Silentpcreview is the first website that posted a review on the P150 (nearly 2 months ago). They got it long before the case was available in stores. Perhaps is it also because the guy from spreview worked with antec on the p180 (that's what they said in their P180 review).
Sure we can criticize this test of the PC 150 because they use stock cooler. But if it says that the antec tricool is cleary audible at minimum speed and that a 150$ case makes as much noise as a 40$ case + silent PSU...
I prefer to know the product that i'm buying, specially if it costs 150$....
...I still think it's a little ridiculous to compare noise measurements when using a stock cooling 6600gt and a Thermaltake CPU cooler... and is there a fan on that DFI too?? yuck. And of course the PSU.. no offense to AT, but I'd like to see a silentpcreview.com review of it.
This review didn't use the hard drive suspension in the P150, and though I did suspend my drives in my Sonata, I don't really know how much of a difference it actually makes (my maxtor hdd is also quiet, and i never tried hardmounting the wd); there is no way that this review could have shown the benefits of using the suspension, or even the silicon grommets, in the P150 over the hard mounting in the other cases because the test system used components that are significantly louder than (decent) hard drives.
Our stock 6600 GT cooler, thermaltake cpu cooler, and PSU were all hand picked for being exceptionally quiet... the grommets did an exceptional job of isolating the hard drives - perhaps seeking noises would've been a few fractions of a decibel less in the fully suspended mode, but it simply wasn't the issue when it came to the noise emanating from the P150.. the tri-speed fan was a great deal louder than our hard drive.
The Antec is $113.99 before shipping at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">Newegg right now. That's with the power supply. That seems pretty reasonable to me. Problem is, I don't need a power supply. I have the 450W already. Sell the power supply on eBay and the price could end up being around $50. I said could end up.
Some of these comments are pretty harsh. Its a mini review comparing various price points and people seem to be expecting a lot more. Eleven pages for three cases seems more than adequate. One suggestion I have would be to make your user name the author name the same for the comments. The name 'Tamale' doesn't seem to have anything to do with the article and I only noticed it from the email association.
Forgive me if I've overlooked it, but in the noise comparisons the Antec and Raidmax are comparable, BUT does the Raidmax have a comparable filtration system?
That is a huge issue, as one who has used filters for years I can assure you that any filter remotely fine enough to be effective has a significant impedance to airflow and to have one case filtered better (or at all) that still achieves same noise levels is no small feat.
However, it's flawed. One can't design a case such that there's only passive intake and throw a filter on the front else it causes more air intake through the drives and port holes, accelerated dust accumulation in them and all the other seemingly minor gaps. Therefore, it's necessary to install the two front 92mm pusher fans and have them at high enough flow rate that the case has positive pressurization so filtered air is exahaust out the drives and gaps rather than sucked in. Those front fans will also signficantlly increase noise levels perceptible to the user, unfortunately, thuogh a bit of dense foam bonded to the front bezel (interior wall) will help.
It's not quite clear what kind of lighting was used to take the pictures, but it is disappointing that the two shades of white (plastic and paint) on the Antec didn't match up. IMO, two different shades of the same color (when off as much as in the picture) is even worse looking than if they had aimed for an entirely different color. Personally I hate glossy paint too, it never holds up as well and gets fingerprints on it.
overall, despite these things the Antec looks like a winner to me. In fact if I didn't know better I'd think they lifted a few ideas from various case mods I've posted over the years. Either way, I thought they were good ideas, they proved to be too, and I'd certainly want them on a case I bought instead of having to DIY.
Good observations... the lighting we use is chosen carefully so that it can bring out differences in materials somewhat moreso than normal.. that being said, the difference you're noticing in these pictures has been exaggerated and wouldn't be as noticable under normal lighting conditions. There still is a difference though, which is understandable since one surface is metal and the other is plastic, but I doubt you'll find the case unattractive. The finishes are very nice.
a maddog psu? that is the best you as a reviewer have laying around? give me a break, at least throw in a old antec one or something, maddog - isn't that compusa generic stuff?
Lol.. I've gotten this several times now. It's a solid, quiet, dependable, modular unit that's made by NEC. It's a great unit that we've chosen OVER similarly priced and even much more expensive units from antec, ocz, and thermaltake.
Antec has been aware of the problem with the NeoPower 430W PSU (with Asus motherboards) that happens to be the one included with the P150. They have fixed the problem but no idea if all the P150s that were already stocked at distributors have been sold by now and the new ones have worked into the system.
Either way, Antec support will work with you to swap you an updated model of the PSU.
For me thre are four standards to evaluate a case: cooling, noise, installation proagmatics, cost, and "interface" (getting stuff into and out of external ports and removobale media drives mounted in it). While I realize it's a subjective thing, IMO the last is too often ignored. THis review did a good job in one aspect, noting how far the USB ports are spaced apart. But it failed to notice what I immediately saw as a HUGE flaw in the "edotors choice" case, the X1: the USB, etc ports are BEHIND the door! SO if you have anything plugged into the port, the door MUST stay open. A door is nothing more than something that gets in the way if it can't be closed. AM I the only person in the world that has things plugged into front USB ports for more than a few seconds at a time (the amount of time the door on my current Sonata case is open, to insert and remove CDs & DVDs. The front ports, not behind the door & including firewire, is a big reason I went with the Sonata.
What I would really like to see is a case that has USB/firewire/audio/etc ports AND one 5 1/4" drive bay not behind a door, and the rest of bays hidden behind the door. Like most people I suspect I pretty much have one CD/DVD drive I need access too a lot, and another less frequently, & of course other bays with no external access needed at all. That would be cool.
Why was the front fan mount on the X1 ignored in the review. Looks like it can hold a 120mm there too. Personally I'd mount the front and rear fans and block off the side fan (unless I was going to duct directly to the CPU) and any other large area of ventilation holes like those at the back. Looks (from the limited view in the one picture - should have taken the front bezel off and taken a shot of the naked front so we could see what's there for ourselves) like the front fan grille is very restrictive and would need to be cut out for best cooling. No real technical-level user or reviewer would have missed that.
For the fellow in Australia looking for Raidmax, those cases are sold here under several names like Fudin and Logisys as well as Raidmax. I suppose that anyone that wants to can import them from Korea (I believe) and sell them under their own brand name. Another little item that any reviewer with any level of perspective on the PC market would know...
