Antec Performance One
by Purav Sanghani on February 13, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
The P160 at First Glance
We have seen a great many cases with varying aesthetics, so it is difficult to differentiate between a theme and a normal, generalized look. Antec goes only as far as adding lighting at the front of the case, but we feel that, in this case (pun intended), they haven't really gone as far out there as some of the things that we have seen.
At the top of the P160's bezel, there is a unique auxiliary port module that rotates 45 degrees to aim wiring at a closer level to the user. Many cases feature these audio in/out, USB, and FireWire ports either at the bottom or on the side of the bezel, which limits where the case can be placed relative to the user. We feel that the top of the bezel is the best placement for the auxiliary ports since, when either placed on a desk or on the floor, the auxiliary ports are only 2 feet away from our heads. This module also features a power button on the right side as well as a smaller reset button on the left half.
To rotate the module, we press a small button on the left side to unlock it. It is not an extremely smooth motion, and we feel like it is pulling on something in the inside. We can see straight through the smoked plastic to the circuit board, on which each component lies.
The auxiliary module also has a simple, but effective, built-in temperature monitor that shows the temperature of two separate components using two sensors on the inside. The 2x1 digit display switches between the two at a set interval of about 5 seconds. The temperature can also be switched between Celsius and Fahrenheit by way of a small button switch on the inside of the case.
Moving down to the drive bays, we see that the first two 5-1/4" bays have optical bezels installed with "eject" as well as "play" and "track forward" buttons on the right with a clear strip just left of the buttons for the drive activity LEDs to shine through. The last two of the four 5-1/4" drive bezels are plain silver to match the rest of the bezel.
Below those bays, we see two vertically centered 3-1/2" bays; the first, occupied by a floppy drive bezel to match.
The bottom of the bezel consists of three vent holes, each lined on the inside with chrome paint. The vents have a black metal grill to hide the fan. Directly underneath the vents is the "Antec" name/logo molded into the plastic bezel and the bezel itself is framed by chrome painted plastic.
The only features of the left side panel are the dual 2-position locks, which secure the panel onto the case. In the vertical position, the locks hook onto the case's shell. The one at the back features a keylock design, which provides added security. Antec also provides thumbscrews at the back of the case to secure each panel.
Instead of metal or plastic feet at the bottom, Antec has installed rubber feet. For those of us with wood floors or desks, it is a great replacement and will eliminate the chances of scratches.
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expostfacto - Monday, February 14, 2005 - link
I have this case. Overall, I'm happy with it. Remember that it is aluminum and soft. I have only stripped out one screw hole so far...Live - Monday, February 14, 2005 - link
Smn198 is right on. The decibel graphs should be logarithmic. I'm sure excel can do that rather easily. Much easier for people to compare and its about bloody time the manufacturers start to get pressured about the unbearable sound levels (Hello Intel :D)puddnhead - Monday, February 14, 2005 - link
I think #38 makes a VERY good suggestion for the reviewers here to implement. The results graphs would be much more meaningful.Filibuster - Monday, February 14, 2005 - link
#33 I can't say it any better. I love mine.From looking at the P180 stuff I feel it will cost quite a bit more. The P160 was about $160 or so when it launched if I recall correctly and the P180 does have a few more features. Personally I like the look of the P160 better but I'm glad they are doing it different though so there is a real choice to be made.
smn198 - Monday, February 14, 2005 - link
Good review as always, this time with a good case too ;)Can I make one suggestion though? As decibels are logrithmic, can the graphs be shown as such. e.g. 60dB should be twice the size of 50db.
bob661 - Monday, February 14, 2005 - link
The Aspire X-Alien case that is the same internally as this Antec for $73 at newegg.puddnhead - Monday, February 14, 2005 - link
I'm with #18, to me this case is what you get when you start with a Sonata and1) change from steel black to silver Al
2) add another 5 1/4 bay
3) move the front audio/firewire/usb ports to top from middle
4) add LED temp display
5) move the second 120mm fan mount to in front of HDs, from behind.
6) add a mb tray
7) ditch the doofy "Antec" airholes
so far so good, but then you
8) subtract the Sonata's 380s Truepower PSU
9) add $50 to the price (assuming you don't mind the hassle of the frequent $30 Sonata rebates)
$50 less for a case with PSU makes up for 1-7 IMO :)
crimsonson - Monday, February 14, 2005 - link
Nice case. I am still using my Lian-LI PC 60 [a classic].I am looking for a compareable case but with 5 5"bays on the front instead of 4. Anybody have a sugestion.
TR0J - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
Great case, very happy. My 2c:1. Removing the front bexel: it is very easy to snap the top two plastic plugs holding the bezel to the fron of the case. Be careful.
2. The firewire and USB cables from the top panel can be confusing to tell apart.
3. I broke the lock on the window panel jsut testing it. Not using it anyway, but very breakable.
4. Mine came with the 2nd fan. I thought it wasn't going to so I bought one.
huges84 - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
I have this case, I've had it for 2 months now and I love it. CompUSA has had sales on Antec cases recently. I got mine there. I helped a friend build his first PC recently and we used a Antec Solution series case that I can also say was top notch.The things I was looking for in a case:
-NO FRONT DOOR
-NO STUPID ASS PRE-MOD
-Front firewire, USB, audio. Temp would be nice.
-Plenty of room for expansion
-Matching bezels for drives
-Adequate cooling. Air filter would be nice.
Guess what? P-160 fit the bill perfectly!
A few things not mentioned in the article, even though they've been said here:
-Rubber mounts for the fan
-Removable filter in the front
-Front bezel seems a little flimsy at first, but it is pretty rugged
-The included fan only has a molex connector
-There is an optional windowed side panel
-There are 3 blue LEDs in the chrome openings in the front of the case. They shine from the top onto the bottom, where the light bounces of the 45 degree surface towards you. It looks really sharp. Check out pictures on Newegg or somewhere. Also, they can be disabled by simply disconnecting a fan-type connector if you don't like them.
I only have the one case fan installed, and with the following set-up I run 33C while running folding@home and 37C after 12 hours of Prime95:
A64 3000+ (skt 939) overclocked to 2400 MHz
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe (NF4)
Overclocked GeForce 6600GT
One ATA133 Harddrive
So you really only need the second fan if you have more than one harddrive, or you extreme overclock, or you have a P4. The case is so quiet that I set my CPU fan to run full blast all the time, because I can't really hear the difference between the speeds unless I have the side off.
The only thing I don't like is that the fan doesn't have a normal fan connector. My motherboard has fan controll capabilities that I want to take advantage of. But since everything is so quiet I am going to buy a fan for the front and while I'm at it I will replace the rear one.
Oh, and as was said, the connections for the firewire port are a pain in the ass, but that's because there is no standard and my motherboard manual did not give good info as to what pin was what.