http://www.pcper.com/news/Cases-and-Cooling/A

And we thought the day would never come, I was sooo excited I posted this here before even reading...can I say "first!"?

edit, more pics:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4398/comp ... ii-for-119

EDIT by ADMIN (sept 9): SPCR's official review -- http://www.silentpcreview.com/antec-solo2

Hmm this 5.25 bay setup looks very unpromising so far. I'll have to see more details though.

It's disappointing to me. I expected the PSU can be moved to the bottom.

Exactly my thought. The reason they've apparently upted for the old design is to leave plenty of room for graphic cards.. But I don't believe many hardcore gamers with >30 cm cards would buy a case like this. This decision would even scare off some people that believe in the bottom-mounted PSU, myself for example.

I don't even want a bottom mounted psu, due to the fact it generally makes a case bigger and makes cabling really annoying. Plus most of the really good psus don't spin up much anyways.
But indeed, the long graphics card area is kinda pointless for me. I preferred having more hard drive cages where hard drives are optional, so you can either use a hard drive, or use a longer card.
I may have to look into something non-antec as my next case unless there's some really compelling reasons to compromise for the solo II.

WUT? Flimsy power button not fixed? You still need to open the front panel to clean the filters? At least are those fan mounts 120mm? Why no removable modular drive cage to let you choose between server and a gaming rig?

And the color scheme is just gloomy.

Okay, I thought that the Sonata family wasn't supposed to be "budget". New Solution (NSK series) seemed to have that covered. Antec probably didn't listen to users and continue the downward spiral towards cheap gaming cases. The only thing I like is the slot loading drive bay. If only full size 5,25" slot-loading drives weren't extinct

Actually, I wish SPCR would review this case. The "successor of the legendary Antec Solo", just to see how it stacks up against the competition of Fractal and maybe NZXT H2. I would also look forward to what SPCR has to say to the top-mounted PSU.

It appears there are only 3.5" bay provisions for suspending 2 drives (down from 3).

And does that space for cables look really shallow to anyone else? I would worry about cables being pressed between the frame and the panel, transferring vibrations. Might just be the photos, though?

So my White Beauty doesn't have a successor, right? I'll wait for a P150 II, or a Solo II or III white edition

I also would have prefered a bottom mounted psu and a modular hdd cage, along with a matte finish! Ok the last is a matter of taste, but I feel I`m not alone in thinking that.

Still, I see more good things than bad in this case and I`m glad that they kept the disk suspension system.

The fan mount looks interesting. Disappointed they kept the cross brace by the PSU.

Looks to me like maybe they increased the intake fan size to 120mm from 92mm, which is long overdue IMO.

First and only thing I looked for, as soon as I saw it I stopped looking for the other improvements that might be.

I'm sorry to say this but that is a disappointment in my eyes. Clearance behind mobo-tray doesn't look more than 1 cm at most, not enough for managing thick cables. I do get that they want to keep this and P180/P280 separated by features but they could have given it more space behind motherboard-tray and a bottom mounted PSU with separate ventilation.

When I first read that Antec Solo II was shown at Computex my expectations where up in the sky, maybe to much to demand from Antec.

Yea no kidding, this looks completely full of disappointments. I remember even posting to the AntecRep here about improvements...and they've ignored almost all of them. The only real improvement so far is the 120mm fan mount and I assume usb 3.0 front ports. Beyond that, It looks like less drive bays, flimsy power button still, hard to reach air filter still, minimal cable routing support, user unfriendly slot-loading 5.25 drive bays. I'm not sure what they're thinking, but obviously they want me to not buy Antec :p

What a disappointment still way to small for modern graphics cards,tower coolers and they use the finger print magnet finish. Glad thatFractal Design stepped in and made the best budget slient case.

I agree with many of the other comments. This SOLO II is a disappointment. With the Fractal R2 coming in at around $100, and the new Cooler Master 550 Silencio, Antec really needed to revamp the SOLO. I would've liked to see at least better cable management and a bottom mounted PSU with downward facing intake. Personally, I would've also preferred top mounted front panel connections, but I guess that's a matter of taste and where people like to put their computers.

