Antec Sonata Mid Tower Case

Reviews: Cases

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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
Atacom
Jul. 26, 2003

First Impressions

Just by looking at this case, you can tell it is quality. The Antec name stylishly drilled into the side panels, the flawless automotive paint job, the chrome I/O door and buttons, all calling your name, begging you to hear the silence. As you know by now, one of the Sonata's main selling points is the fact that it emits very little noise. Both the included 120mm fan and the Silent 380W PSU are capable of running under stressed conditions while emitting very little sound. So far this case has looks and low sound emission, let's see what else Antec has for us.

Opening the Case

The first thing I opened on this case was the front door. With the front door opened you will see that there are three (3) external 5.25" bays, two (2) 3.5" bays removable from the front via rails, chrome power / reset buttons, and HDD activity / power LEDs. With the door opened, you will also notice that the doors locking mechanism is made out of plastic, as are the hinges. The hinges on this case are sturdier than the plastic hinges found on most cases however, mainly because they are so short. I personally prefer full metal doors and metal locks, just because it makes the case sturdier and more secure, but it is just a matter of personal preference. With the added strength of metal doors and locks comes extra weight which may make a case go from portable to slightly portable. Now look a bit below the front door, you will see a front I/O port. This I/O port lets you plug in two (2) USB devices, a Firewire device, Headphones, and a Microphone. The I/O port also looks great with a chrome horizontal swivel door and clear sides that glow a very nice blue when the computer is on.

One of the best things to happen to the case industry are thumbscrews, and this case has two of them (nice aluminum ones at that). To remove the left panel you will first need to remove the thumbscrews that are holding the door firmly in place. Once the thumbscrews have been removed, simply pull on the door handle, and pull the door off. If you are familiar with the door on the Dragon style of cases, this one is very similar. With all the cases I have seen, this is the type of door I prefer because it is the easiest to remove (in my opinion). The only downside to this door is the fact that the locking mechanism is made out of plastic. However, if someone wanted to get into your case without your permission, they would find a way to do so, with or without plastic locking mechanisms.

Inside the Sonata

With the left panel removed, the first thing you will probably see is a bundle of wires dangling from the included 380W PSU. You will also see the included rear 120mm fan, a large multilingual user's manual (English, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish), PSU cable, sideways removable internal 3.5" drive trays, and a brown box. Something you can't immediately see is the 120mm fan mount behind the front panel, but it is there. Unlike most cases that use 80mm fans for case cooling, this case uses the larger 120mm fans to push more air while remaining quiet. Another great feature in this case is the sideways removable drive trays. These make installing and uninstalling new hard drives a breeze; you won't have to dodge video/sound cards any longer! Hard drives are mounted on the trays with a rubber washer in between the hard drive and the tray. This will dampen any noise created from the hard drives vibration. Inside the brown box I mentioned you will find screws, four (4) plastic clips for installing a second 120mm fan, keys for locking the side panel and front door, and a spiffy looking Antec case badge.

Something you can't see is the drive rails, or screw holes for mounting devices in the top five (5) bays. This is because the drive rails are neatly hidden to avoid case clutter! (Great idea, Antec) To get to the drive rails all you need to do is remove the plastic 5.25" drive bay covers. Behind each bay cover there are two purple clips. If you want to completely remove the front panel on the case, you will need to do it from the inside. There are 6 clips that need to be pushed toward the outside of the case and forward. Most cases have front panels that remove in the same fashion, so you should be able to figure that out.

In case you were wondering, this case does not feature tool-less PCI card installation. Through my experience with tool-less mechanisms, I have found that they usually are lacking in quality anyways and are unable to mount taller cards, and then the mechanism has to be removed to allow card installation.

As I mentioned earlier, the Sonata comes with a 380W PSU. What I didn't mention was that this is no ordinary PSU. This PSU is not only incredibly silent, but it also packs a couple of features that I have never seen before. On the exterior, there is a black piece of plastic covering the optional external molex connector. This is great because if you are like me, you can test stuff outside of your case without having to open it up. You can also plug in cold cathodes or other products to be displayed on your desk. Your imagination is all that limits you for uses of this external molex connection. Another great feature this PSU has is two (2) included connections specifically for the case fans (2 x 120mm) labeled "Fan Only." Using these connections instead of the other, normal, molex connections, will cause your case fans speed to be dependent on the case temperature, slowing down and lowering the fan noise when only a little airflow is needed. This is because the PSU uses "Antec Low Noise Technology' circuitry. Aside from those nifty features, this is a normal quality Antec PSU.

