Antec Announces P280 Enclosure

Subweevil said:
<snip>Almost forgot, to those of you worried about the use of the plastic on the side panels which doesn't absorb sound versus acoustic foam, it's just a different way of doing it. One of the ways to prevent/tame sounds resonance is to increase the mass of the object resonating, which this will do. Acoustic foam would work well though too, as it will absorb some of the sound, so I guess it's all in what you folks prefer. Hope this helps!!
Click to expand...

Interesting, in a PC case, reducing sound transmission (preventing the noise to come OUT of the case) is more important than sound absortion. And yeah, mass is the most important factor in that department.

Ok seems like I have a 2012 case upgrade coming :)
 
Xyvotha said:
Interesting, in a PC case, reducing sound transmission (preventing the noise to come OUT of the case) is more important than sound absortion. And yeah, mass is the most important factor in that department.
Click to expand...
The only way to truly prevent the sound from leaving is to absorb it. The sound will continue to resonate inside the case until all its energy is dissipated by the case material.
 
Zero82z said:
The only way to truly prevent the sound from leaving is to absorb it. The sound will continue to resonate inside the case until all its energy is dissipated by the case material.
Click to expand...

This brings up the three ways I know of to eliminate/deaden resonance. Since energy by neither be created nor destroyed, it will need to be converted into something else. The first way covered is to add mass, which can be okay, as long as the resonance is high in frequency, as the lower the resonance, the more mass must be added to deaden the object. Secondly, you can brace the object that is resonating. Thirdly, you can change the sound/resonance into heat, and this is accomplished by what your describing. Think of acoustic foam/tile and or bass traps you see in clubs/theaters. By getting the tile/foam to move, your changing sound/resonance energy into heat, essentially, like you said "dissipating" it. Obviously, the most effective way is to build something that
is out if the resonant range your having problems with, but rarely is that the case, as real world is quite a bit different from running FEA tests all day, just look at the history of suspension bridges. Obviously, if you can't build out of the undesired resonance range, the best approach is usually a combination of the three. The real fun begins when you take care of the one resonance, only to find another one you just are hearing for the first time, or are hearing because you created it taming the other one. LOL.
On another note, I forgot to mention that all the cables. aside from the standard power, rset, hd activity and the other one I'm forgetting are all black, even the ones for the included fans. Thought that was nice touch.
 
I just picked mine up. I'm building my system this weekend will post pictures and little review later....
 
I'm jealous. Got the case, and all the components, just waiting to assemble everything. Lookin' forward to your take on it.
 
Don't be :-( I just opened the box and the case is damaged on the bottom corner. It looks like it was dropped. I can't even get the side panel off. Its already back in the box. I took some pictures to show superbiz.com. They are closed now and on the weekend. So I have to call them Monday. I am soo pissed right now....
 
Man, that sucks about your case being damaged. I hope they take good care of you and get you a new one ASAP.

I got mine in last night and got the pieces assembled (no OS yet). I've found a few annoyances so far. First, when installing the front case fans, I am using two Nexus (black and white) low speed fans and had to get creative with mounting because the case comes with longer screws, which I had assumed were for fan mounting, but aren't long enough to span the width of the fans. No biggie really, but a bit more hassle than I expected. Also, as some reviews have mentioned, the header connectors are a bit short, especially for the hard drive indicator. As for power, I am using a Seasonic X650 modular power supply, and I have to use a three molex cable in order to get power to the upper fans. Fortunately my system isn't very device heavy so using up one of the available power outputs (and three connections) just to power the top/back case fans isn't a biggie. Another power related irritation is that with my motherboard, a Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3, I can't route the 8-pin CPU power cable behind the motherboard because it's too short. I have to route it over the expansion slots and around the rear fan. The optical drive mounts and the 2.5" specific mounts are a bit more awkward than a standard case to work with, but seem to perform their duties fine. Most of these gripes would likely be true of any larger case with a bottom mounted power supply and could be seen as a criticism for the power supply as much as anything, but I just thought I'd relate my build experience.

The case has some really great pros for building as well. My Hyper 212+ clears just fine and there is plenty of room to install all the devices and work around inside; it is a big case after all. The fit and finish on mine is excellent so far and I haven't had any problems with the supplied thumbscrews. There are a ton of places to attach zipties for cable management as well. The space behind the motherboard shelf for cable routing is great (although a little crowded with a cables and power connectors after getting everything routed).

