Antec P180

[ray4389]

Should I get it or something else? I'm willing to spend a bit of money for the case if it's good--but don't wanna go overboard...


I want a more basic look with clean lines and just overall higher class than those raidmax cases with the ghetto aliens and lights.

 

[CyC]

i got it.. backordered through through bb ($80).. i would look into coolermaster stacker cases which are great

 

[Seanmounce]

My two favorites are the Antec P180 and the Nine hundred.

 

[cleric_retribution]

I bought a P180 and put in a dual athlon MP system that was watercooled. The thing was completely silent, and only had one 120mm fan on its lowest speed setting. All my temps were room temperature or only slightly higher.

I have since upgraded the machine (read: I had a watercooling leak and wrecked my system

) to a dual opteron system, and I am running 6 hard drives in the case. With three 120mm fans at their lowest settings, and a NeoHE power supply...the case is still almost silent, and my temps are always around the mid-40's C.

So yes, I think you should get this case. it owns.

 

[mojoRT]

Huge case; Awesome for air cooling and lots of room (I'd suspect) for water cooling.

Extremely silent case, very solid too. Banging on the any part of this case will give you a solid "THUD" sound as opposed to a metallic sound. Silicon grommits everywhere (PSU, HDD bays, CD ROM bays? I forgot) - but it makes the case really really quiet.

Comes with 3 Antec Tri-Cool Fans which move alot of air at the lowest setting .. and are very quiet.

Get it if you'll be pairing it with a quiet PSU and if you're looking for a solid case which doesn't stand out too much - it's plain, simple, and built very well. (Except for maybe the door hinge... they could've made that better)

Oh... make sure your PSU wires are long enough.... the case is designed with the PSU located on the bottom, so reaching the CPU power connector on the mobo or CD ROM devices at the top might be a problem.

 

[Ubermouser]

I purchased a P180 (my last mid tower case was a Lian Li v1000), and I love it quite a bit. Its the first -really- quiet computer I've had, and it just seems to reek quality. Whereas the Lian Li v1000 is a work of art, the P180 is good looking, but more specifically a (somewhat more) functional case. Only thing I prefer on the v1000 are the wheels, but this can be worked around.

Even though your PSU cables may reach, you may have to drag em all the way across the motherboard, so I recommend you purchase extenders.

 

[Bbq]

The only things I don't like asbout the p180, aside from the wire management:
1. It could be a bit longer. My power supply almost hits the center divider. and it's only a powerstream.
2. Less restrictive front fan grilles

That's it. Oh, it's very heavy. Mine weighs more than my cm stacker loaded up with parts. You're talking about 40 lbs for the case itself.

 

[ilkhan]

Its huge
Its sturdy
Its heavy

But smaller on the inside than youd expect. The center fan on the lower tunnel really blocks a lot of stuff. But it does seem to do a good job of keeping my R5 array cool. Pretty damn quiet too. And wire management is a major PITA.

 

[movax]

And wire management is a major PITA.

Yes. Expect to spend a hour or so transfering/installing your components...

And then an additional several hours removing and reinstalling them to hide wires. It's very worth it at the end though.

 

[Techx]

Yes. Expect to spend a hour or so transfering/installing your components...

And then an additional several hours removing and reinstalling them to hide wires. It's very worth it at the end though.

is it really worth going the extra mile to hide your wires in a case with no windows? I mean i guess for airflow sake but all that extra work for 1 degree difference, I'm too lazy for that

 

[cleric_retribution]

is it really worth going the extra mile to hide your wires in a case with no windows? I mean i guess for airflow sake but all that extra work for 1 degree difference, I'm too lazy for that

Depends how much you have in the case -- when I had 6 hard drives in the case, wire management was important, and after spending a few hours cleaning things up, my case temps dropped by about 8 degrees C

 

[artmonkey]

is it really worth going the extra mile to hide your wires in a case with no windows? I mean i guess for airflow sake but all that extra work for 1 degree difference, I'm too lazy for that

Ahaha you're so right. I have just ordered the P180 and I have the best of intentions, all the same I know from past experience I am going to get so far and then give up making it tidy

 

[Hurin]

I bought two of these cases. One for me, and one for a friend. I was building two identical systems (except mine was SLi).

Since he's not into overclocking and such, and didn't want SLi, I stayed with the P180 for him. But, I sent mine back. I didn't like the following:

1. Fitting second 8800gtx down there at the bottom would be a major pain (if not impossible) with all those power cables running up through the cable management channel.
2. Two of the four Antec Tri-Cool fans started developing a "clicking" sound at all speeds. I eventually swapped all fans in the case out for Yate Loons.
3. Bottom-mounted PSU made it necessary to extend the 8-pin motherboard power connector. Not a big deal, but was a hassle to not have extender on-hand.
4. As others have said, the cable management gimmicks are a pain.
5. I probably didn't spend enough time with swapping fans and reversing flow (some people here have gotten good results with what seems to me to be counter-intuitive arrangements). . . but I wasn't all that impressed with cooling performance. I actually got much better results with a much cheaper case (thread).

I don't mean to crap all over the P180. It's a very stylish, sleek case. And I love some of the refinements (expecially the pop-open dust filter doors, etc.). But for me, I just found myself getting more and more frustrated with it until I decided to go back to something a bit simpler that just worked. . . and worked well. I've got my solution side-by-side right now with the Antec P180. . . and I can honestly say I'm much happier with the non-P180 case. But that's just me.