I have had my heart set on the SPCR branded version of the P180 for quite some time.
Last week I got a chance to work with one. A client called and said the he wanted to move from his old chassis to a P180, he already had the case, and just needed me to do the component swap.
First thoughts were that the case was beautiful and very well made. Unfortunately by the end of the build my feelings weren't entirely as positive.
- For starters the ventilation unit that draws air from the back of the case and is meant to blow it over the PCI slots is very awkward. For something that needs to be completely removed in order to do anything with your mobo or add-in cards it should be quick release, but instead it takes 6 screws to remove the thing...
- Due to the position of the HD, PSU and upper cooling fans, there is very little space with some MoBo's for today’s typical larger style heatsinks... IF you really needed to mount a Zalman, you might be able to get away with removing the top-most fan...
- The front door felt rather flimsy. The magnet that hold the door closed is fairly week and I found that the door would open up with only the slightest nudge. Also there is only one touch point on the opening side of the door, making the door feel very flimsy.
- Top rear fan hood seems somewhat pointless. Since it isn't solid it doesn't direct sound and air rearward.
- For all the gel mounting of HDs and the PSU the fans are hard mounted.
- Due to the location of the PSU the 4pin 12v cable barely reached its connector on the MoBo.
Now for the good news...
- I was impressed with the overall build quality of the case, rounded edges, quality screws, well thought out case design to use all available interior space.
- For those that are worried about the large fan in the bottom PSU/HD section, it can be moved to the other side of the divider if your PSU is larger than standard ATX spec. This only applies if you're not using the lower HD mounts.
- Initial noise level is good for an out of the box quiet case.
- Lots of HD bays
- Lots of possible fan combinations
- PSU mount and shroud was a very tight fit completely eliminating any potential rattle. (so tight in fact that I had to wrestle with it in order to get all the screws in place...)
- Case design and layout provides great air-flow
- Composite doors feel solid for their weight.
- Plenty of HD, CD/DVDrom and Fan options
Overall I do still like the case, but I'm not as sure that I will purchase it for my system. If you tend to work on your system a lot, you may find that the case can feel cramped at times, which is surprising considering its size.
P180 Impressions
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Devonavar
How smooth are the drive rails? Most of antec's older cases I've worked with were somewhat rough; the cd/dvd-rom drives in some slots would need a bit of a wiggling to get in and the sides were abit rough as well. This led to scratched up drives...though a moot point since it didn't actually hinder performance.