Quality Inspection

The quality of this case is, in a word, outstanding. The paint job on this case is phenomenal and Antec even took the time to put the high quality paint on the bottom of the case. It is the little details like this that shows how much Antec cares about producing high quality products. Antec also folded all the edges, so throw those bandages away! Although there are no "L' brackets in the corners of this case, Antec still managed to make it very sturdy. I even stood on the case to test its durability ( =D ). One thing you will want to watch out for is magnetic darts... Yes, I said magnetic darts. The other day while playing with my magnetic darts in the living room, I missed horribly and hit the top of the Sonata. The bad news is that it chipped the paint. The good news is that it only chipped a tiny spot of paint that is barely noticeable. So, if you have magnetic darts, do not throw them anywhere near your case, whether it be an Antec Sonata or a plain Gateway case. Actually on second thought, if you have a Gateway computer, throw an unimaginably large magnetic dart at it. (Sorry! I am joking. Gateway is a fantastic company that does not rip you off. Nope, not at all!).

To continue quality testing I inspected the airflow setup. As you can see from the pictures, the side panels each have holes stamped out of them to spell out "Antec.' What you don't know is that this disrupts airflow as well as let in dust. On the front of the case there is an empty 120mm fan mount, which would be a bit nicer with a pre-installed Antec fan. Unfortunately, for some reason Antec decided not to include the 120mm intake fan with the case. The front panel of the Sonata was designed to let in air from the sides to keep a clean style (as shown below). Airflow would be better if they had designed a larger hole for air intake. Also on the front panel, or rather, behind it, is a washable air filter that can be removed from the bottom of the case (see picture below). This is a nice little feature because it keeps evil dust armies from surprise attacking your components.

Conclusion

Overall this is an outstanding case that offers some great features, excellent quality, and silence! The sideways removable internal 3.5" drive trays are great for swapping hardware, making it as easy as possible. The included power supply is outstanding and even features an external molex connector. This case also features an included rear 120mm Antec fan, and room for another in the front of the case. And don't forget about the washable air filter that can be removed without even opening the case! Like a lot of the newer cases that are coming out, this case also sports a front I/O port. Not only does this case have great functionality, it also looks fantastic. The black automotive paint finish is a great touch, especially when combined with the chrome accents in the case badge and the front I/O port.

Pros

High quality paint job
Front I/O interface
Temperature controlled case fans
Thumbscrews
Easily removable left panel
Included 380W PSU w/ special features
3.5" Removable cage
120mm fan mounts!
Quality construction
Detailed multilingual manual

Cons

Holes in side panel (spelling Antec) let in dust
Airflow could be better
Plastic locks / hinges
No motherboard tray

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25 User Comments

1 - Posted by Rich on July 26, 2003 - 11:32 am

Photos look good. Some of them appear to be washed out, but that may be due to the White backgroud with dark subject matter. Very nice detail on all the case peices. Looks like a quality case. I would agree that the drilled Antec logo is a bit much.

2 - Posted by handrail on July 26, 2003 - 12:10 pm

ooooo, nice backdrop. looks like a high class porno shoot! :P

sweet case. i love my antec case. the make the good shizz.

3 - Posted by Kurtis on July 26, 2003 - 12:43 pm

lol porno shoot.

yea antec is great quality :)

also notice that we no longer put numerical scores on the reviews, we just put pros and cons and let reader make up their own score :)

4 - Posted by David on July 26, 2003 - 12:56 pm

Hi,

I recently purchased one of these excellent cases, and have just completed my 'build'.

The side panel was secured with ordinary screws though, rather than thumbscrews, so perhaps this is a very recent change.

Also, it is not necessary to remove the front panel (which is not all that easy anyway, as the other side panel is fixed) to access the drive mounting rails... just remove the appropriate blanking plate!

