Erebus 05/25/14 Experience: 6 Months
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- quality material - quiet, good airflow
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- larger than it looks
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Got the white version of this; front usb ports are nice and cable management is quite good. Harddrive bays are very easy to operate. The power button is kinda placed in an awkward position though. Very heavy case, but good noise insulation.
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Dark C 04/18/14 Experience: 1 Years
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Quiet and easy to use
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None
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This is a very good case, it's quiet, lot of room for expansion.
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Charles_W 02/04/14 Experience: 7 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Lots of room for cables and large video cards. No need to cram stuff. unique way of mounting and connecting hard d rives...and it works. Very quiet fans.
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none that are really important. Yes i knew before ordering that a door has to be opened to access the optical drives.
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This case is almost perfect as it is.
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pyee 05/30/13 Experience: 5 Months
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Lots of space for drives, designed well for heat-sink attachment, plenty of cooling options.
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Wrong size screws for attaching drives. They fit very loosely, unlike the screws for the Antec P180 (which I also own).
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Case was fine, but I was not satisfied with Antec support. They sent me a replacement kit labeled P280 (despite the fact that I had given them the exact length of the proper screws), then told me that it was working as designed. If I knew that would be their response, I wouldn't have bothered. Anybody want two sets of wrong-sized screws?
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Robert_G 04/07/13 Experience: 6 Months
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Quiet, plenty of room for even the biggest of mother boards along with plenty of 3.5" bays.
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None
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I bought this case to house my HTPC build. I wanted a quiet case.. for obvious reasons.. when you are watching a movie and don't have your surround sound on.. you still want to hear the movie and not the sound of fans.. this does the job. The three included fans are quiet and I even added two more noctua 120mm fans still quite and there is still room for two more fans. Space is generous with the ability to add up to six 3.5 HDD's or six ssd's plus it has two dedicated slots for ssd's plus space for you 5.25" drives. Design is perfect for the understated look. It may be big.. but it's not goddy looking. When the system is on.. the 2 little blue LED lights on the front are barely noticeable and the front panel door that hides the DVD/BLU RAY compartments is the perfect touch. I would recommend this case to anyone not looking for all the flash most gaming machines have but still offers the room for all the mother boards and graphic cards out today. If you are looking for a bit of flash they do offer this same case with a side panel window.
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wilho 03/19/13 Experience: 3 Months
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 | Verified Owner |
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-Big enough for anything -cable management -simple design -dust filters
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-Takes up a lot of space -no option for 140mm fan -side panels sorta flimsy -stock fans are loud
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While I am quite happy with the case and the boxing day deal of 79.99 got me to finally build my new gaming comp, the case is really big. It may hold everything, but it takes up a large part of my desk and the fact that the 3 stock fans are quite loud even when set to low. Cable management and space is quite nice, but just make sure your psu cables are long enough to take advantage of this. My cheap antec 650w cant route through the back and plug in so that was a bummer. Fan filters were a nice last touch, but I would recommend buying new fans if you want to have a silent case.
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Ray_W 03/09/13 Experience: 3 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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Steel Lots of room for cables Good airflow
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Hard drive screws too long Back of case is perforated
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Bought this case to replace my aging P182.
The airflow is much better, the door doesn't restrict airflow like the P182 did and the air filter is larger plus easy to remove and clean. There's lots of room for running cables with tie down spots everywhere.
The included TwoCool fans are actually decent sounding running on low speed. Because of all the ventilation holes in the rear I swapped the fans for Scythe Slipstreams, 500rpm for the exhaust and 1200 rpm for the front intake to help balance the case pressure and keep dust out.
I'm not a fan of the plastic drive trays, metal would be preferable here. Also the hard drive mounting screws are about 2~3mm too long for my WD hard drives. I had to steal the screws from my P182 which have the correct length to seat against the silicone grommets. A couple of 12mm diameter washers would also work to take up the extra length.
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scottc 03/07/13 Experience: 2 Months
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 | Verified Owner |
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-Build Quality -Simple Elegant design -Cooling
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-Negative air pressure -The drive cage plastic isn't as sturdy as steel ones from Fractal
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I've been very happy with this case so far. Lots of space for fans, includes 3 exhaust fans. This leads to my complaint, there's a great front filter; however, the negative air pressure in the case leads to dust getting in from every vent, even the non-filtered ones. The other complaint is that the hard drive mounts are plastic and not as durable as the steel design from Fractal. Overall, great case, not the quietest case out there, but does a good job to prevent vibration noise, and cooling is great as long as you think about fan speed and placement.
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Douglas_H 01/19/13 Experience: 21 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Well built. Good looking. Plenty of space. Quiet.
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None
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I bought this to replace an aging Antec Sonata II. Some of the features I really like include:
Quiet - this case is very quiet, much quieter than the case it replaced. It just makes computing that much more enjoyable.
