Antec LifeStyle Sonata II-EC

Advantages: Quiet, Construction, Sensible Layout
Disadvantages: Weight, Price

...There have to be more exciting things in life to write about than a PC case. Reviews on cars, washing machines, camcorders - all of them are useful to the prospective purchaser and so it is ( I hope) with PC cases, although the audience is likely considerably smaller. Consequently, I'll stick to a reasonably technical review, the aim being to provide you with a concise and informative view on a lump of metal that you could easily spend upwards of £70 on. Antec have clearly found their niche. They make a few things, but they make them very well indeed. PC cases and Power Supplies is pretty much all you'll find from them. And they tend towards the expensive end of the middle market. The Sonata midi-tower is one of the growing "lifestyle" cases from Antec, aimed at providing you with a sleek, stylish looking PC that fits all the bits... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Almost silent
Disadvantages: Need second fan

...Whilst not computer geeks, me and my brother have gained the ability to knock up our own PC, simply to save money. We needed a case to house it in however, and after reading many professional reviews settled on the Antec Sonata. Appearance Perhaps one of its strongest points - its stunning. The piano black surfaces and the piercing blue lights look brilliant. The sides have air holes shaped as the word 'Antec' - another cool touch. The only negative on the looks is that the front panel is plastic. Whilst it’s functional, it lets the case down somewhat. Silence s'il vous plait The unique selling point of the case is that its meant to be as damn-near to silent as possible. It almost succeeds. It has several features that contribute to this. The first is the silent 380W PSU. This is a unique version of Antec’s 380W PSU... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Lots of space, Quiet than most cases, front USB ports
Disadvantages: Hard to find black faceplated drives

...I have to say that this is my best case that I have had in my computing building life. It's much quieter than all the other drives that I have ever had. It' so quiet that I can sleep with the machine on and not be bothered by it. There is also a lot of addittional space for expansion, 3 *5.25in bays and 2 *3.5in bays and 4 internal 3.5in slots for hard hrives. all the hard drive slots have rubber grommets fort he drive to sit on to further minimize noise, and it WORKS!!!! The only time I hear the drive is when I am Defragging the drive. I consider myself as an adequate computer builder and I was shock at the instructions on how to connect the front USB, Firewire and audio cables in the front of the case. The Sheet of paper just says to consult the motherboard manual on how to connect the leads to the motherboard. Another... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful