Antec P180

i guess that's how you guys got the cables through the bottom without interfering with the soundcard...you removed the PSU chamber fan.

Man looking at the above wiring job, mine looks quite shitty. Well, I guess once the door is on I won't see it anyway. :eek:

How many of you guys who have the case put the hardrives in the lower HD cage? I also left the lower fan in. Man that's a tight fit. I guess you could remove it and just put one in the front of the drives. I completely left out the upper HD cage. Better airflow too.
 
hi, can you guys tell me where can i buy this case?

Edit:
nvm, looks like technoweb.com sell this really cheap :)
 
Antec HAS NO replacment side panels available.

They did for me. :D I got one to replace the one side that had a bubble in the aluminum. I didn't break off tabs or anything though. :(
 
gman said:
Man looking at the above wiring job, mine looks quite shitty. Well, I guess once the door is on I won't see it anyway. :eek:

Yea i'm not a pro wiring dude but i think it's just the new design that is challenging. I also have those fat sleeved PSU cables in my Enermax 535 and i really felt like i should use all the fans and everything but i doubt i can fit the Audigy card with those cables unless i duct tape it down further.

or i was thinking you could still add a 80mm fan if you remove the lower chamber fan to fit the cables.

i'm still trying to plan this wiring since not all of my parts are in.
 
dynamiks said:
I just got mine today, I love it... Here's some quick pictures I took. I'll take some better ones soon.

Looks really good. I'd get one if my motherboard would fit in it. BTW are you running your ram in single channel mode? I was looking at the color coding of your DIMM sockets.
 
Looking at the case got my mind going for a WC project.

1. Isolate the rear portion of the PSU chamber so that the PSU is separate from the front lower case. It will only have to cool itself, which should keep the fan quiet.

2. Rip out the lower chamber fan and put a twin 120 radiator (BIP2 or HE120.2, with fans) there lengthwise (sitting vertically on one of its long sides) and duct airflow from the front opening, thru the rad, and out blow holes in the case side cover.

3. The pump could either sit in front of the PCI slots, assuming they are empty, or where the removable HDD bay is. (I put my HDD in a 5.5" enclosure anyway. A swiftech pump/bayres would work great too.

4. Use the top or rear 120mm fan for mobo and hdd airflow. Seal off the other one.

All the main heatsources are isolated from one another, and the fans are kept far from the front case openings where they would be easily heard. The PSU and rad in particular get fresh air without dumping heat to one another.
 
Could someone tell be how many and what size thumbscrews should be included in the case? I have 2 different sizes on the on the back and only 4. 2 longer threaded ones and 2 shorter threaded. I was missing one for the upper drive cage and Antec sent it to me. But, now I'm not sure if I'm missing some on the back. It seems there a 3 on one side and 2 on the other. I think mine must have been one of the first ones built and they didn't know what TbScrew went on them. :eek:
 
gman said:
Could someone tell be how many and what size thumbscrews should be included in the case? I have 2 different sizes on the on the back and only 4. 2 longer threaded ones and 2 shorter threaded. I was missing one for the upper drive cage and Antec sent it to me. But, now I'm not sure if I'm missing some on the back. It seems there a 3 on one side and 2 on the other. I think mine must have been one of the first ones built and they didn't know what TbScrew went on them. :eek:
there is 1 for each drive cage and 2 for the left (if looking at the case from the front) side panel
the right side panel uses 3 philips screws

the drive cage thumbscrews are different than then side panel ones
 
the right side panel uses 3 philips screws


No thumbscrews? Hmm. Just regular phillip head screws like you'd use to screw down a video or sound card?
 
gman said:
No thumbscrews? Hmm. Just regular phillip head screws like you'd use to screw down a video or sound card?
yep, although I believe they're a bit longer
 
I noticed the PSU is at the bottom of the case which makes wire management much nicer and more organized i bet, but does it also affect heat... because heat rises so does it rise and heat up your components or does it have no affect?
 
If you'll also notice, it is isolated from the rest of the case. There is a divider that separates it, and a fan to blow air through that separate chamber. It should reduce the heat transfer between the PSU and the rest of the components.
 
Ruiner said:
Awesome link, thanks for the heads up!

[edit] Reading the article, it looks like a lot of us are going to have problems with the four-pin ATX12V cable. I planned on getting a Seasonic S12-500 too, and seeing what they had to deal with in terms of cable management aren't very encouraging. dynamiks, I noticed you routed your ATX12V cable under the motherboard, how did you manage to do that, was the lead just long enough? I seriously would consider doing that sort of thing, routing the cable under the motherboard. I also notice you have your SATA cable routed under the PCI/VGA cards. Maybe you can elaborate on how you performed your superb cable management. I would much rather avoid using an extension if at all possible...

That PSU chamber fan should be removed unless you've got a fanless PSU set up. I know I would.

I'd also remove that VGA duct, it doesn't seem to do very much other than make noise.

Be sure to read the forum thread over at SPCR -- lots of useful info.
 
I have a P180 and also a Phantom 500 - still assembling everything and waiting to order some so no pics yet. I wanted to route my 4pin mb cable so it would not be visible so I ordered a extention from www.frozencpu.com , If I wanted to go straight to it I wouldnt need the extension however. I think performance pcs has a 24 pin AND 4 pin extension set for sale, its called a silverstone accessory or something. The one bad thing about the phantoms is that they are so much longer than a standard PSU that you may have to switch out the stock lower fan for a thinner one or the PSU wires will hit the fan blades. I put in a thinner Yate Loon and it fits fine.

I am very happy with my P180, I thought it looked like a mini fridge myself but after looking at it in person it doesnt look anything like it. I actually think it looks pretty dang good, best case I have ever owned. It is a little harder to wire up than a normal case but I think it is worth it.
 
