range computer case.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic computer case, but not for everyone., June 29, 2006
The Antec P180 is one of the best constructed computer cases I have seen at this price point. The points I liked about it are:
1. Attractive and well made. Layered steel and plastic walls are durable and help deaden fan sounds.
2. Unique configuration places power supply at the bottom of the case in away from the CPU. The power supply sits in its own chamber. This dramatically reduced the heat level in the main motherboard chamber (at least in my rig).
3. Three 3-speed 120mm fans do an excellent venting job. One pulls air from the front over the lower hard drive chamber and into the power supply. The other two sit at 90-degree angles in the top and rear to vent heat from the motherboard chamber. There are mounts for 2 more 120mm fans; one suction fan for middle HD chamber and another that sits over the GPU position on the motherboard.
What I found to be 'annoying' about this case:
1. Door for running wires from lower power supply chamber to motherboard chamber could be better designed. A Real challenge to get my fingers through there.
2. No removable motherboard mounting plate. Motherboard mounts directly to rear wall. (Main chamber is roomy however.)
3. HD mounts are rather flimsy and there is no shock mount provision for 5.25" chamber.
4. Instructions manual from Antec could be better.
The reason I say this is not for everyone is that this case definitely requires pre-planning. If you are new to PC assembly, or used to 'winging it' this might not be the case for you. My building notes are as follows:
1. PREPLAN, PREPLAN, PREPLAN. With the power supply in the bottom, not all makes of PSU are going to have cables that reach everything. If you purchase this case, think about it before you buy your PSU. (Antec TruPower 2.0 550W worked for me.)
2. Install the PSU near the end of the build; otherwise you will not have room to maneuver.
3. Remove the lower fan during the PSU install. If not you will have a hard time running your cables up.
4. Plan your cable routes and tie where necessary.
That all said, this is a really great case. I am very happy with it.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just to Clarify..., June 28, 2006
The guy that said, "Oh, another thing you should know, it doesn't have any front panel LED. So you don't know when the system is accessing your hard drive and if it weren't for the sound of the fans you could not tell wether the computer is on or off. I guess that's a minus." is wrong.
There is at least one blue LED light for the HDD activity right above the reset button, and another one above the power button that is not active on my machine. I haven't plugged quite all of the connectors in from the front panel. A look at the manual should tell you what it does... my guess is a second HDD activity light. There is also a small pinpoint power status LED right below the power button that is always active when the computer is on.
Some more tidbits: The case is wonderful for starters.. the lower power supply compartment design is excellent, but makes running cables a little tricky. All of my HDD's are down there, while the upper HDD bay has been removed and a fan installed at the front of the case for better air flow. I have also removed the VGA cooler and plugged the holes, and disabled the top fan and plugged it's opening too. So the air flows in from the front and out the back. My system is fairly quiet, and stays relatively cool. Playing the heavy load games definitely warms up the BFG7800GTX but the VGA cooler and top fan don't help that.. I need and am getting a Danger Den liquid cooling system.
Personally, I wish I didn't have to remove, disable, and plug up holes... but it's a sweet case nonetheless. I did a ton of research for the perfect case, and originally had a ASUS Vento which was just too cramped - this case is decent. If you really want room go with a Stacker or something of the like.
One more thing.. over time you'll realize you can get better air flow by just leaving the door open, and removing the clicky-doors that cover the dust filters.
The front mounted USB and Firewire ports are excellent.
The last beef I have is the sandwich style lamination of aluminum/plastic/aluminum seems like a good idea, but over time the temperature will warp the doors and panels, and the adhesive holding the brushed aluminum on will start to peel away. This has happened to mine in less than 6 months. This makes the fron door not want to close well because it's bowed and the magnetic latch doesn't quite reach anymore. Since I leave the door open it's not really a problem. I might close it up once in a while when we have company over to give my desk a really polished look.
Bottom line, it was worth it then.. and even with the quirks this case is top of the line. I didn't really get into the inards, but they are sweet and you'll love it.
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