HEXUS.winners win4FREE competitions: win an Antec Mini P180 chassis and TruePower PSU

[Iopean]

Ill base this on my p180 specifically

Likes:
Manages to be imposing and eye catching without being gaudy or in-your-face.
Extremely well thought out and engineered
Time and care taken in construction (in most instances)

Dislikes:
Easily scratched surfaces, side panels are easily marked
Cable management is a nightmare without a Dremmel
PSU cage was slightly too small

[shadowmaster]

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?

High quality, easy to use and I know I wont need bandages when I build with them. Pricing is decent and some of the lower end models such as the Antec 300 are well priced

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?

Not much really, I find that some of your chassis designs are a bit plain at times.

[Powderhound]

I love the fact that they have a nice understated design that means that the computer room doesn't have to be hermetically sealed when your girlfriend's in the house (One can but dream), lest she sees that PC that looks suspiciously like it was dumped there by Luke Skywalker. And when building it you don't actually need several litres of TCP and a roll of bandage in case of accidents involving edges that were probably sharpened before they left the factory.

There's nothing I really dislike, except that the lower fan in my P182 is a tad too close to the PSU... oh wait, they changed that in the P183!

[teh_masterer]

I have owned an Antec 1200 for nearly a year now, so I though it would be appropriate to write a first hand review.

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?

All your chassis are all round great packages. The prices are often unbeatable considering the quality of materials and craftman ship that goes into each case. For example, the Sonata range offers amazing value and quality, when most case/PSU bundles from other companies include inferior power supplies that are unacceptable.

More specifically to the 1200, the painted interior is a great attribute that all chassis above around £100 should have if they have a side window. Bare steel should not be on display. Also the inclusion of so many fans, which would have cost a vast amount seperately. They offer the required airflow for enthusiasts and look brilliant, whilst remeaning reasonably quiet.

I also want to make a special note on the P182SE. The mirror finish was amazing and I hope you make special editions of future chassis.

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?

Compatability with watercooling setups is not as good as high-end cassis (Lian-Li). The holes for external W/C components are not really big enough for 3/4" tubing. Also, the 200mm radiator that you have developed should firstly be made of copper, and also be sold seperately to existing chassis owners. Furthermore, the perspex used in the 1200 chassis seems to scratch if you breath on it. On a fairly expensive chassis I would expect all of the materials used to be of a good quality.

W/C editions of some of your higher-end chassis could be a healthy addition to the line. Perhaps the 902, 1200, 183 and 193.

Keep up the good work Antec! I will be interested to see what comes next

[Netvyper]

• 1) What do you love about Antec chassis?
  I really love the build quality of Antec chassis! they are phenomenally solid.
• 2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?
  The Solidity comes with a downside... Carrying a full one up the stairs is quite a workout

[Empz]

Likes:

I like the fact that Antec don't over price their cases, the Antec 1200 is a great example of this, a full tower with tons of airflow and a strong design with internal powercoating for a fraction of the price that other companies charge

I also like the fact that the cases are well thought out, like on the old 900 there was a bay for keys or items on the top, fan filters on the intakes of the 300 or 902 and the fact that the P180 series has separators and adjustable cable holes.

Dislikes

However I don't like fact that while the Antec 1200 & 902 have fan speed adjusters on all the fans they don't have LED toggles, for example sleeping with the bright blue lights on can be annoying or if you buy a case and then have to swap out the perfectly fine fans because you want no LEDs.

I'd also like to see the gaming cases completely forgo the side fans, that is to remove the mesh on the left side panel and just put 100% acrylic windowing instead, after all with the amount of fans else where you don't really need a fan there do you?

[maxwilson]

What do I like about Antec chassis?

I'm the owner of a 900 mk1 and it is the best case I've ever owned. When refitting my pc inards to the 900 it was a much easier and enjoyable process that previous cases.
I particularly appriciated the HDD cage, the smooth edges and the cable management options were welcomed.
The 900 also manges great preformance while remaing quiet, the cooling system on this case is very impressive.
I also really like the styling of the antec cases.

2)What dont I like about the Antec Chassis?

