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
Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock
Despite being very enthusiastic about the design of the Antec P280, I had real concerns about performance in practice. I'm just not a fan of negative pressure designs; historically I've seen positive pressure cases produce better thermal results. Antec's reps even asked me about my experiences there, but thankfully the P280 can be configured that way and then some. I also don't like the two exhaust fans in the top; I've never liked top exhaust fans in cases, as it's always seemed like a great way for noise to leak out. So suffice to say, I entered the actual testing of the P280 with some trepidation.
Performance for the P280 is for the most part middle-of-the-road. I think its biggest competitor is probably the up and coming Fractal Design Define R3. What's worth noting is the very minimal impact running the fans at low speeds seems to have had on the enclosure's performance.
Turning down those fans results in one of the quietest cases we've tested under load, though the results are within the margin of error compared to Fractal Design's Define R3. When we let them ramp up, though, no amount of sound dampening can really save the P280. Thankfully running them at low barely affects thermals, and as a result we get decent performance from a quiet case. So far Antec is on the right track.
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PCHPlayer - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Not sure if it's worth upgrading from the P180. Perhaps in the next system build. The isolated PS chamber was interesting in the P180, but it did make the power cable routing a bit tricky.dacrazydude - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
The P series were never really big enough to require dual chambers imo.hescominsoon - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Definitely an improvement from the mediocre cases I have seen from Antec Lately.Rakanishu - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
I'm using the P180 now and I dread having to install or un-install a piece of hardware from it. HDs especially, the new outward facing design is 100 times better imo.AntiNova - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
I won't deny that this is a nice looking case. I was just hoping that it would be more "adaptable" features... it just seems like a polished up redesign of previous casesrrohbeck - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
now that the new version is available. It seems that most of the wishes/concerns that the other posters have are answered by the Define XL. I love it (except that the finished system is back breakingly heavy.)Yes it looks like Fractal Design has shamelessly stolen ideas from Antec and others but that's a good thing IMHO.
stretchmonkey - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Comment!camerone222 - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Beautiful case. I hope I win, good luck to everyone.n3com3300 - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
Finally, an Antec chassis that can accommodate the H100 water cooler.tryb - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
Antec has always been my choice for cases and this is a step in the right direction. Losing the dual chamber is a plus in my opinion. After switching from the P180 case back to my aluminum P160 Antec case, the following features are just two reasons to make me finally upgrade my case."The enclosure is bigger and easier to work in, and has more room for expanding the system inside. There's plenty of space for mounting a good, thick 240mm radiator at the top, cable routing is slightly better, and the two internal fan mounts invite experimentation."
"Toolless locking mechanisms for the 5.25" drive bays are in place, as well as six drive trays that can support both 3.5" and 2.5" drives, with silicone grommets for the 3.5" drives to minimize vibration."
"There's now a massive cutout in the tray to maximize compatibility with aftermarket cooling, and rubber-lined holes surround the tray for routing cables to the back."