Antec Performance One
by Purav Sanghani on February 13, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Inside the P160
The P160 provides us with a few surprises inside, not that we're surprised anyway with any of the great features that Antec provides in many of its products. One of the main areas packed with features is the front end of the case.
There are three types of drive bays in the front section. The top 5-1/4" drive bays do not have screw holes, but use drive rails only. The first set of 3-1/2" drive bays, however, does not use drive rails, but Antec has holes drilled to allow standard screw installation. To install drives in either of these bays, we need to remove the front bezel by pulling it off from the bottom, as many other cases allow, and slide in the drives with attached rails through the front.
The bottom set of drive bays are for hard drives only. As we can see from the picture, there are four slide-out drive-trays with rubber grommets, which will help cushion the drives as well as allow us to secure them to the trays by screwing them in from the bottom. The trays are slightly wider than any 3-1/2" hard drive, so there is no chance of scratching the sides of the drives.
We also notice how much space is left over at the bottom of this drive cage. It seems like wasted space and could have easily allowed an extra drive to be installed.
From the 5-1/4" drive bays, specifically at the height of the third bay from the top, there is an aluminum support bar that extends all the way to the back of the chassis just below the power supply mounting area. It is obvious from the power supply cutout at the back of the case that there is much more room between the power supply and the roof of the case. We shouldn't have any trouble installing the PowerStream unit into the P160.
Down at the bottom of the backside of the P160, we see seven expansion slots with steel covers on them. The covers are secured to the slots by thumbscrews, which carry the tool-less design.
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Filibuster - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
I really love my P160, no regrets about getting it at all. I looked at the other brands and they either had a lousy layout or less features, or just looked stupid.I don't feel it is cheap or flimsy at all and frankly I'm glad it doesn't come with a psu so I could pick one I wanted instead of what would probably be a mid-level Antec unit.
vanionBB - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
You missed a few key things in this review.1. The drive bays with the rubber gromets reduce sound emissions by acting as shock absorbers for the hard drives. They do reduce sound of drive accessing by quite a bit. Also, the trays protect the exposed electric components on the bottom of most hard drives.
2. The "wasted space" under the 4 drive bays is necessary for cabling, especially if rounded cables are used.
3. He didn't even mention the removable, washable air filter in the front of the case.
This case rules, I want one!
Zebo - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
#8 no joke about psu. IMO Antec 1040esque tanks were thier last good ones. They still make them, even an AMB model(s) with true powers inside which are cheaper than this one is powersupplyless.Zebo - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
I disagree with author...This case is kinda cheap and flimsy. I seriously recommend Siverstone or lian li if you like aluminum. Has some lame plastic rotator port module that feel cheap too. Does'nt close right and does'nt blend.I used both and prefer my Lian Li PC-73SLB but an order of magnitude. Check out cooler masters if low priced aluminum is what you want.
bupkus - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
I got this on a real good sale at CompUSA a couple months ago. I returned it as I just didn't like the style of the front bezel. Also, at even that price I thought it should contain an Antec PS.Michael D - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
Ahh, this is the type of case review I was looking for; an article of something nice and sleek without some silly, bulbous alien theme. :)Does anyone know how the P160 compares to the Lian Li PC6077 (the other aluminum chassis I'm looking at)?
Locut0s - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
Thanks for reviewing real enthusiast cases again!cnq - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
Yeah this case has been out a while, but better a late review than never. I've got the one with a window frame; newegg has em at good prices usually.Avalon - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
Good looking case. The price is out of my range, though, but not overly expensive.jensend - Sunday, February 13, 2005 - link
Wasn't this case introduced in 4Q2003?