Antec P180

[50]

Here you go. 220 dollars! I think it would be cheaper to pay a pro to cut a window if you really don't want to do it yourself.

 

[eastvillager]

You can get a 180 with a window, althought it makes me chuckle to think people are dumb enough to ruin a perfectly good case that way.

When the 180 was designed, there were a couple of very specific design goals. A window goes entirely against those goals.

Like putting Nascar stickers all over a formula 1.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: 50
I remember seeing a p180 with a window. I'll try to see if I can find the link, I think it was 150. You do realize this will make your case considerably louder right?

I'm not sure if I'd go with "considerably" but it may affect it a bit...

 

[QueBert]

a window on a p180 would make it lighter too, I don't agree with the sounc issues that might come up. I have a Tsunami, and it's very very quiet. If you put good fans in it, and has a quiter CPU fan and swapped out the video card fan (assuming it's loud) with a good PSU. I doubt sound would be an issue. I like the looks of the p180 with the window. With a little work, you could make a 50$ case pratically silent *shrug*

 

[milleron]

Don't put a window in a P180!! The P180 was designed from the ground up as a silent case. The side panel you'd be desecrating is the first-ever composite case wall made of plastic sandwiched between two layers of aluminum. Modding it to create a window would destroy the essence of the case which is silent computing. I'd just as soon draw a mustache on the Mona Lisa as to cut a window into a P180.

If a window is a must (and God only knows why it would be) then buy some piece-of-crap all-aluminum thing that you can pick up at Costco.

Ron

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: milleron
Don't put a window in a P180!! The P180 was designed from the ground up as a silent case. The side panel you'd be desecrating is the first-ever composite case wall made of plastic sandwiched between two layers of aluminum. Modding it to create a window would destroy the essence of the case which is silent computing. I'd just as soon draw a mustache on the Mona Lisa as to cut a window into a P180.

If a window is a must (and God only knows why it would be) then buy some piece-of-crap all-aluminum thing that you can pick up at Costco.

Ron

Oh shut up. Leave the drama for mid-day soap operas.

Fvck man. It's a case and I'd rather buy that case for the looks and quality rather than silent computing. FFS, I'd fill it with 120mm fans, mod it to fit a 3 x 120mm rad, ...

Don't be such a computer nerd tree hugger, because if you chained yourself to a P180, I would have to use a multi-material scrollsaw blade instead of a bi-metal blade.

 

[QueBert]

I would hope adding a window wouldn't make this case that much noiser. My TT Tsunami is almost silent, and it's not billed as a "quite case"

 

[milleron]

Originally posted by: Safeway
Oh shut up. Leave the drama for mid-day soap operas.

Fvck man. It's a case and I'd rather buy that case for the looks and quality rather than silent computing. FFS, I'd fill it with 120mm fans, mod it to fit a 3 x 120mm rad, ...

Don't be such a computer nerd tree hugger, because if you chained yourself to a P180, I would have to use a multi-material scrollsaw blade instead of a bi-metal blade.

Aww . . . you're such a cute little cut-up, with that little potty mouth and those endearing little sadist/homicidal fantasies.

To the charge of "computer nerd tree hugger," though, I guess I'll have to plead guilty . . . but I'm not enough of a nerd to have ever cut holes in my cases to display the innards to others who couldn't care less what's in there.

Seriously, I never considered anyone spending $150 on a P180 for its "looks." It's a great case, but I think there are many better looking cases on the market. Some of its early detractors criticized it for its plain or old-fashioned exterior design. And almost all the "quality" involves special considerations for silencing it, although some of it involves cooling. Taste is a purely individual thing, so if you like it, you have the money, and you don't care about silence too much, have at it. The tri-layer construction of the side panel is going to make placing a window there a little more challenging than it would be in the usual case and may require the multi-material blade you mention.

Enjoy

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: milleron

Originally posted by: Safeway
Oh shut up. Leave the drama for mid-day soap operas.

Fvck man. It's a case and I'd rather buy that case for the looks and quality rather than silent computing. FFS, I'd fill it with 120mm fans, mod it to fit a 3 x 120mm rad, ...

Don't be such a computer nerd tree hugger, because if you chained yourself to a P180, I would have to use a multi-material scrollsaw blade instead of a bi-metal blade.

Aww . . . you're such a cute little cut-up, with that little potty mouth and those endearing little sadist/homicidal fantasies.

To the charge of "computer nerd tree hugger," though, I guess I'll have to plead guilty . . . but I'm not enough of a nerd to have ever cut holes in my cases to display the innards to others who couldn't care less what's in there.

Seriously, I never considered anyone spending $150 on a P180 for its "looks." It's a great case, but I think there are many better looking cases on the market. Some of its early detractors criticized it for its plain or old-fashioned exterior design. And almost all the "quality" involves special considerations for silencing it, although some of it involves cooling. Taste is a purely individual thing, so if you like it, you have the money, and you don't care about silence too much, have at it. The tri-layer construction of the side panel is going to make placing a window there a little more challenging than it would be in the usual case and may require the multi-material blade you mention.

Enjoy

I like the P180 for the quality though. I saw one at Fry's, and it a very smooth and solid case. That's what I like about it.

 

[milleron]

Yeah, like I said, taste is individual. I, personally, think it's the best looking case I've ever seen. I appreciate the elegance of it's clean straight lines and unpolished aluminum. I guess I'm a "less-is-more" kind of guy. Many people, however, seem to look for something curvier, shinier, or more modernistic when judging exterior design. And it really is solid. Antec chose steel rather than aluminum for the interior because it's impossible to get the quietest case when construction is all-aluminum. You should be aware that the hinge for the front door is all-plastic in construction. If you have a household with small children in it, this facet of the construction is definielty less solid than might be desired.

Ron

 

[Shadowknight]

I've never understood why there's a general consensus that Lian-Li's are so good looking. I've always found them fugly. On the otherhand, I prefer the "mini-fridge" approach of some cases like the P180. It's nice and clean looking without some of the "clutter" of more normal cases designs, plus the door hides any drives that don't match the color of the cases or drive bays. I have the black SPCR edition of the P180, whenever I look at it I have a flashback to the black monolith from 2001.

 

[milleron]

Cool. I didn't know that SPCR had started delivering those black models yet. What are they charging for them?

 

[Shadowknight]

The only places selling them are FrontierPC (in Canada) and EndPCNoise (USA). My case cost $170. If you buy $200 worth of stuff, shipping is free. Being hardcore about silencing I replaced the rear exhaust and PSU chamber fans with 120mm Nexus fans and don't use a top fan. At the very least, replace the 120mm fan in the PSU chamber with a Nexus or somesuch. Mine wasn't quiet at the Low setting, other SPCR members have had the same problem with that particular fan. Some find the other stock Tricool fans to be okay, some don't. I personally prefer the Nexus. Be sure to read the 2nd SPCR review on the P180, removing the plastic fan brackets are a bit tricky, and I broke one of mine

Incidentally, here's the link to some pictures outlining my current case and setup http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=24308

 

[milleron]

Nice rig. It looks really quiet. I guess that's a fanless Scythe Ninja on the CPU, isn't it? It's looks, then, as though you're cooling the CPU without a fan but are using a large fan on the chipset. Interesting. Also, it looks as though you have no devices installed in the middle drive cage. If you don't, I'd suggest removing it altogether and storing it somewhere. It should allow more unimpeded air flow through the case, and the extra space can help with cable management.

Ron

 

[Shadowknight]

Are you talking about me? I listed my components in the SPCR link, including the Ninja... The 92mm fan is to cool off the video card, not the chipset. It's being RMAed right now, but I usually have a 9800 Pro in there with a Zalman heatpipe cooler. I found out the hard way you NEED to have air blowing on it. The middle drive cage is being used to help hide cables to give a neater appearance. Also, I'm using it to house a Samsung hard drive right now. I may have permanently damaged it a few months ago by letting it run up to 60C, given I had extreme stability problems starting at 55C. My old case had an extremely restrictive filter I used from a pre-cut Acoustipack , my old case, the Antec 3700AMB, even with the grills punched, didn't have enough airflow from the front to cool the drive properly. It was also resting on foam, helping to increase temps. Being mounted in the Smart Drive at the time didn't help much. I bought the Raptor to try out the speed since I replacecd my drive. Hate the seek noises, though the idle whine isn't very noticable outside the case. The Samsung seems to be fine so far. I may wind up pulling the Raptor from the computer and put the Samsung back as my system drive (putting it in the Smart Drive, of course). In my old system I couldn't hear seeks AT ALL. I'm a silence freak, obviously

 

[milleron]

Yes. Again, nice rig.
I have a Raptor and a Seagate 7200.8 250GB SATA drive. I can't hear the heads moving on either of them. I guess that's the blessing of a high-frequency hearing loss

Ron

 

[neutralizer]

Wow, I'm in the same predicament. I'm trying to decide between the Tsunami and the P180 because after tax and shipping, the price difference for me is about $10. I like the Tsunami for its looks because I have all the cold cathode and LED fans and stuff, and it's easier to check if something is wrong and also it's lightness (12 lbs vs. the P180's 35 lbs). I like the P180 for its silence and build quality, but is the p180 THAT good to warrant getting it over the Tsunami? I'm gonna go to Fry's this Sunday to check 'em out, the Tsunami is actually on sale this week for socal .

 

[milleron]

That Thermaltake Tsunami will be light. That's it. If you tote your computer around to LAN parties all the time, it could be a consideration. The P180 will dominate it on silencing and cooling scores. You can't score appearance, but to my eye, the P180 dominates the Tsunami in this category, too. I'd not consider the Tsunami unless I had to carry it around frequently or it was a LOT less expensive than the P180. Also, don't believe the Thermaltake claims that their fans running at 2,000 RPM generate only 21 db.
The Tsunami is a very nice 20th-century case. The P180 is a 21st-century case. It's not the best case that will ever exist, but it's arguably the best one you can get today. When you realize that it's barely more than half as expensive as some of the Lian Li cases, you might consider it a bargain.

Ron

 

[neutralizer]

Originally posted by: milleron
That Thermaltake Tsunami will be light. That's it. If you tote your computer around to LAN parties all the time, it could be a consideration. The P180 will dominate it on silencing and cooling scores. You can't score appearance, but to my eye, the P180 dominates the Tsunami in this category, too. I'd not consider the Tsunami unless I had to carry it around frequently or it was a LOT less expensive than the P180. Also, don't believe the Thermaltake claims that their fans running at 2,000 RPM generate only 21 db.
The Tsunami is a very nice 20th-century case. The P180 is a 21st-century case. It's not the best case that will ever exist, but it's arguably the best one you can get today. When you realize that it's barely more than half as expensive as some of the Lian Li cases, you might consider it a bargain.

Ron

P180 it is. Actually I like the front of Tsunami better though. Wave > minifridge, but I'm using the comp in dorm, no need to haul around for LAN party, just tap into school network.

 

[darkrelevance]

do you think antec will come out with a window for the p-180 later?

cause thats what i did with my p-160. i bought a regular p-160 on sale for about 60 and then just bought a windowed-sidepanel for about 15. a lot cheaper than buy a p-160w in my opinion.

do you think antec will make those available?

 

[swtethan]

probably not so, the side of the p180 is sound dampened foam stuff, a window will make it louder

 

[milleron]

Originally posted by: darkrelevance
do you think antec will come out with a window for the p-180 later?
snip
do you think antec will make those available?

If they can turn a profit on it, they will certainly do it. However, I think that the vast majority of people paying $150 for this case are willing to spend that extra money because they're striving for the silent PC -- i.e., I don't think demand for a window will ever be high since it would detract so much from one of the main design features of the case.

That said, there's a pre-modded windowed P180 for sale, already. The link is in a message on the previous page of this thread.

(There's no "foam stuff" in the side panels of the P180. It's plastic sandwiched between two layers of aluminum, and that would make it difficult for most users to cut a window into it themselves.)

Ron

 

[Shadowknight]

I saw one guy who cut his side panel for a window. The area around it was really scratched up afterwards, ruining the look of the case. On the other side he dremelled out a picture of a dragon which was amazingly good, but it also makes the side panel scratches on the other side look that more hideous.

 

[neutralizer]

The Tsunami is way worth it now at $70 AR at CompUSA.