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Price-Point Comparing Three-Way Case Shootout

 by Joshua Buss on January 13, 2006 12:05 AM EST
69 Comments | Add A Comment
69 Comments
Antec P150 (cont'd)

Before popping off the side of the new Antec case, we took a look at the rear and were pleased to see a large 120mm fan, especially given the case's dimensions. As always, larger fans generally are preferred, since they can move more air while making less noise. There's also venting near the expansion slots for additional passive cooling.


Click to enlarge.

To get an unobstructed view of the interior of the P150, we took out the included power supply. What we were left with was simple, but not bad by any means. Overall, the P150 feels very solid. We're sure that it would be able to protect expensive components for a long time, but one would have to be mindful of the nice paint job.


Click to enlarge.

Not including the external 3½" drive bay, the P150 has enough space for four hard drives, which is certainly plenty for most users. In this view, one can see how incoming air is directed over the hard drives, and if one wanted additional cooling, two extra 92mm fans could be installed.


Click to enlarge.

Also note the rubber bands stretched across the sides of this cavity. These can be used for suspending the hard drives to effectively isolate all vibrations entirely from the chassis. Keep in mind that this is only a solution for users who don't transport the case though - when in transit the sleds must be used as shown here. The manual even makes mention of this.


Click to enlarge.

To get at the drives in the P150, we have to open the entire front bezel. Three tabs hold it in place on the left side, then it hinges like a door for a while before being able to be lifted completely off the hinge. In another effort to truly separate this case from cheaper models, the entire area where intake air can be channeled through is covered by a double-height removable filter.


Click to enlarge.

Once the front door has been lifted away, two thumbscrews are loosened and another door swings open to the left. In this shot, we've also already removed the air filter.


Click to enlarge.

Antec P150 Antec P150 (cont’d)
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  • yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    Yes, the Antec P150 is the best case EVER. No really, it's awesome. I wish they'd offer it without the included PSU though, since that PSU has issues with some Asus boards. I ended up buying a different PSU ahead of time since I knew that and was getting an A8N-SLI Premium.

    I highly recommend the P150. No reason for any other case unless you simply need MORE room than it offers.

    The best part about the P150 is you can build a silent PC system in it very easily. I have the included 120mm fan on the lowest setting and insulated from the case itself with rubber grommets so it's totally silent, a TruePowerII 480w PSU (has a 120mm fan inside it) which is totally silent, the harddrive isolated with the included grommets, the CPU fan throttled down dynamically with CPUSpeed, and the GPU fan throttled with ATITool.

    It's also high quality part and construction-wise.

  • Live - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    The optional front fans in the P150 are for 92mm.

  • Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    fixed.

  • xsilver - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    anybody here from Australia? know where I can get the raidmax X1? not sure if there are any australian distributers -- (cant find anybody on staticice.com.au)

  • Cygni - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    My only comment is with the title of the article. Probably should be a bit more descriptive... like "Cases - 3 Way Price Point Shootout" or something,.

  • balilu - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    Is the P150 available in black or any chance of being in the near future?

  • Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    I haven't seen any indication that antec is going to release other models of the P150.. that being said, you might want to check out their Sonata II reviewed several months back.

  • Avalon - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    Raidmax getting an editor's gold choice award makes me giggle inside.

  • Googer - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    Why does the title of the page say

    ate: January 13th, 2006
    Topic: Cases & Cooling
    Manufacturer: 3Com/U.S. Robotics
    Author: Joshua Buss

    Why is 3Com and US Robotics listed? 3COM Spun them off and they are no longer part of 3COM. Also 3COM and US Robotics do not make PC Cases and there were no other USR or 3COM Components reviewed in this article.

  • Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    no idea. Thanks for point it out....
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