Right now the only thing the SOLO II has going for it is the HDD suspension system and some interesting fan mounts. I'll hold off until the reviews, but I'm definitely starting to lean towards the R2 or Silencio. Hopefully, SPCR can get this and the Silencio reviewed soon.

Perhaps we are being a bit too negative. It appears the vast majority are disappointed, but I think if this did not have the SOLO name on it we might be at least mentioning all of the nice things that the SOLO introduced. This case is definitely not to the SOLO what the SOLO was to earlier offerings, but it's not absolutely horrible. Maybe if they had called it SOLO 1.1

Maybe if they placed the PSU at the bottom, all the other "issues" could be overlooked.

If it truly has a front 120mm mount then I'd say Solo 1.2 would be more apt

And really if it were a $50 case instead of a $100 case I wouldn't be so critical but as it stands you have to rig your own power button for long term use or you have to buy a 5.25" bay device with power/reset buttons on it like

Lian Li 5.25" Multi-Media I/O Ports w/ Power /Reset Button - Black - (BZ-U01B) or

Scythe Kama-Panel 3 (SCKMPN-3000)

neither of which are cheap.

I don't mind the depth/width issues some are complaining about. There are tons of "modern" video cards that fit in a Solo and tons of choices on CPUs that have reasonable TDPs so you don't need the largest CPU HS possible.

I am happy that it has two USB 3 ports on the front and that it has four USB ports total on the front (2 + 2). If they had done that and used a more sturdy power button/switch of any sort I would be willing to heap praise on it for just those two changes.

Somebody tell me the cheapest foolproof way to rig a power button that will survive multiple users punching it (at least one of which isn't technically minded and has a heavy hand) and you'll have my thanks.

I have never tried this, so don't know how well it works, but most of the bios' I have seen have a provision for power-on by hitting a particular key on the keyboard (among other options).

erm, yeah, doesn't look like my next case

looks like i'll just have to make up my mind between the P183, P280, RV02, RV03, when the time comes, or maybe wait for a revision of H2 with better airflow

Tried that months ago, no joy. I'm assuming the reason why is the system is using a USB keyboard and the BIOS only supports power on via a PS/2 keyboard. Maybe when I replace the motherboard during the next upgrade cycle I could look at that option again.

I couldn't find any pictures of the top of the case. Maybe there will be a vent for the power supply.

I switched back to a PS2 keyboard specifically for the power button support. I wouldn't want USB power button support, anyway, as that means the 5V lines on the USB would remain active even when in S5.

You can get some pretty neat buttons and switches, but something like this would be sweet:
http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Toggle-Swit ... B000LFVFA8
Could make one throw for reset and one for on/off.

Edit: or how about this baby:
http://www.amazon.com/Key-Switch-with-2 ... 0002BA3PE/
Keys would probably get lost, though.

Preach it brother! I really don't understand the obsession with glossy fingerprint magnet black.

I like USB3 ports and 120mm front fan intakes.
Support for longer graphic cards is nice, although I personally don't care.

A little disappointed about 2 suspended HDD (down from 3 in the original Solo),
and no eSATA ports on the front.

Oh, and I was glad the PSU is still at the top.
Can you guys explain to me why you want PSU on the bottom?

personally it isn't the top/bottom thing thats disappointing, it is more about the PSU not having its own air supply

another thing is the fact that in motherboards where the CPU socket is near the edge of the PCB, large air coolers can get blocked by the bar supporting the PSU at the top

Compared to the Fractal Define R3 it's absolutely horrible infact it makes the Sonata III look 100 times better. This a huge Antec failure and even at lower price point $50-80 it still would not be worth buying.

Meh, I like the new design. Keeping the PSU up top keeps things compact with no stupidly long cable runs, and gives you extra exhaust over the CPU area for free. Some of you people must change PSUs on a daily basis to be annoyed by the support bar and position of the PSU! Ultimately, the Solo has always been designed as a more compact case than the other Antec cases and the likes of the Fractal Design cases, so you've got to expect some compromises to keep it inside the old footprint.

As to the power button - they can't have had that many complaints about it, or they'd have fixed it, right? I mean, the one on my 5-year-old Solo is still going strong, and I used that for 2 years as my main case and now as a server case. Maybe just need to learn not to jab the button so hard