Nice review!

Im waiting for the p180 to come into stock again and now I find this! My main concern is however that Id like to put 2x7800GT in it - disregard the noise if you can - is it possible?

1) will it be to much heat?
2) will the 430W be able to power 2x7800GT - it should be able to, right?

To add to the heat Im going to use the Pentium D 830 however Im also using the new p5n32-SLI Deluxe which will help with the heat reduction.

Anyways, should I stick to the p180?

My two decisions:

p180/p150
12-500/Neo HE 430

the rest:
p5n32-sli Deluxe
Pentium 830
w/ Scythe Ninja
Geil Ultra 5400 2GB
SP120 200 GB
(WD 74 raptor = maybe)
2x XFX 7800GT
w/ VF700

Nice case and PSU, but I'll never buy one if it's not all black or silver.
It seems to have the same problem as my 3000B, it's a bit too short, please correct me if I'm wrong.
Having better airflow means that one can run the case fans a bit lower, for the same temps. That's very nice. Of course, the HDD suspension is the nicest feature.
But where is a comparison with another Antec case & PSU, the 3800?
Did the reviewers fear it would steal market share from the 'old' 3800?
Too bad that one of my <dream> cases has four fans: two front 120 mm and two back 120 mm, and no one wants to build it...

With an Intel 830, I'd go P180. As for the PSU... it's a bit of a tossup, but the NeoHE430 is a lot cheaper than a 12-500. Also a bit quieter at lower loads. The S12-430 is a much closer contest, and it edges out the Neo acoustically. Either form factor works fine in a P180 w/o the extra 120mm fan in the middle and with the extra vents on the back blocked off.

That's silly, why would we fear any such thing? We are NOT Antec & they'd only be delighted at such a comparison, because it'd be a win-win for them no matter how the comparison turned out.

Besides, there's no contest, imo. The P150 is miles ahead of the slk series. I think it has the potential to kill all other mid-tower case sales -- not only Antec's but other brands' -- because it's so much better!

Having said that, there's no question price is always a factor, as are styling issues. But in terms of functionality -- noise and cooling efficiency -- the only case I know of that can beat it is the P180, which does exact a price in complexity to achieve this. And no other case has built-in elastic HDD suspension.

Thank you, MikeC, for putting it so blunt: it DOES have the potential to kill all other mid-tower case sales. But IMHO, it needs to be all black / silver.
Of course you are NOT Antec, no offense meant. I just don't think Antec would see it as a win-win, since the P150 is much better than the SLK 3800 and some people may decide not to buy now a SLK, wait for the P150.

Thnx for the fast reply.
s12-430 is not an option for me since it doesn't come with a single pci-e connector, and if I use 2 converters im not left with much. Im hoping the Neo HE 430 will suffice, it comes with one pci-e connector, right? Then i should be able to use one converter and sli would be possible.

If you know off heart the lenght of the s12-500 20pin and 4pin cables you'd spare me some hours search. Im still not sure that they will reach and Im very ambivalent to using extenders since I have found even more posts warning about it.

The p150 would save me alot of hassle and $140. Im thinking the 8-phase power that should be 15% more efficient on the p5n32-sli deluxe might make possible having the 830 cpu in the case with the ninja passive or atleast with a 120 nexus on 5v or, which I hope, that the optional fans would fit with the ninja on.

the mobo:
http://www.asus.com.tw/news_show.aspx?id=1401

I've been told the official release date of the P150 is about a week from now. Not much of a wait. Antec's press release about the P150 was posted a couple days ago -- http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_ht ... e_id=96947. They don't do that unless the product is just about in the stores.

I wouldn't count on that >15% efficiency. Sounds like marketingspeak to me. Forget passive for the 830. Can't be done with an 820 in the P150; I tried, as you know if you read the review. It was not really safe till the Nexus 120 was at ~7V. This was with 21C room ambient.

P180+Neo HE430 (or maybe 500) is probably your best bet.

I assume that's with the PentiumD at stock voltage? since ur's using an Intel mobo, which aren't known for tweakability.

how about a typical Asus/Abit mobo, where the vcore can actually be lowered?

Thanks alot, I think I agree. Ive read the review twice now, Im just getting cold feet about the p180 I guess. Btw does the lenght of the Neo HE500 24/20-pin ATX and AUX12V differ from the HE430, or are they both 19 inch (which Im not sure will do)? Im asking since I can't find any info on it on antec.com.

Too bad the p150 doesnt come with the sli ready Neo He500.

I'm confused as to why you are so leary about using an extender cable.