Great looks.
Well made.
Good cable management, it's a treat to be able to route cables out of site, and dress those that are visible.
Plenty of circulation with the three included fans.
Easy access to power and reset switches.
A fabulous deal at the sale price of $70.
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Spawnkiller 01/12/13 Experience: 2 Weeks
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Perfect silent case ;)Front audio with great insulating (no interference and not wanted sounds coming trough headphones)
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don't have a window, however the windowed version is on the 2013 product list so :D
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I bought this case from another retailler as the price was better at that time, but i can say, this case is simply awesome, great silent operation, easy to clean the filters, no trouble getting my rig in and the front audio port is simply awesome, great shielding as i use Siberia V2 for gaming and HD555 for music/films and my previous case was doing some interference noise form front ports and this one doesn't, so just a perfect product Could come with a window but it's on the Antec to do list so ;)
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wlee 01/10/13 Experience: 1 Months
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 | Verified Owner |
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build quality is top notch clean and charm looking
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n/a
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i own many cases, most are from antec, and i have little complain about antec products
the build quality is solid in the price range.
it also a clean and charming looking which i love
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Kevin_S 12/06/12 Experience: 1 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Sleek Design Light Weight Spot for H100/H100i
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Tad heavy when both panels are on
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Just got this case today and started to install all my components into it. This case has tonnes of room to store cables in behind the service panel. When both panels are removed the case weighs almost nothing and its so easy to turn and move when installing the Mobo and PSU. Lots of room behind the folding door for HDD fans, and good clearance.
For $90 Totally worth it.
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Wikiwizzy 12/02/12 Experience: 6 Months
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 | Verified Owner |
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Price Build Quality Cable Management Cooling
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None
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This case is amazing. I have been a long time user of Antec cases, and this one doesnt disappoint. The added fans are a must for high end gaming parts, and its very quiet even with all the fans on high. I love the fan adjustments on the back. The harddrive bays are well designed, with rubber gromets for reduced vibration. I have used 3 of these cases now and I will keep using them. At a sale price of 90 bucks its a steal in my opinion.
This review was modfied by poster @ 12-02-12 10:10 AM
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Sish 11/26/12 Experience: 75 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Huge Quiet Sturdy Nothing Sharp Amazing Cable Management
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None
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I bought this as an upgrade to the p182 and I am extremely pleased with it. The cable management is extremely easy and incredibly tidy. The case is incredibly spacious. I never felt like it was a challenge getting anything to fit. The PSU intake from the bottom is a great idea and the filters are making sure my case stays dust free. If you are looking for a sleek, quiet, high performance case, this is the one to get. You get every penny you pay for.
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Rocketman 11/24/12 Experience: 10 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Quiet case, easy to remove fan filters, bottom psu filter removes from the side, front usb2 and 3 ports. Door opens all the way around the side of the case. Good provisions for wire routing and securing.
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Rear fan speed controls difficult to access.
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One of the cleanest installations I have ever had, things have come a long way since my last case. Sound damping is really good. Fan power distribution board a nice touch, keeps rear chassis fan wiring clean. Speed switches are a little tough to reach and actuate on the back of the case, but that's about all I can say bad about it.
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Daewoo 11/16/12 Experience: 5 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Great asthetics Solid Good cable management Lots of space Made with sound dampening material
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Fans not that quiet when running at full speed
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This is a great case if you want classy looking case without all the bling bling.
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Gilles_L 11/03/12 Experience: 6 Months
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Nice design for cable, quiet
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nothing
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antec quality, easy to mount a comptuer, keep all the hardware cool, a lot of space to add new hardware, nice hard drive bay
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Stephen_R 10/30/12 Experience: 14 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Great looking case and front door swings right around to the side if necessary. Very quiet, more drive bays than a motherboard will ever have connectors for.
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The blue LEDs for Hard Drive and Power indicators are irritating, I unplugged the Power LED and wish the Drive LED was another colour. Watch out for the cable length on your Power Supply, I had to run the cables across the front of the board to get to the Aux Fan block and the CPU Aux block with a Seasonic S12II.
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I can't believe the current price.
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AceOnRiv 10/24/12 Experience: 2 Weeks
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slick sexy very nice
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nothing
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this case is sick! very nice and sexy lots of room too, installed everything and powered it up nicely
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Dr. Adrian_W 09/28/12 Experience: 1 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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-aesthetics -solid construction -size (fit's an xl-atx mb in a case that fits under my desk!) -easy to work in -inexpensive -good airflow -extremely quiet -large space behind motherboard for cables -easy to remove fan filters
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-no standoff holes for xl-atx mb bottom row of screws -not much space above motherboard -no easy open sides (like corsair 800D) -cheap plastic thumbscrews
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I am very pleased with this case so far. Extremely easy to build in with the wide open concept. I had a Corsair 800D and even though it is massive it would not fit my Big Bang II motherboard. Nicely fits in the Antec although there is no spot to screw in the bottom row of the motherboard standoffs. With the same gear in the two cases the Antec is far quieter and the thermals are equivalent so far. It even had room to mount the Corsair H100 water cooler. I moved the two original fans from up top to the front of the case in front of the drive cage. Only problem is I was unable to plug in the fan controller power as the H100 blocked access but I would rather have them on the motherboard anyway. Also I was unable to use the 12 pin access hole top right of motherboard as the cable would not fit through with the H100 in place.
Overall an excellent product for a steal of a price ($90 price matched) thanks NCIX:)
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Michael_P 09/08/12 Experience: 2 Months
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 | Verified Owner |
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Lots of space, rather quiet, sufficient cooling, good looking.
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Very big (if you have limited space) Minimalist design (if you like flashy)
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For me, this is the perfect case. It is very large and can easily fit multiple Video cards and whatever else you need. It is very easy to work with and includes USB 3.0 and 2.5 mounts (so SSDs don't need a mounting bracket). Personally, I love the minimalist design (I've nicknamed it "the fridge") but some may wish for more lights and whizzles. Also, the case is very large compared to a standard case, so make sure you have enough room.
This review was modfied by poster @ 09-08-12 04:17 PM
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Matthew_B 08/25/12 Experience: 45 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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wire management quiet USB 3.0 on front
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takes a lot of space
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Really quiet case can barely hear my computer running. Best case I have ever bought, with lots of room for expansion.
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aliencookies 08/22/12 Experience: 1 Days
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Quiet, light, lots of room, nice cable management, easy access drive bays, screwless ssd bays, and thumb screw and rear slots.
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power/reset buttons at the top
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Was surprised at how the quiet the case was with all the fans I have running (5x120mm case fans all running on high, 2x100mm gpu fans, 1x120mm cpu fan, 1x120mm psu fan) and am thinking of putting one more where it allows two internal fans. I also like how there are 2 screwless ssd bays and thumb screw rear slots, makes things a lot easier. Good air flow too with the cable management system compared to my old P180.
However, I don't like the power/reset switch at the top because like i did on my P180 i put my headphones and other junk on it :(
Would definitely recommend this case.
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Cyricdoom 08/21/12 Experience: 1 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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- Air filters for the front and PSU - Support up to 7 fans (3 fans come with the case) - Fan controllers (up to 3 fans) - A lot of expansion slots (9) - Very silent - Support long video cards - High quality components
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- Very big mid-tower - Door can't be reconfigured to be opened to the right
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Very high quality case with a lot of room for the needs of high en users.
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Nawfal_J 08/19/12 Experience: 3 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Quiet Cold a lot of space
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NONE
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I'm really amazed by this case for that price you get an amazing case. Well build. If you're looking for a good case at a right price this is it.
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Hon Sang_W 08/19/12 Experience: 3 Months
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 | Verified Owner |
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quiet, roomy, nice internal design
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heavy, large
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Very good buy. I see myself using this case for quite a few years. The exterior is sleek and understated and that really of matches the tone of "quiet" computing. My fridge sounds louder than my build.
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CallMeGeorge 08/15/12 Experience: 2 Days
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Exelent Build quality. XL-ATX Noize Dampening USB3 Internal Header Nice Finish
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Needs More Cable managing grumets and clips in the back.
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I Loved to build my system into it! Verry nice Paint finish. It keeps my system silent and cool because of all of the Fan installing possibility.
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Nashten_S 08/14/12 Experience: 4 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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Space, cable management, silence
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Not enough hard drive bays
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Taking a star off for two reasons: Not enough hard drive bays. Although, the decision to get this was based off the fact that I wouldn't end up putting 7 hard drives in... Second is that the main side panel as pointed out by a few review sites was bent slightly, throwing the alignment off so the side panel was difficult to put back on.
Between this and the Fractal Design XL, my next case would be the XL for hard drive room. Otherwise, Antec has a wonderful case here.
However, this case saved my computer a few pounds. Weighs 54 pounds now instead of 86 like before. Sad part is I haul the beast around to LAN parties and use it as a server/gamer. :) Quite, non-disruptive and keeps everything cool. Adding two front fans made a huge difference in HDD temps too, along with the rest. Flipped the two top fans so they're an intake for my Kuhler H20 920.
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Rajindra_S 08/01/12 Experience: 7 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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- Tons of room - Water cooling support
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- Got on sale price but lost 2 free fans promotion...
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Case is huge and really silent. One of the best Antec cases I've ever bought this year. A lot of space and supports water cooling. Sucks that NCIX decided to give away 2 fans right after I bought it at sale price.
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bethred 07/18/12 Experience: 1 Months
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quality product throughout usb 3.0
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not enough fans
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this case exudes quality and has plenty of room for third party cpu heatsink/cooler
nice and quiet
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Andrew_J 07/07/12 Experience: 3 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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-huge case -good cooling for a "quiet pc" -easy to install components -multi-fan hook up in the back of the case
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-the fans they come with are not of the best quality. Replace with better aftermarket exhaust fans
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This is a great case but don't keep those antec 2 speed fans. Those fans are very silent but only blow a max of 30 CFM and have 0.29 mmH20. Those specs are okay for a "basic computing build", but if you watch a lot of video or do a lot of gaming, you will notice your GPU and CPU get very hot very fast.
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Joshua_E 06/17/12 Experience: 2 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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Very clean Has fan filters Lots of room Great cable management Good airflow
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Not that silent
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Really clean looking case. However I mounted an H100 inside and I can hear it really well, however I suppose that's expected from those Corsair fans running at high speed.
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BigPoppaStuke 06/14/12 Experience: 5 Months
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 | Verified Owner |
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Tons of Space Solid Design Durable Quiet
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None!
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Literally the best case I've ever worked with. Upgraded from an Antec 900. Solid purchase!
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Chaohong_G 06/10/12 Experience: 2 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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Love the case it's amazingly quiet and good looking
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Doesn't include front fans
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I love how it's really quiet I can barely hear if my computer is on or not compare to my old PC I love the dust filter. I just dont like the fact that it doesn't come with front fans. But what amaze is the slot but 2 120MM fan behind the video cards
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Nikita_K 06/04/12 Experience: 1 Months
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 | Verified Owner |
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-dead quiet, with fans on low -"sturdy"
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-usb 3.0 header a bit too short -short fan cables, if moved to front barely reach
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Antec quality is pretty impressive - no stupid bling, lights, and other showoff stuff. Just good solid quality, thick steel panels, and great wiring layout. No major complaints.
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calvin_w 06/03/12 Experience: 1 Months
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really good item and good pricing
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None
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ive been using it for sometime and i really enjoy it
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Tom_B 05/26/12 Experience: 6 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Looks great Lots off fan space Cable management Front ports and power button accessable with the front door closed Cutout in motherboard tray lets you access the cpu backplate
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A bit bigger than i thought it would be Heavy Short front panel connectors
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This a fantastic case! Has a very high quality look and feel. Plenty of room to work in and easy to hide cables using the cable management holes. This was my first build working solo so i found the extra space helpfull.
The only issue i had was that my 8-pin cpu power cable and 24-pin motherboard cable were too short to use the cable management due to the size of the case. But i guess that's the fault of the modular cables of my power supply and not so much the case.
Overall I'm very pleased with this case. The black interior looks really cool with my z77 sabertooth motherboard as well. Would definately recommend it!
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Dahitman 05/16/12 Experience: 2 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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Roomy Good cable management hole placements Easy to remove Anti Dust mesh x2 (under PSU and infront of intake) Four front USB (2x2.0, 2x3.0) Hardware controlled case fan speed (Low/High) Minimalist case look Two 2.5" SSD holders Two small blue LEDs (HDD activity, power ON) 99% Tool-less one inch space for behind-the-scene cable management
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Slide in SSD 2.5" holders are too close to the roof No easy placement for grabbing onto when moving the case A bit heavy and tall for standing on a desk (16 lb net weight)
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This is a very large and minimalistic case, providing just what I need and yet not standing out for attention, however...
The only thing badly designed in my opinion is the slide in SSD holders. They are too close to the cases' roof such that either the SATA power cable needs to be bent or the data cable. Since both are pointed at opposite directions (up/down), due to the design cut out for only two SSDs, the top one is going to suffer.
Aside from that, outside of the case there is no easy spot to lift it other than bend down and pick up. However I had the front door open so I can grab the extruded HUB and the back chassis where the intruded Mobo ports is easy to hold on to. But this way the front door have to swing half open due to me placing mine close between the wall and the table stands, I had to carefully lean the case around in order for the door to not hit or get caught on the wall and nudge forward bit by bit.
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Nickolaj_W 05/13/12 Experience: 3 Days
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looks good excelent cable managment
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none so far
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excelent gaming case will fit almost any graphics card and comes with many different features
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Babaghan 05/08/12 Experience: 7 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Power and reset buttons on top of the case, not hidden behind the front door as with the former P-Series.
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Dated 120mm fans.
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The case is well built, lots of thoughtful touches inside such as motherboard CPU cutout, grommeted cable holes, and tool-less expansion slots. As a former owner of a P182SE, I find this case easier to work in and a great step forward for Antec's P-Series.
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Christopher_M 05/02/12 Experience: 2 Months
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 | Verified Owner |
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Lot of room for cable, Silent and can accept up to 13 inches video cards!
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Not that i can think of
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This so far the best case i ever owned!
Just simply well done!
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Keenan_C 05/02/12 Experience: 3 Weeks
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This case is fantastic! The quality is superb and it is really well designed. The PSU dust filter is great and also the dust filter on the front of the case. There is a really large amount of room and the case is just perfect. It's also really nice and quiet at full load with a headset on I can hardly hear it at all. Really good materials used also the side panels are nice and solid.
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There are a few things that I dislike about this case however but these are only minor issues and not worth removing an egg/star. Firstly the fan controller on the back is useless the buttons/sliders are so small I can't even use them. But I see no difference in temperatures between high/low settings so it's not really a problem. Secondly the I/O cables are a little bit short. Some cables like the HDD activity LED is much longer then the Power Switch which is funny seeing as they both plug into the same place. However they were long enough for me to do a good cable management job with so no real problems.
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Great quality from Antec. This is my first product from Antec and I'm impressed.
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GC8 04/30/12 Experience: 10 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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great design. easy for cable management
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could be more insulated for noise.. R3 I think is more quiet. front connectors could be longer so you can route them cleaner to the mofo
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Love Antec and I am very happy with the 280 it is a great case with good functionalty. grommets could of been thicker and case could of been more insulated to reduce noise but overall I am very happy because its easy to cable manage. easy to install the hardware in
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T_R 04/04/12 Experience: 3 Weeks
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Best Case I have owned.Lots of room for all the latest parts that I have added. Plenty of space for the power cables and the 3.0 USB on the front are the best along with 2.0 also. It is a very quiet case sometimes I have to look to make sure it is on.
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None that I can tell yet.
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Over all I would recommend this case to those who are doing a new build or just upgrading. Give it a 5 star.
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RandomOwnage 04/02/12 Experience: 4 Months
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 | Verified Owner |
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Cable Management Sound damping Quick release HDD bays Sleek Design Lots of room to work inside(even with the Noctua DH-14)
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USB/Audio ports on the front face outward as opposed to being on top. Does not come fully equipped with quiet fans. (no front intake fans)
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Upgraded from the Antec Nine Hundred because I wanted to try a more *premium* style case for quiet computing.
Pros far outweigh the cons but my pc is still noisy if my GPU fan is max and also my HDDs are still quite loud. Luckily my GPU keeps cool at 30% fan speed which makes it virtually silent. Only have to listen to my silly HDDs clicking around. I took one of the fans from my CPU cooler to use as an intake fan. Cooling is working great. Obviously if you require more cooling as the cost of noise you would want to go with something like the nine hundred or twelve hundred. Works great for me!
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DrJazz 03/31/12 Experience: 2 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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Elegant design High build quality Roomy interior 3 dual-speed fans included Quiet operation (with fans on low setting) Ample cable routing ability
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No front eSATA port
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I've had an original P180 for seven years and decided it was finally time for an upgrade. I considered the Silverstone FT02 (big and expensive) and the Fractal Define R3 (some concerns about quieting ability) but eventually settled on the P280. I'm very satisfied with this chassis - it is very roomy and a delight to work in, the cable routing ability being my favourite "upgrade" feature from the P180. The three "TwoCool" fans on their low setting are significantly less noisy that the P180's three "TriCool" fans on medium.
You can read my blog post if you're interested in a little more detail and a few pictures: http://andreperusse.com/be/post/2012/03/29/Antec-P280-Computer-Chassis.aspx
Bottom line: No significant faults - Highly Recommended.
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Gabriel_B 03/24/12 Experience: 2 Weeks
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Lots of fan space (7 case fans), decent airflow, nice paint, doesn't feel cheap because of the steel, lots of zip tie room, reduces a lot of internal noise, really easy to transport,
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Front panel connectors are barely long enough, does not come with a USB 3.0 too 2.0 connector
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I was very pleased with this case just for the amount of money I spent for the quality that I got. I love everything about this case EXCEPT the front panel connector wires, they are long enough to reach the motherboard in an unclean fashion.
I really wanted it too look clean, no cables, but the front panel cables make it challening. As a fix I bought extension cables for the motherboard power switch, reset switch, and all that other good stuff.
The two internal fans along with the two front intake fans make it great for airflow, but the stock fans only rotate 1200rpm on high and about 600rpm on low, 850 rpm on medium.
I was also very pleased with how quiet the case is. The front foam along with the thick side panel keeps all the noise in! Before I was using an ANTEC 300, after moving all 4 fans over PLUS keeping the original 3 fans that come with the case, I found it to be 40 percent quieter.
I highly recommend you get this case, OTHER then some wires not being long enough, this case will last you for along time!
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Brian_F 03/23/12 Experience: 30 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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lots of room, quality drive mounting, handsome look
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the power setup for the top fans are in an awkward spot
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I've owned many cases over the years and have to admit this is the best one so far. Plenty of room and great ventilation. Looks pretty sweet too.