I found the front USB connections a bit of a pain though, as they are all single wires, rather than in a block, so you need pretty small fingers!

The sideways mounting of the hard drives was a good idea I thought, and makes for a much neater cable arrangement, particularly if you have them coming out of the 'back'. Can't recall whether or not you mentioned the rubber mounting 'gromets' (and special screws) for mounting the hard drives, but I thought that this was another nice touch, and one which should help to minimise vibration and noise. It was good to get a printed manual also.

I am actually based in the UK, not that it should make any diference, but I enjoyed reading your review!

Whoops... just realised that I hadn't mentioned the photos, but yes, they looked very profesional, I thought!

-David-

5 - Posted by Kurtis on July 26, 2003 - 1:09 pm

Thanks. About the USB connections, those are always a pain, and I usually just choose not to use them. Though if you can get them plugged in it makes it very convenient. On my current case I have my top i/o port USB connections (one of them at least) plugged in but I didnt plug in the sound or firewire :)

Glad you liked the review and pics. :)

6 - Posted by mfa on September 6, 2003 - 8:32 am

A question about the side panel holes that you say can let dust enter the case (the "Antec" stamping) --

Couldn't those holes be covered over on the inside of the case by tape? (There are few problems that can't be fixed by a little duct tape. :wink: )

7 - Posted by Brian on September 6, 2003 - 1:17 pm

Actually, he is working on a mod to keep air from entering the holes, but providing a little style too.

8 - Posted by mfa on September 6, 2003 - 1:52 pm

I realize after looking at it some more that there is a front drive door that opens to the left. I cannot use that due to the location of my PC. Is that door easily removable?

9 - Posted by Kurtis on September 6, 2003 - 1:59 pm

are you talking about the door on the front of the case? If you can't open that door, how will you be able to open the CD-tray, even if you remove the door. Any door can be removed, its whether or not you want to be able to put it back in that is the question.

Though this door could be removed, it is not designed to be removed/replaced. I think if you remove the door you will break the plastic hinges.

10 - Posted by mfa on September 6, 2003 - 2:37 pm

Yes, that's the door I am talking about. My PC is tucked into a space by my right leg with a cabinet a few inches to the front and right of it. So my access to the front of the PC is coming from the left side of it. So the door on this case (opening to the left) blocks my access to the front of the PC.

If I have to break the hinges to remove the door, it is probably not worth it since I couldn't replace the door if I ever move the case.

Thanks for your help.

11 - Posted by Kurtis on September 6, 2003 - 2:51 pm

no problem, glad i could help. btw, you could always try to put the case somewhere else? :)

12 - Posted by mfa on September 6, 2003 - 3:01 pm

No, that's the "perfect" location under a corner shelf between my desk and a printer stand.

Have you looked at other "quiet" cases such as the GMC NEO Classic?

13 - Posted by Kurtis on September 6, 2003 - 4:19 pm

no, I can't say I have. However, any case that can mount 120mm fans is basically a "quiet" case... its just that the hard drive wont be sitting on vibration-absorbing cushions etc...

14 - Posted by MaNiAk21 on September 6, 2003 - 5:06 pm

They sell these things at my local Staples now... I thought it was kind of an odd thing to see there, but low and behold, there it was. They also sell 80mm fans and some 3 led ones at that. Ofcourse they were overpriced and everything, but it's a step in a very scary direction. :P

15 - Posted by Kurtis on September 6, 2003 - 5:23 pm

lol staples? thats cool :)

16 - Posted by otherwise on September 16, 2003 - 10:17 pm

Hi Y'all,
I have also purchased the sonata and am happy with it.The only thing which keeps me from being perfectly happy is the confusing array of pins \socketsfor front panel connectors(The socket doesn't fit on a7n8x-deluxe mobo).

Can anyone suggest the right combination of the small sockets provided with sonata cable with the pins on the mobo?

Is there a way to connect chassis fan to mobo to monitor its speed?

Any answers Docs?

17 - Posted by Rich on September 16, 2003 - 10:20 pm

I think there are a total of 3 fan locations to monitor speed. Just connecting the single yellow wire should do it.

18 - Posted by Kurtis on September 17, 2003 - 1:04 am

this is a problem with your motherboard rather than an issue with the Antec Sonata. Some motherboards have several 3-pin connections for fans, others have very few. For plugging in the Antec Sonata's case fans, i recommend using the 4 pin molex connector and plugging the fan into the Antec PSU's CASE FAN ONLY connectors. This will limit the speed of your 120mm fans so that they dont produce a lot of noise.

19 - Posted by otherwise on September 17, 2003 - 3:58 am

Thanks for the help but still I could not see any wires in the case fan of sonata to be attached to mobo.I could locate the pins on the mobo but there is only power connector on the chassis fan.
Is this normal for all sonata cases or I have got a freak?

20 - Posted by Kurtis on September 17, 2003 - 8:49 am

sorry if i didn't make it clearer...

a 4-pin molex is the power connector you are referring to. the 120mm case fan is meant to be plugged into the power supply. Make sure to plug it into the power connector that has "Case Fan Only" written on it. This plug is meant for case fans, it controls the fan's speed (depending on temperature) to reduce noise.

You do not plug in the case fan on the Antec Sonata to the motherboard, that is probably what has you confused. The 3 pin connections are meant for smaller fans like CPU fans and graphic card fans. 3-pin connectors carry enough power to run the 120mm fan, but in the Antec Sonata they give you power connections on the power supply dedicated for case fans only, so make sure to use them.

If you have any more questions or I am still unclear, let me know.

21 - Posted by Guest on January 27, 2004 - 12:15 pm

You dont have to remove the whole front to get to the driverails.
You can easily remove them with your fingers in the sides of the front covers for each drive.

/Allan

22 - Posted by Guest on June 22, 2004 - 3:33 am

MWAHAHAH I didn't read the manual and found out after I had destroyed the little cardboard box containing screws... that the hard drive mounts can be removed... mwahahaha (again) at least I got to destroy something!... I love my stanley knife x.x... no not literally... ouch...

Note to self: Read manuals...

23 - Posted by Guest on August 19, 2004 - 11:31 am

I got this case about 20 mins ago, it looks fantastic, especially if going in the front room as a Media PC.

I also destroyed the cardboard box trying to yank it through the drive rails, i got it out in the end with much sweating then read that the rails slide out! DOH! oh well, its all fun.

Right back to putting the heat sink on the cpu.

PS. The case is very good quality for the money. so far 5/5 from me.

24 - Posted by Guest on December 7, 2004 - 11:15 am

I have the case from about 5 days. It took me a while to figure out where to install the second 120 mm fan. I was under the impression it has to go somewhere in the front of the box, not inside on the left side of the slide in HDD bays.

The box is pretty good and very quiet. Since all positive points are pointed out by reviewers and specifications, I will only put here the NEGATIVE ones. Still it is an awesome box.

- Has 2 SATA power connectors and 4 drive bays
- Has only 3 power "lines" for normal (non SATA) power. They are 2, 2 and 3. Yet it has 4 drive bays on the boottom, could have been cleaner to have a separate line of power that is fixed arround the box, and has 4 power connectors.
- HDD bays fan (second 120 mm fan) is sucking air from the drives, not blowing thus less efficient.
- Second fan is running as fast as 1st fan, yet the box has 2 exhaust fans (chasis and power supply).
- 120 mm fans controlled by power supply (nice!) but you can't adjust the threshold, i.e. some people (lime me) would like the fans to run faster at cooler temperatures i.e. rpm to temperature ratio not adjustable.
- When the box is sideways for installing components, front door opens upwards - inconvenient.
- HDD light not very visible when looking from TOP.
- No cable provided for external power supply connector.

Other then these above I am quite happy with my purchase, and just love my new case, especially slide in HDD drive bays as I have 4 drives.

Kutrovsky

25 - Posted by xxxx on April 10, 2007 - 9:56 pm

You can't actually fit two 3.5" drives in the drive bay! It just looks like you can. That pisses me off, you know?

Plus the motherboard I'm using has 6 SATA drive sockets but because of the above you can only fit five drives inside! GRR.

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