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
Testing Methodology
For testing ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| Full ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-875K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 3.8GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | ASUS P7P55D-E Pro |
| Graphics Card | Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (244W TDP) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gbps Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| CPU Cooler | Zalman CNPS9900 MAX with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Gold 750W 80 Plus Gold |
A refresher on how we test:
Acoustic testing is standardized on a foot from the front of the case, using the Extech SL10 with an ambient noise floor of ~32dB. For reference, that's what my silent apartment measures with nothing running, testing acoustics in the dead of night (usually between 1am and 3am). A lot of us sit about a foot away from our computers, so this should be a fairly accurate representation of the kind of noise the case generates, and it's close enough to get noise levels that should register above ambient.
Thermal testing is run with the computer having idled at the desktop for fifteen minutes, and again with the computer running both Furmark (where applicable) and Prime95 (less one thread when a GPU is being used) for fifteen minutes. I've found that leaving one thread open in Prime95 allows the processor to heat up enough while making sure Furmark isn't CPU-limited. We're using the thermal diodes included with the hardware to keep everything standardized, and ambient testing temperature is always between 71F and 74F. Processor temperatures reported are the average of the CPU cores.
For more details on how we arrived at this testbed, you can check out our introductory passage in the review for the IN-WIN BUC.
Last but not least, we'd also like to thank the vendors who made our testbed possible:
Thank You!
We have some thanks in order before we press on:
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory we used to add memory thermals to our testing.
- Thank you to Zalman for providing us with the CNPS9900 MAX heatsink and fan unit we used.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive, Intel Core i7-875K processor, ASUS P7P55D-E Pro motherboard, and Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply and SATA power cable.
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ezorb - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Its highly suspect that you would not include these legendary cases when reviewing a "quiet" case. even if the price point is off by more than $100, people seeking a quite case need to know if the extra $100 is worth it.Dustin Sklavos - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
The FT02 is fair, but unfortunately we never got a P183 in to test and compare. :(mtoma - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
I should also mention the Fractal Design Define XL. It should be a good match for Antec P280. If only Dustin could do a review of that case, many enthusiast would be at rest. After all, the holidays are coming...danjw - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
This doesn't seem to be in the channel yet, any idea when I could buy one? Also, can you measure the space between the top and the motherboard. I would like to know how thick of a radiator + fans can be mounted there.geogecko - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Antec's site says the max CPU cooler height is 170mm.danjw - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Radiator, not heatsink, as in liquid cooling. He indicated there was plenty of room above the motherboard for a "thick" radiator, but doesn't say how thick.MrSpadge - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
That's less than in my P182. And that couldn't take a Thermalright Archon. Mhh.. I guess I'd rather have the space on top of the motherboard than behind it.MrS
danjw - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Hmm, the Archon is 170mm, which is what Antec says this one supports. Why do you think the 182 would support a taller heatsink then this one?lithium451 - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
I have the P182 also and at some point I found a FAQ on Antec site that the maximum height was about 160 (maybe 162) - which pretty much matches what I see with my 158mm cooler.Sounds like its about 8-10mm more room.
danjw - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
On another website, I found that their is 38mm between the motherboard top edge and the pre-installed top fans. So a 35mm thick radiator should work fine on this case, if anyone else was wondering.