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xgodx1234 03/14/12 Experience: 1 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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Lots of room Easy cable management Nice sleek design Dust filters!!!! Comes with 3 fans
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Case fans provided are relatively weak and loud (compared to my Gelid fans) Huge case requires longer cables to route around the back
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Great case, lots of room for expansion, easy to install
I had trouble hooking up my 4pin cpu power cable because it wasn't long enough. My 24 pin cable was fine though (Antec TP 650)
Love the rotated hard drive location, easier cable management and doesn't interfere with graphics card now.
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Geoffrey_R 03/06/12 Experience: 3 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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- simple, beautiful case design - no compromises on cable management - HDD isolation grommets actually make a difference - dedicated 2.5" drive area - fan controller area has room for one extra switch and 3-pin connector - door swings completely flush with side of case - thumbscrews everywhere... - removable drive holders makes further changes and optimizations at build time or later a snap (no pun intended.)
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- not silent! - needed 24-pin and 8-pin ATX extensions to use cable management properly. - needed 4-pin molex extension to get power to fan controller - needed a "round" IDE/PATA cable for some legacy drives. Ribbon cable had interference issues when side panel was on. - can't easily use SATA cables w/ 90 degree connectors on SSDs (see below) - dedicated 2.5" drive area is awkwardly placed, had to use extension to reach power connector... - the two-speed fan controls are on the back of the case (reach around) - the two-speed fans have no noise isolation at connection points w/case
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For the three 5.25" bays I added a card reader, one optical drive and a drawer to keep all my thumb drives and SD cards in one place...build was straightforward w/ no obvious quality issues. I knew with the size of the case and the location of the PSU there might be some issues with short cables.
Not cons, but worth knowing:
- bottom intake means case should sit on hard surface for clearance - it really is a big case. Roomy inside and bulky out! And heavy. - tool-less HDD trays are nice, but you still have to screw the HDD to the tray. - the front USB 3.0 comes with a 19 pin male motherboard header. Adapters for legacy set ups are hard to come by i.e. female connector splitting to two male USB 3.0 cables to reach around back...or an add-on card with the required female header. Neither is common. - undermount PSU filter is secured for shipping. Take your time figuring out how to release it or you might break it. - leaving door open or closed makes little difference in noise transmission with stock fans. The back of my case is 4 inches from the wall which, I guess, reflects fan noise forward. YMMV. - if you're looking for a silent build you might want to replace all of the included fans. I can still hear the rumble of the fans on the low setting, so definitely not a silent case, but I can't hear the drives anymore which is progress. Maybe Antec should consider leaving the fans out and cutting the price a bit, so builders can choose their own cooling solutions OR raising the price and including some True Quiet fans.
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Rich_D 02/24/12 Experience: 2 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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Very Quiet Keeps everything cool Lots of room inside Plenty of HDD Bays
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Cheap thumbscrews for $140 case
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After recieving my first case damaged and having to wait a couple of weeks to get things sorted out with the RMA I finally got my case.
This case is very pleasing to the eye. The front brushed aluminum door is very sleek.
The case is about 1/2 as loud as the case it replaced albeit I am using 1 less fan but I can't see that that would make a big difference. I have my PC in the TV room so the less noise, the happier my wife is when Grey's is on...LOL
I love the HDD trays, but would be better if the were made tooless rather than having to screw the HDD's to the tray. The silicon/rubber grommets make for a lot less noise though.
The case is very roomy inside and has plenty of grommets to run wires through to the side of the case for cable management, the side also has more than enough room to manage as many cable as you can stuff in there.
I would have given this a 5 star rating if it had not been for the cheap plastic thumbscrews on the back of the case. I mean really, I have seen steel thumbscrews on $30 cases and I don't think the cost savings on the plastic vs steel would make or break the company.
I would definitely recommend this case to friends and family and any other sould looking for a great, roomy and quiet case.
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Amit_J 02/20/12 Experience: 5 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Good Solid Material
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No Hot Swap, bad way to put 2.5 drives
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I love Antec, This case is great, like the others say. I'll focus more on criticizing it.
The 2.5 drive slot for Solid State Drive is too far out. It's badly design. Not a deal breaker it doesn't touch a case, but it's a dumb design. Can't use a Sata Power connector because of that.
The sound proofing is so thin (like 1 or 2 mm). I wanted more padding all around the case.
Corsair Cooling Air Series A50 I bought that, it was a close fit, but I blame the cooler more then the case because this Antec case is quite wide.
Not hot-swappable. I was hoping for that. I'm pretty sure this is a top of the line Antec case, so I want Hot-Swappable.
The two front led (one for power other for hard drive) are very bright. Maybe I should have asked my computer guy to disconnect those lights, but too bright.
I wish I could changed which way the front case opens. I prefer the other way.
Here are some great pros
Case looks beautiful.
No LED crap. I hate that. My computer is in my bed room, good luck trying to sleep with all that LED crap. I hate LED fans.
