After thinking about it for sometime I went ahead and bought a black P180 from endpcnoise.com only to receive it with both side panels and the door warped.
What I want to know is will antec send new side panels and doors for a black P180, and will this happen again with the replacements?
If it will then I am going to take the hit in shipping and return it.
Thanks in advance for your replies.
P180 warping
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Shadowknight
- Posts: 1283
- Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2003 2:43 pm
- Location: Charlotte, NC, USA
Antec will send you replacements for free. Just make sure you tell your the guy you deal with to make ABSOLUTELY SURE they send it to you in black. I've gotten a few silver pieces because the guys at the warehouse weren't paying attention, despite telling them cust. service rep that it was a black P180. As to the warped side panels, you must have just gotten a bad batch, that's abnormal. They've released a new door design that includes an extra layer of aluminum to prevent warping, so they have the door issue straightened out. Just make sure they send you the revamped bezel with the door, the new power button is recessed so the new door design won't push in the power button.
P180 case
For front door replacement, search the forum, there's a number of threads on this topic.
People have been getting replacements for the front door, but very few people have reported warped side doors. Check your case and make sure that the side doors are actually warped. A common cause of warped side doors in the P180 case is improper substitution of a low profile thumbscrew for a high profile screw on the lower drive cage. Carefully inspect your thumbscrews to determine which thumbscrew are shortest and confirm that this is the thumbscrew which is installed on the lower drive cage. This is discussed in the following thread:
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... +side+door
People have been getting replacements for the front door, but very few people have reported warped side doors. Check your case and make sure that the side doors are actually warped. A common cause of warped side doors in the P180 case is improper substitution of a low profile thumbscrew for a high profile screw on the lower drive cage. Carefully inspect your thumbscrews to determine which thumbscrew are shortest and confirm that this is the thumbscrew which is installed on the lower drive cage. This is discussed in the following thread:
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... +side+door
Shadowknight: I contacted Antec, and they will be sending me new side panels and door, but I don't know about the bezel. I have emailed them asking to include it.
BigA: All the screws are where they should be. The side panel is warped because it is popping out from where the aluminum meets the plastic at the ends of the panel.
Thanks for your replies.
BigA: All the screws are where they should be. The side panel is warped because it is popping out from where the aluminum meets the plastic at the ends of the panel.
Thanks for your replies.
Sdheda,
You are not the only one with warped sidepanels, I had them also. Same problem: aluminium popping out. Got a few weeks ago a new door and new sidepanels.
Make sure they send you the right dolor, I had the same problem as BigA. Instead of the black version they send the silver one (so now I have one spare )
You are not the only one with warped sidepanels, I had them also. Same problem: aluminium popping out. Got a few weeks ago a new door and new sidepanels.
Make sure they send you the right dolor, I had the same problem as BigA. Instead of the black version they send the silver one (so now I have one spare )
When I received my P180 my side panels as well as the door were warped. I don't know how to explain the following, but it went something like this...
The case arrived in the dead of winter. The panels were almost suitable to be used as dinner salad bowls. They were THAT BAD. The door wasn't bowed, rather just didn't meet up in certain places. Of course I was irate at the condition of my new $150 investment.
Over the next few hours I let the case sit in my room next to the heater vent (totally oblivious to this at the time) and to my horror, about 3-4 hours later the side panels had gotten even worse...so bad that one of the side panels was now so concave that it had snapped the plastic guides on the panels that sit in the metal grooves on the case's frame.
It took me probably a good week to get off work in time to call Antec about this.
In the course of 1 week's time, with the case removed from hot air and at room temperature, all of the panels including the door had straightened themselves out. I mean they all fit more flush than the definition of the word now. I'm sure there's some physics explanation for this, but all i know is that after sitting for a week, all of my panels are now perfect including the door.
Take from that what you will
The case arrived in the dead of winter. The panels were almost suitable to be used as dinner salad bowls. They were THAT BAD. The door wasn't bowed, rather just didn't meet up in certain places. Of course I was irate at the condition of my new $150 investment.
