To P182 or not to P182 -- that is the question!

[Ozoneman]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

Originally posted by: Ozoneman
The only regret I have about my P182 is that I wish I'd had gotten this one.

http://www.performance-pcs.com...=162&products_id=21558

I took the time to manage the wires so well, I'd like to show off the inside.



EDIT

Kinda like this except with a P182SE...

I also considered this one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129026

Dude...

Performance PC should make a custom SE with a bolt-on window too!

That would rock!!!

I wonder if they've thought about it?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

They do now.
http://www.performance-pcs.com...=162&products_id=22441

They also have replacement panels with and without windows for the P180 and the P180B.
http://www.performance-pcs.com...n_page=index&cPath=388

I got them to put a window in my P182 side panel also. They haven't been able to get side panels from Antec yet for the P182 so they were willing to mod my panel but I had to send it in to them. They finished it today and it is on the way back home now.

 

[jonmcc33]

I hated my P180 with a passion. I had no problem with the wiring as much as I did the rest of the case. Ugh, it's just being used to store my old server parts (Asus PC-DL, dual 2GHz Xeons) and I can't wait to throw it away.

 

[Ozoneman]

I guess one man's heaven can be another man's hell! You seem to be an exception because most people that own them really like them. Oh well...

 

[de8212]

Originally posted by: Ozoneman
[
I got them to put a window in my P182 side panel also. They haven't been able to get side panels from Antec yet for the P182 so they were willing to mod my panel but I had to send it in to them. They finished it today and it is on the way back home now.

How much do they charge?

thanks.

 

[jonmcc33]

Originally posted by: Ozoneman
I guess one man's heaven can be another man's hell! You seem to be an exception because most people that own them really like them. Oh well...

Here's a huge reason why it sucks...and I LOL @ the fix.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/.../viewtopic.php?t=44067

Then there's the lower chamber. Many people have issues using the lower chamber fan with some power supplies installed. With my OCZ PowerStream 520 there's no way I could use the fan. Load up the lower bay with hard drives and it's not very effective for cooling at all. The more intelligent thing would have been to put the 120mm fan up front. That would have made it so that there was only one hole out of the lower chamber, instead of two that all P180 versions have.

Just for cooling and design it wasn't that well done and new versions it wasn't improved. Most people with the P180 (and it's other versions) won't complain because they paid an arm and a leg for the case and think it's the best option out there. I found my cheaper Antec 900 to be more quiet and cool much better.

 

[Ozoneman]

Originally posted by: de8212

Originally posted by: Ozoneman
[
I got them to put a window in my P182 side panel also. They haven't been able to get side panels from Antec yet for the P182 so they were willing to mod my panel but I had to send it in to them. They finished it today and it is on the way back home now.

How much do they charge?

thanks.

It was $78 which included them shipping it back.

 

[Ozoneman]

Originally posted by: jonmcc33

Originally posted by: Ozoneman
I guess one man's heaven can be another man's hell! You seem to be an exception because most people that own them really like them. Oh well...

Here's a huge reason why it sucks...and I LOL @ the fix.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/.../viewtopic.php?t=44067

Then there's the lower chamber. Many people have issues using the lower chamber fan with some power supplies installed. With my OCZ PowerStream 520 there's no way I could use the fan. Load up the lower bay with hard drives and it's not very effective for cooling at all. The more intelligent thing would have been to put the 120mm fan up front. That would have made it so that there was only one hole out of the lower chamber, instead of two that all P180 versions have.

Just for cooling and design it wasn't that well done and new versions it wasn't improved. Most people with the P180 (and it's other versions) won't complain because they paid an arm and a leg for the case and think it's the best option out there. I found my cheaper Antec 900 to be more quiet and cool much better.

When I went to the P182, my graphics card went down about 9 degrees C, my cpu was 5 degrees cooler and my mobo temp went down 10 degrees C. My HD stayed about the same at 30 degrees C. I had a Cooler Master ATC-201B SXT case that cost me over $200. The P182 is much better.

I also don't have a problem with the fan in the lower area. I have a Corsair 620 and it fits great.

 

[de8212]

Originally posted by: Ozoneman

It was $78 which included them shipping it back.

thanks. can you update on the quaity and turn around time when you get it back?

 

[MarcVenice]

I got a p182 and I in fact have 1 sata HD and 1 IDE HD. The IDE cables are a PITA to run through the holes into the motherboard. With the coolermaster 650w extreme power, not modular, it's a 'bit' messy, but I had no trouble at all with the middle fan and wires getting in the way. Yes it would have been better if you didn't have to go up and down with the HD cables, but it's doable for sure. Besides that, the p182 looks slick, cools good, and is very quiet. It's pretty heavy though, but yeah, nothing a guy can't handle, or you should honestly start lifting a few weights, perhaps start with 2l coca cola bottles ?