Oddly enough these days it's hard to find a case with no LED.
Solid Construction.
Pretty quiet, not silent. You can hear the fans etc.., but this computer is still more silent then my old P4 I had.
Love those big fans the case has nice.
I like the front filter, my old Antec Case (Plus1000 Series SOHO File Server Case) the filter was tricky to get it. This one is easy.
Plenty of room, fits the newest stuff. Got an I-7 with Asus P8Z68-V Pro.
Overall you should buy this case, but I'm surprised I don't hear people mentioning the stuff I have.
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Starkiller 02/05/12 Experience: 12 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Sleek, quiet, lots of space to work with, easy cable management, easy hard drive management, lots of fans.
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Power supply at the bottom of the case was too far for my 8 pin connector to reach my motherboard (needed a 6 dollar adapter for the extra length).
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This case is amazing. It looks great, its extremely quiet (even with higher end graphics card and a CPU fan that's known to be loud). It is also very eay to work with, the hard drive mounts are great, it has finger twist screws for almost everything, and lots of space to work with. Managing my cables was also very easy because of these great spaces lined with rubber/silicon to facilitate the hiding of cables. The fans that it comes with are great (very quiet when turned down) and adjustable to your liking. There is also lots of room to add your own fans too if you want the coldest rig possible. I strongly recommend this case to anyone who is looking for a quiet, cool, and professional looking case without sacrifcing any features. The only downside (partly due to my older modular power supply) is that the placement of the 8 pin power connector on my motherboard was in the farthest possible place away from the power supply and the cable I had would not reach. I was forced to go buy a cheap adapter in town and use a molex connector to reach. Other than that minor issue this case is great and worth every penny.
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leneng 01/26/12 Experience: 2 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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This is probably the best case ive ever worked with So many improvements over my own P182 i wish i had bought it for myself and i probably will
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ummmm....cant think of any
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In the past I bought a P182 and i liked it.. but i had a love hate relation ship and still do with it. 1. the seperator was a good idea but got in the way bigtime. with the p280xt they just made the PSU suck from the bottom through a filter instead..much improved
2. Cable management was a PITA with my P182 having to come up through that hole in the divider now there is awesome cable management and they made the back space bigger so you can hide unwanted cables thus not breaking the doors like you would with the 182's.
3. much better HDD management not much more to say just look at the differnces.
4. more room to work.
5 cleaner after installs
6 you can now reach the 8 pin from behind where as i couldnt with same psu used on the 182 i had to run that 8 pin across the Graphics cards to reach.
7. Dual top fans can run dual rad water cooling if desired.
8 they cut away the Air restricting junk at the front doors and just opened up the airflow Super nice there.
9. top power buttons not having to open the door each time
10. moved all the usb ect up and have native front pannel usb3.0 so you dont have to plug in back of pc is nice.
I want to trade cases with the person i built this for basically.
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Petre_P 01/20/12 Experience: 5 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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Great quality Easy cable management Quiet Easily cleanable dust filters Two USB 3.0 front ports with internal motherboard connector
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None
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There is lots of space for cable management. All the cables could be hidden behind the motherboard tray. They are two 2.5” dedicated drive bays for SSDs and two USB 3.0 front ports with an internal motherboard connector for the new motherboards. Good longevity in perspective.
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Francois_B 01/19/12 Experience: 7 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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cable management, SILENT, spacious, quality materials
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interior fan installation is done by clipping the fans to the case but these clips are flimsy and make it hard to get the fan seated properly.
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This is a pleasure to work in. Plenty of room to access parts, well positioned wholes and gromments for cable management. Quality parts. Several HDD emplacements eachc capable of having a 2.5 inch drive or a 3.5 inch (except the two dedicated 2.5 slots). Surprisingly, the Antec fans have speed controllers ate the top rear of the case and these push a lot of air, yet, they are very silent which surprised me considering their fans are usually very noisy. Very impressed and hightly recomend this case to any serious pc builder
UPDATE: I have recently purchased the Fractal Design R3 to replace my father in law's computer case. The R3 is well built and overall equivalent to the p280 but lacks on quality of certain components. Overall, if the size of the case isn't an issue and you are not looking for noise reduction features I would recommend the p280
This review was modfied by poster @ 01-23-12 07:16 AM
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Steven_C 01/18/12 Experience: 3 Weeks
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- reliable tower - cool system
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- none
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I bought this case to replace my older case as this one out performs better than my exisitng. it does the work and able to keep my system cool and constructive. well worth the money
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Brady_B 01/13/12 Experience: 2 Weeks
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 | Verified Owner |
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- cable management! - quiet fans (quieter than the old TriCools?) - bottom air intake for PSU - much easier to work with than the p180 series - toolless drive bays are slick, and easier to work with - silicone vibration dampeners for the HDDs
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- rubber gaskets surrounding the cable holes come out too easily - fan controller is kind of awkward to get a power cable up to - walls seem more thin than the P180s'. On the other hand, the front door has foam, and I can't hear anything inside the case - comes very few cable ties, and they're of the one-time-use / thin variety
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I set up my folks' computer using a P182 for its noise dampening features. It was a nice case, lots of space. It was a major pain to work with, though. The PSU and drive bays were all separated from the main compartment by metal or plastic. Power cables had to go from the CPU, up through a small (adjustable) hole into the main compartment, and then spread out like horrible tentacles from there. There's almost no way of making it neat and tidy.
