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

[jaredk24]

I really like the look of the cases.

Not sure what I dislike at this time. Antec is generally a good product so I have high expectations for their cases.

[VelvetGlove]

In general the Antec cases have amazing build quality which results in very quiet, cool and easy to assemble systems. And although I fully understand that there are people that enjoy "fancy" looking cases I am not one of them. Which means that the look of some of the higher up models is entirely wasted on me, which in the past meant I often had to buy a separate power supply as the Antec case I really liked (Sonata) because it has a simple but elegant design (once the blue led was disabled) and is extremely quiet didn't come with a beefy enough power supply for my particular needs. Luckily in the new models they have improved their PSU wattage considerably and / or ship cases without a power supply all together, which used to be only an option on higher end cases

My only really major dislike with the Antec cases I had so far was the little door that does have a tendency to break off and although I didn't experience it myself as I used a different PSU, a lot of the PSU's in the Sonata cases my friends bought on my recommendation ended up blowing out shortly after they were out of warranty.

[rssweetman]

Love - build quality and heft

Hate - no wheels/castor fixings to help with the phenomenal build quality/heft

[Oobie-]

I like:
Clean, crisp, simple designs.
Attention to detail inside (curved edges), removable back plates, cable tidy section, retention drive mounts.

I dislike:
(dislikes from my experience with antec chassis)
The stock rear fan supplied.
Some of the cases still have 90mm front fan intake slots (should all be 120mm)
Lack of removable mobo tray.

[ian_b]

I like the fact that over time Antec improves the design of their cases to fix any problems that arise in the mark 1 version, for example the Nine Hundred Two improving on the Nine Hundred

I dislike the case fans not being PWM (especially on the the higher end cases) so that the motherboard can control their speeds according to the temperature level being measured by the motherboard

[alsenior]

What do I like ?

Near ninja like attention to detail. with thought being put into every point on the case.
Fantastic build quality . I have built a few machine for people using antec cases and never had one complain about things such as the door feeling cheap or dropping off. after a few months which is also nice.

What puts me off.

Now E-atx case's at around £100 this was the only reason i did not use the p180 for my current build as the P190 was way too expensive.
The fans don't have the 3 pin motherboard headers so you end up with a situation where you have to find an extra plug to plug these fans in from the psu.

but the pluses definaltly outwhegh the cons in my opinion

[multisync666]

Amazing
Noteworthy
T echnological
Extrordiary
Contempoary

Need i say more

Not owning one

[staffsMike]

Love the fact that most of your cases are a great basis for a silent system but always super quiet straight out of the box. The HDD mountings the different thermal zones and the flexability of the cases such as the P182 offering fan mounts on the end of it's HDD cage

Oh and the most important for me (as I'm sure everyone knows) the cable tidying is so simple I don't have to put any extra effort into that.. which is also a bit of shame I suppose

The only reason I don't love my P182 more is the fact I know there is a better case out there for me.. The P180 mini (which I already have one of). That is my ideal case

Things I don't like.. I struggle to think of anything really. I thought you could go even more conservative on the looks of the P180 mini, the slats didn't do much for me, but didn't put me off either.

The NSK3840 needs 1x 120mm fan in the front not 2x92mm and needs to be available in black.
THE nsk2480 needs to be black, those of us in the know don't really want to pay the extra for a fusion

The SOLO/ Sonata Plus needs to be black but it's perfect otherwise.

A better looking basic sonata.

Essentially just make everything black and use 120 - 140mm fans.

[Main]

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?

I like how the cases are setup to make installing and servicing easy, with thumbscrews all over the place and drive mounts that make mounting and removal easy. Build quality is excellent in every part of the case, and the budget cases look a lot nicer than the competition whilst maintaining all this. There is effective use of space, with enough to make installing standard components easier than compared to some other cases with the same volume. The hard drive racks in my P160 are awesome, vibrations are reduced considerably. The cooling systems are supplied already setup and include quiet fans.

I also like the shift towards using large fans that shift a lot more air with less noise.

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?

What I don't like is that most Antec cases don't seem to be mod friendly. The use of space means that there isn't a great deal of it to use for water cooling kit, plumbing and internal radiator mounting is quite a tight fit. The drive bays use sliders to install 5 1/2" drives so the fan I installed to augment the cooling in my P160 have to have blu-tac at the end of the sliders to hold them in place. You would have the same problem with a fan controller and if you did the same in a P180/182/190.

