P160 vs P180 vs ???? *UPDATED!

[vtohthree]

Original post:
"well...its that time again, I'm trying to put all my new stuff into a case. I've done research on both the Antec p160 and the p180. I really like both cases, I've seen the P160 in person as well.

Let me progress by stating what I like in cases: quietness, cooling/air flow, front usb & audio ports, easy to work with/sliding mobo tray/tooless. I guess I could also add a sleek look too...but anyways, both these antec cases sport such features(not all)....however the P180 is said to be a pain to work on, plus there are only a few psu's out there that will have a cord long enough to reach the mobo from its location and encasement(so its been said, please share if you know any good psu's that do support/work well with this case though). As for the P160, it doesn't look as sleek IMO, nor is it as quiet, but I think I could possibly deal with it.

Finally, any other similar boards with such features that I should consider or that you would recommend? "

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UPDATE(with a review and some findings)

I ended up keeping my cheap case that I bought on a weekend sale off of NEWEGG. An Aspire X-dreamer II, a real piece of crap, haha. I mean it does look cool, but I'm not into the lights(i sleep in the same room with the box, so the lights annoy me). A few things that I do not like about this case is the fact that the build quality just isn't there(what can you expect), everything is rather flimsy and creaks, the metal flexes and dimples like a soda can, and the clear plastic already has hairline cracks.

On top of all of this, its just soooo cramped in there with my PSU(enermax whisper II 535watt SLI, I love it!), wires are cluttered and I have to route quite a few power connectors to my DFI lanparty nf4, as well as 4 fans I put in there(more on this later...), plus my video card requires a pci-e connector as well, so yeah, very cluttered, I'm worried about the air flow and wires sitting too close to heatsinks.

The install was alrite, but I do have a grudge against the fact that you have to remove the front and both sides of the case just to put in optical 5.25'' drives!!! Oh yeah, also the drives won't fit back all the way because they decided to place an 80mm fan in the top center that completely blocks the path of the drive, so I had to completely remove the fan all together. Rather annoying. On top of that, putting additional hard drives is annoying to, the compartment to hold the drives is just poorly designed, I won't even begin, again, just annoying, a pain, the only easy thing was the motherboard because the tray is removeable(but I didn't even take advantage of it)

Now, for the fans again... It was designed to have 2 80mm fans in the front, but with the help of sawzall and a drill I was able to mount a 120mm fan in the front with an airfilter(yay, I can filter dust while leaving the computer on at the same time!), so that's that. I also placed a 120mm fan in the back as well to have passive airflow front going to the back. On top of this, the case includes a side panel 80mm fan, and a top mounted 80mm fan, but I had to remove the top mount and place it outside of the case because the darn thing was in the way of the optical drives....again a poor design.

HAVING SAID ALL THIS, I want to buy an Antec P180!!! No more cheaping out this time, I got to take a first hand look at the case the other day, and I was able to do an actual side by side comparison between the P180 and the P160, both are great cases, but as far as build quality goes, the P180 takes the gold from me. The body and structure feels very rigid and sturdy to say the least. I also like the professional looks of it, and I certainly won't have to worry about my power cables reaching up there because the Enermax whisper II has some really long cables.

BUT, for those who have P180's, do any of you overclock?! I'm curious to know how "good" this airflow is, I just got my opteron 146 with a thermalright XP-90, I plan to overclock the heck out of this thing, from 2.0gHz to around 2.8gHz(give or take .1ghz) , what do you guys think, will it work, will it be sufficient enough, or will I have to mod this beauty??

*note: it's 4:00a.m. eastern time and I have to go to work tmrw morning, and I admit, I didn't bother to reread/proofread through, so excuse me for any errors, haha... too tired to care, and it's been like that lately...ugh, the holidays...take care everyone

 

[Corporate Thug]

well, neither have the mobo tray.

the 180 looks better. from what i have read, its not to hard to work with. the PSU comparment is apparently a bit small and it doesnt fit all PSU
as long as you can find a PSU that fits, i think you will be OK

 

[Linearsoup]

p160 does have a mobo tray

 

[hclarkjr]

here is my case

 

[Cheesetogo]

Originally posted by: hclarkjr
here is my case

Comes with a very high quality psu also.

 

[bdoople]

I love my P180. I was very worried about my cables on my Ultra PSU not being long enough, but they're long enough to be router under the VC and still reach no problems. The PSU compartment looks pretty large to me.. but I would imagine if you have a big honkin PSU you could just take out that fat fan that's down there and have plenty of room.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: Corporate Thug
well, neither have the mobo tray.

the 180 looks better. from what i have read, its not to hard to work with. the PSU comparment is apparently a bit small and it doesnt fit all PSU
as long as you can find a PSU that fits, i think you will be OK

it does, coz ive taken it out......twice.

P160 is pretty cramped, i thought it would be much bigger than it is. ive had it a year and there arent any major complaints.

