Antec Sonata 380-Watt Mid-Tower Case - Piano Black 99.99 AR @ BestBuy

MowSow

Golden Member
Mar 13, 2001
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Play the symphony of silence with this quiet Sonata case, ultra quiet Antec True Power 380W switching power supply, with special connectors for 2 120mm case fans, fan speed is controlled depending on the case temperature. All hard drives are loaded on a bracket with rubber washers to reduce vibrations, same goes for CDs .. quick release, front mount easy access position.
The regular price is 129.99 and there is a $30 Rebate from BestBuy.
Shipping is free, tax may apply if u have a BestBuy in your town

Antec Sonata

Review1

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16 cases review

The summary reviews where gathered by NewEgg .. they have also one of the cheapest prices on it @ $96 +$18 Shipping .. unfortunately I will be taxed in Cali.
The interesting thing is that they advertise 2x120mm Fans. The front fan is optional. So I am not sure if they are selling the one with the optional fan? or if it's an error!?
If that is true then deduct about $10 from their current price, for a final price of $104 shipped (non cali resindents) since no one else sells this case with the optional front fan !

 

REDRAIN

Member
Sep 8, 2003
75
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MowSow I have this case.... Very Nice! It is a little misleading the way they pitch it. Says optional second 120MM Fan. Well It may not say that. But that is what your options are. You get one with your purchase (at least I did) & you have to spring for one on your own. I got mine thru SVC.COM.
They had a couple for $6.99 Why they only give you one with the case I'm not sure.... Well I think I know why & so do you.120x25mm case fans

Footnote: Check the ANTEC SONATA review & you'll see listed in standard features 1 rear 120mm case Fan.

I'd shop around though, as when I got it. I was able to get Staples.com to PM to Amazon.com @$99 and Antec had there $30 MIR. So I ended up with it for around $70.

Redrain;)
 

Nemesis300

Member
Nov 29, 2002
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Originally posted by: arbntmare
is this better than the Chieftec at newegg.com for 75 shipped


or this one for 89 shipped 89

The difference is this case uses 120mm fans where those 2 cases you are looking at use 80mm. Using 120mm would yield a quieter machine and more airflow supposedly. Not sure exactly how much quieter it is compare to this similar antec deal.

If your looking at that chieftec style check this deal, sorry no pretty window tho :(.
 

riceknight

Member
Apr 7, 2003
96
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Got this case for like 68 bucks back when OfficeDepot had the crazy multiple stacked coupons. Case is made very very well, but is NOT quiet. About the only noticeable sound difference was from the rubber mounted hard drives. The 120mm fan that comes with the case makes a noticable amount of noise and because there are so little holes on the sides of the case, dust tends to pile around the cd-rom drives and any other holes.

Otherwise, it's a pretty decent case overall, but far from flawless
 

BigEdMuustaffa

Golden Member
Jan 29, 2002
1,361
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Originally posted by: riceknight
Got this case for like 68 bucks back when OfficeDepot had the crazy multiple stacked coupons. Case is made very very well, but is NOT quiet. About the only noticeable sound difference was from the rubber mounted hard drives. The 120mm fan that comes with the case makes a noticable amount of noise and because there are so little holes on the sides of the case, dust tends to pile around the cd-rom drives and any other holes.

Otherwise, it's a pretty decent case overall, but far from flawless


Try using metallic duct tape to cover those holes (make sure you use the non-sticky side to cover the holes, and tape this part to the inside of the case with the sticky part. Worked for me, no intake of dust and no noticeable rise in case temp either....:) The silver metallic color showing thru the holes goes well with the case motif IMHO. Some case modders have actually used clear plastic to cover the holes and added cold cathode lighting.

 

tedinde

Senior member
Feb 16, 2003
328
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Play the symphony of silence with this quiet Sonata case, ultra quiet Antec True Power 380W switching power supply, with special connectors for 2 120mm case fans, fan speed is controlled depending on the case temperature. All hard drives are loaded on a bracket with rubber washers to reduce vibrations, same goes for CDs .. quick release, front mount easy access position.

I bought one for a better deal couple months ago on the officedepot deal.

Isnt that quiet once the case heats up and that 120mm fan which is thermally controlled off the PS if you plug it into the "FAN" connector on the PS, it's louder, Hook it straight in and see.

Well worth it when i got it from officedepot for way less But counting on a Best buys rebate, guess it's not as bad as a compusa rebate.

I've bought this one at staples also. Same 120mm fan but no cheap little o-ring rubber washers for the HD's



http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/Sku.asp?PageType=1&Sku=IM1372828

Guess i could just spend $1 at the hardware store.
 

rseiler

Senior member
Apr 17, 2000
200
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76
So BigEd, you're recommending two strips of tape per side: one piece with the non-sticky side facing the holes and the other (slightly longer piece) securing that?

