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Big Intake Vents
Along
with the top mounted I/O panel, the front air intake slots in the lower part of the bezel are the most visually prominent features of
the P160. (MikeC's note: They make one think of the polished intake vents on... er... the engines of a jet fighter plane? Yikes, those Antec copywriters have got under my aluminum skin!) The slots are oval shaped, about 1" x 4" in size.
The slots are about an inch deep and are surrounded by a continuation of the
same chrome trim that surrounds the outside perimeter of the bezel. The air
intakes have a straight path to the interior of the case, broken only by the
expanded metal grillwork, the washable air filter and a wide open fan grill on the inside chassis.
At first glance, this expanded metal grill looks a bit restrictive but it
certainly does nothing to keep the noise in the case so it must let the air
flow in rather well too.
Front air intakes. Note the chrome surrounds.
Blue LEDs are imbedded in the top of each slot.
Directly behind the air intake slots on the back side of the bezel is the
removable, washable air filter. It is similar to
filters on previous Antec cases, a fine plastic mesh screen stretched
over a plastic frame. It requires the bezel to be removed. One common flaw of the last several Antec cases I've used is also found here: The
intake airflow from the 5" x 3/4" slot on the bottom lip of the bezel completely bypasses the front air filter. (MikeC's note: So don't be surprised if you still end up with dust bunnies in your case after a few weeks even with regular filter cleaning.)
Removing the front air filter. Note the
slot in the bottom lip of the bezel
The front bezel is pretty easy to remove -- just pull straight out from the bottom after the left side
door has been removed. There's a spring loaded bar that engages a slot in
the front bezel. This bar only retracts out of the way if the left side
door has been removed. The front bezel is held in by a set of six plastic
tabs that snap into holes in the front chassis wall. There's also a plug
in wire connector that provides power to the three LEDs that are imbedded
into the front intake slots. These 3 lights cast a blue glow throughout each
intake slot... but they do nothing for me.
LEFT: Back side of bezel. Note the flip-open
CD-ROM drive covers, the FDD cover and the removable air filter. RIGHT:
Mmm, bling, bling!
The Back Panel
The back of the case sports the usual ATX standard PSU mounting holes, an
I/O shield attached to the removable motherboard tray, a set of seven covered
PCI card slots and a very nicely vented 120mm fan grill that looks like a
direct copy of the Sonata fan grill. This grill provides unimpeded
airflow for the included 120mm case fan. The extra 2" height over a SLK3700 case can be clear seen here -- it is the space above the hole for the PSU exhaust, which is used mostly for the top front control panel.
Rear view. All the usual suspects and
no included PSU. Note the excellent fan grill.
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