Scratching Head Over Antec P160!

[bulldawg1979]

I've done a couple of system builds, but used very basic, inexpensive cases. This time I decided to treat myself to a better case, with the Antec P160, but discovered I'm stumped by some of the features. I'm used to drive bays that require screws on the sides of the drives to hold them in place and ground the drive. In this case, there are removable drive bays with rubber grommeted screw holes in the bottom of the bays. The manual says "mount your hard drive into the drive bay by threading the special screws through the bottom rubber grommets." There is a bag containing a variety of screws without identifying what is the "special screws." So, I don't know which screws to use AND I'm confused about securing the drive from the bottom screw holes. I'm going to use a couple of WD Raptors, so I'm going slowly and carefully in this install.

Also, the wires coming from the front of the case for firewire and USB are bundled and clipped together inside the case in such a way that it hard to identify which 10 pin connector plugs into the USB header vs Firewire. Is there a sure fire way to tell them apart?

Has anyone used this case that could give me some guidance?

Thanks,
Bulldawg1979

 

[Ciufo19]

For the hard drives, use the screws that look like they have washers integrated into them. Take out the tray, place the drive in it and screw the drive in after lining it up with the holes. I have this case, but haven't built the system yet, so I cant help with the USB/Firewire.

 

[akira34]

For the USB/FireWire headers, I believe they have different pins missing (blocked holes)... Look on your mobo and you should be able to match the header with the connection.

 

[puddnhead]

With the Sonata (similiar case), is pretty obvious which screws, they are threaded only part way up, and then they get thicker where they would go through the grommit, finally flanging out to a very wide head have a built in washer effectively. Not to mention I have a hunch that they are probably the only ones supplied with teh right threading to goi into the HD

On the Sonata the cable connectors are also labeled as "1394" & "USB," weird that the P160 (a newer case) would be different. As the other poster says, I guess you'll just have to go by the wiring diagrams -- or just follow the wires back to see what kind of plug they connect to!

 

[akira34]

I was actually talking about matching the pin blocks to the headers on the mobo. IF I recall correctly, FireWire and USB headers have different blocked pins. That should make putting the wrong feed onto the wrong header not possible. If it isn't set as a block, then the call-outs on the pins should let you know which is which.

 

[TheDude20165]

What is the Firewire and USB pin configuration for P160?

Firewire: pin1 TPA+ blue pin2 TPA- orange pin3 ground black pin4 ground black pin5 TPB+ green pin6 TPB- red pin7 power white pin8 - pin9 block pin10 empty
USB: pin1 VCC red pin2 VCC - pin3 D- green pin4 D- white pin5 D+ orange pin6 D+ yellow pin7 ground black pin8 ground black pin9 block pin10 empty

 

[akugami]

The only problem I've had with the P160 is the power led which is pin1 pin2 while the asus a8n-sli deluxe's mobo has it as pin1 ground pin2. Although this is a minor problem since the thermal sensors would show up lighted anyways to show you that the power is on.

Anandtech recently posted a review of the P160 but one thing they didn't seem to dwell on is the integrated front panels that hide the drives. I think this is a very low cost solution for computer cases that many manufactorers skimp on. It costs them very little to implement but greatly increases the overall consistent look of a case. I'm not a fan of cases with doors that hide the drive bays.

Another thing that is a major major factor in how I choose a case is the rear exhaust holes. Too many times I've seen cases even from quality companies like Antec, Coolermaster, etc that have these really tiny exhaust holes that simply choke any airflow. What's the point of having two rear exhaust fans if you choke off 70% of the exhaust hole's area with some stupid radial pattern really tiny holes?

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

HDD screws should be shoulder screws that have a smooth, larger diameter section between the threaded portion and the screw head. This smooth section would engage the rubber grommet and the step prevents you from threading the screw in too far. If you use a fully threaded screw you risk screwing it in too far and squishing right thru the grommet or damaging the HDD (depending on how the threads are made).

-D'oh!

 

[wintermute1]

At last, someone with a system spec'd out like mine!

I have the Antec P160 and don't have the power led illuminated either for the exact reason that you gave. I also have not been able to get the temperature indicator LED to illuminate because I don't know where on the A8N-SLI the connector/switch should be attached.

Any hints?

W

 

[akugami]

There should be a molex connector for power near the top of the case. This is what powers the LED temperature display as well as the temperature probes. You shouldn't have to plug anything into the motherboard to get the probes to work, merely plug in the power.

I have my temp probes next to the heatsink of my CPU to monitor case temps near that and one next to my video card. These are two of the hottest spots inside a case so that's what I'm monitoring.

 

[wintermute1]

Thanks. I will check the system tonight. One last thing. How did you handle the power LED issue, with the motherboard expecting a three-pin connector, and the case only having a 2 pin connector.

Thanks for the help.

W

 

[akugami]

Heh, I don't have the power LED plugged in. I was thinking I could hack the thing using a spare older LED light that is either 3 pin or not connected together so I can plug them in where it's needed. Then I decided against it. Figured if the case was on I'd see the temperature display lighted up anyways so why bother. I do have the HD LED plugged in though.

 

[wintermute1]

Okay. I am glad it is not just me then! I plan on looking for the missing "molex" connector -- missing because I am sure that I just didn't detect it in the bundle of wires and other issues involved in building a new machine.

I just got a 160 GB serial ata hard drive to put in as a second hard disk, so this can be a project next Saturday morning.

Thanks for the help.

D