 

[Ozoneman]

Originally posted by: de8212

Originally posted by: Ozoneman

It was $78 which included them shipping it back.

thanks. can you update on the quaity and turn around time when you get it back?

Looks great! They shipped it back in a nice large box with bubble wrap and packing material so it wouldn't get damaged. The window was still covered with the adhesive paper to protect the outside of the window. I peeled the paper off and the window was crystal clear. It looks like they use 3/16 inch Plexiglas. I had them cut the window hole so the hard drive and optical drive cages didn't show a lot (I told them to use their judgment on how far to cut the window back). To make the window look uniform and not to narrow, they cut the case panel 4 1/4 inches back from the front of the case. The Plexiglas ended up being 13 inches wide and 17 1/2 inches tall. They beveled the edge of the Plexiglas to give a nice edge. The Plexiglas overlaps the metal by about 1/2 inch all the way around. Screws attach the Plexiglas in each corner and mid-point on each side, and top and bottom.

The turn around time was as follow. I shipped on Monday, October 22nd. They got it Wednesday, October 24th. The same day they sent me an email stating that it was done and to contact them to arrange payment. I made payment on Thursday, October 25th and they shipped the same day. I receive the package today, October 29th (took two extra days because UPS doesn't deliver on weekends).

I like it! I put a 12 inch blue cathode tube along the top of the case. I also put a 3 laser led light kit at the bottom of the top part of the case which is lighting the lower part of the motherboard. This gives me enough light throughout the motherboard area.

 

[MarcVenice]

Pics please ...

 

[jonmcc33]

Originally posted by: Ozoneman
When I went to the P182, my graphics card went down about 9 degrees C, my cpu was 5 degrees cooler and my mobo temp went down 10 degrees C. My HD stayed about the same at 30 degrees C. I had a Cooler Master ATC-201B SXT case that cost me over $200. The P182 is much better.

I also don't have a problem with the fan in the lower area. I have a Corsair 620 and it fits great.

ROFLMAO! I don't believe a single word you say. Between using a P180 and Sonata II, temps were the same on my rig. 9C drop in video card temperature all for being in a new case...give me a break.

 

[Ozoneman]

Originally posted by: jonmcc33

Originally posted by: Ozoneman
When I went to the P182, my graphics card went down about 9 degrees C, my cpu was 5 degrees cooler and my mobo temp went down 10 degrees C. My HD stayed about the same at 30 degrees C. I had a Cooler Master ATC-201B SXT case that cost me over $200. The P182 is much better.

I also don't have a problem with the fan in the lower area. I have a Corsair 620 and it fits great.

ROFLMAO! I don't believe a single word you say. Between using a P180 and Sonata II, temps were the same on my rig. 9C drop in video card temperature all for being in a new case...give me a break.

Screw you! I know what I measured and what I said are the facts. One additional comment I should make is that my vid card is passively cooled (Gigabyte 8600GTS). Pulling more air through is why I think the card is much cooler now plus the mid front fan blows air at the vid card. My P182 has four 120 mm fans while my Cooler Master had 4 80 mm fans. So if you don't think a case can make a big difference in cooling, you are a nut case or not very well informed.

 

[de8212]

Originally posted by: Ozoneman

Looks great! ........................

Definately would love to see a pic. How would you compare the sound before and after the glasss?

 

[Ozoneman]

I can't say the sound is any different. I didn't take any measurements before and after, so I can't say for sure though. I know that it isn't much louder.

I've never have taken the time to learn how to post pictures in forums. Partly out of laziness and partly because I haven't had much to show on forums. If you could tell me the best way to post pictures, I'd be glad to share pics of my case.

 

[de8212]

You can set up a free acct @ www.photobucket.com


Or email them to me and I ca post them.

 

[Ozoneman]

Originally posted by: de8212
You can set up a free acct @ www.photobucket.com


Or email them to me and I ca post them.

Well, I'll give it a try. Let's see if this link works.

http://i239.photobucket.com/al...EC%20P182/P1010006.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/al...EC%20P182/P1010013.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/al...EC%20P182/P1010015.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/al...EC%20P182/P1010017.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/al...EC%20P182/P1010018.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/al...EC%20P182/P1010020.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/al...EC%20P182/P1010021.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/al...EC%20P182/P1010022.jpg

 

[de8212]

Originally posted by: Ozoneman
case pics....

Man that looks nice. How did you box up the side panel to send to them?
I think I'm gonna do it too. Haven't even got my case yet though. It's Out for delivery on ups website. After I look everything over I'll try to find a way to box up the panel and go to ups or fedex by friday.

