P183 or P182?

Stefx · Post by **Stefx** » Mon May 11, 2009 4:44 am

I've purchased the P183 to replace my P180, and I built my girlfriend's computer with a P182, so I've had a bit of experience with all three models.
My rig has a Q6600 cooled with a Tunic Tower, a 850W Enermax 85+ PSU, GTX 275 vid card. Two hard drives in the bottom chamber.

The 183 is indeed noisier than the P182, and that was obviously the cost for getting more ventilation. I have yet to replace the top TriCool with another Scythe S-Flex E @ 5V (all my other fans are Scythe E and they're connected to a fan controller set to the lowest voltage).

One advantage of the P183 is the location of the bottom chamber fan, which allows for large/long PSUs.

If you're building a gaming rig with a large PSU, I'd suggest you go with the P183.
If you're not into large PSUs and extra cooling isn't needed, the P182 will be quieter.

DaveLessnau · Post by **DaveLessnau** » Mon May 11, 2009 5:11 am

Olle P wrote:
DaveLessnau wrote:... According to Antec's site, the P183 is 20.25" tall, whereas the P182 is 21.3".
... but the metric values are exactly the same! The difference is that P182 is described using one decimal inch values and whole cms, whereas P183 is described with two decimal inch values and mms.

It looks like you're right. Since Antec is a headquartered in a metric area, I guess I'll have to assume the metric values are correct. Doing a mathematical conversion on the metric heights:

P182: 52 cm converts to 20.5 inches (site says 21.3 inches)
P183: 514 mm converts to 20.24 inches (site says 20.25 inches)

So, the english/metric values for the P183 are equivalent (within reason). But, the values for the P182 are way off. Again, assuming the metric values are the correct ones, the P183 appears to be shorter than the P182, but only by a tiny amount. And, as you said, that could just be a function of the number of significant digits in their measurements (and also that they rounded UP for the P182 instead of just plain rounding (or truncating, in this case)).

Stefx · Post by **Stefx** » Mon May 11, 2009 3:08 pm

I have all three at home (P180, P182 and P183).

All three are 20.25inch high, including the silicone supports on the bottom.

PartEleven · Post by **PartEleven** » Mon May 11, 2009 7:18 pm

DaveLessnau wrote:It looks like you're right. Since Antec is a headquartered in a metric area, I guess I'll have to assume the metric values are correct. Doing a mathematical conversion on the metric heights:

????
I thought Antec was headquartered in Fremont, CA.

DaveLessnau · Post by **DaveLessnau** » Tue May 12, 2009 4:34 am

PartEleven wrote:
DaveLessnau wrote:It looks like you're right. Since Antec is a headquartered in a metric area, I guess I'll have to assume the metric values are correct. Doing a mathematical conversion on the metric heights:
????
I thought Antec was headquartered in Fremont, CA.

Hokey Smokes! You're right:

http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/index.php?page=info

Somehow, when I first started buying Antec stuff, I visited their web site and ended up on their Taiwan page (I think). From that, I assumed they were located there. Thanks for bringing that up.

Of course, now I can't come up with a good reason for their getting the height of the P182 and P180 wrong in inches but right in cm (per Stefx's post as compared to their web site).

mbf · Post by **mbf** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 12:18 pm

Stefx wrote:I've purchased the P183 to replace my P180, and I built my girlfriend's computer with a P182, so I've had a bit of experience with all three models.
My rig has a Q6600 cooled with a Tunic Tower, a 850W Enermax 85+ PSU, GTX 275 vid card. Two hard drives in the bottom chamber.

The 183 is indeed noisier than the P182, and that was obviously the cost for getting more ventilation. I have yet to replace the top TriCool with another Scythe S-Flex E @ 5V (all my other fans are Scythe E and they're connected to a fan controller set to the lowest voltage).

One advantage of the P183 is the location of the bottom chamber fan, which allows for large/long PSUs.

If you're building a gaming rig with a large PSU, I'd suggest you go with the P183.
If you're not into large PSUs and extra cooling isn't needed, the P182 will be quieter.

Might I ask *how* much noisier the P183 is compared to the P182?

I'm torn between those two cases (and the Lancool K10, to be honest

).

I like the looks of the P182 more than the looks of the P183, but I'll be putting something along the lines of a GTX275 in it. I'm getting the impression from searching this forum that the P182 has some serious airflow problems and I *WANT* to keep the case door closed. As much for noise as for aesthetics.

It seems every time I decide on one of the models some piece of info turns up that makes me question my choice. I should add that I'm not much of a modder.

danimal · Post by **danimal** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 5:33 pm

the 275 says serious gaming, so the p183 would be the best choice, because you can shut the door and still get good airflow... remember to keep the bottom vent hole behind the door clear.

the p182 would be fine if you didn't mind keeping the door open, if necessary... i think that antec has discontinued the p182, tho, frys doesn't have it any more.

amazon has both the p183 & the cp-850 for $256(free shipping), which is a pretty good price... be careful tho, their prices change daily.

mbf · Post by **mbf** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 7:34 am

Thanks a lot for your insight and comments!

Is the air flow problem really that bad with the P182? I thought that maybe heat problems would only occur with really hot hardware like e.g. a SLI or CrossFire configuration.