The fan speed controllers on the 900 are annoying, it's very awkward in order to change the speed of the fans.
The Lack of a budget case, there appears to be quite a few offerings from antec's competitors.
The inclusion of Dust filters on all cases would be nice.
The pricing of antec cases seems to be just a bit to high, this may be due to external factors.
Oh and the antec skeleton....

Overal I'm very pleased with antec, and hope their great products continue.

[fazer]

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?
Price, no compromise in materials used, sleek design, solid chassis, doors opening 135 degrees, silicone mounts for hard drives and foot stands, easy install of internal fixtures, cooling and extra space for additional fans, easy pull out hard drive trays, and room for a slightly bigger PSU, internal space for hard drives DVD players etc. I have a P182 that's about 2 years old and stood the test of time, currently just had it's guts ripped out for an upgrade and pleased to say quaility engineering, no screws double threaded .

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?
Weight (but you cant have the solid design and Insulation with compromising), cause mine get moved around a bit, so currently nick named 'Big Bertha', the top fan grill damaged easily. Other than that I have had no problems and expect this would last many more years, unlike some cases I have had. What would be nice for those users that move there PC's around a lot would be a bespoke carrying unit you could pop the case into rather than relying for a while on the case box it was delivered in.

[Aez]

Like:
I have the Antec p182 case, the reason i bought it was because the price was reasonable and the features it incorporated were extensive compared to the competition, I find this is the same across the Antec range.

Dislike:
Antec seem to be straying away from the minimalist design at the moment with the inclusion of vents and such that for me spoil the look of such chassis as the p180 mini, while there is a market for the more "gamer looking" cases i would like Antec to not forget about the minimal style.

[Will404]

Like:
-Thumb screws - nice and simple, but I am inside the case almost once a week, so they are a neccesity.
-Cooling - Lots of fans, and well placed fans, with good airflow.
-Bottom mounted PSU's which get more airflow.
-300, 900, 1200 can arrange hard drives as you like.
-Big Boy
-Design of the cases is great - they look like they should cost more(but don't increase the price:O)
-No sharp edges, or I have not cut myself yet (desk made of wood, relief)
-Ranges available, from P, to the gaming cases, to MCPC's.
-All cases built with the options for watercooling(I wish I had the money)
-Nice and big
-Like the idea of different sections for different things, especially where this is less seen - in the fusion remote/fusion remote max. Would like to have a go building one of these.
-Prefur the colour of the tri-cool fans (black with LEDs) to some other fans (See-through with LEDs)
*Also like the neon PSU's (not sure if relevent), and the range of PSU's available, from 380W earthwats, right up to 1000W true power.

Dislike:
-Tri cool fans bundled are molex, would prefur 3/4 pin, with molex convertor(s).
-No tool-free mounting for hard drives (300, 900, 1200) would be nice.
-Lack of cable management on the 900 (has been fixed on the 900(2) but I dont have that one)
-Tri cool fans a tad too noisy for my likeing
-Lack of dust filters on some models (1200 for example). A high end case like this should (in my oppinion have these.
-Would have liked a hole in the bottom of the case for the PSU to such air in from (900, 1200, and others) . (Seperate intake under case for PSU)
-Sonata plus and designer (just me being fussy though)
-(fussy again), but the 1200, and 900 could have been designed to have hard drives the other way arround, with gaps for cables to be routed directly behind the mobo tray, or down to the floor of the case, making cable management easier.

[MSIC]

Hi, nice competition! I'm up for getting one of those, although i'm not convinced it's for "gamers on the move" - it's not exactly light! However...

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?
The noise dampening most of all. It's the primary reason why i chose Antec before, and will do in the future. Combined with good airflow, i can trust that my components are safe.
Peace of mind, whilst being peaceful!

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?
My P180 is massive! I'd love something smaller, but in reality my case is as good now as the day i bought it, and will see me through another few generations of upgrades at least. That beast is going nowhere

[TheGeneral]

What i Like...

I bought an Antec Sonata 1 about 3 years ago... i have just bought myself a Sonata III. This case is still on eof the best arround for quality and price. I dont see any other chassis in todays cases matching the SONATA 1

What i Dislike....

