Antec P280 Review: When Enthusiasts Are Engineers
by Dustin Sklavos on November 15, 2011 10:20 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Antec
- P280
Testing Methodology
For testing ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| Full ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-875K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 3.8GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | ASUS P7P55D-E Pro |
| Graphics Card | Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (244W TDP) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gbps Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| CPU Cooler | Zalman CNPS9900 MAX with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Gold 750W 80 Plus Gold |
A refresher on how we test:
Acoustic testing is standardized on a foot from the front of the case, using the Extech SL10 with an ambient noise floor of ~32dB. For reference, that's what my silent apartment measures with nothing running, testing acoustics in the dead of night (usually between 1am and 3am). A lot of us sit about a foot away from our computers, so this should be a fairly accurate representation of the kind of noise the case generates, and it's close enough to get noise levels that should register above ambient.
Thermal testing is run with the computer having idled at the desktop for fifteen minutes, and again with the computer running both Furmark (where applicable) and Prime95 (less one thread when a GPU is being used) for fifteen minutes. I've found that leaving one thread open in Prime95 allows the processor to heat up enough while making sure Furmark isn't CPU-limited. We're using the thermal diodes included with the hardware to keep everything standardized, and ambient testing temperature is always between 71F and 74F. Processor temperatures reported are the average of the CPU cores.
For more details on how we arrived at this testbed, you can check out our introductory passage in the review for the IN-WIN BUC.
Last but not least, we'd also like to thank the vendors who made our testbed possible:
Thank You!
We have some thanks in order before we press on:
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory we used to add memory thermals to our testing.
- Thank you to Zalman for providing us with the CNPS9900 MAX heatsink and fan unit we used.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive, Intel Core i7-875K processor, ASUS P7P55D-E Pro motherboard, and Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply and SATA power cable.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
164 Comments
View All Comments
mwmccormick1 - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
I've used the p180 series in a few server builds and they have worked wonderfully.furrymike - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Just bought the Corsair 400R. Now this review has me thinking. The Corsair is diappoiningly noisy and this new Antec should be quieter and is a looker. Not quit Corsair ease of assembly but close.jfish2d - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Let's be honest. The flashy windows to view all the cool components are all well and good. But it's those who don't flaunt their junk who make successful ganks. This is exactly the case for doing just that. Somewhat normal on the outside (though beautiful), the Antec P280 is full of smart design and excellent execution.siderst - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Sign me up!GrJohnso - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Definitely a step in the right direction... Looks roomy enough without being quite the monster that my Corsair 800d is... Would make a nice addition to my stable... :)funkstrong - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
I know Antec has the straight forward design look, but this could use some help styling-wise.abnderby - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
in the past i have unfortunately usually opted for workstation chassis'. Mostly Intel ones due to having adequate drive options. IMO most of the so called power user and gamer cases were appalling in looks, case layout and drive options. I have never understood the whole 5 or 6 5 1/4 drive bays and only 3 or 4 3 1/2 bays for hard drives. I have 2 dvd drives and a usb card reader, I need hard disk space!So here we are a clean case all black inside and none of the hideous teenager looks on the outside. Very professional and adequate disk space. Way to go Antec, you did your home work.
Question for testing though (being a Software QA guy) why is most all case testing with only 1 or 2 drives? Should we not max this thing out with the hottest PS, video cards and every drive bay filled and a fan in all slots? this would really tell us how quiet it is and just how cool it will be with everything going at once.
i run currently 5 internal drives, OS, Temp, Data1 and data2, virtual machine drive, would run 6 if i had the room. I do not know what most power users run but normally if i have the space and connections available i fill them and use them for something.
Anyway good article, great looking case it is a win, win for me and it would be next on my upgrade list
Nightmare9 - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Did anyone else think there were 2 motherborads in the photo with the video card installed? The color of the card they used is exactly the same at the case.I'd love to win one, I'm just about to build a new PC.
Thanks
faZZter - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Looks like a good case, would work great on my new build I am working on for ToR release.doggod - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
As a P182 owner the design changes look good, the dual design in theory was good but in practice left a lot to be desired..Opening the door to power up the system was a niggle -system was rarely power down but trying to manipulate a large power supply and its cables in the bottom compartment was a pain with be having to dump the center fan. Having the motherboard a fraction on an inch above the divider was another unhappy experience with a rampage formula motherboard.What Ive never understood is why case designers
(working to a standard designed between them and gpu manufactures)
haven't put some sort of a way to funnel air from the front of a case to dump outside air as close as possible to the gpu fan which generally is the hottest component in a case, even by some sort of flexible construction.
As it is its only the air within the case which is being heated by every other component that get drawn into the gpu .