Antec 900 vs P180

[MoonglumWoW]

I wanted the P180 but just went for the 900 because my power supply was too big for the P180 with its partition. The biggest problem so far was my Asus P5N32-SLI motherboard has the case connections (PW Switch, Reset, HDD LED, etc) in the lower corner (like most motherboards) and the 900 controls are on the very top of the case, instead of the front middle like most cases. Those wires are stretched pretty tight until I get some extenders.

My second issue with the 900 is the extra long GeForce 8800GTX cards are too long to be able to use the internal 120mm "wind tunnel" fan that was designed to cool the video cards. I was also unable to the use wind tunnel fan in the lower bay as my power supply was also too long.

So that all just means I can't use 1 of the 120mm fans out of the 5 this case supports. And if you want something screwless, the 900 is NOT for you. Each side panel uses 2 screws, each drive bay uses 8 screws; so installing a hard drive requires removing both side panels plus a drive bay for a total of 12 screws. That's not counting the 4 to secure the drive to the bay.

Otherwise I like this case. The fans are all on low so it is pretty quiet. It is quieter than the Koolance ExOS-AL and 2 case fans I was using, and everything runs just 2 degrees warmer.

Specs:
Intel E6600 @ 2.4GHz (stock)
Scythe Ninja 92mm HSF
Asus P5N32-SLI motherboard
OCZ PC2-6400 2GB (2 x 1GB) 4-4-4-15 Memory
PC Power & Cooling 1k Turbowatt Power Supply
XFX GeForce 8800GTX x 2 in SLI Video
Soundblaster X-FI Elite Pro
WD 74GB Raptor x 2 in RAID0
Dell 2405FPW 24" LCD
Logitech G15 Keyboard, G5 Mouse
Antec 900 Case

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: MoonglumWoW
My second issue with the 900 is the extra long GeForce 8800GTX cards are too long to be able to use the internal 120mm "wind tunnel" fan that was designed to cool the video cards. I was also unable to the use wind tunnel fan in the lower bay as my power supply was also too long.

You might want to let this guy know, so he can add a proviso for your mobo to his list...

Case List for 8800GTX/GTS

Here's a Pic of a 8800GTX sitting in an Antec Nine Hundred (different mobo/PSU).

Put another way, it depends on the position of the PCIe slots on your mobo... dittos for the P180...

 

[LOUISSSSS]

sorry i was just trying to help the op in making his decision. if you were only limited to those two case's i'd take the 900. but i'd take a Lian Li over that case any day due to far superior quality and build.

sorry Vin Diesel i dont have a username that resembles a male actor

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
sorry i was just trying to help the op in making his decision...

sorry Vin Diesel i dont have a username that resembles a male actor.

Just pulling your leg...

It's a tough choice! The P180 is a class act, with a HUGE following. The Nine Hundred is a street-fighter.

If it was me, I'd buy them both, and sell the one I didn't like...

 

[VinDSL]

I was just checking the prices...

$102.78 for the P180 @ Provantage. $82.40 for the Nine Hundred.

B Stock has P180s for $74.95.

They're cheap enough...

 

[aigomorla]

whats wrong with a LL? im sorry but this maybe my first time defending louis. I dont see why your bashing LL?

Maybe because you cant afford an LL so u have to bash LL?

Yes i know the topic says a choice between p900 and p180, but if a third choice comes out isnt it up to the op to decide of that third choice is unacceptable?

There isnt anything wrong with LL. There just uber expensive, thats all. If your budget fits for a LL case, then id get it. Your gonna get hella shiney pci backplates, as well as a perfect fit on mobo, and top notich construction, so HOW THE HELL IS IT FOR LOSERS?? I can also think of a ton of people who would pick up a V1000B over almost any case if they could afford it.

Think b4 you post a IDIOTIC comment like that. LL = EXPENSIVE for a reason.

Now i had a p900. I returned that POS the NEXT DAY. The build compared to a P180 is utter ******. Its like comparing a honda accord to a civic. <--- quite litterally

The 900 is Freaken honking loud. Yea i supose its because its a "gamers" case, but u have better options and build quality on the p180 vs p900.

Another thing, i hate IDIOTS that comment about stuff THEY DONT OWN. If u dont have the product please just shut up and let the people who have had experience with it do the talking. All your doing is flooding to a pointless degree.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
whats wrong with a LL? im sorry but this maybe my first time defending louis. I dont see why your bashing LL?

