Antec Sonata II and P180 coming soon

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Suups

Junior Member
Jan 24, 2005
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I'd go for the P180 execept for that air duct.

AntecCSR, is there a filter on the CPU / vid card cooling duct? Also the positioning on the P180 is a little strange - it's taking air in from the back, directly above the exhaust from the PSU! Now that can't be good! Not a problem on the Sonata II with the PSU at the top, but on the P180 aren't we taking the hottest air exhausted from the system to blow on the CPU?
 
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PCHPlayer

Golden Member
Oct 9, 2001
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Originally posted by: AntecCSR
We figure most people don't keep drinks on or near their computer cases (near their keyboards yes), especially the rear part of the case.

AntecCSR
Click to expand...

True story. An engineer's desk is of the modular type where there are breaks in the desktop. Computer was right under the break in the desk. Said engineer spills coke, it drips between the modular desk tops onto the computer. This is a Dell case that has the split down the center of the top of the case. The coke gets into the case through the split on top.... Ruined computer.
Of course this is an isolated occurrence and the idiot engineer did not say anything until his computer stopped working the next day. So it can happen. Needless to say the new computer does not sit under the split in the desk.

 
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imported_bajan

Member
Jun 6, 2004
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Having owned a Sonata for little over a year i can say that i am very pleased with it's cooling performance. And now that i've seen the second one i'm in the mood for an upgrade. lol
 
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Lampp

Junior Member
Jan 25, 2005
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AntecCSR:
You probably know, that does Thermaltake PurePower 680w fit in Antec P180 case? Thermaltake seems to be quite deep, deeper than normal PSU.

Normal PSU is 150x140x86mm (5.9"x5.5"x 3.4"), but Thermaltake is 150x165x86mm (5.9"x6.5"x3.4").

This picture explains, why I'm quite worried: http://www.thetechlounge.com/i...05_antec/images/79.jpg

Fan is quite close, and there isn't much space left for PSU..
 
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shade71

Junior Member
Jan 25, 2005
2
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AntecCSR:
Is there any chance that HDD drives in P180 case will mount sideways in the final version? In that case, p180 would be just perfect (for me at least) :) And another thing, if you happen to know. Since there is 120mm fan right above the cpu cooler.. is this thing going to be compatible with bigger cpu coolers eg. zalman CNPS7700?

ps. tell the guy, who desined this thing, he did one hell of a job. Perfect A ;)
 
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InlineFive

Diamond Member
Sep 20, 2003
9,599
2
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Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
Excellent P-180 Case. I don't mind the position of the door anyways. Now if only I could put in fans in the front for better airflow.
February eh? I hope the case falls into the 'right' price range (ex: $150ish). Looks sharp like a Lian Li.

Keep it up Antec
Edit: http://www.silentpcreview.com/...s/ces2005/P180Core.jpg
Where the heck does the PSU go??
-The Pentium Guy
Click to expand...

The black thing in the lower-left corner is a Seasonic S12 power supply.
 
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The Pentium Guy

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2005
4,327
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I could see how that's an advantage in, say, a waterocoled case.
But in a normal (heatsink/fan) case, since hot air rises, the PSU won't exhaust the hot air (coming from the top of the case), but the colder air(since it's on the bottom) - but anyways that's what the blowhole is for :D.
 
tracerbullet

tracerbullet

Golden Member
Feb 22, 2001
1,661
19
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Originally posted by: dc5

wow, the sonata doesn't have the 'antec' drilled holes on the side anymore.
Click to expand...

Good. I had to cover mine (did it with clear plexiglass in case I want to add a light inside one day). They let air bypass the front filter and clog up the heatsink (pets are a bitch that way). Funny, they put a filter in front, and then drill all the dumb holes to bypass it.

Wish they'd make a factory side panel with a window pre-installed, I own a Dremel but I'm no good at making clean cuts.
 
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Suups

Junior Member
Jan 24, 2005
10
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Originally posted by: tracerbullet

Funny, they put a filter in front, and then drill all the dumb holes to bypass it.
Click to expand...

Well, it looks like they've done exactly the same thing again with the CPU cooling duct. And worse, on the P180 they're drawing air from directly above the PSU exhaust. So instead of unfiltered air being drawn into your case, you'll have hot unfiltered air and it'll be directed straight at your CPU.

Confused as hell as to why they didn't make the duct draw air from the front of the case, that would have made a *lot* more sense. Or am I missing something?

I'm thinking the Sonata 2 looks worthy, but it'll need a filter constructed for that CPU duct. Shouldn't be difficult.

 
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Suups

Junior Member
Jan 24, 2005
10
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Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
And worse, on the P180 they're drawing air from directly above the PSU exhaust
Click to expand...
I think you got it wrong :), they're blowing air OUT.
Click to expand...



Are you sure about that? Most coolers blow air down on to the heatsink. The duct sits directly above the fan. If it was exhausing air it would be creating a vacuum effect directly above the cpu cooler, reducing its efficiency.

Besides, it says the fan in the duct is optional. The effect of 99% of CPU coolers on the market with that duct without an additional fan would be to draw air IN.

Looks more to me like the idea is supposed to be to supply cool air to the HSF from outside the case.
 
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AntecCSR

Senior member
Jan 18, 2000
394
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More answers.

Duct: We're still doing testing to see how necessary it really is. So the final product may not have it all (early tests that I've seen looked damn impressive).
Even with the duct keep something in mind. Without the rest of the hot air that normally flows through a PSU, the air coming out from a PSU in a P180 will be a LOT cooler then you're used to. Especially when you consider a 120mm fan blowing on it.
Also this is part of the testing we're doing.

TT Purepower might fit. The PSU pictured is our Phantom 500, which is 6.1" deep iirc. So if you did put a Purepower in there you might have to remove the fan to get the cabling up the hole to the rest of the system.

Also I think I've said this here, but the hole where the cables go, can be closed down so that very little air from the PSU chamber goes up to where the rest of the system is.

Sideways drives: still a possibility however I'm not sure how likely it is at this point.

AntecCSR
 
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Tweakin

Platinum Member
Feb 7, 2000
2,532
0
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Originally posted by: rddyck
The P180 sounds like my dream case except for the fact that it looks more like a mini refrigerator than a cool high performance PC case. I'm not sure I like the idea of a front door to access my drives. Nonetheless, the other features are just what I want. So I look forward to more info once it comes out.
Click to expand...


I love the idea of the front door as I hardly ever use my cd. Only for installing or burning. The closed cover makes the system look sleek. I hope you don't change the drive configuration...I would think that the sidway drives hinder air flow and could cause problems with SATA connectors due to the extra depth needed.
 
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Suups

Junior Member
Jan 24, 2005
10
0
0
FWIW, I think the duct is a superb idea and a definite plus to the case design. Cooler air theoretically means lower fan speeds, which means less noise. I just think it should be drawing air from the front, and through a filter - the biggest reason for filtering the air is to avoid dust blocking up heatsinks, so to feed two of the most critical heatsink fans with unfiltered air completely defeats the purpose of having filters on the front IMO. Better no duct than no filter.

Just my 2c worth.

:)
 
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Gerbil333

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2002
3,072
0
76
Originally posted by: AntecCSR
Duct: We're still doing testing to see how necessary it really is. So the final product may not have it all (early tests that I've seen looked damn impressive).
Even with the duct keep something in mind. Without the rest of the hot air that normally flows through a PSU, the air coming out from a PSU in a P180 will be a LOT cooler then you're used to. Especially when you consider a 120mm fan blowing on it.
Also this is part of the testing we're doing.
Click to expand...

What about hd cooling? Judging by these pics, it looks like the duct will block most of the airflow for the rear 120mm exhaust fan, thus the duct will cool the CPU well, but the hd, video card, northbridge, will all run hot.

So, what about the rest of the system? Namely hd's. Those are the most important components as they store precious data. I plan to have a Raptor and a 2nd hd for storage. I don't want to overheat them because that could lead to early failure. I'm thinking that even with the 2nd 120mm installed, hd/northbridge/GPU cooling will suffer since the rear 120mm fan's airflow will be blocked.

A 6800GT runs hot, and so do many northbridges. Will the Sonata II be able to effectively cool a high-end video card such as that, a high-end CPU, and multiple hard drives?
 
MDE

MDE

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
13,199
1
81
Originally posted by: Gerbil333
Originally posted by: AntecCSR
Duct: We're still doing testing to see how necessary it really is. So the final product may not have it all (early tests that I've seen looked damn impressive).
Even with the duct keep something in mind. Without the rest of the hot air that normally flows through a PSU, the air coming out from a PSU in a P180 will be a LOT cooler then you're used to. Especially when you consider a 120mm fan blowing on it.
Also this is part of the testing we're doing.
Click to expand...

What about hd cooling? Judging by these pics, it looks like the duct will block most of the airflow for the rear 120mm exhaust fan, thus the duct will cool the CPU well, but the hd, video card, northbridge, will all run hot.

So, what about the rest of the system? Namely hd's. Those are the most important components as they store precious data. I plan to have a Raptor and a 2nd hd for storage. I don't want to overheat them because that could lead to early failure. I'm thinking that even with the 2nd 120mm installed, hd/northbridge/GPU cooling will suffer since the rear 120mm fan's airflow will be blocked.

A 6800GT runs hot, and so do many northbridges. Will the Sonata II be able to effectively cool a high-end video card such as that, a high-end CPU, and multiple hard drives?
Click to expand...
The Sonata keeps my 2 Raptors, 1 storage drive, 6800GT, Athlon 64 3000+ @ 2.5GHz cool, so I'd imagine the Sonata II could easily do the same.
 
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wylecoyote

Member
Nov 14, 2004
141
0
0
AntecCSR,

Your new cases look great, but my question is regarding the Phantom 500w PSU.... can you give us a ballpark as to when this might be released?

Much appreciated..

 
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