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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deararis - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
Oh I want one!rak500 - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
I'm a big fan of Antec products but I must admit I am disapointed in the lack of CP PSU series compatibility!Still looks fabulous though, I will most definitely get that for my next build!
winglerw28 - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
I always remembered holding off on a P182 for cost restrictions and because of the middle bar, and I'm glad I did that because it looks like the P280 is fantastic in comparison. I wish my case could be anywhere near as quiet as some of the systems shown here :Pscottmchsd - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
Good looking caseas1099 - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
The thing about cases is that they last so long. I'm still using the Antec SL-3000B (i think that's what it was called) which i bought for GBP35 7 years ago. It's witnessed 3 different builds and many upgrades besides.However, this very thorough review of an apparently awesome case may be my reason to finally upgrade! The whole cable routing thing will be totally new to me, having not purchased an enclosure since 2004...
GLudlow - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
I prefer these lower-profile cases to the more visually busy ones.vrmuds - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
Looks pretty cool!bkiserx7 - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
even sexier than my ole P180B...droolAlexvrb - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
This would look great on my mantle! I mean desk!intelpen2002 - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - link
This case takes best ideas from existing models and combine them with a few original ones to give one of the best of it class. Very good product overall.