One would hope to get better than superficial, FANBOY-style reviews from AT. <rolleyes>
Another question I have is why is there a Mad Dog PSU in there? That is one of CompUSA's in-house packagers. Raidmax usually uses L&C-type bottom-feeding junkboxes...
re. the Mad Dog PSU - OIC, the X1 can be had either with or without PSU. The OE one is a junky old design w/ only 14 Amps on the +12, so now we know the why of the PSU swap.
And the 0.7mm metal thickness is marginal in my book. Can't imagine how that case could not feel flimsy and have ringy acoustics.
I'm sorry, but spending $150, and then going to a lot of extra effort on top of that, all to get a computer as quiet as the X1 would've been in the first place for a third the price seems a little silly.
I compared these cases for a reason... I really like the P150 too, but I really feel people need to know that there's much cheaper options that are just as/almost as good.
As for usability, you do have a nice point. The P150 definitely is a nice advancement in this regard. Still, please use some common courtesy and don't use the public comment space to advertise for other websites. Thanks.
You also complain about "extra effort" when people looking at cases in the first place are DoItYourself-ers/BuiltMyOwn-ers. I hardly think unscrewing a fan to put some soft grommets b/w it and the case frame is so much effort that it negates the benefit. Considering this case already does the vast amount of what-was-formerly 'hard work' in making a case quiet, this case is truly exceptional. It even offers drive suspension standard (or grommetted drive sleds), a quiet fan w/ 3-speed adjustment, excellent airflow arrangement, silencing panels on the sides and top of the case, everything locks down so nothing rattles, and a quiet PSU. Seriously you can't ask for much more than that when it comes to quieting a system and this case offers all that stock without having to mod anything). That's hardly "extra effort" especially for someone who's already going through the effort of building their own system.
I must ask you then, why with all of these advanced quieting components did it still make just as much noise as the X1? Personally I blame the tri-speed fan, as even set to the low speed setting it moved enough air to make a noticeable "whooshing" sound... compared to the absolutely silent power supply included with the P150 I found this rather strange. It was the exact same reason the P180 wasn't as quiet as I was expecting it to be.. I wouldn't be surprised to see antec tune their 120mm fans a tad so that the low speed setting is really as quiet as it could be.
Also it's a joke for any Anandtech writer to complain about the price of the case when you guys do all your tests using FX-55/7800GTX/RAID Raptor God boxes (slight exaggeration to make a point). Anyone buying any of those over-priced aspects of a system can certainly afford to spend the money on a good case. I built a budget gaming system and I bought a P150 because for me it is very important to have a silent, stylish (not gaudy/kiddy), cool-running rig. That's more than worth the extra $$, imo.
It's not a joke to talk about price at all.. AT has always been a site about getting the best components for a particular user's needs, and unless your needs require you to have a more subtly styled case it's hard to recommend the P150 over the X1 based on factors such as noise, usability, and cooling performance. Just think back to our price guides or recommended gift items.. value-oriented products such as the 6800GS have historically gotten the highest recommendations - not the latest and greatest high-end uber-expensive stuff.
Also, whether the people who are truly on the bleeding edge of style such as you and me choose to believe it or not, the cases that are a little more 'gimmicky' are still growing in popularity, not shrinking. Most people still haven't even heard of putting windows in computers, and think that kinda thing is "cool". It's no surprise at all that the elitist enthusiasts (including myself) who had a windowed case back in 2001 are going to look at those kinds of cases now and scoff at them, boasting "they're already out of style".. but a truly good reviewer has to take into account all these factors and write for the majority of all readers and even potential readers - not the majority of readers who are going to be vocal, or are forum regulars, and especially not for the majority of readers who have tons of money, time, and experience with working with cases... and I don't care how you try to slice it, the P150 does not fit in the category of "budget" when one could get a case like the E68 for $30... People seem to think that I don't even like the P150.. this is far from the truth.. I just feel that for that kind of a price premium it better offer the absolute best performance out-of-the-box, and this article is simply designed to open people's eyes a bit and be more careful with their money before automatically assuming that the more expensive a case is, the better it must be.
I was a little put-off by the manner in which the link to silentpcreview was posted because it immediately followed a comment implying that I didn't know what the P150 was designed for... if it wasn't meant as a passive attack on me then I apologize for my comment, but I have a hard time believing no one else read it that way.
Also, an excellent point was made about the X1's choice to put the USB ports behind the door and the implications of having a door covering the optical drives at all.. truly there are only certain users who will prefer to have a door, but for the ones who do the X1 is really a fine choice.
Lastly, the front fan mounting option in the X1 wasn't discussed at great length because the case performed quite well without it, but of course if one had more hard drives or hard drive temperatures were of utmost importance the option is there.
I hope I've cleared up some misconceptions, and helped at least a couple of you better understand where I'm coming from.
The P150 is much quieter than either of the other two cases when properly configured. The operative words in that sentence are the closing phrase "when properly configured". A site like SilentPCReview is an excellent place to get more info about how to build and configure a truly silent system. It is not an advertisement, it is additional reading reference support for helping those interested in learning why it's the best of these three cases and how to use it to its full potential.
most users here at anandtech have been around for years, and we have always talked about other sites besides anandtech. I don't see a problem linking to another review on the site. In fact Brandon used to do it on the news part on the homepage. It is not advertising in anyway for another review link. As for getting the p150 quieter, I'd rather do that than have the Raidmax because of the looks.
The covers over the bays actually rotate down out of the way when the drive opens. You never see your actual drives when they are closed. Hard to explain.
Yes, the Antec P150 is the best case EVER. No really, it's awesome. I wish they'd offer it without the included PSU though, since that PSU has issues with some Asus boards. I ended up buying a different PSU ahead of time since I knew that and was getting an A8N-SLI Premium.
I highly recommend the P150. No reason for any other case unless you simply need MORE room than it offers.
The best part about the P150 is you can build a silent PC system in it very easily. I have the included 120mm fan on the lowest setting and insulated from the case itself with rubber grommets so it's totally silent, a TruePowerII 480w PSU (has a 120mm fan inside it) which is totally silent, the harddrive isolated with the included grommets, the CPU fan throttled down dynamically with CPUSpeed, and the GPU fan throttled with ATITool.
It's also high quality part and construction-wise.
anybody here from Australia? know where I can get the raidmax X1? not sure if there are any australian distributers -- (cant find anybody on staticice.com.au)
My only comment is with the title of the article. Probably should be a bit more descriptive... like "Cases - 3 Way Price Point Shootout" or something,.
I haven't seen any indication that antec is going to release other models of the P150.. that being said, you might want to check out their Sonata II reviewed several months back.
