i am thinking on similar lines to JimK: i'll buy the 3000B this week, and move my rig into a P180 this summer. It is too physically attractive a case to simply watch being reviewed and enjoyed by others.

about the front 120mm fan: why not just remove the plastic mount, add thin strips of bubble paper to the front-facing edges of your fan (for decoupling), appose it to the inner side of the case, and sellotape it in place? no drills required.

Given that i've never built a PC (but i'm about to), that may have been a seriously naive comment; please forgive me if this is the case (no pun intended)

FYI: the only place in the UK that appears to have the 3000B avaialble is mediaatlantic.com approx 38 quid delivered iirc
I found it on ebuyer but it was out of stock and v. overpriced

Another sweet review. SPCR reviews make other site case reviews seem absolutely worthless (to me) by comparison.

My biggest qualms :
1. No front audio / 1394
2. boring to look at.

I am deciding between this and a BQE. I wish the B had the plain side panel as those side vents sure look like they will let out a lot of noise. I might go for AcoustiPack, but what are other good materials would be good to use to block those side vents if I don't want to use them?

(I'll be going with AMD 64 with Zalman 7000/7700 or Thermalright XP-90/120 depending on the particular motherboard and clearance issues, as well as a 6800 GT with NV5. The PSU will be Seasonic ST 400 or an S12 430 or 500 if they become available soon.)

--Lee

Yep, I'm going to go for the 3000B too, mainly due to the two reasons already cited: price and impatience. I'm sure it will be more than enough for my needs.

3000B. Hands down.

http://www.proshop-direkte.dk/ShowProdu ... odid=41407 has 20+ in stock so it must become available in the uk soon as well.
But what's with the EU suffix when there's no psu included?

KustomPCs are getting the 3000B in stock this month. I've got one pre-ordered. Price is £29.78 ex-VAT.

Well I just got my Antec 3000B from zipzoomfly, for a pretty good price ($65.95 including ground shipping). I was debating on whether to get it or the evercase, but fearing that the evercase was a bit small, I went for the 3000B (to my dismay Antec announces the P180 (sigh)). Well, I must say my comments are mixed. I've been spoiled by Lian-Li's 6077 which I was using until my dad needed the computer. The Lian-Li was sweet to move around in though cabling proved to be a major pain. The antec feels solid, but the craftsmanship isn't the same. Different screws are used everywhere. The side panels lock more securely with less rattle which was good. The spray paint job was evenly coated on the outside, but on the inside is a different story. Plus the ok stamps aren't exactly what would be great in a windowed case (which i was hoping i could do a little modding later, but at least they're relatively well hidden). Edges aren't exactly sharp but they are rough so be warned. I'm building the computer part by part only because I have time to mess with the computer now (well I have everything ordered besides the cpu, mobo, ram, and graphics card). When I really need it, hopefully the prices will come down, and all I would have to do is pop the cpu, mobo, ram, graphics card card in and I would be ready to install windows. I ordered a 400W Super Tornado and the screw holes definitely don't match up. The right 2 and the top left can be forced into place, but the bottom left will require me to enlarge the screw hole on the case. I'll post more comments as I continue to build my pc.

Current components:
XP-120 w/ arctic silver 5 (this better fit in my case or i'll be real angry )
3 x iSellerPlus 120mm "Nexus" fans
400W Super Tornado
Cheapo 16x DVD+/-RW (for $30 after rebate )
audigy zs 2 platinum
3.5 floppy
2 x 120 gb Hitachi 7k250

Probable specs are:
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe ( I know, I know the mobo fan sucks, but my brother has one, says it's not too bad and he has almost the exact same pc, plus it's the cheapest nForce 4 board out that's stable)
AMD64 Winchester 3200+ or 3500+ depending on if the 3500+ drops to ~$250
2x512mb of Ballistix or 2x1gb corsair value ram (any suggestions are welcome, but they both have great performance for the price pt.)
XFX-6600GT (this is almost definite, since my brother has this, so once prices drop for the 6800s, I can let him dual SLI and get me a 6800gt/ultra)

One more thing, if you want more pictures of the Antec, I've taken quite a few and if you would like, I'll email them to you.

Edit: Mine also didn't come with a manual either.

I think the EU just means its the version for sale in europe. Having looked at the antec site I can't see any difference.

Then what would you recommend for "hands up" ? ;P

I'm planning on buying an SLK3000B, but I have a few remaining questions about it.

If I want to mount an 80mm fan against the front fan grille, will I need to drill holes or will E-A-R fan mounts fit through the grille?

Will the rear fanholes need to be modded in order to fit E-A-R fan mounts?

Lastly, can the hard-drive screws be used with E-A-R hard-drive grommets? As I recall, the shoulder bolts for E-A-R hard-drive grommets are pretty scarce.

Thanks for any info.

