News Antec shows off P280 prototype

I've got a P180 & P182 and I love them both but both are let down by the same thing......the case feet. Stupid rubber things which are glued on but come off far too easily.

I keep mine under the desk and because the case is that heavy (and I'm disabled), I can't lift it completely off the floor when moving it, so I have to drag it slightly....and the case feet come off.

Surely they must be able to design better feet for the case?

 

It was supposed to be heavy for a reason. More weight, less resonance. But I totally agree with you, there's room for a bit more aluminium.

In part that was why I mentioned SPCR. Took a quick glance at the SPCR forums (there's nothing on the main page) and people seem divided. Personally, I can't blame them. I'm wondering how close the release version will be to this prototype. The exterior looks good, but I hope they put more work into the interior.

 

Personally I don't care how the interior looks in the slightest. I'd only open it if I need to change something otherwise it'll be shut 99.9% of the time. As long as it is cool and very quiet with a mid-high range system inside then I'll gladly take this for £70-80.

 

i don't really like what they've done by opening it up (as in, no two chambers anymore). I have the P182 and one of the joys is that every dust filter is easily accesible from in front of the case.
At home my brother has a P182 mini, which has one of the filters on the bottom (like this one does) and its always a pain to get them out. luckily my mother keeps the house cleaner than i do my room...

 

What happened to dividing the case for superior thermal and noise performance?

 

With 2 fans on top, or 2 big holes if you remove them ? No, it won't be silent, nor quiet.

 

The noticed it's waste of space and make installation trickier? I've never understood how the damn dividing wall was supposed to REALLY help anything. With a passively cooled power supply and with the extra fan in the middle it made some sense, but other than that it was just stupid.

I like the looks, thank god they got rid of the P183 door vents. That said I don't like the orange bits, the vented expansion slot covers(just draws in dust) or the fixed drive cage with plastic HDD-holders.

Then again, the original P180 needed some modding to be really good as well. And while I like how Fractal Design blocks the unwanted fan vents, it's still better to have extra ones than not many enough. It's hardly a surprise that Antec can't - or doesn't want to - make a case just for the 2% (stats from my arse) of users that are the most enthusiastic about silence. They make a case for the 20%, many of which don't mind, or can live with the roof vents.

After all it's the stuff that's inside the case is always going to make the difference, not the case...

 

@Jipa: You know, the issue is - Perfomance One series case is about nothing else but silence. P280 belongs to Performance One series. And they do care about the silence, too bad that with P280 they stopped way too soon. Seriously, the front door, the soundproof side panels are not worth anything when all the noise escapes through roof.

 

this is in no way a P series case, I mean those fans in there are for silent HTPC like style systems as they push next to no air.

This is overall a fail in my book... what happened Antec???

 

There not all about silence, they are about balancing low noise with high performance. If you want silence you want one of those fan-less radiator cases.

I still use a modded P180 - been very happy with it - not sure why I need to replace it tbh.

 

Well, with two top mounted fans, you can forget low noise too. You don't even need fans there, simply having a hole in the top equals it's not low noise.

 

I like my P183. Door quiet and closed for web/films, open the door for gaming as I can't hear it.

Don't like the looks of this personally.

 

Routing. Not routeing. Sorry, seen this in a couple articles now. /grammarnazi

 

I had the P182se a few years ago - lovely quiet, understated case, though not a lot of space inside TBH.

I got bored of the looks, which is why I'm no fan of the P280 or the Fractal R3 (be original ffs). Theres plenty of middle ground between the P180 and something fugly like the Darkfleet or HAF cases, surely someone can try?

 

You do realize the original had a roof fan as well - and a fugly one at that. So what exactly is the big deal? If you don't want a roof fan, just block it, just like you had to with the original. Again, it's much easier to block unwanted holes than drill new ones when you need extra airflow.

 

somebody didnt pay attention in physics. Just a single strip of sound absorbant material tactially placed can help dampen sounds, sounds 'bounces' and the more it reverbirates the more audiable it is. it's not about sealing it in by covering all the holes to stop it escaping, it's about absorbing it with materials placed near sources of sound.

 

@MiNiMaL_Fuss: No offense, but i know how big difference it makes for example in Define R3 when i just remove the Moduvent from just one of the top fan positions. same with PC-A05N. With Moduvent installed, you can't hear anything with my fans running at 600RPM. Open it up, and you will hear them.

 

Yes but the R3 uses lesser damperning tech than the p180/2 do. In-fact if you read most fo the very early reviews of the R3 it's often described as a budget verion p182.

I'm not saying adding dampening to the other areas dosn't help, it does of course. What I'm objecting to is your earlier notion that having sound absorbent side panels is pointless if the roof of the case isn't also done, simply put, it dosn't work like that, it would help yes, but just having one side panel would also help alot.

 

Whilst the silent aspect was a great selling point, it was the looks that got me to buy the p180. Finally a case that didn't look like it was designed by/for teenagers. Now there are quite a few options for those who prefer more discrete cases, fractal design is the obvious choice in the same broad price category. I'm going for a Silverstone FT02 which offers premium features (kind of sounds like a sales pitch) without the need for 'aggressive angles' or other such 'features'/monstrosities. Antec is going to have to make one hell of a case to stand out from the market like the original p180 did.

 

I have to agree here.

While Antec separated everything for cooling reasons, it also helps contain the noise from each area. Stand in an empty warehouse and every noise is heard throughout. Put up a few walls, or impediments to the sound and it quiets down fast, even if they don't reach the ceiling. An empty case is like a big acoustic chamber just waiting to echo anything inside. If the sound is stopped before it ever gets to the roof, you won't hear it no matter how open the roof is.

For example, the separate drive chamber helped dampen the noise from reaching the main chamber, any noise that did make it through, was further dampened by the main chamber before it had a chance to exit the top. Every bit of damping adds another level before the sound gets out. You can add as much damping as you want to an R3, and it will be hard pressed to equal the noise damping of a 180 because you are dealing with a single larger chamber.


As for roof vents, I'm a bit opposed to them pointing straight out. No matter what you do, any grill there is going to create noise (fans blowing against anything creates some noise). It may be low, but it at least has the potential. Which was part of the reason for the "snorkel" on the 180. It deflected that noise towards the rear of the case. I didn't like the look of it, but it was effective.