Why is 3Com and US Robotics listed? 3COM Spun them off and they are no longer part of 3COM. Also 3COM and US Robotics do not make PC Cases and there were no other USR or 3COM Components reviewed in this article.
I must say that as a computer geek, I prefer my computers to be able to work without space restrictions. Thus a side fan is really quite a pain. It means that I cannot set the computer against a wall on that side, which is where I typically put them. Its the one thing that really irks me about the Raidmax my PC is in. Apple and Antec (at least on the P150 and Sonata) have it right. Move airflow through areas that will always have clearance. The front and back of a computer will always have space to move air, likewise, if the case design is clever enough, the top and bottom can be made to always have air space. The sides are difficult to guarantee the airspace for without bulking up the width of the computer.
You bring up a good point, but plenty of people put their computers on their desks too, and a side fan not only isn't an issue for them most likely, but can also provide for cool air to come in more directly on critical components
Side fan almost always necessitates a front fan to keep hard drives cool enough. Some ignore this and use the side fan anyway... ever notice that some people have hard drive after hard drive fail then swear company "X" makes crap drives? Heck in our forums right now there's a thread about seagates overheating but when they point a fan at it, suddely it runs ok!
Insufficient power for dual-graphics cards in combo with single/dual-core high-end processors.
Extremely cramped. Difficult access for updates.
Constrained or near non-existent front-panel intake ventilation.
The failure of the P150 power-supply is not surprising. The power-supplies chosen to be bundled with many cases are not normally top-of-the-line.
Consider the Antec P160 instead --- somewhat larger, but far superior in many practical ways. ~ $110 @ Fry's and on-line. Aluminum. Screwdriver-less assembly except for the side-accessible hard-disk-tray shock-mounting. Slotted thumbscrews throughout. Removable motherboard tray, excellent cable-access. ample front-ventilation with intake filter, no silly front-panel door, front-panel individual flip-open shutters for dual CD/DVD-drives, tilt "front-panel" with dual thermal-monitor (very accurate too...) and including Firewire, dual-USB, microphone and headphone-audio sockets. Comes without any power-supply - great ! Power-supply choice can be tailored correctly for the intended computer application.
3 months ago I spent about 3 weeks of intermittent time looking at PC cases ( both on-line pictures and in-store physically disassembling/reassembling, much to the annoyance of sales-dweebs ) in price ranges from $250 to $50 before settling on the P160 for a very high-performance dual-SLI gaming PC. Just one externally obvious design defect - the huge on-off switch is far too easily accidentally pressed. I just left it disconnected and instead connected the far smaller and less-accessible reset-switch as the on-off switch. ( Pressing Reset is not recommended on a modern Windows PC anyway. A momentary press of the on/off switch normally triggers an orderly OS shut-down.) And I can just unplug the front-slot blue lights when/if I get tired of them. ( Sorry, I am just not into this "form-over-function" nonsense that has permeated the PC case industry. There are some pretty-looking but truly-awful case designs out there from even the stalwart case-manufacturers ).
BTW, in any further comparative reviews of PC cases, please give a tabular summary of the salient features/Specs of all the cases before plunging into individual detailed reviews.
I too bought the P160. After searching for three weeks I decided that it was the best for me. The only downside was the high price point. Fortunately, CompUSA had the case on sale for $100 plus there was a $50 mail-in-rebate. They only had one left and couldn't find the box, so I talked to the manager and got it for $50 out the door.
I have had this case for a year now and I agree with everything the above poster said. Including the fact that the power button is too easy to hit. I think that I too will switch to the reset button. The only other downside to this case is that the Firewire connector is a bunch of individual wires that you have to match up to the correct pins. That is a pain in the butt.
There are a few more good features to point out about the P160. The side and front panels are lockable (the front you have to lock from the inside with your own padlock or bolt). Also, the rear 120mm fan is mounted on silicon studs to reduce vibrations. And the front fan is a single 120mm instead of two 90mm fans. Also, if you want a side window, there is an optional one available.
I too would like there to be a features table for each case like we get with motherboard reviews.
Antec's later models of the P160 provide both methods for Firewire, single plug and breakout, on the same cable. I'm using the single plug on mine. They also included two 120mm fans standard on the later models, whereas they only provided one early on. I have the side window model.
I too agree that the P160 is one of the better cases out there (I also agree that the P150 is the only case in the review that'd stand a chance of entering my home). The only thing the P160 didn't have, I fixed: I now have a custom 120mm blowhole in the top that I made myself (picture at http://home.comcast.net/~dterborg/blowhole02.jpg">this link)with a 120mm Panaflo L1A mounted with rubber grommets to reduce noise. So my case has three 120mm fans instead of two. I've also quieted mine with sound dampening adhesive-backed foam sheets, and mounted my fans with gel inserts to quiet them further. It's indeed the case for everyone who needs the best of everything, without tacky looks.
Where did you get the self-adhesive foam sheets ? I was looking at adding ~3/4-inch polystyrene to the 2 side-covers ( no window ), but your solution is simpler - no special polystyrene glue.
It's called Pax-Mate. It's not the best noise-dampening stuff out there (and not nearly as thick as your polystyrene) but it's easy to measure, cut, and apply, and far less expensive (a kit of it can be had for $20 at FrozenCPU and some other places).
I have totally different components now, but for a decent look at what I did, check out this forum thread on HardOCP (high bandwidth warning):
Opinion noted... and yes, these cases definitely are not for everyone, but many people are simply looking for a simple solution that's "good enough" for average components, and that's where the Raidmax really looks nice here.
You know, several of those descriptions never did sit well with me.. and perhaps I am a little too biased towards the geekier look... I'll try to tone down my enthusiasm for the X1 a bit.
As for the hard mounting vs. soft mounting, our maxtor IDE drive is very very quiet, and seeking noises couldn't be heard in the P150 at all even using the "hard" (silicone grommets) mount.
Seeking sounds were only barely audible in the E68 and X1.
I'm sorry, but the statement about the p150 falling short because it doesn't even have a "classy window" on the side is incredibly funny to me. Personally the p150 is the only one out of the three cases that would aesthetically have a chance of making it into an open living space in my home. I'm just as big of a gamer and hardware geek as anyone and I've been a daily reader of anandtech for years - but that comment in my opinion clearly reinforces that while anandtech should be held in very high regard for their knowledge of hardware - their aesthetic evaluations are clearly lacking.
While the front of the raidmax case is not unforgivable - the side panel is. The window is downright tacky and the decorative arrows around the window are laughable - as if the window that will soon be displaying countless oversized glowing fans and other lights is incapable of attracting enough attention on it's own?