Hi, first post at SPCR but longtime reader.

I have the BQE 3700 and have to say I really don't think the criticism of the sideways HDD mounting is warranted. I'm sure it blocks a bit of air but the arrangement is very practical and useful. The stock grommet/tray system is also very good at minimising HDD noise with minimal effort and still allowing regular transport of the case (not as good for quietness as elastic bands etc - I have these in another case, but you can't move it nearly as easily).

Cable management is very easy and the effect is one of greater spaciousness. I don't run a front 120mm and HDD temps (it's over 30C here now) are 40-45C. The air just gets sucked in by the 120mm exhaust over the (4) 7200rpm drives.

The one thing that would be a great addition to a BQE would be the new side panel of the 3000.

One problem (mentioned here at SPCR in the BQE review) of ill-fitting side panels may crop up again on the 3000. I just swapped my "bad" door with one of another BQE at the retailer - my "bad" door fitted just fine on the one I swapped with, and needless to say the swap was just dandy - so it could be a tolerance thing. Pity they don't check properly at the factory though.

I presume you'll have to move the Intel thermal telescope thingy from the side to fit the XP-120? How easy is it to remove?
Are you planning to line the inside of the case?

Cams

Been awhile since I've posted here, though I do regularly come check out the reviews. Frankly I was a little disappointed by this one. The fan was tested and measurements made quite nicely, but am I simply remembering wrong, thinking that you folks usually put together a system in new cases to see how they perform? At least so that you can give readers (at the very least) some subjective observations about performance?

I understand that it seems like an insignificant update, not worthy of such trouble, but I would argue that the side vents could be an excellent feature or a horrible detriment, and until someone has tested it and reported what the effect is in terms of noise escaped vs. cooling acquired, I would say that this 3000B is a a gamble not worth taking. I do know that in other cases that have side vents this has been a major issue in past articles. I'm slightly saddened by the fact that it wasn't closely examined here. I'm inclined to think that it would do more harm that good, especially considering the lower opening that would provide an excellent way to hear un-modded graphics cards' fans. But again, 'who knows?' until someone checks.

Also, I was checking out newegg, and I was suprised to see other additions to this line, including a 1650B and a 2650BQE, both of which appear to be variations on this theme. The 2650 in particular looked like a possible candidate for a good, cool, quiet case (Ralph would maybe appreciate the HDD bays facing the right direction). I was little surprised that these weren't even mentioned in this article, as it would fit in nicely in the parts about changing design based on user feedback.

I really do not mean to sound overly critical or any such thing. I was just slightly shocked that this review differed so much from other case reviews I have seen here. You folks do THE most thorough reviews of THE most interesting gear anywhere on the net (as far as I know). I love the standard you generally keep yourselves to, and I appreciate everything you have done... I seriously don't know what I would do in terms of building PCs without this site and your hard work. I would be (yet ANOTHER) naive consumer blindly making purchases based on manufacturers' claims and the shoddy reviews available elsewhere on the net. That would be sad.

Finally, FWIW, a friend of mine gave me his antec 350S power supply, and it is (by FAR) quieter than any other PS (I own the latest version of the Super Tornado 400), even quieter than any other fan I have witnessed (and yes I have many Panaflo 80L1A's). It also moves virtually no air to speak of, and when I stick a piece of plastic in to stop the fan, I find it barely moving. I'm ok with that. If it gets too hot, it'll shut itself off, right? I hope so anyway...

OK seriously, my last comment is... did you see that new mac mini?? That looks NICE. Talk about SFF... I finally got the chance to check out the new iMac in a very quite room, and was impressed by how seriously quiet it was. How do those things move air?? There was a Dell in the room that I had turned off... when I turned it back on, it nearly burst my eardrums.

OK and I'm spent.

-PS

I guess I felt the need to make up for not posting for so long...

Fair point about not testing a system in it. It would be nice to know if there were any problems, rattles, etc. that a simple examination wouldn't reveal.
The review did mention how to block off the side vents, and failing that there's always Acoustipack.

The 1650 and 2650 have been out for a while - they aren't variations on the 3000B. They were mentioned on the forums, but were reported to have lesser build quality than the 3700 series, and didn't generate much interest. If they had, I expect we'd have seen a review by now.

To be honest, I'm struggling to see any overall advantage (colour preferences aside) over the 3700AMB. The AMB is maybe £10-15 dearer in the UK (or maybe even actually cheaper depending on availability) and you can probably get at least double that for the included PSU on eBay, assuming you can be bothered or you can't find another use for it. The 3000B will still need *some* surgery to be able to soft-mount 120mm fans, and once you've started it's hardly much more effort to cut out the fan grilles, which would still be restrictive to some extent, even though they're an improvement on a non-modified AMB. The nicer case fan is a plus, but I guess most people here would prefer a Nexus or some such anyway...