Over the next few hours I let the case sit in my room next to the heater vent (totally oblivious to this at the time) and to my horror, about 3-4 hours later the side panels had gotten even worse...so bad that one of the side panels was now so concave that it had snapped the plastic guides on the panels that sit in the metal grooves on the case's frame.
It took me probably a good week to get off work in time to call Antec about this.
In the course of 1 week's time, with the case removed from hot air and at room temperature, all of the panels including the door had straightened themselves out. I mean they all fit more flush than the definition of the word now. I'm sure there's some physics explanation for this, but all i know is that after sitting for a week, all of my panels are now perfect including the door.
Take from that what you will
The real question for Antec is, why are they still shipping P180's that have this defect that has been known for at least 6 months!?! It boggles my mind.
I ordered ~2 weeks ago a P150, only to have arrive an "old" revision PSU, known to have problems, also with a torn warranty sticker. Same situation there.
Seems as though they have adopted the idea that they will let defective product continue to sell through the channel until existing inventories are used up, and then just RMA any reported defects, hoping that the return rates will be low and people will not notice or just put up with the problems.
How could any company think like that? Don't they realize the impact to their reputation?
I ordered ~2 weeks ago a P150, only to have arrive an "old" revision PSU, known to have problems, also with a torn warranty sticker. Same situation there.
Seems as though they have adopted the idea that they will let defective product continue to sell through the channel until existing inventories are used up, and then just RMA any reported defects, hoping that the return rates will be low and people will not notice or just put up with the problems.
How could any company think like that? Don't they realize the impact to their reputation?
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Caenis hilaris
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:24 am
- Location: Baton Rouge, LA
cutting too many corners
Hello all,
Although newly registered, I've been reading SPCR for some time now. I complement the excellent members and appreciate their knowledge base.
I'm ordering P180 case for myself later this month, and I've studied this warping issue for some time. In my work, we use a number of pre-fabricated aluminum tools and boats, and we fabricate our own aluminum devices (usually to remove stubborn organisms from their habitats for study). In some forums, the warping of the P180 has been associated with temperature, but in my experience with properly fabricated aluminum products (including a pirogue - boat - we built that was 4.5 meters and only weighed 40 kilos), properly fabricated aluminum devices should not warp even within daily temperature variations greater than 20 C. I can conlcude after years of experience with aluminum that the P180 panels are too thin, which I also can only conclude is a cost saving measure. This is frustrating as Antec has (had?) a good reputation to uphold.
I second TomZ's questioning of Antec's marketing policy and I'm curious if the previous posters with warped doors might measure the thickness of the aluminum, if possible, and post it. It might shed light on inexpensive, "homemade" remedies that may be superior to Antec's fix. Thanks.
Although newly registered, I've been reading SPCR for some time now. I complement the excellent members and appreciate their knowledge base.
I'm ordering P180 case for myself later this month, and I've studied this warping issue for some time. In my work, we use a number of pre-fabricated aluminum tools and boats, and we fabricate our own aluminum devices (usually to remove stubborn organisms from their habitats for study). In some forums, the warping of the P180 has been associated with temperature, but in my experience with properly fabricated aluminum products (including a pirogue - boat - we built that was 4.5 meters and only weighed 40 kilos), properly fabricated aluminum devices should not warp even within daily temperature variations greater than 20 C. I can conlcude after years of experience with aluminum that the P180 panels are too thin, which I also can only conclude is a cost saving measure. This is frustrating as Antec has (had?) a good reputation to uphold.
I second TomZ's questioning of Antec's marketing policy and I'm curious if the previous posters with warped doors might measure the thickness of the aluminum, if possible, and post it. It might shed light on inexpensive, "homemade" remedies that may be superior to Antec's fix. Thanks.
I would guess the warping issue might be related to the different thermal expansion coefficients of two different materials that are joined together on the P180 case. One material changes dimension more than the other, causing warping for the two joined together.
But, I don't have any specific experience with the P180, so my comments are only theoretical.
But, I don't have any specific experience with the P180, so my comments are only theoretical.