I realize everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And while I'm sure there are plenty of twelve year old anandtech readers drooling over this case, the window on this case is in no means and under no circumstances "classy" and it never will be. There have got to be plenty of adult readers at anandtech that will agree with me on this point.
True class is understated - and that's what I want my case to exhibit. Well designed functionality, quiet, crisp clean lines and quality materials - brushed metal and glossy paint are certainly fine, it doesn't have to be boring by any means. It just shouldn't fill the room with a whirling, glowing, fire-eating circus show.
Ah well, I've made my point. $0.02 from a graphic designer that loves his pc's and computer hardware just as much as the next anandtech reader, and unlike most graphic designers, regard's mac's as simply an overpriced novelty item.
Well stated, aaron. The P150 is the most mature looking of the three cases - the most gimmick-free. Everything about it is functional and meant to meet its design goals of the best quiet-computing mid-tower on the market. It succeeds.
I cannot believe that the amateur reviewer hardmounted the HDD instead of using the soft mount method, that would have subjectively really made a difference in sound levels.
Very superficial review overall. I wonder what the reviewer would have said about the cases had he used a silent cpu cooler (even zalman 7700cu fan mated would have been good) and passive GPU. I believe it would have really turned out the table for antecs advantage. Sound measurements from the sides would have been a nice addition aswell. Since antec was the only case that had no ways for sound to escape from the side. Measuring noise from 6" doens't make too much sense either since nobody has his head 6" from the front of his computer. Something like 1m would have been nice, but that would have probably ment that combined with more silent combonents the sound measuring device would have proved itself inadequate.
That wouldn't have really been a case test then would it? It would have been a silent-cpu-cooler-and-passive-gpu-cooler-in-cases-x-y-and-z test.
While I can't disagree on the technical merrits of the Raidmax case, those little blue triangles really turn me off. Maybe I'm just not aesthetically inclined.
The Antec may be the most expensive of the group, but it seems to me that it also comes with the most trustworthy power supply of the three as well. I know I'd want to replace the power supply in that Raidmax case if I were going to use it.
You can get it without one entirely if you want for only $50. Also, heed my note about the Raidmax supply - it's been running strong (and still is by the way) in another decently-equipped PC here in my lab.
It's been running, but what is "strong"? That it runs? The question with such PSU is not does it run but how long it does and what happens when it begins failing. If it does not last the life of the system, another PSU must be bought and all savings are negated.
By strong I simply mean steady voltages, even under load. And of course, length of life is an issue, but I've only had the power supplies for a few weeks, so I comment on that much, other than the fact that both Antec supplies I received have problems with the 3.3v rail.
I doubt the drives were suspended, because he says
'Also note the rubber bands stretched across the sides of this cavity. While we're not 100% sure, we are fairly certain that this is an effort to help minimize vibrations from the hard drives that may cause additional noise within the case.'
duh..
Doesn't seem like he realised what the bands were for. I assume there is some kind of explanation accompanying the case or mention of the suspension method in literature, but I wouldn't know.
Another comment for your conclusion (which is important for those of us that do video work)...the P150 is the only one of the 3 that has Firewire connector in front (as far as I can tell). If you could list the specs of each case at the head of that cases segment, that would also help (e.g. number of 3.5 slots, front firewire connector, etc...).
The P150 also features a cable organizer. If you take of the right panel, you'll see it at the right side of the internal 3,5" drive bays. This can make your cabling a lot tidier than the picture in the review shows.
The FireWire connection is S400 on an Intel standard. Those who wish to connect AMD boards might want to call Antec for an adapter cable.
All'n'all I think the P150 looks like a fridge. I bought it though because it made the most sense for its price.
For that matter I wonder if they had the 3-speed 120mm fan it comes with on the lowest setting for the sound tests or still ramped up to max from the cooling tests.
Why only 3 cases in the roundup? Not much to compare to... :-(
In any case, I would really love to see an Aspire case tested against these sometime. I've been building with them for a while now and IMO they look better and cool better than Antec or other so called "Gaming" cases.
Raidmax and Antec cases are nice, but Raidmax is too chinsy with their materials at times and Antec is sooooo overpriced sometimes that one really shouldn't even consider them anymore as their go to case because of so many other competing vendors out there with high quality cases at cheaper prices.
True, Antec is often overpriced but (putting aside the possible issues with the power supply), it's expected that with the Antec one has a power supply they can use long-term. Raidmax power supplies I wouldn't even install in most systems. What would be most interesting is a P150 discounted due to no power supply until the issues with the present one are resolved.
This case isn't so bad. Put in some Noctua Fans in the front and back ant it keeps my 3060ti (EVGA XC) and 12700kf (NH-U12S) at a comfortable 40 Degrees Celcius when idling. The Noctua Fans combines with the quiet nature of this case keep my rig silent as possible. For it's age, the cable managment isn't bad, it just takes a bit of creative thinking. This case is great for a Sleeper PC like I made.
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bobbyto34 - Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - link
Silentpcreview is the first website that posted a review on the P150 (nearly 2 months ago). They got it long before the case was available in stores. Perhaps is it also because the guy from spreview worked with antec on the p180 (that's what they said in their P180 review).Sure we can criticize this test of the PC 150 because they use stock cooler. But if it says that the antec tricool is cleary audible at minimum speed and that a 150$ case makes as much noise as a 40$ case + silent PSU...
I prefer to know the product that i'm buying, specially if it costs 150$....
GameManK - Sunday, January 15, 2006 - link
...I still think it's a little ridiculous to compare noise measurements when using a stock cooling 6600gt and a Thermaltake CPU cooler... and is there a fan on that DFI too?? yuck. And of course the PSU.. no offense to AT, but I'd like to see a silentpcreview.com review of it.This review didn't use the hard drive suspension in the P150, and though I did suspend my drives in my Sonata, I don't really know how much of a difference it actually makes (my maxtor hdd is also quiet, and i never tried hardmounting the wd); there is no way that this review could have shown the benefits of using the suspension, or even the silicon grommets, in the P150 over the hard mounting in the other cases because the test system used components that are significantly louder than (decent) hard drives.