I have one on my S12-500 with the P180 and Asus P5AD2-E and I haven't had a problem with it...

Where are these posts you are talking about? I would love to see them in case I have overlooked something.

Thank you.

I am going to wait for the black P150.
Black computers are indeed faster than others.

Well first of all im really no but Im starting to be. If I can avoid any possible flaw Id like to, especially when Im spending alot of money. MikeC I think wrote something about this on this very forum. Then there are on other forums Ive read that ppl loose juice but that i works anyway.

If it works for you be happy. Im most likely going to use extensions but I will still consider it a minus in my build, just since Ive read about ppl claiming it being negative.

I looked for links for like 30 mins, couldnt find them. Search for a8n, s12, p180, extensions, recommened - and you'll eventually find the thread.

When the connectors are high quality extenders wont have any negative effects. The only thing that could cause problems is a bad connector wich would increase the resistance in the connection and thus dropping the voltage a bit. So as long as the extension cable has a good connector and it isnt oxided you wont see any performance loss. And if you are really paranoid you could take off all the connectors and solder the wires with silver

I currently own an s12-430 in an antec SLK3000B and I'm wondering if the p150 is going to be available without psu?

I'm puzzled by the damping material. The review says: Ok, it's well damped, but why vinyl? I can understand mass-loaded vinyl as damping for, say, an aluminum case, but how would plain old (i.e., not mass-loaded), "semi-hard" vinyl serve any damping function? It's not heavy enough to damp vibrations by adding mass, and it's not rigid enough to provide additional stiffness.

What am I missing?

Got my mind set on the p5n32-sli deluxe, been waiting on it for 2 months.

UK eta/price. Checking Froogle, a few places listing it already. £100 is VFM. Kustom PC said ETA was Oct. 24th.

excellent case, hate the colour. bring us an all silver or all black version and then they might have a few more sales

I have been emailing distributors for over a month making them list and order the mobo. Hopefully it will be in stock in Sweden this month.

Firstly, that's an excellent review Ralf! That is a very efficient case and those are certainly very nice CPU and motherboard temperatures. I like the idea of the stock suspension set-up alot too, and the PSU seems very good in regards to low-power sound and cable management. The only thing I'm wondering about is the low amps on the 5V rail (14amps?) - is this enough for an average modern system? My only personal qualm about the case is its looks - I prefer the curvy front look of the Sonata 2, although if the case is produced in black and silver, that would be nice, as white doesn't do it for me.

As of right now no plans to offer the P150 without PSU. That may change depending on what our customers ask for of course. Same goes for black.

Damping material: is polycarbonate. At least that's what PD tells me.

Greetings,



Please consider my vote for both of these! I would probably take it either with a "natural" aluminum front, or black anodized aluminum -- use your best judgement.

It follows ATX12V v2.2 PSU design guidelines. Please read Power Distribution within Six PCs. From the article:

I'd vote for the no PSU version first. I like the white and aluminum, and don't feel a black & aluminum would be very good. But, if you do a black case with black anodized aluminum bezel, that might be ok. But a no PSU should come first IMO. As good as the Neo HE is, I would like the flexibility and prefer more choices in features rather than more choices in aesthetics. (I just hate the car salesman whose first question is "What color you want? I've got SUVs, cars, wagons and lots of other things in X color!")

@noac
I would strongly recomend using VGA silencers on you graphics card(s) as they take the heat from the card(s) straight out the back of the case. I remember seeing a review (possibly of Asus) cards with VGA Silencers and one of the results was that the impact on case/cpu temp was minimal between low power card, 1x 7800 and 2x 7800s.
Seb

Count me in as well...on the PSU-less version

The AC Silencer 5 rev 3 you mean? Yeah, but how is it, soundwise? But with this case in mind I agree, would be a must using this cooling method over the Zalman. But in the p180 I hope the chassi itself will be sufficient in blowing/sucking the heat outside.

Hmm, read some reviews just now about the AC silencer, might just be better. Can I use a Zalman fanmate or something else to control the 2000 rpm on the AC S?

Antec Rep,

I vote for black also. Everything in my office (computers, monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, etc.) is black or black and silver. I'm getting ready to add another computer and would LOVE to use this case. Unfortunately, it would stick out like a white thumb. Other than that, the P150 sounds great.

Me too. The inside of this case looks perfect, but another color and no-PSU option would be very nice. I'm afraid this case will cost around $200 in Europe, and since I already have a very nice PSU, this is a little too much.

Thanks for a good review.