 

[phaxmohdem]

This is my P160 ( Linky to snapshot I just took. ). I think they look good personally. Perhaps a little too busy on the front facia, but overall a solid design. The dual 120mm fans are great for low noise. My only real complain is that cable routing can be a biotch when you have as much crap inside the case as I do. I also like how moddable the case is (if you're into that sort of thing) I cut that AMD logo/vent in the side myself with a dremel tool & hack saw

 

[vtohthree]

Thanks everyone for replying!!! Wow, some awesome work there phaxmohdem!

I'm eating up the feedback, but any "standard" sizes or popular/comfirmed psu's that are compatible(or should I say nicely fit and reach) with the P180's? I'm still deciding between the two, unless something else comes up... I've seen some cool cases in the past when I wasn't interested in building, and now they're nowhere to be found.

 

[natto fire]

I really like my P160, running wires was really easy. 160
I personally think the 180 looks better, but don't have very good noise comparisons. My 160 is definitely more quiet than my friends 180, but he has 4x the hard drives I do, so that is to be expected. The 180 does seem more solid, but I think it comes down to what you put in it that will determine noise/cabling issues.

 

[phaxmohdem]

Also wanted to throw this out regarding PSU's and the 180... I have a couple ATX Extension cables for the PSU to the motherboard.... are these a viable option for cases such as the P180, or are these extensions a "no-no" for whatever reason?

 

[Damainman]

MY P160 is very cool- I put the thermometer about 1 inch away from my cpu heatsink and the case temps read about 32 in summertime and 28 in wintertime. The thing with the P160 is that the sides vibrate and put out a very dull humm. One of these day's I'll try to put some weatherstripping or something along the panel edges to see if that cuts down on the vibration.

 

[vtohthree]

Originally posted by: Damainman
MY P160 is very cool- I put the thermometer about 1 inch away from my cpu heatsink and the case temps read about 32 in summertime and 28 in wintertime. The thing with the P160 is that the sides vibrate and put out a very dull humm. One of these day's I'll try to put some weatherstripping or something along the panel edges to see if that cuts down on the vibration.

Interesting...I have never heard any one mention a dull hum before on a p160...but yes I guess you could always do a few slight mods to fix such things.

 

[eljaye925]

Here is a pict of my P180 with a 500w Blue storm. Cables just long enough routing under vid card.

Pic

 

[Busithoth]

I got this.

 

[johnnqq]

question (may help you too). if the seasonic s12 fits, how does the ventilation work in the p180? doesn't it have a 120mm fan to pull air from below it->outwards? so it's sucking air from nothing and can't get air from the front of the btx case. am i wrong?

 

[PCBliss]

is there a clear side panel anywhere that you can buy for the P180?

 

[Continuity28]

Originally posted by: PCBliss
is there a clear side panel anywhere that you can buy for the P180?

The whole point of the side panels the P180 uses is to muffle the noise through its composite design. The whole point is that side windows and the design of most trendy cases today are simply very poor for noise. I'm sure you can find a side window for it... but then you can kiss the quietness goodbye if you sit to the left of it.

 

[PCBliss]

well it cant be louder than my case with a side panel that i have now, which i dont find that loud. I just want something different, but i like side panels.... I havent been able to find a clear side panel for it anyway.

 

[Mixman]

I have both, the P160 and the P180. The P180 is cooler and more quiet. The P160 is more convenient with the ports at the top and easier to work inside, because of the motherboard tray and extra room in general. I would pick the P180 though because of it's silence and it's better cooling.

 

[vtohthree]

Originally posted by: Mixman
I have both, the P160 and the P180. The P180 is cooler and more quiet. The P160 is more convenient with the ports at the top and easier to work inside, because of the motherboard tray and extra room in general. I would pick the P180 though because of it's silence and it's better cooling.

Wow, that's cool, you own both? Haha, I wish I could just buy them both too, and have two beast rigs... btw, I like your monitor too, dang, you've got a beast rig.

Anyways, yeah I took another look at the P160, if the local store finally gets them in stock, I'll probably just buy that... sure I'd be saving around 30 bucks or so, and that could go for spending more money on a better PSU....I used to love some of the shiny stuff/junk aspire pressed out back in the day, but can't find those cases anymore, =P.

 

[vtohthree]

OH YEAH, FORGOT TO ASK ONE MORE THING.... how are those air filters on both cases??? I tried to figure out how to pull off the front face on the P160, was kind of rough to wrestle with so I didn't bother at the store.

 

[abs0lut3]

the Soon to be in the market Cooler Master Stacker 830.

Bar None.

 

[Skott]

Considering how often they delayed the CM 830, redesigned it, and its suggested retail cost, it should be the best. But until they actually make them avaible to the general public (latest update is January now) I'd say the Antec P180 is the better case.

 

[mikester]

Originally posted by: johnnqq
question (may help you too). if the seasonic s12 fits, how does the ventilation work in the p180? doesn't it have a 120mm fan to pull air from below it->outwards? so it's sucking air from nothing and can't get air from the front of the btx case. am i wrong?

I have an S12-600 in a P180 and it works fine. The PSU sits on a tray that raises it up from the bottom, so it can draw air in through the bottom no problem. I don't even use the fan in the lower chamber (makes it easier to route HD cables) and I don't have any problems with the PSU temperature.