Antec Sonata or Antec PLUS1080AMG??

[MoeBackus]

I'm trying to choose between the 2 cases and im not quite sure which one I should go for...

Going to be running:

CHAINTECH NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra VNF4
AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 2.2 GHz, 512KB L2 Cache
BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC 256MB GDDR3/PCI-E/TV-Out/Dual-DVI
Seagate 120GB Barracuda 7200RPM SATA II with NCQ
OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 Dual Channel

Which one should I choose?? Can anyone that owns one of these recommend it?? Any suggestions??

Thanks!

 

[MoeBackus]

Bumpity

 

[CheesePoofs]

I built a computer for a friend with the PLUS1080AMG, and it was a very nice case. He got two more fans for his, and they are all plugged directly into the power supply, so they are going full blast. It is fairly loud, but the noise is only the low hum of the fans, not a higher pitched squeal or anything like that.

I think chosing the case is mostly a matter of which you like more. The sonata is designed to be quiet, the PLUS1080AMG is designed for size, just pick the one you think will fit you better, or the one that looks better to you.

 

[MoeBackus]

Alright thanks. Isn't the PLUS1080AMG also designed for quietness and air flow? I've heard that the Sonata produces a lot of heat when running a highend machine, is this true?

 

[Nessism]

The 1080 Antec has better air flow due to the open front bezel design. It's also quite a bit larger and made of thicker metal so it's sturdier and heavier. The Sonata has more modern features such as soft mounted fans and hard drives, and the use of larger fans, 120mm's vs. 80mm's.

If quiet is the main thing, get the Sonata. The airflow is not that great but I doubt you will have heat instability issues. My preference is for the 1080 because of the large size and sturdy feel.

One other choice is a Compucase 6920.
It's very similar to the 1080 but it uses soft mount hard drives and 120mm fans.

Good luck.

Ed

 

[MoeBackus]

I'm still kinda wondering about the Sonata's PSU. I don't really want to have to buy a case and a PSU seperatly, unless it stays in the $100. Will the Sonata's PSU be enough to run my planned rig?

 

[Mucker]

As an owner of both, I would go with the Sonata. Great PSU (looks fine for your system), and 120mm cooling fans. It's got a wild blue light on the front but it doesn't have to be plugged in. There is a fan only plug coming out of the PSU that you can use for the 120mm fan. With it plugged in, things will be quiet but less cool. You can plug the fan into a normal connector to run it full speed and have better cooling. I live in Las Vegas and ran only the single 120mm rear fan plugged into the fan only plug. I never had a problem with cooling keeping the house at 79 deg F. The Las Vegas Fry's is running a deal on the Sonata until Tues for $59.99, a super good deal for this case..........

m

 

[imported_bajan]

I have a Sonata as well and i love it. I live in the Caribbean where it's always hot and over the 14 months that i've used this system, the temperature inside the case has never gone over 41°C. And the only reason it got so high was because i left my room locked up one day when it was verrrrry hot. As for the CPU, well you can see what heatsink i have listed below and i have the throttle on it set to around 2800RPM; the CPU temp is usually around 52° or 53°.

I have the 120mm fan in the back plugged into the FAN connector on the PSU and i have another Antec 120mm Temp-Controlled fan up front.

I love this case. I paid $99 for it at the time and i would pay $99 for another one now. Really good design.

Oh yeah, and talk about quiet! This thing is very nice to work around when you want peace and quiet. If you live in a cooler environment and have a quieter CPU heatsink than mine (mine is almost silent if i turn it right down) then you'll just barely hear the fans in this case.

I will say this though... it's a bit cramped inside if you have 2 optical drives and a floppy installed. With all of those cables hanging down there, along with the power cables going to them and then the motherboard power cable from the PSU, there's little room if you want to change the RAM for example, or swap the video card because you have to keep the wires out the way... If you'll be working inside the case often then get the 1080 because it will definitely make your life easier. Otherwise, i would highly recommend the Sonata.

 

[dev0lution]

I just finished building my system with the 1080. I'd say if you're going for looks and low-noise go with the Sonata. Not that the 1080's ugly, but it just doesn't have the style that the sonata has. If you need room to work or plan to add additional drives, etc go with the 1080. Mine isn't exactly quiet (it only takes 80mm fans...one of which is plugged straight into the PSU for now so it's definitely audible) but replacing the stock cooler soon should help a bit with that. The 1080 is solid, well built and has plenty of room