CES 2005 - Antec's New Lineup

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Kurtis Kronk
Brian

Jan. 11, 2005

Specifications

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Sonata II

The Sonata II had us really excited about meeting with Antec, and I must say I liked the changes that they made from the original. The design remains largely the same, but with some very effective changes and some nifty new features.

Let's start out with the improved cooling. As you may recall, the original Sonata's airflow was severely limited by the front panel design. They made a relatively minor, albeit very effective change to this front panel. The bottom of the panel bows outwards slightly to allow a larger hole for fresh air to flow in through the front of the case.

Another relatively minor change Antec decided to make regarding cooling was removing the stamped out ANTEC name on the top of the side panels. The problem with the holes being stamped into the side panels, at least from my perspective, was not that they were not esthetically pleasing, rather that they were an inlet for air, and subsequently, dust.

The biggest change that was made to the Sonata's cooling configuration is the duct that comes with the Sonata II. This duct pulls air in through the bottom rear of the case, routing it up to your CPU, and if you choose it can also blow fresh air on your video card. If you so choose, you may attach a 92mm fan to the CPU cooling area of the duct, and an 80mm fan to the GPU portion of the duct (if you choose to open that part of the duct up). The duct is also adjustable horizontally and vertically so as to allow you to line up the duct with your CPU on a variety of motherboard configurations. Another small note is that the included rear 120mm fan is one of Antec's most recent creations. A small switch trails from the fan which allows you to set it to run at one of three speeds - lo/med/hi.

I didn't get a picture of it, but the door on the Sonata can open up to 270° - that means it can sit flat against the left panel of the case for those of you who don't know have a protractor handy. Most of the other new cases that Antec showed us also had a similar door design to allow you to open them up to 270°. The paintjob on the Sonata II is just as beautiful, and reflective, as it was with the original.

Since I was so excited about seeing the Sonata II I'd also like to talk about my personal opinion a little bit. While I was very pleased with the changes that were made, I was just a little let down that it still looked largely the same as the original Sonata. However, being that it is a new version of the original Sonata, I don't think they could have changed the outward appearances much while still being able to call it a Sonata. A couple of things that I would have liked to see, however unrealistic, is the removal of the door entirely - perhaps replaced by stealthed bays, a better method of installation for the optional front 120mm fan, and a removable right side panel to help with wire management. Of course my first request would totally change the look of the case and it would no longer be called a Sonata, but they could name it after me for all I care!

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Page 1: Introduction / Power Supplies / VCOOL
Page 2: Silent Rackmount / TITAN 500
Page 3: Performance TX Series / BK640 MicroBTX
Page 4: Sonata II
Page 5: Performance One P180 / Conclusion

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20 User Comments

1 - Posted by PennyManDeux on February 8, 2005 - 6:47 pm

Those are some sweet looking cases. Can't wait for them to come out.

Will you guys be reviewing them?

2 - Posted by Kurtis on February 8, 2005 - 7:47 pm

what do you think? :D

3 - Posted by J2T on February 9, 2005 - 7:59 am

Man, I like that P180..thats more my style. Can't wait for the review ;)

4 - Posted by PennyManDeux on February 9, 2005 - 10:38 am

Yeah the P180 looks aweeesome. It's got so many features although I'm sure it will weigh a ton. Oh well, I don't go to LAN parties.

Any idea when you will be reviewing them?

5 - Posted by Kurtis on February 9, 2005 - 10:40 am

As soon as I can get my hands on them they will get reviewed. I would imagine we'll be one of the first to review their new stuff. We'll see :) I need to start talking with them and find out what the release schedule is going to be and get something lined up

6 - Posted by Brian on February 9, 2005 - 10:44 am

Right. The cases they were displaying in Vegas were pre-production cases. When they have the final models we will definitely get our hands on them. Should be in the next few months if I remember correctly but I don't have my notes here.

7 - Posted by Kurtis on February 9, 2005 - 10:49 am

yeah they said late feb, maybe march for most of them if memory serves correctly

8 - Posted by SAMSAMHA on February 10, 2005 - 3:33 am

very nice, love antec's stuff.

9 - Posted by Thaw_Out on February 10, 2005 - 9:13 pm

I just think the top exhaust on that case looks ugly. And overall I don't think it looks as nice as the P-160. But I really admire the air flow of the new P-180. I wish my P-160 case, had as good air flow in it. It gets very hot inside of my case.

In other words, I envy the P-180's air flow, but not it looks.

10 - Posted by Kurtis on February 10, 2005 - 10:02 pm

Hm, I disagree. I think it looks great. The thing on the top of the case is removable too, I think...

11 - Posted by J2T on February 11, 2005 - 8:03 am

I disagree as well, the main turnoff for me about the P160 was the plastic looking front bezel and this seems to fix that issue tenfold.

12 - Posted by Brian on February 11, 2005 - 8:55 am

It's removable, but not for looks. It has holes and a large indentation which makes it look like something is missing, because it is.

13 - Posted by Kurtis on February 11, 2005 - 8:58 am

lol... nothin' a lil bondo couldn't fix :P

14 - Posted by Brian on February 11, 2005 - 8:59 am

Unless you're the one doing it ;-)

15 - Posted by Kurtis on February 11, 2005 - 9:00 am

i'm going to go sit in a corner and cry now... :(

16 - Posted by Thaw_Out on February 11, 2005 - 10:33 am

I prefer cases where the top of the case is designed to be flat. Where if there is an exhaust vent on top, then it is flat and level with the top of the case.

By the way, I think that I would also miss the temperature display on my P-160 if I upgraded to the P-180. I gotten use to looking at the display on my P-160 for my temperatures. I'm surprised they didn't add some sort of LCD or LED temperature display on the new P-180, if they truly wanted it to be a successor to the P-160.

17 - Posted by Brian on February 11, 2005 - 10:35 am

There is an indention in the shape of the vent along with several long holes used to secure the vent in place. Plus I think there is a weird hole for the fan in the middle of it all.

18 - Posted by Brian on February 11, 2005 - 10:36 am

Thaw_Out, I see you got your account up and running. Everything good?

19 - Posted by Thaw_Out on February 11, 2005 - 10:38 am

Yes, everything seemed fine. Thank you for taking the time to fix it for me.

It was appreciated.

20 - Posted by Guest on March 9, 2005 - 11:56 am

I built a Aria system, loaded -- with 3 large drives, ATI's AIW video, and HDTV card. Love the form factor, but not the noise and the occational(too hot?) restarts. I will add a Vcool which I hope will slow the power supply fan. If not, next will be dampeners, then big holes in the factory-finish case.

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