Worst of all, there's the side vents... yes, you could block them up but it hardly counts as an "out-of-the-box" advantage over the AMB quietness-wise, and doesn't do much for the aesthetics. As for an Acoustipack, well, that would cost a fair bit more than the case itself. Pity they didn't use that duct thingy like in the Sonata II which sucks from the back... cost issues I suppose...

Welcome back PS,

You PoV is not unreasonable, but consider the time & true value aspect of such testing. The airflow / build quality of this case is well known, as mentioned in the review. These were very well explored in previous 3700 reviews, there really was no point to repeat the exercise again.

As for the role of the side vents, they will be what you make them be. In other words, if you build a noisy system, they will let out lots of noise. If you build a quiet system, there's very little noise to escape to begin with, so it's not much of an issue. With very hot components, the vents are definitely worth having!

This was what I found, for example, with the Yeong Yang Mars case we reviewed last year. A really sturdy and nicely designed case with the same Intel TAC side vents. I did build a system in this case and found it to run cooler than my main case -- with little difference in noise when positioned normally (for me) under the desk.

One mm thick steel does little to really block noise, and I have used any number of materials to block the holes so that the overall noise blocking was no different that with an unvented side cover.

You overstate your case when you say this "3000B is a gamble not worth taking". It's simply not valid statement for anyone to takes some care to build a quiet system.

Typically for cases we use EU to denote European products for all of Europe (UK/EC).
EC/UK or GB lables are for products specific to those markets. Notably with the correct power cord.

Since the 3000B doesn't have a power supply and thus no power cord, it gets the EU label.


AntecRep

Well, I'm still waiting to buy the final components and prices aren't falling like they usually do after christmas :'(. I'll reply once I get my stuff and try it before removing the Intel thermal telescope. Removal of the thermal telescope shouldn't be too hard since it's held in place by 4 screws just like the ones that hold the rear fan. The thermal telescope is about 7.5 cm into the case, so I guess I'll have to wait and see. I'm tempted to put a piece of cloth over it and then screw the thermal telescope down if there's room. I plan on lining my case, but I just don't have money right now. Worst comes to worse, I'll leave the XP-120 fanless, and just depend on the rear 120mm "Nexus" fan and the Super Tornado to do the job.

I too am unsure about the CPU duct and side vent. I'm thinking they might mess with the airflow in a negative-pressured case and reduce the airflow over the hard drive. Also, I'm thinking they'd suck dust right in, unless filters were used...

Its funny how the harddrive cage design of the Sonata/3700BQE have changed from being a good idea and thinking out of the box to being virtually useless and a bad idea to start with. I believe that it was discussed in the original review that the 90 degree turned orientation of the Sonata/3700BQE only had little effect on the harddrive temperatures, but was very handy when removing/installing harddrives.

If you already own a BQE could you just swap the door for the new kind with vents, or are they not the exact same size?

if this case was to be placed in the recommended cases article where would it sit

I'm guessing above the 3700BQE, but would it be above the chenbro gaming bomb?

Not going to hold you to anything

Are you planning to buy a soundcard? If you are simply upgrade to the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum, solves problems number 1 in one 5.25" bay.

I never liked the sideways cage. Here's a quote from my 3700BQE review:



Seems fairly unequivocal to me.

OK, I admit it: It was me & I was wrong. I was initially very enthusiastic in my review about the Sonata's sideways HDD mount for its convenience and cable management potential, but did not look closely at cooling issues. I did not think they were very serious. Later, as I became more aware of the general airflow issues in the Sonata, it became clear to me that the cost to intake airflow imposed by the side HDD bay was too high, not only for the HDDs but also for the rest of the case, and I came to agree with Ralf.

That review was more than 2 years ago BTW...

Just goes to show how closely we listen!

I recently received the 120mm Yate Loon fans from iSellerPlus. I tried both the stock tri-cool and the Yate Loons, and both fit in the front fan clip perfectly (the plastic pieces fit into the holes in the corners fine). Until i think of something ingenious to hold it up w/out too much money and effort, I guess I'll leave it like that for awhile. Don't know what your using, or what's different about my case, but my fan fits. Though another gripe is the wierd drive bay "covers" that don't fit right, are wierd to put in. The floppy drive is suspended on 2 screws!! It's so flimsy it basically rests on the next bay for support! Still mixed about the quality of the case, but I guess I can't compare it to a Lian-Li. Any comments on how to solve the offset screw problems would be welcome.

I've ordered it and will probably get it monday. Do you think I can run my system with a single rear fan if I tape over all the small holes in the front so that the airflow will get concentrated over my harddrive(s) at the bottom of the case?

(nexus nx-3000, ath 1800+, gf4mx passively cooled, 7200.7)

I'm quite sure that would work fine; optimize thermals by undervolting the CPU if your board allows it.

-Ed