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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phantompowerz - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Looks good perfect for my new build.Nexis47 - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
I love Antec Cases. I could really use this for the next rig I put together with my bros so we can LAN. :]gurumarkb - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Interesting design and the solid front is similar to my Solo case I've been I've been running my Core i5 660 in for a year. But recently i got to install an Antec 300 Illusion case and I have to say I really like it. While the 300 Illusion does not have and USB 3 ports up front it's not a big deal as most motherboards don't have USB 3 headers yet so plugging the USB 3 device in the back is ok for now, The primary reason I prefer the 300 Illusion case is the front is all mesh and with the 2 120mm fans you can pull in major air to keep the computer cool. The rear 120mm and top 135mm fans blow the warm air out. Setting the front fans to low speed and the rear fans to medium speed makes for a quiet but cool computer.squadbumrush - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Pork chop sandwiches!MikesHeadRoom - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
This P280 really looks like a nice piece of equipment!ribi - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Now I feel a bit sorry I bought a new case a few weeks ago. It was an almost used Themaltake Xaser V - an older case but I got it very cheap and it still is way better than what I had before. This one seem to be well worth the price increase, though. Way to go, Antec! :)Nohr - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Don't think I'd buy one, but I'd love to win one!waveblaster200 - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Great review and read. Makes me think its time to get a Antec case again, Miss my old super lan boy!!phimac10 - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
The case look so good, I have the P182, which I modded to my liking. The main reason that I like the Antec dual chamber is that I can hide my pump.ehume - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Finally Antec adds a forward top fan position. Their prior cases of this type always had one fan in the back. As if no one would ever want a top intake. It is disappointing that they only have spots for 120mm fans up there. Spaces for two 140mm fans would carry the forward fan further forward, so that more of its output can feed the face of the cpu heatsink intake fan.The forward-facing IO ports are a blessing for those who must put their case under a shelf.
I love that they went whole hog on their cpu cooler window in the motherboard tray.
But I wish they had put room for four slots in their 5.25 bay: some of us put intake fans there.
Finally: why oh why is there a rear grill? With no grill, if you run all intake fans you can let air quietly escape -- no fan needed.
Otherwise, decent case.