JoshuaBuss - Monday, January 16, 2006 - link
Our stock 6600 GT cooler, thermaltake cpu cooler, and PSU were all hand picked for being exceptionally quiet... the grommets did an exceptional job of isolating the hard drives - perhaps seeking noises would've been a few fractions of a decibel less in the fully suspended mode, but it simply wasn't the issue when it came to the noise emanating from the P150.. the tri-speed fan was a great deal louder than our hard drive.BPB - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
The Antec is $113.99 before shipping at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">Newegg right now. That's with the power supply. That seems pretty reasonable to me. Problem is, I don't need a power supply. I have the 450W already. Sell the power supply on eBay and the price could end up being around $50. I said could end up.BPB - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Oops! Forgot to mention that the $113.99 is after rebate. So it's $157.98 with shipping, $132.98 after rebate.Jynx980 - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Some of these comments are pretty harsh. Its a mini review comparing various price points and people seem to be expecting a lot more. Eleven pages for three cases seems more than adequate. One suggestion I have would be to make your user name the author name the same for the comments. The name 'Tamale' doesn't seem to have anything to do with the article and I only noticed it from the email association.Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I'm still working with the site administration team to get "Joshua Buss" as a registered login name.mindless1 - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Forgive me if I've overlooked it, but in the noise comparisons the Antec and Raidmax are comparable, BUT does the Raidmax have a comparable filtration system?That is a huge issue, as one who has used filters for years I can assure you that any filter remotely fine enough to be effective has a significant impedance to airflow and to have one case filtered better (or at all) that still achieves same noise levels is no small feat.
However, it's flawed. One can't design a case such that there's only passive intake and throw a filter on the front else it causes more air intake through the drives and port holes, accelerated dust accumulation in them and all the other seemingly minor gaps. Therefore, it's necessary to install the two front 92mm pusher fans and have them at high enough flow rate that the case has positive pressurization so filtered air is exahaust out the drives and gaps rather than sucked in. Those front fans will also signficantlly increase noise levels perceptible to the user, unfortunately, thuogh a bit of dense foam bonded to the front bezel (interior wall) will help.
It's not quite clear what kind of lighting was used to take the pictures, but it is disappointing that the two shades of white (plastic and paint) on the Antec didn't match up. IMO, two different shades of the same color (when off as much as in the picture) is even worse looking than if they had aimed for an entirely different color. Personally I hate glossy paint too, it never holds up as well and gets fingerprints on it.
overall, despite these things the Antec looks like a winner to me. In fact if I didn't know better I'd think they lifted a few ideas from various case mods I've posted over the years. Either way, I thought they were good ideas, they proved to be too, and I'd certainly want them on a case I bought instead of having to DIY.
Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Good observations... the lighting we use is chosen carefully so that it can bring out differences in materials somewhat moreso than normal.. that being said, the difference you're noticing in these pictures has been exaggerated and wouldn't be as noticable under normal lighting conditions. There still is a difference though, which is understandable since one surface is metal and the other is plastic, but I doubt you'll find the case unattractive. The finishes are very nice.bob4432 - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
a maddog psu? that is the best you as a reviewer have laying around? give me a break, at least throw in a old antec one or something, maddog - isn't that compusa generic stuff?Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Lol.. I've gotten this several times now. It's a solid, quiet, dependable, modular unit that's made by NEC. It's a great unit that we've chosen OVER similarly priced and even much more expensive units from antec, ocz, and thermaltake.photoguy99 - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I'm sure the first time I read the article it warned that people have been having problems with the P150 powersupplies.I've also seen reports of this.
Has it been removed from the article?
yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
If the article doesn't mention it, here you go:Antec has been aware of the problem with the NeoPower 430W PSU (with Asus motherboards) that happens to be the one included with the P150. They have fixed the problem but no idea if all the P150s that were already stocked at distributors have been sold by now and the new ones have worked into the system.
Either way, Antec support will work with you to swap you an updated model of the PSU.
puddnhead - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
For me thre are four standards to evaluate a case: cooling, noise, installation proagmatics, cost, and "interface" (getting stuff into and out of external ports and removobale media drives mounted in it). While I realize it's a subjective thing, IMO the last is too often ignored. THis review did a good job in one aspect, noting how far the USB ports are spaced apart. But it failed to notice what I immediately saw as a HUGE flaw in the "edotors choice" case, the X1: the USB, etc ports are BEHIND the door! SO if you have anything plugged into the port, the door MUST stay open. A door is nothing more than something that gets in the way if it can't be closed. AM I the only person in the world that has things plugged into front USB ports for more than a few seconds at a time (the amount of time the door on my current Sonata case is open, to insert and remove CDs & DVDs. The front ports, not behind the door & including firewire, is a big reason I went with the Sonata.What I would really like to see is a case that has USB/firewire/audio/etc ports AND one 5 1/4" drive bay not behind a door, and the rest of bays hidden behind the door. Like most people I suspect I pretty much have one CD/DVD drive I need access too a lot, and another less frequently, & of course other bays with no external access needed at all. That would be cool.
Zepper - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Why was the front fan mount on the X1 ignored in the review. Looks like it can hold a 120mm there too. Personally I'd mount the front and rear fans and block off the side fan (unless I was going to duct directly to the CPU) and any other large area of ventilation holes like those at the back. Looks (from the limited view in the one picture - should have taken the front bezel off and taken a shot of the naked front so we could see what's there for ourselves) like the front fan grille is very restrictive and would need to be cut out for best cooling. No real technical-level user or reviewer would have missed that.For the fellow in Australia looking for Raidmax, those cases are sold here under several names like Fudin and Logisys as well as Raidmax. I suppose that anyone that wants to can import them from Korea (I believe) and sell them under their own brand name. Another little item that any reviewer with any level of perspective on the PC market would know...
One would hope to get better than superficial, FANBOY-style reviews from AT. <rolleyes>
.bh.
Zepper - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Another question I have is why is there a Mad Dog PSU in there? That is one of CompUSA's in-house packagers. Raidmax usually uses L&C-type bottom-feeding junkboxes....bh.
Zepper - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
re. the Mad Dog PSU - OIC, the X1 can be had either with or without PSU. The OE one is a junky old design w/ only 14 Amps on the +12, so now we know the why of the PSU swap.And the 0.7mm metal thickness is marginal in my book. Can't imagine how that case could not feel flimsy and have ringy acoustics.
.bh.
Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Actually, we couldn't use included power supplies because the P150's unit would not allow us to boot the test bed.yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
For a review of the P150 based on what it was designed for (silence and usability) read this review: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article272-page1.htm...">http://www.silentpcreview.com/article272-page1.htm...Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I'm sorry, but spending $150, and then going to a lot of extra effort on top of that, all to get a computer as quiet as the X1 would've been in the first place for a third the price seems a little silly.I compared these cases for a reason... I really like the P150 too, but I really feel people need to know that there's much cheaper options that are just as/almost as good.
