Cooling Hardware

Usually when we have a product with as many features as the P160, we expect the product to pack an equal amount of power in all areas of the case. One of the most important areas is the thermal management capabilities of cases.

Antec includes a single 120mm exhaust fan at the back of the P160 with a total capacity for two. The included fan is rated at a speed of 1600rpm and as loud as 28dB/A. A removable fan mount has been implemented in front of the hard drive cage. We can see from the picture that there is a slide-out mount for the second 120mm fan. This makes it easier to install the fan, but it seems redundant since we don't usually replace case fans.

Now, we have seen cases with a single fan, even an 80mm fan will do fine when it comes to thermal conditions, but as technology progresses, components will only run hotter and produce even more heat. This heat will need to be moved away from the system components as quickly as possible and the P160 has the potential to do this with two 120mm fans. However, the stock model comes with only one fan as we have seen on various retailers' websites, forcing users to purchase another fan, thus adding to the cost of the case.


Inside the P160 Motherboard Tray
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  • LX - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link

    Will the 180's price be comparable?
  • AtaStrumf - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link

    Nice: cables connected, screws in place :-)

    I even know now why it takes you so little time
    to put it together. Because you already have mobo, RAM, CPU, HSF assembled and everything else is already out of the box. Not a typical situation whenever I was building a PC though.

    Anyway, I have a couple of suggestions for future case reviews:

    CHIEFTEC Dragon DX-01BD-U or similar

    http://www.chieftec.com/products/Workcolor/Dragon....

    Thermaltake Tsunami

    http://www.thermaltake.com/XaserCase/tsunami/tsuna...
  • cHodAXUK - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link

    Damn, some of the Antec P180 previews make it look damn good, think I might be upgrading soon :D
  • Live - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link

    Nice review of a decent case for a change. Hopefully you will get your hands on the upcoming P180 as it looks to be a great case. I would love to see more reviews of Antec cases as I see them as the ones to beat. So if a case is better and cheaper then Antec case you know your on to a winner. So while you wait for the P180 and the Sonata 2 take a look at the budget SLK 3000B and the rest of the 3XXX series.
  • FearlessUser - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link

    I got this case from Newegg for $110 with a clear side window, the one without the window is like $15 more. And I've read many places that the case only comes with 1 120mm fan, but I got 2. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?desc...
    Nice looking case, I just have to get a few more things to put the rest together.
  • cHodAXUK - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link

    How about a review of the Asus Vento 3600? ;)

    Have a look...

    http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=603913

    Thinking of building a PC in one of those for my 11yr old nephew, hopefully it will be *BLING* enough for him :)
  • IKeelU - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link

    Nice review.

    btw do you guys plan on reviewing the lian-li V1100? I heard it's really quiet, and I wonder how it compares to this one in terms of usability, sound, and temps.
  • IKeelU - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link

  • bupkus - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link

    #17 said: "..at it's price point ($115) it is by far the best constructed aluminium case around..."
    I got an all AL Cooler Master a couple years back and was floored with the quality. Unlike the P160, it was a real work of art. It was a newegg refurb so it was real cheap and flawless! ;) Of course, by today's standards, the 80mm ceiling fan just doesn't do it, but that was then.

    #18 - Ditto. Although I do like Al, I like the value I have with my Sonata as it comes with a True Power 380W PS for less than the P160 without.

    #21 - I agree about the rubber fan mounts. Yesterday, I removed the 120mm fan as it kept slipping off two of it's rubber inserts. I'm thinking of remounting with some metal screws and rubber washers from Home Depot. The fan itself vibrates more than it should, so it's not balanced very well.
  • ElFenix - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link

    "The external look was also easy on the eyes and we believe that many will accept this model over any of the pre-mod cases that we have reviewed. "


    hahahah

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