Questions about Antec P180B case

Im building a new E6600 ASUS P5W DH DLX Scythe Infinitycomputer and want to get a new case. I really like the solid design and airflow of the P180B. From what Ive read it sounds like the P5W DH mobo will fit in it does anyone know this for sure? Does anyone know for sure that the Scythe Infinity will fit? Does anyone know how much this case weighs? For people who own this case what are your thoughts about it?

Can anyone recommend me some other cases to look at? Im interested in the smallest case as possible that can hold the P5W DH and has good airflow.

As long as the case supports ATX motherboards your set for any case

I'd take a look at Lian Li midtower cases or Coolermaster Centurion 5

Hi AMD RULES,

My P5W DH Deluxe motherboard fits fine in the P180 Case. I use the Zalman 9500 CPU HSF which is fairly large and that fits well too. The Scythe should fit fine.

The case weighs a bloody lot I have 4 hard drives and an Antec Phantom PSU in it but even without those components installed its quite heavy.

I like the case but it does have a few little nuances.

Firstly the layout. I quite like having all the components up top and the hard drives & PSU concealed below, but this can make cabling a pain. I had to take quite a bit of time and use quite a few cable ties to make it all neat. Make sure your power supply has fairly long cables to reach up the top of the motherboard (24Pin and 4 Pin Power i mean).

The other problem I have is with my power supply being to large and having to remove the large 120mm fan down the bottom of the case (this fan cools the hard drives). This fan is about twice as thick as a normal 120mm fan and it simply doesn't co-exist with my PSU. I had to pull it out and replace it with a normal 120mm fan. If you have a standard size PSU you will be fine though.

The last problem I have is with the side panel and front door. They warp. Yep, when the temperature changes the panel on the side has a curve to it and the trim pops out. I've been considering sending it back to antec but I couldn't really be bothered .

Cooling is good, 1x 120mm fan up top and 1 at the back pull all the hot air away from the CPU. At the front where the secondary HDD bay is i just have a 120mm fan blowing air over my Geforce 7950GX2; no hard drives installed there.

I know there are larger cases but the P180 unit is fairly large.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

The panel warping has been fixed in the new revisions of the P180.

Hmm do you think they'd exchange it under warranty?

I have an asus P5W, P180 and scythe infinity. It all fits fine and the case airflow is a good match for the heatsyc - you could run the infinity without a fan because the top and rear case fans do such a good job of pulling air through the heatsync.

My one warning about that case would be wiring for the psu can be a right hassle - both where to put all the unused cables and having a motherboard cable that is long enough to reach. I would recomend getting one of the antec neo HE power supplies as they are designed to fit the case (and are good psu's).

Thanks for the replies. Halo and sbuckler, I see that on the P5W the 4 pin PSU plug is at the very top left of the mobo. Was your PSU cable able to reach up and over your graphics card and any pci sound card to reach that plug or did you use an extender? How did you route the cable over the top or behind? I have an OCZ PSU if it doesent reach the plug ill get an extender or a new PSU.

As far as weight goes, it is hefty. My shipping label read 38lbs for the case alone. Fill it up with a board, drives, and other goodies, and I'd venture to say that it wouldn't go anywhere in a tornado.

RoosterUSMC said:

Can anyone recommend me some other cases to look at? Im interested in the smallest case as possible that can hold the P5W DH and has good airflow.

Click to expand...

Define good. The antec solo is about 40 dollars cheaper and is much smaller and has "good" airflow.

If you are worried your cables will not be long enough, or maybe like me they were but just barely and only by going over the top of the vid card, you can get extension cables from these guys for both the atx 4pin and power cable.

http://www.svcompucycle.com/conad.html

RoosterUSMC,

I ran my 12V cable under the graphic and sound cards, that is, it's between the PCB and bracket against the back of the case. Sneaky way to do it but it works fine.

Cheers.

RoosterUSMC said:

Thanks for the replies. Halo and sbuckler, I see that on the P5W the 4 pin PSU plug is at the very top left of the mobo. Was your PSU cable able to reach up and over your graphics card and any pci sound card to reach that plug or did you use an extender? How did you route the cable over the top or behind? I have an OCZ PSU if it doesent reach the plug ill get an extender or a new PSU.

Click to expand...

It reaches PSU plug without difficulty if I just have it going over the top of my graphics card, but it's not quite long enough to route it more neatly along the side going around the back of the cpu. Obviously my PSU (antec neo he) was basically designed with this case in mind so I didn't expect to have any problems but I know a mate with a P180 and a seasonic PSU and he needed an extender.

I got the case its a really nice case I like it. Its alot quiter than my old case. I bought a psu cable extender just in case but I didnt need it the cables connected fine.

My psu cables in the lower chamber are up against the lower chamber fan theres no way the fan will be able to spin. I think I want to remove it and I tried to but I dont know how the fan bracket comes out. Does anyone know? Once I get it removed Im gonna see if its possible to mount it in a different spot to get some airflow down there. If I cant Ill try an 80 or 92mm fan. Have you guys removed that fan? If so what are you doing to get airflow down there?

I had the same problem witht he stock 120mm fan in lower chamber. For some reason it is thicker than any other 120. I replaced it with another 120 and had enough room then to run cables.

RoosterUSMC,

It's tricky to see, but that large fan has a bracket holding it in. On that bracket there's a plastic flap that you need to pull up and back a couple of times to un-hinge the bracket. The 'flap' is positioned above the fan from memory (I might be wrong there).

I hope that makes sense. Let us know how you go.

Cheers.

Well I was able to rearange my PSU cables so that the fan can spin without hitting them Its a great case I really like it E6600 is running at 22c idle stock.

I have the P5W DH in a p180b, and it fits fine. Also using a Scythe Ninja, which also fits fine. Running an e6400 passive with the top two case fans on low, great temps, very quiet.