The gaming cases you make are made of steel so they both weigh a tonne for moving around and take more effort to cut up (see: mod unfriendly). The fans in these cases have 3 settings for speed, but no switch/jumper to turn off the LEDs (I seriously hate this obsession with "gamer = likes gaudy LEDs").

[Workaholic]

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?

The concept introduced on P190 cases of separated compartments for eaach component - i.e. PSU, HDDs etc. Helps towards cable tidying and air flow

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?

I've have to say the cost, and as such not so many shops stock it (apart from specialist shops) for me to look at...

[Will404]

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 ....

BOOO, Antec are great

[Koolpc]

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?

Antec cases have everything a PC case should have. Clean lines, awesome internals, high standards, and a really professional finish. Antec is the only choice in a PC enthusiasts list of top quality components.

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?

The only thing i dislike about Antec Chassis is that they keep bringing out awesome cases all the time!!! My pockets are only so deep!!!

[SiM]

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?
Great value for money.
Great looks.
Great features.
Great Cooling.
I have 3 Antec cases (1200, sonata, fusion)

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?
Bundled PSUs don't last as long as the case! Side story:
I got my Antec Sonata about 5 years ago. About one year ago the PSU that came with it stopped working. I suspected it was out of warranty, but contacted Antec support anyway because I heard that Antec had good customer service and they said (exact quote):

The power supply is out of warranty based on the serial number. I suggest purchasing a new power supply.

Cold and direct reply, but completely reasonable...

[da_ging]

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?
They Tend to be quite good with the pricing
Good and varied range that caters for most tastes
The bundles with psu's are good value
Good usefull features
build quality

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?
Too many are just too cramped imo atleast depth wise
not enough big cases
p190 not available without those pesky psu's
All a little grey and dull, need a bigger colour range, but please no pink!

[!nfil]

1) What do you love about Antec chassis?

• Very good build quality especially when it comes to the different materials used to construct the cases which I feel helps keep noise output from the case to a minimal.
• The use of simple designs is a reason why Antec stand out amongst other cases especially given the fact that there is a lot of horrible looking stuff on the market currently. More simple lines, clean looking designs and less obscure abstract stuff.
• The big 200mm fan on some cases is a big bonus and is something I think you should implement into most other cases especially with the high power consumption of components nowadays.
• Tool-less functionality for 3.5" & 5.25" drives.

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?

• Lack of removable tray on any of the latest cases (only one I can remember that did have one was the P160 but that must be a couple of years old now). This I think is a definite must have feature since it can be difficult working with motherboards inside cases.
• No handles for carrying the case? I think something that I would like to see implemented is pop-out sprung handles that click into the top of the case when you don't need them and look flush with the design of the case.
• Marginally lower prices and fixed price points. Ok granted there's a price to pay for quality and there's the whole issue of supply & demand etc but prices do tend fluctuate a fair bit on most cases I've seen.

[RemoteControlAx]

(note: this will be in relation to my Antec Twelve Hundred as it's the only Antec case I've had)
1) What do you love about Antec chassis?

- "beauty in simplicity" aesthetics (also especially on all cases in the p180 line)
- cooling performance
- general ease of working with the case
- cable management space behind the mobo tray (with one slight exception, noted below)
- price/performance
- intake dust filters (again with one exception, noted below)
- fan speeds easily adjustable on the exterior of the case

- not related to my twelve hundred, I'm very impressed and glad that they cooperated with SPCR on the p180

2) What do you dislike about Antec chassis?

- removing the intake dust filters of the twelve hundred for cleaning is unnecessarily difficult, requiring removing both sides of the case and 8 thumbscrews per filter, with the exception of the window fan (I have to clean them about once per month)
-- on that note, why is the process for these so convoluted on the twelve hundred when doing so on the p180 (which came out far earlier) is so easy?
- I wish there was just slightly more room for cable management between the mobo tray and the side of the case; even another half inch would do wonders.
- the sides of the case feel as though they're not completely secured on once you get toward the front end of the case
- though it's not vital, it might be nice to have the option to turn off all the LEDs, not just the one on the top fan