The Antec Solo. I dont see the point in the case. If you want to do a case without a PSU just take it out the SONATA and sell that. The front panel and power button on the solo are poorly designed and are always breaking on us

Thanks

[Nub1]

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?

1) You listen to your end users. For example, you took on board most of the mods the consumers were doing to their cases like the Antec900, black inside, cable management holes to rear of mobo tray, water cooling holes etc. Now you've added filters, sorted out the difficulty with the floppy drive installation turning an already great case in to an excellent one. So your chassis are always what the consumer wants.

2) Solid. My Antec900 case has stood up to so much from me. I have the 2nd version without your mods. I have turned the psu upside down, 'dremelled' cable management and access to the cpu, nb and south bridge thru the mobo tray, put in a fan to pull air from behind the cpu out the case side, turned the hard drives sideways to give more space for my dual loop water cooling. All this and the case is still standing. The case is so solid it allowed me to learn without it crumbling.

3) Your customer service is impeccable, have had parts sent to me for free from the States.

4) Did I mention, you listen to your customers. I'm the guy who drew up an Antec1500 on the dangerden forums and submitted it to you guys. Am awaiting royalties any day now


2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?

1) They don't come with a connector to fit the front panel cables (i.e. the pwr, hd, reset etc) in to prior to fitting them on to the motherboard. I know one motherboard manufacturer makes them, the Asus Q-connector, but a general fitting so that the end user doesn't have to sit there using two small screwdrivers like chopsticks to fit the connectors in.

2) The cases are slightly too narrow. Not enough space to run a p24 cable behind the mobo tray unless you splay it out, am really talking about the Antec900. Looks like this was sorted in the 1200 tho.

[mayhem]

Well ill say about my last case i got from Antec ..

It was the Skelton ...

Pro's .

1) Looks different ..
2) erm Look at No 1
3) Look at no 2 and revert back to No 1
4) did i say it looks different
5) Do not what to repeat my self to much but look at no 3 again.

Con's ...

1) the Frame is so low to the Tray its a night mare fitting any thing but a standard Stock Cooler on the mother board. It makes no difference which board you have nothing else will fit correctly.

2) There is NO real decent cable management to the system ... no and if it is supposed to be there i cannot find it.

3) Fitting in a PSU should have not taking 2 days to plan how to fit it and then another 2 days consulting with you superiors on a plan of attack and then another 2 days realizing the last 4 days was a waste of time because it wont fit full stop ....

4) The manuals that come with the case or cases seemingly were written in Japanese's and then re written in English by a Japanese guy who seems to be rushing to the toilet alot with diarrhea and then transplanting he thoughts while sitting on the loo onto paper and calling it a instruction Manuel. Yeh there is alot there but its all full of ****.

5) 3 years of thought and 1 moth of design i think. could be wrong but after 1 month of thought and 1 month of dremmeling it now works well ....

6) Buying a skeleton in the first place is the con there is no real pros. sorry ....

Now on the other hand you do have some good cases that are dammed good but a bit boring in the design but overly practical in the inside. Shame you didn't do the same with my last case from you guys. Just wish you would put more effort into Manuel's so people who were not techs could easily read them and understand what each thing is for.

I no i don't have a chance in the world of winning but thought id voice my option any way .. its good to get it out the system especially when i waisted £150 of money on a nice Lego land space center for my kids. Yes that is what is it used for now ....

[jackvdbuk]

Like
the smart sleek looks of the cases especailly the p18* series!
innovation
tool-less cases
the design of cases for people that like to route cables for a clean clutter free case i.e me!

Dislikes
that i choose a bloomin coolermaster stacker case!! i hate it with a vengeance
that i have to wait for the p183 to be relased hehe ....
you dont really have a "Full size Tower Case" selection. I like my cases big... just like my women!

[Capt Doufos]

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?

I like the clean lines, well thought out layouts, high quality finish. For the most part incredibly solid and well built. They are also excellent value for money. I think all PC's I have built for friends and family use them! Can't recommend them enough.

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?

The only real gripe I have had is some of the plastic lugs broken of the side panel, so I think build quality could have been a bit better on that particular part.