The SATA power cables for any HDDs in the lower bays had to go up into the main compartment, then back down to the HDD. And the bays were awkward to work with since you had to be careful not to yank on the attached cables, or somehow remove/reattach the cables while the drives were in the bay ( : ).
The P280 improves on this usability in every possible way. It looks like it's a much bigger case, since there's even more room to work with, but it's not *quite* a full tower (Antec calls it a "Super Mid Tower"). There are no more separators that you have to work around. Since there's nothing in the way of the PSU and the rest of the components, Antec's added an intake, with a cleanable filter, to the bottom of the case. That way the PSU doesn't screw with airflow, but it also doesn't need the awkward case fan and separator it has in the P182.
The P280 was actually designed with cable management in mind! This is a major improvement over Antec's older cases. All the cables from the PSU can be routed behind the motherboard, and then pop out where-ever you need them.
The 3.5" bays slip in and out easily with a squeeze of their plastic handles. They've got silicone grommets to absorb noise, as in the P180-series. They're also oriented so the HDDs run width-wise across the case, with the ports behind the motherboard. Super convenient, since that's where the cables all are.
The 5.25" bays are completely tool-less. Weird, but nice and convenient. In fact, most of the case is tool-less. Even the screws at the back that you need to use when you're installing a PCI/PCIe card are tool-less thumbscrews, which is a really nice touch. You need to use a screwdriver to screw in the HDDs and the PSU, but that's it.
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TheForgottenOne 12/31/11 Experience: 3 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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- Mostly all thumb screws (about time Antec!) - Cable management - Washable air filters - Lots o' fans - CPU backplate is accessible (without removing motherboard)
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- Lack of documentation - Rubber gaskets for cable management come off easily; but, can be replaced with minimal effort. Still annoying... - No container for screws and small parts - Needed to add three motherboard screws for ATX motherboard - Motherboard backplate does not match. Haha! ;)
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Previously used an Antec P180 and upgraded as a birthday present for myself.
It is easy to access all components within the case because of the implementation of cable management. This is great for people who like to get inside the case often like myself. With the cables out of the way, the air flow is increased which is assisted by up to four fans on the front. This keeps up to two SSDs and six hard drives cold while being a great intake for cold air.
Added an Antec Kuhler 920 for the win.
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VWEA 12/28/11 Experience: 2 Months
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hell of a case for the price
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none
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quiet and awesome looking, antecs one of my fav case makers
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Tyreman 12/26/11 Experience: 1 Weeks
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Easy to work in. Quality build
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none really 1 power supply wire to short but that not cases fault.(Seasonic 8 pin hard wired)
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Everything goes together really well in this case. VERY quiet in operation. Well done on grommmets for cable routing They can be easily put back in place if worked loose from cabinet Lot of room in rear for installing different cpu cooler configuations, have a generous motherboard tray opening for this
Top Front usb 2 & 3 and audio ports lots of internal case fan configurations possible Supplied with 2 top and one rear.120 x 120 two cools. Accepts tricool switch in switch bay mount at rear, room for 4 switches. Installed tricools in mine. Typical Antec quality.
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Pierre-Louis_C 12/24/11 Experience: 9 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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-Very roomy -Can fit a 240mm rad with fans on top of the case -Stock fans very quiet -Absorbs vibrations -Dust filters everywhere -Easy cable management
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-Fans controller in difficult to access spot
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I'm very happy with this case. It's a middle ground between a regular mid-tower and a full tower case: lot of room for stuff without being too huge.
Only problem I've had is when I installed my 240mm rad on top of the case: it wouldn't fit because of the small fan controller at the back of the case. I unscrewed the controller and moved it a little bit further and now the rad fit perfectly.
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Pascal_L 12/17/11 Experience: 4 Days
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Lots of space Sufficient space and holes for cable management Fast mount for ssd Power and reset switch on top Good fan construction
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less soundproof than the old model (P183/P193) if you want to install an H100 or any 240mm water cooling at the top of the case, we are trapped by the fan controller cable from the back
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The product is very solid, everything is easy to install inside. Very nice black interior. Ventilation is easy to install. Possibility to install 7 120mm fans. Filters easy to clean. I was hesitant for a long time to buy the P183 but I disliked some aspects. When I saw the changes in the concept, I was convinced and I do not regret my purchase.
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