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Antec Sonata good gamers case?

L

LiquidX

2[H]4U
Joined
Jan 7, 2004
Messages
3,786
Does anyone have it? It will mainly be built for a gamer, no cpu oc'ing but maybe a 6800GT. Just want some user views, quality, does it stay cool running most of the day and most of all how is the supplied PSU ( able to handle a GT, 1gig ram etc)? Any comments at all welcome.

11-129-127-08.jpg

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-127&depa=1
 
its all decent, nothing spectacular, it only has one big ass fan in the back but everything is pretty silent, and its pretty well assembled, plus i like the hard drive trays. the power supply is ok not so hot for overclocking as some might say, the only problem i don't like is that its pretty cramped and u need to put the hsf in before u put the mobo in. all in all its a good deal because it has a pretty good psu and is a sleek case.
 
I't the case I'm using to build my new rig, but I might put in an Antec TrueWatt 500W psu. It comes with an Antec 380W, still very nice.

I love it. Nice big 120mm fan too.
 
well - it only blows :D

I'm partial to the lanboy cases. They're pretty tight and they have 2 huge 120mm fans
 
I have a similar looking case... the "antec lanboy" and it looks similar to yours. he has a 120mm in the front, 120mm in the back, keeps his case nice and cool. Antec is a good name for for cases so you can trust their products.
 
MrWoot said:
I have a similar looking case... the "antec lanboy" and it looks similar to yours. he has a 120mm in the front, 120mm in the back, keeps his case nice and cool. Antec is a good name for for cases so you can trust their products.
Click to expand...


The sonata case offers a spot to mount a fan in the front, I have built two systems with this case. The PSU is nice and its really a steal for everything in one package. Its silent, the cooling is good, but not too extreme, you can always opt for a better set of fans though for a cheap upgrade.
 
where exactly is the place where the front fan mounts? on the right of the hard drive bays? Between the front plastic and the bezzel?
 
DarkElite said:
where exactly is the place where the front fan mounts? on the right of the hard drive bays? Between the front plastic and the bezzel?
Click to expand...

the fans in the case move a lot of air but don't cool that well, because the case is so enclosed, anyway the front fan doesn't mount on the front its more in the middle. It mounts on the side of the hard drive bays near the mobo. There's also an air filter in the very front that should be cleaned in the case which is worth noting.
 
I bought the Sonata instead of this case (the one I really wanted)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-144&depa=0
because it looked nice and came with a 350 watt PS. Doing so saved me about $80 on my build. Looking back I wish I had just spent the extra money and bought what I really wanted.

The Sonata case is HOT. Heat just builds up in that case all day making proper CPU cooling nearly impossible. I have the stock 120mm on the back and bought an extra 120 to mount on the psudo front of the case. The front case fan doesn't do much to increase circulation because it is about 5" away from the front of the case.

If I decide to keep this case I am going to have to mod an extra 120 onto the side of the case and possibly another on the top to cool this thing down.

This case is definately not for people who plan on OCing their box.
 
I'd have to agree-- the smallish black box doesn't look too good for heat. I honestly would go elsewhere for a spacier box.

-J.
 
Antec P160's nice, except that it's $120 without PSU.

Consider an SLK3700 type case + your own PSU, you can always find a use for the 350W unit that it comes with.
 
i got an antec sonata, with the specs in my sig. the case sits around 27c, which isn't too bad imo. the case isn't that good for airflow and cooling, but it does get the job done. i also opted for the secondary case fan. one thing though about the fans: there are fan voltage limiter molex connectors which don't let the fan operate at it's full speed. these are meant to keep the fans quieter, but they run at like 1/4 the speed and mine cool alot better plugged into the molex connectors. overall, considering it was my first system build, i'd give the case a 8.5/10.
 
I have the Sonata, and it's worked out fine for me. The things I like about it are the removable hdd and optical drive trays, very easy to work with. And the case door has a latch on it, which makes it really easy to remove. No motherboard tray, but if you're not constantly modding and changing stuff it shouldn't be a problem. The circulation isn't great, although for the noise I can put up with that . It's super quiet, the only thing in my system that i can really hear is the ABIT NB fan and my CPU fan..barely. I had another 120mm in the front that helped with my case temps by lowering them a couple degrees but I didn't think it was worth it for the noise.... I'd recommend getting two panaflo's or something quiet and putting those in there.
 
I built a computer with the sonata case and i was nothing but impressed. with 2 120mm fans, the power supply, and a zalman 7000 on high the computer was still almost silent. the hard drive trays are really cool and it looks very organized with a SATA drive. i dont think the pictures on newegg do the case justice, its alot more attractive in person.
i would recommend this case for anyone who wants to spend under $100.
 
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