Antec P280 Mid-Tower Case

There is a review of the Antec P280 mid-tower case posted at Vortez today that is worth checking out.

The P280 continues the minimalist and discreet styling whilst offering up-to-date functionality from USB 3.0 ports and XL-ATX compatibility. Can this new addition to the Antec’s enthusiast category build on the successes of a popular series? Let’s find out!

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Hoping to see this case up close and personal at Dallas next Saturday. I've watched both Vortez's and PCPer's videos and have read SPCR's review; still not certain it's worth upping from my shiny P182SE.

I just moved into one of these from a P180, and I have to say I was kind of surprised by a few things. In a bad way. But all in all it is an improvement, I just wasn't expecting (minor) trade offs.

The whole thing feels much cheaper than the P180, the metal plate is thinner and very wobbly on the back side. The side doors are a pain to get on because they do not catch on anything, you have to hold them up with one hand while you screw them down. The molex power connector for the exaust fans is in a terrible place and nearly impossible to work with if you've got a large HSF and anything bigger than tiny hands (while unsightly, the p180s dangling molex connectors were preferable). But the price makes up for it, I feel like it is still a good value. It's MUCH easier to work with than the p180, but with the p180 you traded ease for more solid construction.

All said, I like it anyway and prefer it to the p180. The fact that you have to open the right side panel to get at the HDDs really bothered me at first, but compared to trying to slide the lower HDD cage of the p180 out without braking the sata cables and connectors, it's a very welcome change, and it keeps the sata cabling out of sight from the left side.

I never did like the drive cages of the P18X. Won't miss those. And lighter would be an improvement on the 31lb (empty) monolith I have. The price you pay for shiny stainless steel.

Cheaper? The panel thickness of the P280 appears to be thinner than the "sandwich" panels on the P182, so I'm wondering about sound dampening.

Saturn_V said:

The panel thickness of the P280 appears to be thinner than the "sandwich" panels on the P182, so I'm wondering about sound dampening.

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I didn't notice any difference. In fact, based on some review heat benchmarks I found, which indicated little to be gained from switching the fans from low to high, it's been much quieter that the P180 because I kept the fans on medium with that case.