Antec P180 Mid-Tower Case
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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
Antec
Dec. 21, 2005
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Quality Check
My quality check basically consists of three things: Structural Integrity, Installation, and Safety. My structural integrity testing is where I apply pressure to the case from different directions and check to see if the frame can be easily bent or twisted out of shape. Installation is the process of installing the various system components and making sure that installation goes smoothly. Lastly, the safety testing is a result of the installation process. After installing everything, I should be left without open wounds, but if I am wounded in battle I will make note of it and warn you which trouble areas to watch out for.
Structural Integrity
The P180 is a solid, well built case. It didn't give even a little during the push and twist test. I expected no less from a high-end Antec case.
Installation
Antec's P180 has loads of features, which makes it more likely that there will be some issues during the installation process. One of the first questions I asked Antec during my review was why they decided not to put a removable motherboard tray in the P180 design, it seems like it would be a perfect fit with this case. The answer I received was that they had considered implementing a removable mobo tray, but for a few reasons they decided not to. First, it would weaken the structure. Second, the whole goal of this case for Antec's engineers was to make as few loose parts as possible to help with avoiding vibration, and thus noise. They were also concerned that there isn't enough spare room for a removable tray and the rails that would be needed to secure it. Lastly, and I think this was their most honest answer, implementing a removable tray would increase the cost of the case past the price point Antec was aiming for.
The next issue I came across was with the huge CPU/GPU duct. I personally just found it to be annoying, but I use my computer differently than the average user. Allow me to explain. My job as a hardware reviewer gives me the opportunity to test the latest graphics cards, memory, hard drives, etc. on the market; testing hardware requires tooling around inside my test rig, and often at that. I simply can't be bothered with a large CPU duct that is in the way of the PCI slots; sure, it's easy to remove, but it's just another unnecessary step for me in the installation process. The reason I mention this is that I ended up just removed the duct entirely for the sake of convenience. With all that said, it is unlikely that you open your case and tool around as often as I do, so you probably won't have any problems with the duct. It is a nice feature and it should help bring your CPU and GPU temperatures down a little.
The process of installing hard drives is smooth, but I did sometimes have a problem when trying to remove hard drives. Occasionally when I pull out the bottom HDD cage with hard drives installed, the back of the hard drives hit something to keep you from removing the cage. You have to jiggle the cage back and forth a little to get clearance.
I quickly found out that installing an external 3.5" drive can be a real pain in the butt. This bay is strangely placed sandwiched between the two removable hard drive cages, making it difficult to plug cables into a device. What I recommend is sticking any cables that need to be plugged into the device through the front of the case (through that bay of course) and plug everything in before sliding the device into place. This could become tricky though if you're dealing with something like a 3.5" fan controller and you don't have enough slack in the fan wires, but technically this case is full of Antec's TriCool fans, so you shouldn't need a fan controller.
Speaking of the TriCool fans, I had a rather bothersome problem with them making strange rattling noises now and then. I also received a complaint about a similar issue with a 120mm (non-TriCool) PSU fan on Antec's Overture 2. Here's an excerpt from the reader's email:
"Well, I don't know if I am the only one that got another problem with the PSU fan after getting the rpm down. Took a few days before I noticed, but the fan starts to make some strange noise, probably the bearings because its not ball bearings in it. Sounds like "Brrrrrr' or something and when it happens it's pretty loud. My old Zalman fan did something similar when the bearings got dry and worn out. If I put my finger in the fan it stops and it can go on for days before it happens again. But I got tired of it so got my self a replacement fan!"
I'm really not sure what the problem is with the fans Antec is using, but I had exactly the same issue with the TriCool fans in the P180. The way I temporarily fixed the problem when it happened was to just knock the vent next to the offending fan, and it would stop at least for a little while. I noticed that two of the fans (the top exhaust and the rear exhaust) had this problem.
Another noise-related issue I had wasn't directly the fault of the case, but it is something you should be aware of. While this case is designed with near-silence in mind, it may not be as quiet as you'd like if you're using a stock CPU or GPU cooler. What I mean is that you will be able to hear everything loud and clear through the top exhaust vent. I would advise that you either purchase silent solutions (such as those from Zalman) for your CPU and GPU cooling needs, or you can do what I did: relocate the top exhaust fan to the top front intake position and then use a bunch of duct tape or electrical tape to seal off the top exhaust from the inside.
