Antec Performance II SX630II

Advantages: Quiet, solid, good cooling
Disadvantages: Big, heavy, expensive

..., they are fiddly to connect. One of the last, but most important things to talk about, is Antec themselves. I've had an Antec case previously, and I want to stand up and say just how great their customer service is. I've had my previous case, an Antec Sonata, for a couple of years now, and initially when I bought it I lost some of the rubber grommets needed to put the case together. A quick email to Antec, and replacements were sent to me free of charge. Remember that broken fan? A free replacement has just arrived in the post from Antec. I could have kept the old PC afterall. Summary ----------------- A tricky to put together case with good cooling performance, that's relatively quiet. A big minus is the complexity, and the fcat it comes with out a PSU. Make sure you buy an Antec PSU, since a) it'll be quiet and b) have cables that are long... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Low noise, very good airflow + cooling, easier cable management, stylish
Disadvantages: High price, better airflow available

...The P182 is, like the P180, a great case for those who want a quiet but high-performance PC. My temperatures in this case were a good 5ºC lower than in my previous case, which I attribute to the separation of the two main heat sources - the PSU and the CPU. There's also the option to turn up the case's fans without opening it up for when you need that little bit more cooling, or to turn them down for silence. Even at the maximum speed, the case kept the system amazingly quiet, no doubt due to the triple-layered side panels. Whilst the option to change the fans' speeds was in the P180, you had to open the case up to do this - hardly convenient! Antec has managed to enable the odd layout to support more PSUs than the P180, and the cable routing options have been vastly improved, allowing for a cooler, and therefore faster or quieter... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Awsome for gaming PCs
Disadvantages: more difficult to build than with other cases

...Choosing a good enclosure is no slim task. If you like to push the performance envelope, ventilation, cooling and plenty of space are probably key considerations. There's a big push these days towards quiet PCs, with many builders opting to take a little less performance if it means running a few decibels quieter. Generally, those two attributes have been at odds: you can't have great cooling without some noise, and you can't have a quiet PC without sacrificing airflow. The new Antec P180 case is aimed squarely at the high-end system builder. They have built a case that keeps the noise down even in the face of high-end components and serious airflow. The P180 is a handsome case. It stands about an inch taller than most mid-towers so its pretty big but not dauntingly so, and weighs 14.1grams. All sides are covered with smooth siver... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful