Antec P180 - impressions and questions! (56k beware)

Sorry if there is a thread about this already.

Have you guys seen the Antec P180 case? It is aimed at functionality, cooling and silence.

As a P160 owner, I was excited about seeing the newest iteration. Here are my impressions, along with some questions.

1) The silver picture on the first page of the link looks sexy as - but does anyone think the 'black' version is ugly? I'd much prefer the sexier Lian-Li-esque of the silver...








2) If I had to build a case with a door, why not put the hinge on the other side? Most enthusiasts prefer having a case window on the 'left' side, so why make the door swivel around to be tucked on the same side? It detracts from the look. It should start on the right and be tucked back that way, much neater if you ask me.






4) The front cooling fans: There is a grill, a dust filter, another grill, and a fan. Oh, and a door (if you shut it). Now tell me, how much air is getting in? Bugger all. Not to mention that the more you stick in front of a fan, the noisier it can become because of air turbulence. IMO the 2nd metal case grill should be removed (and could easily be I suppose with a dremel ).






4) The top vent has to go. A nice integrated flat grill/filter would have been nice, but what is the point of this thing? Seriously, baton down the hatches, this case looks some sort of aeroplane hybrid. Either that or a vacuum cleaner.






5) Body panels are a 3-layered composite of aluminum/plastic/aluminum to reduce noise. Hmm.. sounds like a good idea


6) I'm not sure about whats going on in the bottom section of the case. The idea might be sound but I'm not sure if I get the implementation here.

Here are two comments from the website:
"Any type of ATX PSU can be installed: Single 80mm fan, single 120mm fan, or dual fan. It can be mounted right side up or upside down as desired. The vent holes around the PSU opening on the back panel allows exhaust of the airflow generated by the center 120mm fan when a fanless PSU with minimal ventilation is used."

Now lets assume that the PSU your going to use is a standard two fan arrangement. What is the intake fan on the PSU going to do? You could mount it normally, as seen below, and let the fan suffocate.




Or you could mount it upside down and have the same effect. Or you could cut a hole in the divider and allow the intake fan to pull air from the main chamber. I'm not sure what kind of effect this would have on air flow, as it would be most likely pulling against the fan on the Video Card and the exhaust fans. You also lose the idea of 'isolating' the components. So either way you're stuffed.

The only thing I could think of where this would make more sense is if the Case was raised on feet and had a hole in the bottom (under the PSU) so it could suck fresh air in that way.

"...this arrangement is highly efficient in that the airflow of the PSU fan is used not only to cool itself but also the hard drives."

This comment is inaccurate, as in the picture shown above, none of the PSU fans is in any way helping the cooling of the Hard Drives.

As an aside, unless you take the cover off your PSU, I dont see what that central fan in the bottom chamber is likely to do. Sure, it could keep a fanless PSU cool - but what is the point of going fanless then?


Well thats about it.. anyone else have thoughts/opinions?

 

Has great modding potential i think....
Similar layout to Lian Li's V1000.

Made some good points there as to cons regarding layout.

 

The case has been listed on Altech for some time now, I am just "waiting" so I can place my order

The PSU is ment to be installed "upsidedown"....most Antec PSU's are already made for this upsidedown thing

PS. good useage of paint

 

Lol thx, paint owns

But as stated, even upside down I do not see how that will change things: there is no hole in the horizontal divider above it (is there?), so its not getting much air is it?

 

I don't think airflow will be a problem. The top gets its intake from the holes around the optical bay and the fan behind the HDD. The bottom has it's own intake and exaust through the PSU.

I like it.

 

I posted a thread about this already... about an hour before yours lol, didnt you see it
http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=378633

 

Lol sorry dude didnt see it

But where are your MsPaint skillz?

 

You will note that the PSU does not sit flush with the floor OR the roof in it's bottom section.
This allows it room to suck enough air through the entire bottom section using both it's bottom fan (if it has one) and through it's rear grille. If you have the centre fan going, and an Antec PSU that is temperature controlled, then it should be running slow and quiet. Or you could disconnect the centre fan and use the PSU's fans to suck air through the bottom section.
I do see what they meant by the PSU cooling the HDD's. Theoretically air should flow from front to back in the bottom section, the PSU should be able to cope with the heat of the hard drives.

I don't like the top fan though, it needs to be flush with the roof to maximise it's effect. A little modification should correct that though.
Overall I like the case, and although the black has nothing on the Silver, it will go lovely with my all-black home theatre setup.

Damo.