The last issue I would like to mention is regarding wire management. The position of the power supply in the bottom of the case can make wire management a much tougher challenge than usual. Plus, the motherboard is oriented in the standard position rather than being upside down, which could be an issue if your power supply's ATX Power cable is not long enough. I would also recommend immediately removing the 120mm fan in front of the power supply if your power supply has a fan. The reason is that it makes it much easier to route your cables if you don't have to go up and over that fan, rather you can just go through the hole where the fan was once installed. This greatly helped, though wire management was still not easy. I also found the sliding plastic cable organization gadget on the bottom of the top chamber to be more annoying than anything - it just wasn't really effective.

Safety
After working with this case for months, I'm surprised to say that I never once managed to cut myself - not because the case is poorly designed or anything, just because I'm clumsy and it's unusual for me to not injure myself. Nearly all the edges are folded and rolled to keep your little fingers safe. There are a few unfolded edges, but they are in secluded areas. For example, under the bottom hard drive cage there are a couple metal flaps which are not folded or rolled and could potentially cut you, but they sit under the hard drive cage. Basically, if you cut yourself on this case, I would be very surprised, but it's possible.
1 - Posted by
J2T
on December 22, 2005 - 8:05 am
I like the looks from the outside, but the inside just seems too cluttered for my liking. Also, I just can't see myself going back to a case without a slide out motherboard tray. It seems like they tried to somewhat copy the Lian Li V series cases, but forgot a few things.
2 - Posted by
handrail
on December 22, 2005 - 10:51 am
that's really sad. i love my slk3700amb antec case. i'm kind of disappointed in antec.
You recommended the Cooler Mater Wavemaster over this one, but that case uses 80mm fans and looks to have somewhat restricted front air intake.
I want to buy a new case in that range/style area. I was looking at getting the P180 until I read your review. The Wavemaster sure looks like a viable option, but is that the case you would recommend the most for that market area, or did you just offer it up as one possible alternative?
4 - Posted by
Kurtis
on December 26, 2005 - 8:05 pm
well, in my review i said that the wavemaster doesn't have as many features (including silence), but overall it is a higher quality case. if you just want the features, i suppose the p180 is the better deal, but you need to be aware of the problems i stated in the review. it's not a bad case, just isn't as good as i would expect from antec in the quality department - i had too many problems with too many of those features.
the wavemaster could be turned into a pretty quiet case if you take the effort to replace all the fans with quieter ones and have all silent components.
i think to get the quality we look for in cases with the featureset you see in the p180, you'd have to look towards cases from the likes of Lian-Li. Of course, that's a whole different price point.
what i recommend you do is go back to my p180 review and read closely each of the pages and jot down the issues i mention which you are concerned about. don't just skip to the conclusion and take my final recommendation as the law, you may not care that much about the individual issues i experienced.
Thanks, I did read through the entire article but I'll look through it again. They both look like pretty good cases I just need to make up my mind about what I want.
6 - Posted by
Dyrewolph
on December 26, 2005 - 9:50 pm
7 - Posted by
Kurtis
on December 27, 2005 - 12:03 am
silenx, pfft.
just go with panaflo or papst. :)
8 - Posted by
Dyrewolph
on December 27, 2005 - 2:46 am
SilenX 80mm - 28CFM at 14dBA
Papst 80mm - 26CFM at 19dBA
Panaflo 80mm (low speed) - 24CFM at 21dBA
you can also get the SilenX in red blue or green led at the same specs...
9 - Posted by
Kurtis
on December 27, 2005 - 2:54 am
just because a manufacturer lists something in the specs doesn't mean it is true. every manufacturer has the right to test their products with some degree of freedom. they may have measured sound from further away etc.
papst and panaflo are just really well known for their quality and silence - though they also make some louder high-airflow fans too.
for that matter, nexus also makes some really quiet fans i think. silenx ones may be silent, they're just not as well known as the two i mentioned.
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CVG Mar. 18, 2010 - 11:53 pm
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