I should perhaps state that I'm thinking of putting in a C2D E8400, 4GB RAM, a single graphics card (GTX260/275 or HD4870/4890), 1 or 2 HDDs and a DVD writer. PSU-wise I'll probably keep my Corsair HX520W.

The P182 hasn't been discontinued around here (Denmark) yet, whereas the P183 has just started showing up in the last 1-2 months. Price is about the same for both cases.

I'm coming from a Lian-Li PC61 (2001), which I truly love (the build quality is faultless) and which is the reason I'm also looking at the Lancool K10 (as long as I can still get it). The only real issue with my PC61 is that it's quite noisy and it doesn't help that I have (and need to have) my case standing on the desktop just to my right.

danimal · Post by **danimal** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 11:45 am

the p182 in it's stock configuration, with all fans on low, does not flow enough air in the upper compartment, even with the door open, at least with my overclocked hardware... when i took the side panel off, the cpu & gpu temps would drop.

i put a mugen 2 cpu cooler on it, dumped the tricools, and hooked up 5 fans blowing inwards in the upper compartment, and it works much better, even with all fans on low and the door shut.

new2spcr · Post by **new2spcr** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 1:36 pm

danimal wrote:the p182 in it's stock configuration, with all fans on low, does not flow enough air in the upper compartment, even with the door open, at least with my overclocked hardware... when i took the side panel off, the cpu & gpu temps would drop.

i put a mugen 2 cpu cooler on it, dumped the tricools, and hooked up 5 fans blowing inwards in the upper compartment, and it works much better, even with all fans on low and the door shut.

One could also take advantage of a cpu fan, instead of using intake fans.
I noticed that a tower HS fan works fine as an air puller.
During a HDD suspension check I removed the 5.25 bay covers while computer was running and placed my hand near the gap - wow, there was quite a breeze sucked in by the Nexux 92mm @850 rpm. That breeze is doing an excellent job cooling my HDD and possibly other components as well.

mbf · Post by **mbf** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 2:26 pm

Thanks again to both of you!

I was considering blocking off the top exhaust (both for the P182 and the P183) and putting 1 fan in front of the graphics card. Might even remove the upper HDD cage if it can be done while still being able to mount that fan. Possibly a fan in the lower compartment as well, but I guess that only really works with the P183.

For the CPU fan I'm going with the Zalman CNPS-8700, by the way. I like top-down blowers more than tower heatsinks.

danimal · Post by **danimal** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:16 am

the mugen 2 is a better cooler, it has a quieter pwm fan, and more cooling capacity.

i like the hood scoop on the p182, and the middle fan location as well, because it's quieter than a fan that's close to the intake filter... the p182 is a great case, but i'd still get the p183.

mbf · Post by **mbf** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:21 am

Thanks! I'll keep your points in mind.

zxcjason · Post by **zxcjason** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:17 pm

I've never used the P182 but have a P183. I can attest that if you replace the tricool and get a fan controller, you can get great ventilation and still keep the case very quiet. I have the S-Flex E as the top fan and it does get noisy at top speed, but undervolting it eliminates almost all the noise. The noise of the front fans get muffled by the door, and the mid chamber fan is inside the case and have little noise, so I totally recommend installing the extra fans.

I have 7 120mm fans in the case (5 for the case, and 2 for the Mugen-2), and my case is really quiet (not silent, but the background noise drown it out most of the time).

If you want a quiet case you should ditch the tri-cool though, I replace 2 of the fans with the tri-cool just to experiement, and turn them to medium, and they drown out all the other fans at top speed (except the top fan).

mbf · Post by **mbf** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:57 pm

Thanks for your input! I was planning on ditching the TriCools anyway. And blocking off the top exhaust is a given as well.

By the way, am I correct in assuming that the round cut-out is directly under the arrowshaped plastic grille and removing the grille leaves with more or less a hole in the top panel? I wonder how that particular hole can be "plugged" to make it look bearable.

I had looked at the new be quiet! SilentWings USC fans as replacements for the TriCools. They're supposedly very quiet.

Olle P · Post by **Olle P** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:00 am

danimal wrote:i like ... the middle fan location [of P182] as well, because it's quieter than a fan that's close to the intake filter.

I don't like that middle fan placement.
Normally you just don't need that fan, and then it doesn't matter, but when you need the added air flow a middle fan is in the way for the cables. The front placement is perhaps slightly noisier, but the simplified cable management makes it worth it!

mbf wrote:By the way, am I correct in assuming that the round cut-out is directly under the arrowshaped plastic grille and removing the grille leaves with more or less a hole in the top panel? I wonder how that particular hole can be "plugged" to make it look bearable.

You're correct. My "plug" is a plate of 4mm clear acrylic cut to the size and shape of a 12cm fan frame, which I've mounted there instead of the fan.

Cheers
Olle

mbf · Post by **mbf** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 8:11 am

Olle P wrote:You're correct. My "plug" is a plate of 4mm clear acrylic cut to the size and shape of a 12cm fan frame, which I've mounted there instead of the fan.

Cheers
Olle

Thanks for the suggestion! Ideally, one would get a "spare" P182 top panel and use that instead, but when is anything really ideal.