Man, SPCR is not fond of that VGA duct system at all. And to think I thought it actually helped my system breathe. Im just gonna rip it out tonight.
 
I don't think the vga duct is bad or anything, it is just better in some situations than in others. I would try it with it and without it and see what happens to your temps.

Ruiner: Where you asking me that question?

My system will be:
Antec P180
Antec Phantom 500
MSI Neo4 Platinum
AMD 3500 Venice
ATI X800XL

I still need to order some ram and other odds and ends, I am just going to use my hd's in my old system for awhile. I am not in that big of a hurry since I have a ok system now, I am building a new pc though so I can turn this one into a htpc - I always wanted one of those :)
 
IceWind said:
Man, SPCR is not fond of that VGA duct system at all. And to think I thought it actually helped my system breathe. Im just gonna rip it out tonight.
It sounds like a "Your-mileage-may-vary" type of thing, if it doesn't add to the system's overall noise level, yet decreases temperatures across the board, then I'd say keep it. From what SPCR is saying, the plastic is what resonates.
 
Okay here are some updated pics I took today. I installed my new Zalman VF-700 VGA cooler, and it is EXCELLENT. I have it running at 5v along with the V7000B and they both are very quiet. I'm so glad to have gotten rid of that OEM 6800U cooler, that thing was insanely loud.

Anyway guys enjoy the pics, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

P180%20017.jpg

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Could someone take a pic of what thumbscrews and screws are used in the side panels at the back? I pretty much know the thumbscrews used, but I'm confused as to what screws are used on the right side panel(looking at the case from the front). Are they regular screws that are usually used to screw down cards or are they longer? I've gotten my screws mixed up and not sure which ones were used.
Thanks
 
I'm planning on picking one of these up... techonweb has it for only $108, but it says it only has 2 fans. Is there anyone that ordered from them that could confirm that it actually has 3 fans like it should?
 
Anyway guys enjoy the pics, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Is there a reason you don't have your memory set up dual channel? It looks you have it split on two separate channels.
 
Is there anyone that ordered from them that could confirm that it actually has 3 fans like it should?

Mine had 3. 1 on top, 1 in the back and one in the lower chamber.
 
PsiberWare said:
Is there a reason you don't have your memory set up dual channel? It looks you have it split on two separate channels.

On my motherboard dual channel is set up to work side by side, not every other slot like on other motherboards.

dualchannel.jpg
 
Why did you replace the fans and with what did you replace them?

Edit: Oh and is that an e-home wonder I see there?
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
Why did you replace the fans and with what did you replace them?

I replaced the fan in the bottom (120x38) for two reasons. (1) If you do not remove it, you are going to have a hell of a time trying to run the wires with the sound car being in the way, and it definately won't be neat. (2) It's not really necessary to me. My power supply already has a 120mm fan inside, so I don't really see a need for that fan anyway, other than to make more noise, I can't imagine my PSU really needed that little bit of extra air flow. Plus I have no hard drives in the lower part of my case, I only have two on the upper section.

The 2 blue LED fans are from Coolermaster. I placed those in the back to give my case that nice blue glow effect. And these fans were left over from my old CM Stacker case. One of the black Antec fans, I put behind my HDD's as an intake fan to blow air passed my HDD's and into the case. So basically I only took out the bottom fan, cause I am using all the other fan slots.

Edit: Do you mean my ATI TV Wonder Pro? If so, then yes thats what it is.
 
dynamiks said:
Edit: Do you mean my ATI TV Wonder Pro? If so, then yes thats what it is.
No he thought it was ATI's first hardware encoding tuner card.
 
does this tower really dampen sound, i have 5 fans in my case and was looking for a solution, if i put all >30 db fans in the case would it still be quiet.

dynamix how loud is that zalman graphic card fan.
 
I managed to fit my OCZ powerstream in there with the 120MM fan in the default position. Was it easy? Not one bit, but I like to keep my hard drive on the bottom rack so that there's nothing blocking the front intake 120MM fan.

I picked up another 120MM fan as well. Most of the noise is coming from my heatsink fan, so I have that connected to a fan controller and keep it at half speed unless I need it. But even at that, my 530J Prescott overclocked to 4Ghz stays pretty cool at 40C idle and 53C Prime 95 load.
 
Has anyone tried removing the bottom fan and just letting the power supply cool the hard drives? I was planning on putting my drives (2) in the lower bay, removing the top hdd bay and moving the lower chamber fan to be a front intake fan... think that would work and/or make a noticeable difference in temps?
 
Could someone take a pic of what thumbscrews and screws are used in the side panels at the back?

I finally found a pic online that shows me what's on the back for screws. Nevermind, just in case someone actually took a picture. :eek:
 
Anyone have gripes with the weight of the case? They say it weighs about 31 lbs., that's only about 5 lbs. lighter than my SX1240 full tower. Also I might have missed this, but are the hard drive cages completely removable? Just curious since I plan to get rid of them if they are, I usually put my HDDs in removable 5.25" enclosures. That will hopefully allow room for a 7800GTX as well. Aside from that I was actually looking at a few much lighter cases, but this one looks really sleek and I might just have to pick one up.
 
Yup, you can pull the hard drive cages completely out by just unscrewing a thumb screw on each one.

As for the weight, I have no problem with it. My GMC Neo Classic was just about as heavy and I brought that bad boy to many LAN parties. I might get annoyed if I went to a LAN party a day, although I doubt it. It would help with the strength training. ;)
 
I just ordered a Sunbeam fan controller to keep the case even more quiet. Because unlike alot of people, I need my fans running at full speed alot of the time becuase I play games. So to keep it quiet all the time would require me running all the fans at 5v all the time, which is not so good for when I'm gaming. So I opted for the fan controller, to get it pretty much dead silent when im not gaming.
 
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