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
Conclusion: A Matter of Time and Preference
It was probably unreasonable to expect better thermals out of the Antec P280. The enclosure isn't a homerun, at least not in its stock configuration, but it's most definitely a strong base hit. While competing with Corsair's Carbide 500R and Obsidian 650D means taking a look at what your priorities are, it really invites direct comparison to Fractal Design's Define R3, an enclosure that many enthusiasts found themselves recommending over the incumbent P180 series.
That comparison is a tough one. The Fractal Design enclosure is cheaper, has more room for 3.5" drives, and I'm frankly more enamored with the acoustic dampening in it than I am with Antec's P280. Having those internally covered mounts is a nice touch, giving the end user more flexibility with how they want to configure the R3. On the other hand, I like the looks of the P280 more. 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. Antec's P280 also has better ventilation in the front for taking in fresh air. Test results suggest a close match up, but I just get a better feeling from the P280. It's a situation where I can easily see some users going for the Define R3 and some users going for the P280; if it were my money, I'd personally spend the extra dosh on the P280, but I wouldn't dream of faulting anyone for choosing the Define R3 instead.
Antec's engineers made an awful lot of changes when they designed the P280, and it's fantastic to see the kind of innovation here that I used to expect fairly regularly from them. They took a lot of the best ideas from existing designs and applied some of their own, and the result is an enclosure that in many ways feels like a grand experiment. If you like tinkering with your system, I probably couldn't recommend the P280 enough. If you were in the market for a silent performance case in the sub-$200 range, either the Define R3 or P280 would serve you well (going north of $200 means picking up my personal favorite, the SilverStone FT02.)
The P180 saw two important revisions in its lifetime, with the P182 and P183 both improving somewhat on their predecessor's designs. I think the P280 is an excellent first draft that I could happily recommend, but what I'm really curious to see is where Antec opts to revise the design. There are a lot of good ideas here and the more adventurous users will probably have a lot of fun with it. I'm not entirely certain this was the enclosure you were waiting for, but it's definitely a strong step forward and certainly worth considering.
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mwmccormick1 - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
I've used the p180 series in a few server builds and they have worked wonderfully.furrymike - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Just bought the Corsair 400R. Now this review has me thinking. The Corsair is diappoiningly noisy and this new Antec should be quieter and is a looker. Not quit Corsair ease of assembly but close.jfish2d - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Let's be honest. The flashy windows to view all the cool components are all well and good. But it's those who don't flaunt their junk who make successful ganks. This is exactly the case for doing just that. Somewhat normal on the outside (though beautiful), the Antec P280 is full of smart design and excellent execution.siderst - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Sign me up!GrJohnso - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Definitely a step in the right direction... Looks roomy enough without being quite the monster that my Corsair 800d is... Would make a nice addition to my stable... :)funkstrong - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
I know Antec has the straight forward design look, but this could use some help styling-wise.abnderby - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
in the past i have unfortunately usually opted for workstation chassis'. Mostly Intel ones due to having adequate drive options. IMO most of the so called power user and gamer cases were appalling in looks, case layout and drive options. I have never understood the whole 5 or 6 5 1/4 drive bays and only 3 or 4 3 1/2 bays for hard drives. I have 2 dvd drives and a usb card reader, I need hard disk space!So here we are a clean case all black inside and none of the hideous teenager looks on the outside. Very professional and adequate disk space. Way to go Antec, you did your home work.
Question for testing though (being a Software QA guy) why is most all case testing with only 1 or 2 drives? Should we not max this thing out with the hottest PS, video cards and every drive bay filled and a fan in all slots? this would really tell us how quiet it is and just how cool it will be with everything going at once.
i run currently 5 internal drives, OS, Temp, Data1 and data2, virtual machine drive, would run 6 if i had the room. I do not know what most power users run but normally if i have the space and connections available i fill them and use them for something.
Anyway good article, great looking case it is a win, win for me and it would be next on my upgrade list
Nightmare9 - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Did anyone else think there were 2 motherborads in the photo with the video card installed? The color of the card they used is exactly the same at the case.I'd love to win one, I'm just about to build a new PC.
Thanks
faZZter - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
Looks like a good case, would work great on my new build I am working on for ToR release.doggod - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
As a P182 owner the design changes look good, the dual design in theory was good but in practice left a lot to be desired..Opening the door to power up the system was a niggle -system was rarely power down but trying to manipulate a large power supply and its cables in the bottom compartment was a pain with be having to dump the center fan. Having the motherboard a fraction on an inch above the divider was another unhappy experience with a rampage formula motherboard.What Ive never understood is why case designers
(working to a standard designed between them and gpu manufactures)
haven't put some sort of a way to funnel air from the front of a case to dump outside air as close as possible to the gpu fan which generally is the hottest component in a case, even by some sort of flexible construction.
As it is its only the air within the case which is being heated by every other component that get drawn into the gpu .