 

[Ozoneman]

Originally posted by: de8212

Originally posted by: Ozoneman
case pics....

Man that looks nice. How did you box up the side panel to send to them?
I think I'm gonna do it too. Haven't even got my case yet though. It's Out for delivery on ups website. After I look everything over I'll try to find a way to box up the panel and go to ups or fedex by friday.

If you haven't received your new case yet, I'd decline it when they try to deliver it and cancel the order. Then I would order the windowed P182 from Performance PCS. Overall it would be cheaper to do it that way. You can get the case with a Window from Perf PCS for $200. I don't know what you are paying for your case, but adding a window after the purchase will be well over $200 (Case cost plus about $80 for adding window latter).

If you take the case when they deliver it, you will need to send in your panel to have it modded. I found a flat box that a shelf came in. I wrapped the panel real well to protect it from getting scratched or dented. Before you send it, check to see if they have started to receive new P182 panels from Antec yet. If not, you will need to contact sales at Performance PCS to make arrangments to send in your panel (get a RMA number). Make sure you tell them how big you want the hole to be. I didn't want my hard drive cages to show much, so they didn't make the hole as big as they normally do. Good Luck!

 

[de8212]

Originally posted by: Ozoneman
snip

thanks for all of the info (again).


Case should be here today and ups won't even knock. they'll just leave it. The case was 139 and if the window kit costs me 78 then it only 217. Theirs might be 200 but they probably charge some shipping so it'll be OK with me. Plus II get to go ahead and start putting stuff in the case sooner.

I've already emailed them and they still don't have the panels yet so I want to jump on this asap.

 

[phillyman36]

I know people are going to think im crazy but i got the Stacker 832 a couple of weeks ago and to be honest i like my P182 case better. I wish it had a little more room (the 182) but other than that i like it alot.

 

[Ozoneman]

I was able to pick my P182 case up for $110 (with rebate) a couple months ago. It was on sale at ZipZoomFly and they don't charge shipping on most stuff. I didn't see the ones at Performance PCS when I bought it. I guess my total was $110+$78=$188.

Have fun with your new case!

 

[MarcVenice]

Should have bought the p180b from newegg, it's a lot the cheaper then the p182, but they are basicaly identical.

The window looks awesome btw, how close is the plexiglass to the 'original' sidepanel? Did your PC become noisier, I mean, do you think sound can travel through the supposed 'gap'? I'd love to do the same, maybe something I'll do when I upgrade again. Right now the inside of my case isn't that hotlooking.

 

[Ozoneman]

How big is the "gap"? The Plexiglas is pretty flush on the vertical seams and there is a slight "gap" between the screws along the top. I didn't notice it until you asked the question, so it isn't very noticeable. I only see it if I line my sight up at a certain angle.

From what I can remember, the sound is about the same. To know for sure, I'd need to have two units next to each other and compare to be sure. I run my fans on medium so I can hear some air moving through the case. But I could hear that before I put the window in. Considering I am going from a 3-layer side panel to a single Plexiglas panel, I would guess that there would be a little more noise getting out of the case. Considering there is a fan hole on the top of the case, I imagine that most of any noise coming out of the case probably comes from that hole and the back fan hole anyway.

I just decided to try running the fans at low speed, so I changed the top fan, back fan, and the lower fan to low. The fan in the middle drive cage is still running full because I don't have a control on it. But it is a quite Scythe 120 so it doesn't make much noise anyway. The sound is hardly noticeable now. My temps only went up a little on my mobo (39C to 42C), cpu (34C to 35C), and video card (45C to 49C). The HD stayed at 31C. Since we are getting in to the cooler time of year, I think I'll leave the fans on low.

 

[jonmcc33]

Originally posted by: Ozoneman
Screw you! I know what I measured and what I said are the facts. One additional comment I should make is that my vid card is passively cooled (Gigabyte 8600GTS). Pulling more air through is why I think the card is much cooler now plus the mid front fan blows air at the vid card. My P182 has four 120 mm fans while my Cooler Master had 4 80 mm fans. So if you don't think a case can make a big difference in cooling, you are a nut case or not very well informed.

Um, one of those 120mm fans is in the lower bay so it doesn't count. Two of the 120mm fans are right above the CPU and for exhaust, which at low RPM will not effect something as far down as the video card. The other 120mm fan would be an intake of the upper bay and the front vent + filter restricts too much airflow for it to make a difference on the video card.

Check this out, I had a much hotter video card in there, a X1900XT. It didn't get cooler no matter case it was in. Unless you put a fan directly on the 8600GTS (heatpipe version, right?) then it's not going to drop an entire 9C just from some low RPM exhaust fans.

You're talking to someone that has that case so you can't BS me on it.