Wish I could afford it. But that's the reason why people buy Fractal Designs and NZXT H2, I guess.

Looks like Antec is giving up on the CP-850?

Here's some quick Anandtech coverage of the P280:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4396/computex-2011-this-is-the-antec-p280

I wonder what the acoustics will be like on this one. I'm also hoping for an all-black model.

I really hate what they've done with the drive-bays. Now it loses all the great features of the original P180 and becomes a look-alike of every other dampened ATX case. Quality of HDD holders seem weak as well.

I do like more clearance for cabling and the cutout, great thinking. I also like the new fans that are all soft-mounted and spin at much lower speeds compared to Tri-Cool. Can't wait for a review.

Wow I haven't heard much mention of the CP series in a while. I assume it's going to quietly die off. The main advantage was the extra cooling space and the really low price. But I'm guessing things like semi-fanless 90% efficient psus kinda makes the purpose of the psu reduced. It only competes on price advantage over psus you can use anywhere now.

Another observation is that there are 9 expansion slots. This means you could put a wide graphics card in the 7th slot position (if the motherboard has a x16 slot there) and still have 6 free slots.

Bah, it looks like a Fractal Design R3 clone. Looks less sturdy than the P18x series as well and not so great for quiet computing.

Well, the Fractal Design R3 looks like a P180 clone.

I also noticed the lack of the CPX PSU support. Maybe CPX isn't really needed with the higher efficiency PSUs out these days. But the straight thru airflow is still nice. Especially in a bottom mounted location without a divider where a top mounted PSU is either pulling air in from the GPU area or from the floor. You need some tall feet for a floor intake and that's also where all the pet fur is.

Is that a spot for a couple of SSDs right above the 3.5" drive cages? That seems to be one thing that hasn't been addressed by many cases. It's not expensive for adapters and many SSDs come with them. But that takes up a good bit more room that could be used for other stuff compared to how little space SSDs need.

Overall I think it looks decent enough. I still could do without the top fans or at least a way to block them up easily. A flat top is always preferred if possible. Makes it easier to stack things on top if you so desire. I wonder if a new mini P280 is also in the works. That's where I would be most interested.

it's not like you can't make your own divider between the power supply and the rest of the case. and with the option to pull air in from the bottom, the need for a divider to prevent the PSU from sucking in air warmed by the GPU is decreased. lack of divider makes the case roomier and certainly helps the wiring.

the door is still hinged wrong for right handed people (i.e. the majority). the case sits to my right, and i have to reach across it to open it.

is there anyone else who would rather have two 120mm fans on the rear panel than any fans on the top panel?

YES!

Although to fit two 120mm fans on the back, it would probably need to be taller. I'm personally fine with one rear case fan. The "gamers" out there would probably freak at a case without top fans though. Hence why I think a way of blocking them that looks nice would be optimal.

I'd rather have a single 140mm fan, even though that makes the case footprint larger.

Then you are ready for 180mm tall heat sinks (with 140mm fans) if/when they become available.

I have built some R2's and they are not as good in quality as the p182.

The backside is more open on the p280 than p182 And if you look at the top, it seems to just be one layer of metal, unlike the p182 which has three layers, making the case much more sturdy and less prone to vibrate unnecessarily. Even the motherboard tray looks weaker on the p280.

Answer to my own question from PC Perspective

isn't the top of the p18x 1 layer of metal with a layer of plastic on top of it?

Antec made Define XL and changed it bit and called it the P280. Define XL has it beat it uses 140mm fans instead 120mm and can handle more drives,sells for the same price or lower. I like the case but really nothing new here that would make me buy it over the Define R3,XL.

Does anyone know if the release of the P280 will result in the phasing out/discontinuation of the P183/future P18x models?

The P280 is starting to show up on EU and US websites for pre-order. The indications are for a mid-November availability. It looks like it is already available in Australia.

Here are some preliminary specs from the J&R site...
Antec P280 (120mm rear, 2x 120mm top fans, space for 2x 120mm front)
20.7" x 9.1" x 22.1" (H x W x D) (H) 526mm x (W) 231mm x (D) 562mm
Net Weight: 22.3 lbs. / 10.2 kg

That would make it larger but a bit lighter than the P183 V3.

indeed looks sweet, the p180b which was good for its is showing its age as its a nightmare to swap drives in the bottom bay. This new case looks far simpler, and better with the possible fan placements as well.

The proposed price doesnt actually seem too bad, my p180b cost me 80GBP if I remember right which is within the pricepoint he said, assuming the dont hike up the uk prices and is priced equal to america.

Argh, wish Antec released this before my SB upgrade. Looks sweet.

The only disadvantage I see for the P280 over Define R3 are the open top vents. Fractal include their ModuVents:

Anyone have an idea how one would hack together something similar?

EDIT: Should be in by mid-December in Sweden BTW.

Here's what I did to plug up the top exhaust vent in an Antec P182. Of course you'll need to make a bigger one for the P280.

What you'll need:

• Corrugated plastic sheets (corriboard)
• Some ice cream container lids (for the thin plastic)
• Duct tape (preferably black to match the colour of the case)
• A pencil, for creating screw holes
• Fan screws, to mount it

How to assemble:

• Cut the corriboard and ice cream container lids to size
• Put the corriboard down, and place as many layers of ice cream lids on top of it as you'd like (I only used two layers)
• Duct tape it all together securely, and neatly
• Use the pencil to mark, and then stab some screw holes on the corriboard side
• Finally, use the fan screws to mount it!

It's only light weight, but it makes an audible difference at the top of my P182. I'm sure it would be good in the P280 as well.

Photos:

Black tape: http://i54.tinypic.com/142h1ef.jpg
Grey tape: http://i56.tinypic.com/2yoptad.jpg
Inside view: http://i51.tinypic.com/se3wp5.jpg

OPTIONAL: Add some acoustic foam, or even better, some Acoustipack.

Wow, thanks for that, flemeister! Would never have considered corrugated plastic.

FYI - The P280 is now displayed on Antec's site:
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=NzA0NTA0

I also see a few Google Shopping listings but nothing in stock yet.

Review at anad: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5090/antec-p280-when-enthusiasts-are-engineers

OMG NO!!

This means I will never upgrade because I simply love my CP-850.

There is a video on sweclockers but its non english ,but they fit an actual system inside so might be worth watching for you.

http://www.sweclockers.com/recension/14 ... mance-p280

Two more reviews...
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1775/1/
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4420/a ... index.html

Here's the English manual...
http://www.antec.com/pdf/manuals/P280_manual_EN.pdf

Availability and cost from the Antec press release...
"The P280 reaches store shelves and online retail outlets in late November for North America and early December for Europe with a MSRP of $139.95 and EUR 139, respectively."

Hey guys, we really appreciate your enthusiasm for the P280. If you have any questions, I'll be checking back periodically.

Are you providing a review sample to SPCR?

Do you know the specs of the fans included with the case? Are they the same as the Solo II?
Is it possible to plug in 3rd party fans into the built in fan controller?
Do you know what voltages correspond to different settings on the built in fan controller? (e.g. High = 12V, Med = 7V, Low = 5V etc)

I'm a P180 owner and the P280 looks good. One area I think Antec missed out on is the fans at the top of the case. Some way of blocking them off should have been provided like on the Fractal Design cases.