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
Renzhe - Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - link
I've got a P180 and generally like its acoustic and cooling properties, and I don't really care about the dual chamber design; I only assemble a computer once in a few years. The P182 got it right IMO, as it enabled using longer power supplies. This P280 is kinda ehh for its price. There's the Fractal R3, for half the price or less, whose fit and finish isn't as good, but does pretty much the same thing.macheesy - Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - link
i could use this for sureUrinal Mint - Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - link
I'd love to revamp my case setup on my HTPC with a 10-yr-old Antec housing it.chrcoluk - Thursday, November 24, 2011 - link
this to me fixes the main weaknesses of the p180 design.My p180b is good but in my view has 2 key weaknesses.
The bottom chamber is too compact.
The hdds are too much work to take in and out especially when add the fact removing the hdd tray upsets the cables which are hard to keep away from the fan.
In addition I think the fan placement in the bottom tray isnt optimal for hdd cooling, the fan is better as an intake on the front of the case, which is the situation on the p280.
So for me the p280 looks a great evolution. However I wont be buying one soon as the p180 is working well enough for me at the moment and I dont fancy rebuilding my rig
JohnnieBeBlue - Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - link
Was thinking about the Corsair 650D, but this is giving me second thoughts. Any input?hardwarehero - Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - link
i really think this case is amazing and it would be awesome if i won..i saw an unboxing of this and thought this could be the perfect gaming case and great for my first buildRushedman68 - Thursday, December 1, 2011 - link
Nice review, although I'm used to that here.I do prefer Antec's cases whenever I can, and I like the look of this one. I usually harp on the need for cooling when I build boxes for friends, and this would be one I'd be easily able to suggest using.
dagor - Thursday, December 1, 2011 - link
I am putting this case into serious consideration after reading the review. I really don't like the fan and blowhole at the top of any case though. Not only does it usually leave a potential place for noise to leak through, it can easily be blocked or covered by items. I like to leave a cleaning cloth on to of the case for cleaning the screen. If this cloth gets pushed too far back on this case it could mean a disaster for potential overheating. Heat rises naturally, but let's push it out the back, away from danger with all these fans that we have in our cases.DJShadow - Friday, December 2, 2011 - link
I like the clean face of the case. Very smooth.kmetek - Sunday, December 4, 2011 - link
ANTEC P183 V3ANTEC P280
FRACTAL DESIGN DEFINE XL USB 3.0
i have ANTEC P182 atm.