Maybe because you cant afford an LL so u have to bash LL?

Busted! Good work, detective...

Anyway, I found a better pic of a 8800GTX in a Antec Nine Hundred case.

And, another purdy 8800GTX pic. Looks roomy to me!

Actually, the whole thread is pretty interesting.

Check it out...

 

[tylerdustin2008]

I ran a system in a P-180 and it was tuff to manage the wires, and to keep my 4400X2 running cool. I think the 900 is your best bet. The P180 i think is meant for silence nothing more.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: tylerdustin2008
I ran a system in a P-180 and it was tuff to manage the wires, and to keep my 4400X2 running cool. I think the 900 is your best bet. The P180 i think is meant for silence nothing more.

when you have exhaust fans right behind and right on top of the heat sink, how was it difficult to keep your 4400+ ??

 

[tylerdustin2008]

It just was. I had an Xp-120 and a 9500CNPS on it it was still not wanting to cool right. And i know how to apply thermal paste. Just all the damn wires i had were a pain in the ass.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Wire management in the P180 is that bad huh?

 

[MoonglumWoW]

Originally posted by: VinDSL
Anyway, I found a better pic of a 8800GTX in a Antec Nine Hundred case.

And, another purdy 8800GTX pic. Looks roomy to me!

Actually, the whole thread is pretty interesting.

Check it out...

I did fit the cards into the 900 with plenty of room just like those pictures. However, I had to remove the 120mm "wind tunnel" fan mount to do it. These pictures are missing the fan mount, also.

I don't know that the 900 is as loud as the Lian Li supporter says. Mine sits on the hardwood floor and I don't hear it at all. I do have all the fans on low tho. The laptop on my desk makes more noise with its single exhaust fan. Even so, the reviews and pictures of Lian Li's look nice and I would probably own 1 except I have never seen one in person.

 

[VooDooAddict]

To the OP ...

What exactly are you planning to put in there?

Originally posted by: VinDSL
900 is for gamers...

P180 is for Grandpa...

Next topic?

Bah! I've setup a couple "Gamers" recently on the P180.

E6300/E6400
DS3/S3
7900GS (So many good deals recently bang for the $$ was hard for Cheep Gamers to passup)

Add 2 extra Tri-Cool Fans to make the wind tunnel. Set the bottom fan to Low and all the other fans to Low or Med and you've got a damn near silent Gaming capable system. Sure, cable routing takes a little longer and more planning on the P180, but it's by no means impossible. The biggest difference with the P180 is that you NEED good cable routing to fit things properly. Other tower cases can get away with sloppy cabling.

Would I stuff a dual Overclocked GPU and Overclocked C2D 3.4+Ghz in the P180? Probably not. (I say probably because if they want me to build it and they have the coin ... I'll find a way ... most likely using external Water.)

The P180 is a great case for the $$ ... The 900 is alright as long as you don't put it in the same league as the P180. There are many cases out there that do what the 900 does (Massive fans and venting everywhere). When the 900 is on sale it's a fair deal compared with similar cases.

If you can still find the P180 for $79.99 new... It's a good way to go for an average system.

 

[VooDooAddict]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
whats wrong with a LL? im sorry but this maybe my first time defending louis. I dont see why your bashing LL?

Maybe because you cant afford an LL so u have to bash LL?

While price in this case shouldn't be a reason to bash it, it's certainly a valid reason many don't consider it.

I think the LL cases with multiple cooling zones like the P180 look interesting ... no one I've worked with has been willing to try them due to the cost.

 

[ScottFern]

I just picked up an Antec 900 and I admit I was skeptical at first, but now I am loving this case. Great case for a air cooling setup! LOVE IT!

 

[DrMrLordX]

Originally posted by: VooDooAddict

There are many cases out there that do what the 900 does (Massive fans and venting everywhere).

Which ones would be better than the 900, or equal to the 900 for less money? Just curious . . . I'd honestly like to know.

 

[VooDooAddict]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX

Originally posted by: VooDooAddict

There are many cases out there that do what the 900 does (Massive fans and venting everywhere).

Which ones would be better than the 900, or equal to the 900 for less money? Just curious . . . I'd honestly like to know.

Sorry if i wasn't clear. I was certainly not dissing the 900 or saying there are better options. I've recommended it to people as a good case for the $$ with the recent sales/rebate offers.

