Verdict and Conclusion
Did Antec make a case good enough to convert me back to using a case? Maybe..
While this case is absolutely fantastic, I do switch hardware extremely often so you will not see me using a case in the near future. However, if you are looking for a case this one is awesome.
Externally, you get a sophisticated yet industrial look. There are no LED fans or windows to be found anywhere on this case. Just a noise-reducing, calm enducing piece of awesomeness.
Installing hardware into the P280 is very easy. Since there is a huge backplate cutout it is even easy to swap cpu coolers. While everything is not tool-less, the only time you really need tools is to replace/install a motherboard or add hard drives.That is certainly something I can live with.
When it comes to noise, the case does a solid job of cutting it down. Using the included fan controller setting the fans to low resulted in an almost silent operation except under full load. Increasing the fans to high resulted in a quiet sound coming from the test computer. Which happened to be much quieter than I had anticipated. I have a feeling this can be attributed to the plastic noise insulatiing material Antec uses on the side pannels. Whatever it is, it sure works well.
The build quality is very good on the P280. Sharp edges were non-existant and it was the first time in a very long time I did not bleed while assembling a computer. Paint on the P280 is good as well. It resisted scratching even when a stick of ram fell onto the case from about three feet.
Having a door, I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand is allows you to use non color matching optical drives and hide them. But on the other hand it needs a fair bit of clearance to open the door. People that have a break-out box for their sound card with big knobs or fan controllers need not worry. There is plenty of space behind the front door.
For all of you watercooling users, there is space for a 2x120mm radiator in the top of the case. So if you feel like building your own loop or running one of those all-in-one watercooling loops there is plenty of space to do so.
One thing I would like to see is the inclusion of a fan or two for the front of the case. Even if it raises the price by $5-10 I would see that as a fair tradeoff, especially if it were wired to the built in fan controller .
Speaking of the price, it can be found for around $100
I’ll summarize a bit, the above is a lot to read. We’ll start with the pros:
- Very quiet, even on highest fan settings
- Price is very attractive
- Subtle, yet sophisticated look
- Space for watercooling
- Built-in fan filters are great
There are cons too:
- Could use front intake fans
- Inclusion of thumb screws for 3.5″ and 2.5″ drives would be great
The Antec P280 is just absolutely great. If you are looking for a quiet and sophisticated case that doesn’t break the bank look no farther. There is plenty of space for everything you can throw at it, but it does not take up huge amounts of extra space like some excessively large cases out there.
SCORE
9.3/10