All in all, I'd make a few changes but I really like it and think it's a great product. Definitely worth the money I paid ($112 with free s/h) for a sturdy case with a lot of features. I'm sure it will serve my family for many years (and several different rebuilds). I'll try and get some pictures up tomorrow.

s1xty7

One other thing, with the Hyper 212+ with stock fan, the three Antec case fans on low, the two Nexus D12SL-12's, the Sapphire HD5670 fan, and the Seasonic X650 fan not even running because not enough power was being drawn to get it to kick on, the system is whisper quiet, even with the side still off. The optical drive spinning up makes more noise than the rest of the system. With everything buttoned up, I would imagine it will be hardly audible when sitting right next to it.
 
thanks for the info s1xty7! (now i know a nick that's harder to write than mine, ha!)
how do you find the side and top panels? do they feel solid enough?
off-topic: tried that 212+ with a nexus? it becomes REALLY quiet ;)
 
The sides have that sturdy steel feel. It has a sheet of some plastic-y stuff attached. All in all, it seems fairly solid. It's not super thick like the old steel cases of the early/mid 90's, but its far sturdier than an aluminum case. I've heard some mention the top panel feels a little flimsy, but it didn't strike me that way and I didn't get any weird vibrations/harmonics off of it.

It's an easy case to work in, with a few quirks, but once you have your system all assembled, it has a very clean exterior and looks unassuming and understated (I really like that). It is larger than the traditional mid tower I would normally use, but not prohibitively so. I would say that I would likely prefer a similar case about 15-20% smaller, but then I would be sacrificing the spacious working room and impeding air flow.

This is all based upon about 2 hours of actual interaction and use. I hope to log a few more hours with it tonight.

s1xty7
(got creative some years back when I had a hard time getting my username at some random forum and this nick was born).

As for the Hyper 212+, the stock fan is currently fairly quiet. If I begin to be able to hear it over the rest of the system, I'll have to try the Nexus route. Those Nexus fans are quiet. I had to look to see if they were running at first.
 
I just recently picked up an Antec 280 for my new PC build and ran in to some similar issues as s1xty7, but I had some work-arounds.

I had a Corsair TX650M PSU and the Giga-Byte Z68XP-UD3 Mobo also, and I just barely was able to get the 8 pin connector to the upper left corner of the mobo, but it was not without significant trouble and some swearing. I also ran in to the issue where it was inconvenient to run the 4 pin molex connector to the top back of the case, but I was able to use just 1 cable to connect all of the 4 pins I need in my case because my front fan's power cables were able to stretch enough behind the case.

As far as the front of the case connection headers to the Mobo, what I did was remove two of the tabs that were pushed out for zip-tying cables, and was able to run all my connections for front USB and other stuff through that.

I absolutely love the case personally, it was very easy to work in and I think my build came out great. I'll try to take pics of it soon and post it up as I think it is one of my better builds.

Of course FWIW, I'm an Antec fanboy and have been since I built my first PC in a SOHO 1040, but I cross-shopped the 280 with a lot of different cases, and as a person who has my computer desk in the same room as my TV, I appreciate how quiet it is when myself or company are watching something while I'm on the PC.
 
Man, that sucks about your case!! On a side note, I bent the tabs in a bit for the side panels where the latch onto the front of the case, there was just too much play for my liking, and it worked well. Additionally, I added some really thin weather stripping around the edges where the side panels contact the case internally, and now the sides are nice and vibration resistant, as well as fitting snugly. I wish the sides latched like the old p180, but that's just me being picky. I'm still really happy with my purchase.
 
No pics yet. Sorry.

After some use last night installing windows and office, I was able to check out some temperatures. I OC'ed my i5-2500k to 4.3GHz (no voltage increases) and upped the ram to 1600MHz. With the case closed up, system temperature was around 32C and CPU was 29C after all the installs. Tonight I'm going to try and push it through some 3DMark, Prime95, etc and see how the case handles the additional heat.

System specs:
Intel i5-2500k
CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ w/ Arctic Silver 5
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 r1.3
Kingston HyperX X1 Black 16GB (4x4GB) 1600 DDR3
OCZ Agility 3 120GB SSD
Sapphire HD5670
EnGenius EPI-3601S 802.11b/g PCI
Asus SATA DVD burner
Seasonic X650 80+ Gold 650W
Antec P280 w/ 2x Nexus D12SL-12 intake fans (just behind filter)

s1xty7
 
I currently have a P182 and am looking forward to getting a P280. The price is just too high for me right now :( Plus i generally try and sell my old stuff before getting something new (i know doesn't make much sense) so... anyone want a P182? :p
 
After modding my P180B and cleaning up the wiring I bought one of these P280 cases today
Nice case.
Very Quiet even on high.
Nice layouts for grommets and wire openings !!
 
Last edited:
I also modded the P280 and installed Antec tricools in the top case positions and their 3 position switches fit in the rear built in two cool switch holder.

Their power is derived from extra molex connector.

On each corner of the tricools I intalled a small length of black self stick foam(automotive stuff) about 1/8' thick was added diagonally so that is an abosrber between the case and fan when fastened with the top holding screws.

I also added 2 tricools in the front behind the filter.Black foam as above was added. The switches are acceseable right at the air filter.