I was simply referring to other cases with similar mesh fronts and intake fans behind them and venting everywhere. Giving good cooling performance without concern for noise levels. I should have been more specific. They certainly don't all have the bottom mounted PSU and top blow hole.

Here are a few that come to mind:
Armor Series
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133154
CM Stacker
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119042
I think Raidmax even has a similar case now to the Armor.

My comments were more about comparing the 900 to the P180 (the OT) and not about comparing the 900 to other front mesh cases. Which I think compared to other front mesh cooling cases the 900 is great bang for the $$.

 

[LouPoir]

Love my 900

 

[almach1]

i finally took some pics of my antec 900 case while i dusted. Posted on another board that hosts pics.

it's a car website-non techies for the most part.

http://www.mustangworld.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7011274#post7011274

 

[DrMrLordX]

Originally posted by: VooDooAddict


Sorry if i wasn't clear. I was certainly not dissing the 900 or saying there are better options. I've recommended it to people as a good case for the $$ with the recent sales/rebate offers.

It's all good . . . I'd just like to see some of the 900's competitors mentioned so I can make some decisions for myself if/when I build a new rig in a few months. The 900 is indeed nice, but I may wind up missing out on all the recent rebate offers since I'm not building right this minute. Anything that can offer similar potential airlow (or at least two 120mm exhaust fan mounts) for less money might be interesting, or it might not.

 

[Hauk]

The 900 is slick, but has too much bling for me. I have a P180 and love it. If you don't like the "grandpa" look of the silver P180, check it out in black: P180 Black

 

[DrMrLordX]

I like the look of the p180, I just don't know what to think about its cable management and intakes, that's all. It looks like some of the larger HSFs can get pretty cramped in there too. None of it really matters though since I won't be building anytime soon, and I'm not a big fan of stockpiling parts in advance.

 

[KTL]

I got my 900 last week and while most sane people probably use it for its purpose, I use it to store my optical drives.
Pic 1

With the amount of cabling that had to be stuffed in there, there's still some room to maneuver around.
Pic 2

I have the hard drive on the bottom with a fan blowing from underneath. Before I had the fan mounted, the hard drive shot up to 44C, causing Windows to not boot up or function normally, but with the fan, it hovers around 27C, and all is well.

The PSU is an Antec TP2.0 550-W that I modded to add three more 4-pin molex power connectors for the optical drives, since the original only had 5. The AC FreezerPro 64 was also reoriented to blow towards the 200mm fan.

The main concern I had with the case was that it wasn't tool-less, since I swap out optical drives from time-to-time. Just using the included thumb screws from the hard drive cages, two were used for each drive, which didn't seem to be much of a hassle, while retaining the position. The metal flaps helped in supporting the optical drives. Since my motherboard doesn't have the video slot positioned with the topmost slot, I didn't have a problem with using the DVI cable. Overall, it's not bad for $80.

 

[almach1]

Originally posted by: KTL
I got my 900 last week and while most sane people probably use it for its purpose, I use it to store my optical drives.
Pic 1

With the amount of cabling that had to be stuffed in there, there's still some room to maneuver around.
Pic 2

I have the hard drive on the bottom with a fan blowing from underneath. Before I had the fan mounted, the hard drive shot up to 44C, causing Windows to not boot up or function normally, but with the fan, it hovers around 27C, and all is well.

The PSU is an Antec TP2.0 550-W that I modded to add three more 4-pin molex power connectors for the optical drives, since the original only had 5. The AC FreezerPro 64 was also reoriented to blow towards the 200mm fan.

The main concern I had with the case was that it wasn't tool-less, since I swap out optical drives from time-to-time. Just using the included thumb screws from the hard drive cages, two were used for each drive, which didn't seem to be much of a hassle, while retaining the position. The metal flaps helped in supporting the optical drives. Since my motherboard doesn't have the video slot positioned with the topmost slot, I didn't have a problem with using the DVI cable. Overall, it's not bad for $80.

do you mind me asking,"what the hell do you have so many drives for?" 'DVD copy?

 

[KTL]

Originally posted by: almach1
do you mind me asking,"what the hell do you have so many drives for?" 'DVD copy?

I get that a lot, but no, I don't do any "side" copying. Each drive is different and I just mainly test to see which one burns which media better and consistently.