SPCR

Hi.

I was looking for an economical quiet case and I was wondering if the Antec Solo was a good place to start or if anyone had any other suggestions?


Does anyone here use or have any experience with the ANtec Solo case?

Thanks for your help.

You can start with reading the extensive P150 review here. P150 = Solo in white. And of course there are plenty of happy Solo users here.

What can I say:

+++++
v hi quality overall, v good front (blocks noise, looks great), allows some cable management (more like hiding cables behind the tray), excellent HDD mounting system, full metal body (no side vents to let noise out)

-----
PSU on top (might get warm and noisy more quickly), power and reset buttons flimsy, limited VGA length (GTX260 won't fit untill HDD cage is nibbled); 4 HDDs only

It's now up to you to actually assess dis/advantages of the case. E.g. my P150 sits just under the desk - top vents would not work there, not to mention fitting a bigger case would be impossible. The rest of "-" points are not relevant to me personally (I don't need GTX294 nor 12 TB of storage), but if HD5970 is the slowest card you can live with then don't get Solo.

All in all, it's a great case if you're not aiming at a supersilent rig. I used to run only 2 fans in it. But I then found out that a little hum won't hurt, especially that I like to keep my windows open, no matter what

What are you going to put in the case anyway?

Hi,
Look around the Gallery, you'll find quite a few Solos

armornone wrote:Does anyone here use or have any experience with the ANtec Solo case?

I've got a (slightly modded) solo, and I can say its a great quiet case. As stated, it won't be suitable for high end high heat output components, such as an i7 + ati 58xx/ GTX 260 + video cards, and 4+ hard drives.

Its got excellent out-of-the-box sound dampening features, and can be easily manipulated to be more quieter (such as swapping and softmounting the rear fan, fitting a 120mm fan as a front intake instead of 2x92mms, removing the pesky PSU bar, etc...)

If you pull out components regularly and play around with your hardware alot, you may find it a bit cramped, which is why I bought a 300 to play around with.

Other options are the P180 mini, P183, or NSK series from Antec. For a cheaper case however, you might have to do alot more mods to make it quiet.

speedkar9 wrote:can be easily manipulated to be more quieter ... (such as ... removing the pesky PSU bar, etc...)

Hey, I've got a SOLO. Didn't know that a bar removal would make the case more quiet. How does this work?

Vetotat wrote:Hey, I've got a SOLO. Didn't know that a bar removal would make the case more quiet. How does this work?

Sorry, I just meant it as a means of making the case easier to work with.

fitting a 120mm fan as a front intake instead of 2x92mms

I'd say that is not an improvement. Two quiet 92mm fans push the same amount of air as one single 120mm while covering larger area - which in fact is their purpose in Solo's drive bay. My case has a single Slipstream@700RPM and two Nexus 92mm wired in series (6V, ca. 700RPM) at the front. I can feel that they push the same amount of air (or even slightly more) than the Slipstream in the back. And I really can't hear them at all

KadazanPL wrote:...two Nexus 92mm wired in parallel (6V, ca. 700RPM)...

You probably mean in series.

You probably mean in series.

Yes, sorry I keep confusing those two

Do search the site, as you'll find lots of comment and building ideas.

As long as the size works for you, I can't think of anything built as well at the same price level.

armornone wrote:...

Does anyone here use or have any experience with the Antec Solo case?

...

here is my experience with the antec solo:

viewtopic.php?t=47722&highlight=ultimate+amplifier

i think it's a decent case.

the solo looks good, and it is solidy built, but it's an obsolete design, get something more modern.

the solo that i had wouldn't allow for inspecting the 92mm air filters for dust accumulation, because there was no door there, you have to remove the side panel to unsnap the front panel... it's an incredibly stupid design.

some people out here like suspending their hdd's in rubber bands, while others of us don't find it very secure... the rubber band trip made a difference years ago, when hdd's were very noisy, but it serves little purpose now... especially with the advent of ssd.

92mm vs. 120mm... there aren't very many decent 92mm fan choices, the industry revolves around 120mm, and with the advent of things like the pwm-controlled 140mm thermalright ty-140, bigger is better

You can also put a 100 mm Scythe Kaze something in front. It has two sets of mounting holes - for 92 mm and 100 mm. Tho only one such fan can be fitted in there if you wish to use the door's holes. I'm not sure if two 100 mm fans could fit. I'd have to check.

danimal wrote:the solo looks good, and it is solidy built, but it's an obsolete design, get something more modern.

the solo that i had wouldn't allow for inspecting the 92mm air filters for dust accumulation, because there was no door there, you have to remove the side panel to unsnap the front panel... it's an incredibly stupid design.

some people out here like suspending their hdd's in rubber bands, while others of us don't find it very secure... the rubber band trip made a difference years ago, when hdd's were very noisy, but it serves little purpose now... especially with the advent of ssd.

92mm vs. 120mm... there aren't very many decent 92mm fan choices, the industry revolves around 120mm, and with the advent of things like the pwm-controlled 140mm thermalright ty-140, bigger is better

What case would you recommend to be more modern but still but a quiet case? Do you mean one of those cases that are only available internationally ? ( I'm in America)

Thanks

what kind of hardware are you going to put in it? a low-power build? max you can spend?

I have never ever regretted my Antec Solo case and I agonized for weeks over what case.

http://picasaweb.google.com/capedave.bell/NewHeatSink#

I love it!

I have three of them, they're my favorite cases. Sturdy and quiet. The power and reset
buttons are below par (plastic "springs", not very durable), a minor blemish on an otherwise
great design.

I'm using one I the only complaint I have about them is

1) no hole on the mobo tray to install backplate
2) PSU and its support bar immediately above the mobo makes wide (12cm+) tower sinks unusable on mobo's that have the CPU socket near the edge of the mobo (common in LGA775)

Otherwise I love every bit about them.
HDD suspension may be unnecessary for some, but I see them as hybrid drive bays, so If i get 2.5 inch SSD's i will need no adapter

There a simple fix to the Solo's flimsy buttons. If you stick a small piece of plastic on the button, the distance it has to go when you push it will be shorter. So you only have to press it in 3mm or so. This prolongs the plastic springs' longevity.

Personally, I didn't like the Solo's super-bright blue LEDs. A black permanent marker dimmed them just fine