I can now do low /medium/high-great for summer. Still even less noise than P180B had ....which I found surprizing.

1-original two cool remains for the rear case fan, powered from the '280 power plugin board

This is a good case.Like that its filtered.

The only negative that I had here(was on P180b to) is the 2nd MB power connector from the PS which has to go up to the upper right hand motherboard power corner, 8pin(?), I had to route it though the power supply bracket opening in the back wall not really for cables methinks but that is the only way it would reach.
Pic below,
Sorry its not clear.
Notice how the 2nd mb power cable goes up and thru the ps holder/bracket opening, Has yellow stripe on it.

2U5O7226jpg1.jpg
 
Last edited:
I'm using a P280 as a temp case until I can order my CaseLabs M8, I have it water cooled but it is not water friendly. It was a big pain in the butt to get everything in there and even with the thin radiator on top (32mm) it touches the top of the motherboard. I also have a 580 in the loop now in the pic below I still have the temp 6870 in. The case temps are great however, and it is very quiet with 1000 rpm fans.

DSC01803.jpg
 
If you move the fans for the 240mm radiator outside the chassis, would this move the radiator up enough to give you clearance for the 120mm radiator inside?
 
The case is an improvement but still not quite there yet to me. Antec please consider the following..

-Increase structure at back and top of case and around fans.
-Add option for 140mm fans at back and top, or put a 200mm fan on top of case.
-Add air vent to top of case to move air and noise out the back similar to what Fractal did, except BIGGER with better airflow.
-Add 1 or 2 120mm fan intake holes to the bottom of the chassis in front of PSU and hard drive section for extra cooling. I don't think fans on the bottom of the case would add to much noise.
-Add optional heavy sealed side window with optional fans intake. CoolerMaster makes tons of money with "options" from it's store.
-Add HDD hotswap bay at front.
-Add or move the fan controller to front of case, not the back..
-More USB 3x at front. Maybe a card reader and E-SATA
-Removable filters are good but how about optional grills? I never use fan filters.

That's all I can think of right now :)

Take the Fractal XL, P280, Eleven Hundred and a bit of the Coolermaster Storm Trooper add them all together and make it really quiet. I'll buy it.
To me computer cases are just annoying now and I don't want to see them or hear them anymore as much as possible. I'd want the window just to check for dust buildup once every few months. The P280 is a nice grown up, classy, clean looking, subdued, quiet case that with a bit more options would be almost the "perfect" case. Currently it's biggest problem to me is lack of intake cooling.
 
Last edited:
Antec_Jessie said:
If you move the fans for the 240mm radiator outside the chassis, would this move the radiator up enough to give you clearance for the 120mm radiator inside?
Click to expand...

No. The reason is the stupid fan control PCB. Even if you remove it there are molded studs that would interfere with a radiator. I suppose you could dremel them off, but if you're willing to go that far you probably didn't buy a P280 in the first place. If you used a bay res, I'm sure a 240 in the front would be perfectly doable.
 
LigTasm,

Did you need to use a 8 pin eps extension with your build? I just picked up a p280 + ax750 and there's not a chance in hell of routing the eps connector through the back. The cable is just too short :(
 
DarthV said:
LigTasm,

Did you need to use a 8 pin eps extension with your build? I just picked up a p280 + ax750 and there's not a chance in hell of routing the eps connector through the back. The cable is just too short :(
Click to expand...

I had the same problem with my MaxRevo 1350. Everything else went well though.
 
Here's some pics of my P280...soon to be replaced w/ a 550D...then I'll decide which I like best.

I ripped out some of the padding from the case and stuck it on the top vent.
inside.jpg

top.jpg


Here's the innards...
side.jpg


It's a very roomy case and a breeze to work with. But the door does nothing against an optical drive, haha. It does seem a bit hotter than my Define R3, but I had that fully modded, so it's to be expected...it was full of dust all the time, haha!
 
I like it, I just sold my brother's P180 which served him good. However, I did not like the air flow in that one. This one looks much better and love the 90 degree angle HDD caging.
 
hey guys, just picked up my p280 today. I'll post sum pics and thoughts about the case here in a day or two, maybe even a youtube video.
 
I'm looking at a P280 myself, but I also want to use a True Spirit 140 in my build. I'm concerned about the clearance for the height of the cooler. Thermalright says the cooler is 170mm high, and what I have read about the P280 is that there is 170mm of clearance, but I can't seem to find out if those case measurements include the height of the m/b standoffs plus the motherboard itself.

Would anyone who has a P280 mind measuring from the top of the motherboard out to the case side for me?
 
also considering the P280. anyone from experience know if it starts vibrating like crazy if you fill it with hard drives. the carbide 500r has been a nightmare in this respect. also, is the door really shiny/glossy? matte black woulda been ideal :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top