As for usability, you do have a nice point. The P150 definitely is a nice advancement in this regard. Still, please use some common courtesy and don't use the public comment space to advertise for other websites. Thanks.
yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
You also complain about "extra effort" when people looking at cases in the first place are DoItYourself-ers/BuiltMyOwn-ers. I hardly think unscrewing a fan to put some soft grommets b/w it and the case frame is so much effort that it negates the benefit. Considering this case already does the vast amount of what-was-formerly 'hard work' in making a case quiet, this case is truly exceptional. It even offers drive suspension standard (or grommetted drive sleds), a quiet fan w/ 3-speed adjustment, excellent airflow arrangement, silencing panels on the sides and top of the case, everything locks down so nothing rattles, and a quiet PSU. Seriously you can't ask for much more than that when it comes to quieting a system and this case offers all that stock without having to mod anything). That's hardly "extra effort" especially for someone who's already going through the effort of building their own system.Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I must ask you then, why with all of these advanced quieting components did it still make just as much noise as the X1? Personally I blame the tri-speed fan, as even set to the low speed setting it moved enough air to make a noticeable "whooshing" sound... compared to the absolutely silent power supply included with the P150 I found this rather strange. It was the exact same reason the P180 wasn't as quiet as I was expecting it to be.. I wouldn't be surprised to see antec tune their 120mm fans a tad so that the low speed setting is really as quiet as it could be.yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Also it's a joke for any Anandtech writer to complain about the price of the case when you guys do all your tests using FX-55/7800GTX/RAID Raptor God boxes (slight exaggeration to make a point). Anyone buying any of those over-priced aspects of a system can certainly afford to spend the money on a good case. I built a budget gaming system and I bought a P150 because for me it is very important to have a silent, stylish (not gaudy/kiddy), cool-running rig. That's more than worth the extra $$, imo.Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
It's not a joke to talk about price at all.. AT has always been a site about getting the best components for a particular user's needs, and unless your needs require you to have a more subtly styled case it's hard to recommend the P150 over the X1 based on factors such as noise, usability, and cooling performance. Just think back to our price guides or recommended gift items.. value-oriented products such as the 6800GS have historically gotten the highest recommendations - not the latest and greatest high-end uber-expensive stuff.Also, whether the people who are truly on the bleeding edge of style such as you and me choose to believe it or not, the cases that are a little more 'gimmicky' are still growing in popularity, not shrinking. Most people still haven't even heard of putting windows in computers, and think that kinda thing is "cool". It's no surprise at all that the elitist enthusiasts (including myself) who had a windowed case back in 2001 are going to look at those kinds of cases now and scoff at them, boasting "they're already out of style".. but a truly good reviewer has to take into account all these factors and write for the majority of all readers and even potential readers - not the majority of readers who are going to be vocal, or are forum regulars, and especially not for the majority of readers who have tons of money, time, and experience with working with cases... and I don't care how you try to slice it, the P150 does not fit in the category of "budget" when one could get a case like the E68 for $30... People seem to think that I don't even like the P150.. this is far from the truth.. I just feel that for that kind of a price premium it better offer the absolute best performance out-of-the-box, and this article is simply designed to open people's eyes a bit and be more careful with their money before automatically assuming that the more expensive a case is, the better it must be.
I was a little put-off by the manner in which the link to silentpcreview was posted because it immediately followed a comment implying that I didn't know what the P150 was designed for... if it wasn't meant as a passive attack on me then I apologize for my comment, but I have a hard time believing no one else read it that way.
Also, an excellent point was made about the X1's choice to put the USB ports behind the door and the implications of having a door covering the optical drives at all.. truly there are only certain users who will prefer to have a door, but for the ones who do the X1 is really a fine choice.
Lastly, the front fan mounting option in the X1 wasn't discussed at great length because the case performed quite well without it, but of course if one had more hard drives or hard drive temperatures were of utmost importance the option is there.
I hope I've cleared up some misconceptions, and helped at least a couple of you better understand where I'm coming from.
yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
The P150 is much quieter than either of the other two cases when properly configured. The operative words in that sentence are the closing phrase "when properly configured". A site like SilentPCReview is an excellent place to get more info about how to build and configure a truly silent system. It is not an advertisement, it is additional reading reference support for helping those interested in learning why it's the best of these three cases and how to use it to its full potential.photoguy99 - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Tamale you have made a bad point.The link posted was not any sort of advertisement or exploitation.
It was simply relevant to the discussion and I believe actually adds value to AnandTech because the discussion becomes richer and more complete.
Please "show a little common courtesy" and not feel threatened by something that only enriches the forums more.
Thank you.
noxipoo - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
most users here at anandtech have been around for years, and we have always talked about other sites besides anandtech. I don't see a problem linking to another review on the site. In fact Brandon used to do it on the news part on the homepage. It is not advertising in anyway for another review link. As for getting the p150 quieter, I'd rather do that than have the Raidmax because of the looks.gplracer - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I like the P-150 but where can you get white drives to match it? I would not want to put beige drives in it.yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
The covers over the bays actually rotate down out of the way when the drive opens. You never see your actual drives when they are closed. Hard to explain.ceefka - Saturday, January 14, 2006 - link
I put in a silver DVD burner and a silver 3,5" internal card reader. That doesn't look too bad either IMHO.yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Yes, the Antec P150 is the best case EVER. No really, it's awesome. I wish they'd offer it without the included PSU though, since that PSU has issues with some Asus boards. I ended up buying a different PSU ahead of time since I knew that and was getting an A8N-SLI Premium.I highly recommend the P150. No reason for any other case unless you simply need MORE room than it offers.
The best part about the P150 is you can build a silent PC system in it very easily. I have the included 120mm fan on the lowest setting and insulated from the case itself with rubber grommets so it's totally silent, a TruePowerII 480w PSU (has a 120mm fan inside it) which is totally silent, the harddrive isolated with the included grommets, the CPU fan throttled down dynamically with CPUSpeed, and the GPU fan throttled with ATITool.
It's also high quality part and construction-wise.