The outside of this case is a dust (and smudge magnet) too, being glossy black. Not the best design decision.

About the fan noise, I've always seen comments where one person says they can barely hear it while the next person says it's loud. What is the dB range of the fan from quietest (slowest) to loudest (fastest)? I can't find that on their site.

I actually saw a couple people recommending hooking the fan to a normal power connector rather than the FAN connector because otherwise the fan was constantly varying its speed (and thus sound). A problem?
 

MowSow

Golden Member
Mar 13, 2001
1,023
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Some update here ...
I went to Costco today to get some tires for my car and while waiting I wondered to Circuit City to see what's going on .. there is a shopping madness going on ! PCs are selling like hot potatos, no one can live without a digital camera anymore ! and DVD players are selling for $40 !
I browse in the store and I see that Sonata case on the shelf for the same price at Best Buy, I call up the guy and asked him if they would price match a $30 mail in rebate fom Best Buy .. the guy goes to command center and come back after 5 minutes telling me they will give it me out of the door for Best Buy price after rebate ! I said ring it up ..It came to $107.74
All I have to do is transfer my Abit IC7 MAX3 and seagate hard drive, ram .. etc to this case and return that crappy case I got from frys !!
 

cubanx

Senior member
Oct 27, 2000
610
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0
Quieter then those noise monster Antec 1040's and variants but not silent unless you swap the fans.

I put two Papst 120mm Fans on the "Fan Only" connector's and use a 80mm Panaflo on the CPU. Zero noise except for the PSU fan which i'll swap with a Panaflo but you have to remove everything to get that bastardly placed PSU out of there safely.


BTW. I got mine at Directron for $96 + shipping

The great thing about Directron is that I added additional case fans and can change the PSU for no added shipping charges but you must add them as options when you place the case in your cart. It was $135 for the case and two additional Ultra-low noise 120mm PAPST fans + shipping. Tax only charged for TX residents.

Directron is one of the few retailers that carry the hard to find Papst fans.

*The one I got from Directron had a PSU with SATA connector's but the one a friend bought at BB did not(maybe old stock?)
 

wetcat007

Diamond Member
Nov 5, 2002
3,502
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Originally posted by: Nemesis300
Originally posted by: arbntmare
is this better than the Chieftec at newegg.com for 75 shipped


or this one for 89 shipped 89

The difference is this case uses 120mm fans where those 2 cases you are looking at use 80mm. Using 120mm would yield a quieter machine and more airflow supposedly. Not sure exactly how much quieter it is compare to this similar antec deal.

If your looking at that chieftec style check this deal, sorry no pretty window tho :(.

The Chieftec case is bigger, I own one and it gets better airflow than anything else I've seen. I myself prefer the chieftec looks wise.
 

arbntmare

Member
Oct 2, 2001
125
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0
Originally posted by: wetcat007
Originally posted by: Nemesis300
Originally posted by: arbntmare
is this better than the Chieftec at newegg.com for 75 shipped


or this one for 89 shipped 89

The difference is this case uses 120mm fans where those 2 cases you are looking at use 80mm. Using 120mm would yield a quieter machine and more airflow supposedly. Not sure exactly how much quieter it is compare to this similar antec deal.">http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/Sku.asp?PageType=1&Sku=IM1372828[/S</a>

If your looking at that chieftec style check this deal, sorry no pretty window tho :(.

The Chieftec case is bigger, I own one and it gets better airflow than anything else I've seen. I myself prefer the chieftec looks wise.

Airflow good thats a +
Looks thats a +
PSU ?
Quiet?
 

labgeek

Platinum Member
Jan 20, 2002
2,163
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Originally posted by: riceknight

...
Case is made very very well, but is NOT quiet. About the only noticeable sound difference was from the rubber mounted hard drives. The 120mm fan that comes with the case makes a noticable amount of noise and because there are so little holes on the sides of the case, dust tends to pile around the cd-rom drives and any other holes.

Otherwise, it's a pretty decent case overall, but far from flawless

Strange... Mine is dead quiet. Sitting < 2 feet away you cannot hear the it. I didn't add the 2nd fan. But I did move to a Zalman CNPS-7000AlCu turned all the way down, and Zalman fanless VGA heatpipe on a ti4200. Case runs cool and quiet with 4 hdd (2x raptors, 120GB and 160GB) plus CD-RW and DVD+RW drives.
 

amd4life

Golden Member
May 31, 2002
1,080
0
76
wow talk about forever, I just got my rebate from this deal.I pricematched to staples at the time to 100, so i got the case 4 73.20 incl tax, just took awhile