Front doors are not that bad, especially on larger cases. On smaller cases, I think they are mostly unnecessary, unless they need to be locked for security purposes in a public setting. The optical and external bays are usually more ghastly than the front doors which hide them out of sight when not needed. But they can be a pain when you place the case in an awkward position, particularly under a desk or in a cabinet. Many a front door has probably been broken by a user who whacked their leg or chair into the door while it was open. And many an optical drive would have been damaged by bumping into the door while closed if they hadn't disabled the dreaded option in their burning program of "ejecting the disc when burning complete".

I personally don't find it a major hindrance to open a door to power on the PC. Okay, it is quite annoying, but you have to do that to start a car, which involves more processes (at least for me); to enter your office, house etc. My PC gets switched off and disconnected from the UPS and wall regularly anyway, so I'm used to having to "go through a lot" in order to get my computer up and running. You can always set up a hotkey in the BIOS to power on the system if you're the type to want to be online to read your email and partake in your latest "social media life" in less time than it takes for Usain Bolt to jog the 100/200m.

Maybe if some cases came with a small remote control that can power on the PC instead, that would mostly eliminate the need for having to "strenuously" reach for the power and reset buttons -- door or no door. Although that would be considered quite a "luxury" and probably increase the price to the consumer.

Even if I had a "remote control" to power on the computer, I still don't like the open top.

Neither do I. But I was speaking about cases more generally. Not just the P18x, which I was never completely "sold" on anyway due to a few design and quality issues, such as the top exhaust which many complain about.

Considering many have complained about the open top, you would think Antec would get the message and provide another model with closed top and no front door.

I have the Solo and do not see any reason why there should be a front door, or an open top. Now, if I was doing a new build and wanted a new case, there are some things I like about the P182/183, but the open top and front door will prevent me from buying either. I doubt I am the only one, so how many other potential customers have turned their attention to other cases?

I think it would be a marketing plus if they did design it with closed top and without a front door.

My computer is so quiet that I do not need to make it quieter. The only reason for me to upgrade is new technology. When that time comes, I will still use a Solo unless something more appropriate becomes available.

Anyway, getting back to the P182/183, I read many complaints about the open top, and also some about the front door, so why hasn't Antec wised up and come out with a new model to attract other customers? I doubt it would take much to close the top and eliminate the door in production.

Almost forgot, I am not so enamored with the vertical hdd situation. I have all SSD's in my computer, three of them, and I don't know if vertical installation is an issue or not.

JVM, I share many of your concerns with the Antec cases in question. I also own a Solo (not currently used) and an Antec server case that is several years old but still very solid. I've also handled and used several other products of theirs over the years, so I'm (hopefully) not making silly commments.

It's hard for any company to please everyone with a single product. That's why companies use market segmentation to differentiate their lines with increasing price scales. For computer hardware like cases, it's somewhat harder to do this, plus they have no compelling reason to want to satisfy every users' wishes and provide several versions of the same product as you would find in cars for example. Seeing that the percentage of the population who buy cars is large and the percentage who buy specialist PC cases is quite small, we can probably understand this from an economical perspective.

Despite the wishes and complaints of SPCRians over the years with regards to their products, Antec will pursue their own roads with or without our approval. The P18x has sold truckloads for them. I don't know what the figures are, but I suspect that the P18x line does much better for them than the P150/Solo/Sonata line. Unless people vote with their wallets and avoid them, they will feel they have no reason to come up with anything drastically different. It's a good enough design for them without offending many but pleasing the majority who will overlook its shortcomings in favour of functionality and long term ownership. Sounds like a Toyota, doesn't it?


MikeC already dismissed this in the article thread on the P182SE a couple years back. I think modern drives should be fine installed vertically. Not sure of the situation with SSDs though as I haven't jumped on that wagon yet. But because of my obsessive nature, I always install my drives horizontally. Even with my external drives as I just feel more at ease with them this way.

My point about doing another model falls back on their doing the P183 when they already had a P180 and 182, so why not something different to accommodate those who want a closed top without a front door?

I don't have any issues with my Solo, serves me well and I can't complain. I get good temps and using just two fans in winter. Even when I use 3 fans in summer, the quietness is not really affected. Thus, I am quite pleased with my Solo.

Anyway, seems like we are more or less repeating the same views over and over again.

The P183 was made to address the complaints about the P180/82's apparent lack of airflow getting in through the front of the case. So it's not all Antec's fault their case became more Swiss cheese. Their hands were forced. It's just a shame they didn't improve the top vent cover from the P182; instead they ditched it completely and made the vent and fan mount worse than the previous one. On the top vent, I think it is there because Antec believe it is an inherent design feature of the P18x. It was discussed in a thread here some time ago; I found it via a search but I've forgotten the topic now.


That happens a lot around here.

My take on the issues with front doors:
- In general it's a great way to hide the ugly optical drives and reduce the loud noise they make.
- The P183 front door, as experienced by me, isn't that good at reducing noise. (At least not compared to the completely closed and noise foam insulated door I used on my previous case.)
- The P183 front door further sort of hides the power button, but still leaves it easily accessible through the lower ventilation hole. To me that's sort of a stupid half measure. With a completely covered button you could lock it away from unauthorised use by locking the door. Now you have to modify the door to lock the button.
Still, I never open the door if I just want to turn the computer on. I just poke my pinky finger into that venting hole and press the button.

And as noted in previous posts by me, the top hole is a non issue. It's located well in under my desk and covered by acrylic glass.

Cheers
Olle

hi,
Hope this tread is still “aliveâ€

[quote="Olle P"] (At least not compared to the completely closed and noise foam insulated door I used on my previous case.)

which was?
the 182?

Nope, it was a case of my very own design and build.
Not that successful in other aspects than dampening the noise from the optical drives (that still were audible at full speed, but by no means annoying) and keeping dust out (or rather stuck in the intake filters at the bottom of the case).

Cheers
Olle

I am so disappointing in this case. I really regret paying that much for something like this.

The fans absolutely must be replaced. They are not even mounted with rubber, but just metal screws directly to the case.

The top fan is ridiculous. I turned it off by now though, since I don't need that much airflow.

All the openings just make the noise come out.

Opening the cabinet is way too much trouble. At least for the left side, even finger screws is too much trouble. There should just be a handle.

I also bought their power supply CP-850, which they call modular, but most of the cables are not detachable, so what is the point then?

Power button being hidden behind door is ridiculous. Luckily you can just manage to get your fingers through to turn it on without opening the door, since half the button is accessible through one of the holes.

There are many great things about it too, as already mentioned in the article, so no need to mention them. For me this was a disappointment. SPCR was too kind on this case in my opinion.

Oh my god I have to undo a screw! The hardship!

Anyone of you guys ever compared subjectively the noise level of the Antec Solo vs. the Antec P183?

My dilemma is that I have bought a new P55 system (ASUS P7P55D + Core i7 860) and I already have a huge 4870 X2 currently housed in my current PC (C2D E6750, Sonata III). I want to buy a new case for the P55/i7 system and put the 4870 X2 in there.

I'm satisfied with the noise generated by my current one (C2D, 4870X2, Sonata III) so I'm wondering if the P183 is way more noisy than the Antec Solo or Sonata III. The Antec Solo is a unanimous favorite but I would need to dremel the HDD cage to fit the 4870X2 and I would be a bit concerned about heat dissipation.

What's your take guys?
Thanks in advance!

Hi all I have this problem to on the top so i am going to cut the centre out as alot have said this is the problem

so i was thinking i might as well replace the rear and top fan with a better one and was thinking of getting a s-flex fan.

the problem i dont know which one to get a 800rpm version or the 1200rpm version, the antec case book says the fans set in low are running at (1200rpm 25db 39cfm) but spcr says that the antec fans run at low (870rpm 20db 21cfm) which is a hugh difference to what antec have said they run at.

i checked the spec of a s-flex and the 800rpm model is (850rpm 20db 23cfm) a slight improvment or air flow but the same sound levels.

so the question is is the s-flex 800rpm model on par with a antec tri fan at low setting or should i get the s-flex 1200 and use a fan controller.

would i get mouch improvment from a s-flex over the antec fan or is it not worth it

and what about the NOCTUA NF-S12 SERIES is this a better fan than the s-flex as it to seems to have the same spec (840rpm 20db 22cfm)

they all seem to fall in the same spec as the antec at low setting if its true about the antec fans running in low at (870rpm 20db 21cfm) opposed to antecs specs of low at 1200rpm 25db 39cfm)

can anyone help

S-FLEX 1600RPM + fan controller. Undervolts well, and I'd say it's worth it for the flexibility, especially since it's the same price as the 1200RPM model.


I found the S12B FLX to have an annoying drone, like a faint airplane propeller. This drone is present at 1200, 900 and 600RPM. The S-FLEX 1600RPM @ 5v is pretty much silent compared to the relatively noisy S12B FLX @ 600RPM.

this is strange as i have a s-flex 1200 at 1000rpm and has same sort of drone to i can not get rid of it untill it hits 700rpm, this is one of the reasons i am asking if its better to get the 800rpm version or the noctua fan as i was hoping it did not have this.

the s-flex fan i have does the same mmm what to do now as i dont like it

i get the same sound as this video check the s-flex 1200 2nd fan if you listen to it it hasd a bad pitch sound just like mine i am suprised at this as these are suposed to be the best fans for low noise but yet the motor is the worst i have herd.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tptu8L6i ... re=related

what abotu the gentle typhones are these any good for case fans ?

Is it possible to completely remove the front door (while keeping the front fans) in case i decide to make a noisy server of it later?

you don't need to remove the door completely, just prop it open a little bit.

cutting out grills and such in the front will help the airflow through the case.

Just thought I'd post a a little fix I used to stop the top fan vibrating so badly. Turned out (in my case at least) that it wasn't my 1200rpm slipstream so much as the interaction between the metal grill on the top of the case and the metal case structure beneath it.

Found that the top plastic panel can be removed from the case - it's attached via small clips along the sides of the panel, as well as double sided tape. After removing the fan, I managed to gently lift the rear of the top panel, and insert a small piece of foam (double layer of leftover Akasa Paxmate) between the fan grill and the metal fan-hub-shaped section. This completely prevented the grill from vibrating. Combined with a small piece of the same foam on the hub of the upper fan, there's still a fair bit of "air" noise through the grill, but at least there's no vibration.

[quote="mentawl"]
...
Found that the top plastic panel can be removed from the case - it's attached via small clips along the sides of the panel, as well as double sided tape. After removing the fan, I managed to gently lift the rear of the top panel, and insert a small piece of foam (double layer of leftover Akasa Paxmate) between the fan grill and the metal fan-hub-shaped section. ....[/quote]

I just got the case and have been studying it. I tried using your approach (before seeing your post). I removed the top fan, and also the 4 inner screws that appear to go to the grill. I tried prying off the plastic top, but I've broken a couple of the tiny plastic clips and am afraid that if I push things the plastic top won't go back on snugly. Is there something I'm failing to do to get the top off? I may try to just try to slide a thin rubber shim between the top of the case and the grill at the edge of the hole and over hub.

I agree with your diagnosis that at least part of the problem is the vibration being transmitted to the grill, which is slightly loose particulary in the rear.

What's really depressing is that the the top fan problem stems directly from the "aesthetic" decision to change the top grill from a hexagon to a stylized chevron. As a result, the rear of the grill is slightly loose and subject to vibration. Plus, the grill covers the position where there would normally be holes for screws to mount the fan, hence the clips instead of screws for rear fan mounts, with all the resulting problems. Silence may have been a goal of the original P180 design, but it clearly is now considered less important than cosmetics. Or more likely not even considered.

half-necro, but still

here's what a norwegian hardware review site did to the P183 during their review...



full test can be read here by those who understand norwegian, I would rather suggest you avoid doing it tho, to avoid permanent brain damage...

Sorry for only just noticing this post, musta missed it somehow. From what I could see of my case, the plastic "clips" on the top panel weren't really clips at all, but rather just little nubs to locate the panel and stop it sliding - presumably the tape is the primary retention mechanism. Bit of a cheap solution IMO, and not what I'd expect from Antec.

I didn't completely remove the top panel when placing the piece of foam, but just levered up the back end of the panel until I could slip the foam into location, then moved it "through" the fan grill using a small screwdriver.

I took it out, of course, and blocked the grille with a book to prevent dust from falling in and noise from coming out. I can't believe why they bothered with it in the first place. Out of interest, I ran the Tricool fan in a horizontal position, holding it in my hand. In the exhaust orientation (as installed in the case) ie. rotor hub label facing the ceiling, it vibrates like hell. With the rotor hub label facing the floor ie. intake orientation, it's much better behaved. But installing it as a horizontal exhaust fan is tantamount to sabotage. The noise is obvious. The vibration means early failure. The P183 has seen minor updates since its initial release. For example, the motherboard tray now has a cut-out to simplify heat-sink installation. Yet they persist with the silly top fan.

Has anyone tried to install a Noiseblocker Multiframe S1 as top vent on the Antec P183? The exterior of the fan is made out of rubber so the vibration should stop.