Live - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
The optional front fans in the P150 are for 92mm.Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
fixed.xsilver - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
anybody here from Australia? know where I can get the raidmax X1? not sure if there are any australian distributers -- (cant find anybody on staticice.com.au)Cygni - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
My only comment is with the title of the article. Probably should be a bit more descriptive... like "Cases - 3 Way Price Point Shootout" or something,.balilu - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Is the P150 available in black or any chance of being in the near future?Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I haven't seen any indication that antec is going to release other models of the P150.. that being said, you might want to check out their Sonata II reviewed several months back.Avalon - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Raidmax getting an editor's gold choice award makes me giggle inside.Googer - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Why does the title of the page sayate: January 13th, 2006
Topic: Cases & Cooling
Manufacturer: 3Com/U.S. Robotics
Author: Joshua Buss
Why is 3Com and US Robotics listed? 3COM Spun them off and they are no longer part of 3COM. Also 3COM and US Robotics do not make PC Cases and there were no other USR or 3COM Components reviewed in this article.
Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
no idea. Thanks for point it out....Chuckles - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I must say that as a computer geek, I prefer my computers to be able to work without space restrictions. Thus a side fan is really quite a pain. It means that I cannot set the computer against a wall on that side, which is where I typically put them. Its the one thing that really irks me about the Raidmax my PC is in. Apple and Antec (at least on the P150 and Sonata) have it right. Move airflow through areas that will always have clearance. The front and back of a computer will always have space to move air, likewise, if the case design is clever enough, the top and bottom can be made to always have air space. The sides are difficult to guarantee the airspace for without bulking up the width of the computer.Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
You bring up a good point, but plenty of people put their computers on their desks too, and a side fan not only isn't an issue for them most likely, but can also provide for cool air to come in more directly on critical componentsmindless1 - Saturday, January 14, 2006 - link
Side fan almost always necessitates a front fan to keep hard drives cool enough. Some ignore this and use the side fan anyway... ever notice that some people have hard drive after hard drive fail then swear company "X" makes crap drives? Heck in our forums right now there's a thread about seagates overheating but when they point a fan at it, suddely it runs ok!Rebel44 - Monday, July 31, 2006 - link
Yeah they are going to fry at least dozen HDDs before they realize what they are doing wrong.kilkennycat - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Insufficient power for dual-graphics cards in combo with single/dual-core high-end processors.Extremely cramped. Difficult access for updates.
Constrained or near non-existent front-panel intake ventilation.
The failure of the P150 power-supply is not surprising. The power-supplies chosen to be bundled with many cases are not normally top-of-the-line.
Consider the Antec P160 instead --- somewhat larger, but far superior in many practical ways. ~ $110 @ Fry's and on-line. Aluminum. Screwdriver-less assembly except for the side-accessible hard-disk-tray shock-mounting. Slotted thumbscrews throughout. Removable motherboard tray, excellent cable-access. ample front-ventilation with intake filter, no silly front-panel door, front-panel individual flip-open shutters for dual CD/DVD-drives, tilt "front-panel" with dual thermal-monitor (very accurate too...) and including Firewire, dual-USB, microphone and headphone-audio sockets. Comes without any power-supply - great ! Power-supply choice can be tailored correctly for the intended computer application.
3 months ago I spent about 3 weeks of intermittent time looking at PC cases ( both on-line pictures and in-store physically disassembling/reassembling, much to the annoyance of sales-dweebs ) in price ranges from $250 to $50 before settling on the P160 for a very high-performance dual-SLI gaming PC. Just one externally obvious design defect - the huge on-off switch is far too easily accidentally pressed. I just left it disconnected and instead connected the far smaller and less-accessible reset-switch as the on-off switch. ( Pressing Reset is not recommended on a modern Windows PC anyway. A momentary press of the on/off switch normally triggers an orderly OS shut-down.) And I can just unplug the front-slot blue lights when/if I get tired of them. ( Sorry, I am just not into this "form-over-function" nonsense that has permeated the PC case industry. There are some pretty-looking but truly-awful case designs out there from even the stalwart case-manufacturers ).
BTW, in any further comparative reviews of PC cases, please give a tabular summary of the salient features/Specs of all the cases before plunging into individual detailed reviews.
huges84 - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I too bought the P160. After searching for three weeks I decided that it was the best for me. The only downside was the high price point. Fortunately, CompUSA had the case on sale for $100 plus there was a $50 mail-in-rebate. They only had one left and couldn't find the box, so I talked to the manager and got it for $50 out the door.I have had this case for a year now and I agree with everything the above poster said. Including the fact that the power button is too easy to hit. I think that I too will switch to the reset button. The only other downside to this case is that the Firewire connector is a bunch of individual wires that you have to match up to the correct pins. That is a pain in the butt.
There are a few more good features to point out about the P160. The side and front panels are lockable (the front you have to lock from the inside with your own padlock or bolt). Also, the rear 120mm fan is mounted on silicon studs to reduce vibrations. And the front fan is a single 120mm instead of two 90mm fans. Also, if you want a side window, there is an optional one available.
I too would like there to be a features table for each case like we get with motherboard reviews.
LoneWolf15 - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Antec's later models of the P160 provide both methods for Firewire, single plug and breakout, on the same cable. I'm using the single plug on mine. They also included two 120mm fans standard on the later models, whereas they only provided one early on. I have the side window model.I too agree that the P160 is one of the better cases out there (I also agree that the P150 is the only case in the review that'd stand a chance of entering my home). The only thing the P160 didn't have, I fixed: I now have a custom 120mm blowhole in the top that I made myself (picture at http://home.comcast.net/~dterborg/blowhole02.jpg">this link)with a 120mm Panaflo L1A mounted with rubber grommets to reduce noise. So my case has three 120mm fans instead of two. I've also quieted mine with sound dampening adhesive-backed foam sheets, and mounted my fans with gel inserts to quiet them further. It's indeed the case for everyone who needs the best of everything, without tacky looks.
kilkennycat - Saturday, January 14, 2006 - link
Where did you get the self-adhesive foam sheets ? I was looking at adding ~3/4-inch polystyrene to the 2 side-covers ( no window ), but your solution is simpler - no special polystyrene glue.LoneWolf15 - Monday, January 16, 2006 - link
It's called Pax-Mate. It's not the best noise-dampening stuff out there (and not nearly as thick as your polystyrene) but it's easy to measure, cut, and apply, and far less expensive (a kit of it can be had for $20 at FrozenCPU and some other places).I have totally different components now, but for a decent look at what I did, check out this forum thread on HardOCP (high bandwidth warning):
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=834825">http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=834825
Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Opinion noted... and yes, these cases definitely are not for everyone, but many people are simply looking for a simple solution that's "good enough" for average components, and that's where the Raidmax really looks nice here.Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
You know, several of those descriptions never did sit well with me.. and perhaps I am a little too biased towards the geekier look... I'll try to tone down my enthusiasm for the X1 a bit.As for the hard mounting vs. soft mounting, our maxtor IDE drive is very very quiet, and seeking noises couldn't be heard in the P150 at all even using the "hard" (silicone grommets) mount.
