Antec Sonata III

[blake99]

Any comments on the new Antec Sonata III case/PSU ? Not many reviews online yet.

They upgraded the PSU to a SmartPower 500W. I have read there have been problems with the 400W unit in the Sonata II. I like this case as it is stylish, subtle, compact and runs quiet.

Will this case/power/cooling solutution be adequate for a Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz/ Asus P5N32-E MOBO, GeForce 8800 GTS / Seagate 7200.10 500 MB/ 4GB Corsair DDR2 800Mhz system?

 

[gramboh]

Links? Any changes to the II other than the PSU? I had a first gen Sonata 1 when it first came out in 2003 and thought it was an awesome case. Never had any issues with the 380W TruePower either (ran it for 4 years, just sold it recently) although it was only on a P4 Northwood system with a 9800 / 6800 video cards.

 

[RallyMaster]

Apparently they upgraded the current Sonata II to the SP500 as well. us3rnotfound just got rid of his Antec 900 for a Sonata II (from what he tells me he used a Sonata I for ages....) and it included a SP500.

 

[blake99]

Here is the link

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15137

What do you guys think of this case?

 

[johnnycasaba]

Looks nice, from that link it has an EarthWatts 500 watt PS, not a SmartPower model.

 

[RallyMaster]

Earthwatts >>>>>> SmartPower

Seasonic OEM vs ChannelWell Tech OEM
No Fuhjyyu caps mmkoii

 

[Deinonych]

Looks like a very nice case. The Sonata is already a quiet case...I wonder if they've made it even quieter?

 

[TMoney468]

Has front eSATA too, which will be good for the future. From the pics on Antec's site, it looks pretty good too (a lot better than my loud Lanboy)

 

[blake99]

I am just concerned it will not provide enough cooling for my planned hardware (see my first post in this thread).

It only has one fan on the back of the case which worries me... You can add a front 120mm fan, however.

 

[RallyMaster]

us3rnotfound is using a Sonata II with a E6600, Gigabyte DQ6, 7800GT, 2GB of RAM, two HDDs and his temps are perfectly fine. From what he tells me they dropped after he switched to a Sonata II....going from an Antec 900. And I assure you, that Antec 900 had damn good cooling in it.

 

[blake99]

Wow.. better cooling in the Antec Sonata 3 than the 900? Amazing!

Can anyone confirm this?

 

[Pwntcomputer]

Originally posted by: blake99
Wow.. better cooling in the Antec Sonata 3 than the 900? Amazing!

Can anyone confirm this?

I just bought a 900.....doubtful to say the least. I played with a sonata before buying my p180....

 

[A554SS1N]

Looks like the Sonata 3 only gets cosmetic changes and an updated power supply, and still has that poor airflow hard drive arrangement.

 

[f1r3s1d3]

Looks pretty nice. I like the front better, more streamlined.

 

[blake99]

I've been searching online everywhere for this case - can only find sonata II

Does anyone know if the Antec Sonata III is available yet at any Canadian (or US) retailers?

 

[BBock727]

Originally posted by: blake99
I've been searching online everywhere for this case - can only find sonata II

Does anyone know if the Antec Sonata III is available yet at any Canadian (or US) retailers?

No its not, you cant even buy it from Antec Direct.

 

[Josh123]

I just recieved my Sonata II today and I plan on putting a C2D E6420, 680i mobo, 7950GT, 2gb DDR2 800, 36gb Raptor, Creative Audigy, and a DVD Burner. The Sonata comes with a 450watt PSU and it should be totally fine for what I'm putting into it.

 

[mgutz]

Fry's B&M has em, at least in San Diego (San Marcos, not sure about the one on Aero) area. I looked at it and I didn't see much difference between it and my Sonata II. The front looks slicker. I didn't pay attention to the IO panel. The SIII was more expensive, I don't remember exactly how much but the internals looked exactly the same. Is the airflow in the Sonata II bad? I transferred my components from a Centurion 5 and my temps are about the same. Did you put an extra 120mm fan right behind the HDDs? I like it there because it not only helps cool my HDDs, the fan also helps cool my passive video card. Very quiet all around.

BTW, the reason I was at Fry's was to look at the Nine Hundred. How can the SII or SIII maintain lower temps? I find it hard to believe considering the great layout of the Nine Hundred. 2x120mm fans taking cool air in, 1x120mm and 2x200mm (?) fan exhausting rising heat quickly. Who knows sometimes logic doesn't make sense.

 

[RallyMaster]

the simpler the better sometimes. that Antec 900 may very well be an example of diminishing returns....but now it's giving negative returns?

the 900 uses 3x120mm, 1x200mm with optional 120mm on side panel and two in the HDD cages.

 

[NickelPlate]

Originally posted by: blake99
Wow.. better cooling in the Antec Sonata 3 than the 900? Amazing!

Can anyone confirm this?

I doubt it. It looks very similiar to the Sonata 1 which I have and the stock cooling really isn't very good. The biggest problem with the case is the lack of an intake fan. There is a mount for a 120mm fan behind the HD cage that pulls air over the HDs but it's a good 6 or 7 inches from the front of the case so the air it's pulling isn't really from the outside, some might seep in but not much.

I like the Sonata case, if you select quiet components it will pair with them well but I wouldn't recommend it for serious OC'ing unless you mod it somehow. Here's my Sonata acrylic side panel mod solution no cutting of the case required.

http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture001fk2.jpg

 

[blake99]

Someone reported that the Sonata III case does not fit Nvidia based 8000GTX gpu! Apparently the hard drive enclosure/chassis onstructs this long card. Can anyone confirm this? Serious design flaw if this is true!!

 

[NickelPlate]

Without exact dimensions I can't say for sure but I *can* tell you that an 8800GTX fits in a Sonata 1 without the front HD fan installed (which is pretty much useless anyway where it is). Anyway the S3 looks very similiar to the S1.

 

[blake99]

I received the following response from Antec customer support (Jeff Smith) :

"Just as with the Sonata II, the 8800GTX will not fit in the Sonata III chassis."

I replied asking if the 8800GTS will fit in this case.

Kind of surprising since the case is a mid-tower and doesn't seem that small.

 

[blake99]

For those who are interested, here is Antec's response to my question re: will the 8800GTS fit in the Sonata III case:

"Yes, the 8800 GTS should fit not a problem. Depending on the size of the card, it may or may not fit. The GTX is 11 inches long, the GTS is supposed to be around 8-9 inches if i remember right. Check with your card manufacturer, as long as it is less than 10 inches it should not be a problem."

I checked some specs - the EVGA 8800GTS is 9" long, so it should fit ok.

 

[blake99]

Now, my next question for Sonata III case ...

Does anyone know if an optional (intake) front-mounted 120mm fan will fit adjacent to the 8800GTS !?