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Antec P280 Review: When Enthusiasts Are Engineers

 by Dustin Sklavos on November 15, 2011 10:20 AM EST
164 Comments | Add A Comment
164 Comments

Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked

Here's where we separate the men from the boys. Our overclocked test bed has proven to be very stressful on "less prepared" enclosures, and this is hopefully going to produce some more decisive results. So far, Antec's P280 has put in a strong performance, offering decent thermals with low acoustics, but it's still competing pretty squarely with Fractal Design's Define R3, an enclosure that costs between $30 and $40 less. The R3 lost a lot of steam in our overclocked testing, though. Can the P280 pick up the slack?

CPU Temperatures, Overclocked

Chipset Temperatures, Overclocked

GPU Temperatures, Overclocked

DIMM Temperatures, Overclocked

SSD Temperatures, Overclocked

Unfortunately, while most of the other components are running pretty frosty, the P280 has a hard time dealing with the substantially increased thermal load of the overclocked i7-875K. What we can glean from the results is that it's able to mostly manage overall ambient temperature, and the GeForce GTX 580 runs nice and cool compared to some of the other cases, but the processor may just not be getting enough cool air running through it. The P280 supports 240mm radiators, and getting one in there may not be a bad idea.

Overclocked Noise Levels

Once again it's hard to justify running the fans at their high setting. At their low setting the P280 is nice and quiet at idle, though load performance is dicier. Once again the P280 is in the same general ballpark as Fractal Design's up and comer.

Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock Conclusion: A Matter of Time and Preference
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  • 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 sure

  • Urinal 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 build

  • Rushedman68 - 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 V3
    ANTEC P280
    FRACTAL DESIGN DEFINE XL USB 3.0

    i have ANTEC P182 atm.
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