Seeking sounds were only barely audible in the E68 and X1.
strikermlc - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I'm sorry, but the statement about the p150 falling short because it doesn't even have a "classy window" on the side is incredibly funny to me. Personally the p150 is the only one out of the three cases that would aesthetically have a chance of making it into an open living space in my home. I'm just as big of a gamer and hardware geek as anyone and I've been a daily reader of anandtech for years - but that comment in my opinion clearly reinforces that while anandtech should be held in very high regard for their knowledge of hardware - their aesthetic evaluations are clearly lacking.While the front of the raidmax case is not unforgivable - the side panel is. The window is downright tacky and the decorative arrows around the window are laughable - as if the window that will soon be displaying countless oversized glowing fans and other lights is incapable of attracting enough attention on it's own?
I realize everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And while I'm sure there are plenty of twelve year old anandtech readers drooling over this case, the window on this case is in no means and under no circumstances "classy" and it never will be. There have got to be plenty of adult readers at anandtech that will agree with me on this point.
True class is understated - and that's what I want my case to exhibit. Well designed functionality, quiet, crisp clean lines and quality materials - brushed metal and glossy paint are certainly fine, it doesn't have to be boring by any means. It just shouldn't fill the room with a whirling, glowing, fire-eating circus show.
Ah well, I've made my point. $0.02 from a graphic designer that loves his pc's and computer hardware just as much as the next anandtech reader, and unlike most graphic designers, regard's mac's as simply an overpriced novelty item.
Thanks and good night.
aaron
yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Well stated, aaron. The P150 is the most mature looking of the three cases - the most gimmick-free. Everything about it is functional and meant to meet its design goals of the best quiet-computing mid-tower on the market. It succeeds.Erssa - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I cannot believe that the amateur reviewer hardmounted the HDD instead of using the soft mount method, that would have subjectively really made a difference in sound levels.Very superficial review overall. I wonder what the reviewer would have said about the cases had he used a silent cpu cooler (even zalman 7700cu fan mated would have been good) and passive GPU. I believe it would have really turned out the table for antecs advantage. Sound measurements from the sides would have been a nice addition aswell. Since antec was the only case that had no ways for sound to escape from the side. Measuring noise from 6" doens't make too much sense either since nobody has his head 6" from the front of his computer. Something like 1m would have been nice, but that would have probably ment that combined with more silent combonents the sound measuring device would have proved itself inadequate.
Xenoterranos - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
That wouldn't have really been a case test then would it? It would have been a silent-cpu-cooler-and-passive-gpu-cooler-in-cases-x-y-and-z test.While I can't disagree on the technical merrits of the Raidmax case, those little blue triangles really turn me off. Maybe I'm just not aesthetically inclined.
Trippytiger - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
The Antec may be the most expensive of the group, but it seems to me that it also comes with the most trustworthy power supply of the three as well. I know I'd want to replace the power supply in that Raidmax case if I were going to use it.Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
You can get it without one entirely if you want for only $50. Also, heed my note about the Raidmax supply - it's been running strong (and still is by the way) in another decently-equipped PC here in my lab.mindless1 - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
It's been running, but what is "strong"? That it runs? The question with such PSU is not does it run but how long it does and what happens when it begins failing. If it does not last the life of the system, another PSU must be bought and all savings are negated.Tamale - Saturday, January 14, 2006 - link
By strong I simply mean steady voltages, even under load. And of course, length of life is an issue, but I've only had the power supplies for a few weeks, so I comment on that much, other than the fact that both Antec supplies I received have problems with the 3.3v rail.leofischer - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I doubt the drives were suspended, because he says'Also note the rubber bands stretched across the sides of this cavity. While we're not 100% sure, we are fairly certain that this is an effort to help minimize vibrations from the hard drives that may cause additional noise within the case.'
duh..
Doesn't seem like he realised what the bands were for. I assume there is some kind of explanation accompanying the case or mention of the suspension method in literature, but I wouldn't know.
Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Thanks for the quick criticism guys. Article updated.Please continue to scrutinize :)
Viditor - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Another comment for your conclusion (which is important for those of us that do video work)...the P150 is the only one of the 3 that has Firewire connector in front (as far as I can tell). If you could list the specs of each case at the head of that cases segment, that would also help (e.g. number of 3.5 slots, front firewire connector, etc...).Cheers!
ceefka - Saturday, January 14, 2006 - link
The P150 also features a cable organizer. If you take of the right panel, you'll see it at the right side of the internal 3,5" drive bays. This can make your cabling a lot tidier than the picture in the review shows.The FireWire connection is S400 on an Intel standard. Those who wish to connect AMD boards might want to call Antec for an adapter cable.
All'n'all I think the P150 looks like a fridge. I bought it though because it made the most sense for its price.
Tamale - Saturday, January 14, 2006 - link
I've heard the P180 referred to as a fridge much moreso than the P150.. hehebut yah, good catch on the cable organizer.
andrewln - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
i wonder if they suspended the hard drive or they used the brackets.... it makes a difference when the hard drive seeksyacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
For that matter I wonder if they had the 3-speed 120mm fan it comes with on the lowest setting for the sound tests or still ramped up to max from the cooling tests.gman003 - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Why only 3 cases in the roundup? Not much to compare to... :-(In any case, I would really love to see an Aspire case tested against these sometime. I've been building with them for a while now and IMO they look better and cool better than Antec or other so called "Gaming" cases.
Raidmax and Antec cases are nice, but Raidmax is too chinsy with their materials at times and Antec is sooooo overpriced sometimes that one really shouldn't even consider them anymore as their go to case because of so many other competing vendors out there with high quality cases at cheaper prices.
mindless1 - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
True, Antec is often overpriced but (putting aside the possible issues with the power supply), it's expected that with the Antec one has a power supply they can use long-term. Raidmax power supplies I wouldn't even install in most systems. What would be most interesting is a P150 discounted due to no power supply until the issues with the present one are resolved.oofboi754 - Thursday, March 31, 2022 - link
This case isn't so bad. Put in some Noctua Fans in the front and back ant it keeps my 3060ti (EVGA XC) and 12700kf (NH-U12S) at a comfortable 40 Degrees Celcius when idling. The Noctua Fans combines with the quiet nature of this case keep my rig silent as possible. For it's age, the cable managment isn't bad, it just takes a bit of creative thinking. This case is great for a Sleeper PC like I made.