Antec P180, give. or take?

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the 900 is the better case, try to see if you can cancel the order, as the 900 has better cooling, and the sound proofing is simular, but the thing that really ameks it better is that the way the p180 works to keep the computer cool is by seperating the psu and hdd from the rest of the case, which is nice for quietness, but takes up a lot of the room it potentially has for upgrading cooling and such
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The P180 is easily the quieter case. The 900 may have slightly better cooling, but the noise factor is not even close. The open side and front vents of the 900 allow too much noise to pass directly out of the case.

Replace the 120mm Antec fans with Nexus or low rpm Scythe fans and use a SeaSonic/Corsair PSU, and the P180 is even quieter.
 
Lol, its like about an average of 28 ish degrees here, we had temps from 3-9 F 2 days in a row, and had 2 hour delays!! w00t lucky us.
anyway, so overall, good buy?
ill be happy?
last until college?
 
Trust me, I have a p180, do you have one? I think I know what flaws it has, and one major one is that it's seperated in order to keep it quieter, so while it's a tad quieter, the airflow is strictly restricted by all the loose cabling, even with my cable sleeves airflow is highly restricted
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Do I have one? I have 3.. and I've built around 20 for various cool & especially quiet designs for clients. I've built 3 900's now, 2 of them with silence in mind. There's no way the 900 compares to the 180 in noise. In all machines, I cable tie all wiring away from airflow passages, and I haven't had a problem with cooling on the P180. Sleeving doesn't do that much for cooling - that's for the look. Cable tie those wires away from the air path and it's fine. Yes, the 900 cools slightly better.. a tradeoff for the definite acoustic advantage on the P180.

Rather opinionated for a 14 year old.. which can be a good thing when you're correct. Don't lose that spunk kid. :)
 
did u buy sleeves for the cables?
yeah, i tried to install the power supply, as i dont have all the parts yet, and the cables will most likely not fit throught the "divider"

should i tuck them anywhrere?
 
Ya, it's not done yet fully, but I should post a few pics.....I have some old ones here floating around. It's changed since then (better) but it shows the idea........gimme a few to find them and host........
 
Here are a couple crude pics, nothing fancy, no closeups yet.....these are older too. I'm gonna get a full set of proper pics in a couple of weeks. So this is still a work in progress, some components are out to show the cabling.....no vid card, no HSF shown......sue me LOL. Pics are not resized either, sorry.....warning for those on dialup.

http://img521.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1004984lr7.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1004983ps4.jpg
 
Ya, I'm gonna do a full set of proper pics in the next couple of weeks.....am swamped now and no time. I hear ya on the Zalman, I modded it by swapping out the stock fan and put in a 92mm Tri-Cool inside the HSF to keep that sucker quiet, plus a fan controller 😳 Wish I had a Ninja with another Noctua fan on it :evil:
 
Ya, the 9500 pretty much limits you to a 92mm fan, or else you're doing FAR too much work....might as well get a Ninja in that instance.

My 9500 is finally quiet and temps are pretty good......Noctua's help ALOT. My only concern with the Ninja is that my Northbridge HSF will interfere....not enough room 🙁
 
So would you guys recommend the gigabyte ds3 for this case?

Tacos, why the hell do u have off?!?

can the tuniq tower fit in dis case?

can most cpu coolers?

would having the tuniq make it annoying to move around? ive heard that since it weighs like 900g's that if u move ur case like around ur house, it could break ur mobo...<>
 
would u guys recommend putting the power cables, etc through the mobo backplate like skyguy did?

im a noob at handling pc parts, not the concept. ::::)))
 
DS3 good board for this case, it's ATX and fits no problem. Board layout is ok, I wish the IDE header was high on the board not at the bottom though, that's really the only crappy point about the DS3 board.

Tuniq will also fit no worries.

Going behind the mobo is a bi^ch, I'll be honest. It's not easy to get the drilling and holes, etc done properly. It takes alot of time and patience. But in the end it looks ALOT better. A simple one-handed small hacksaw for $5 at the hardware store will work wonders........and a heckuva arm workout 😉

Otherwise you can go through the middle slots but be sure to tied them down with zip ties. I used to have it that way before I decided to go hardcore :)
 
Ya you can't close the case if you go behind the mobo and out.....which is why I had to drill and saw 😉 More work that way but looks nice and opens the airflow large.
 
The back panel won't close because of the "support bars" running across the back to separate the upper and lower chambers. They go flush with the panel so anything sticking out makes the case not close. I know why they designed it that way, but they should have left notches/slots specifically for wiring behind, that would have made this case an 11 out of 10.

That's why I had to "notch" out spaces for the wires in these support bars so the wires would fit behind and I could close the case. Took alot of time but I'm happy with the results. Otherwise, push the cables through the middle slot inside the case and tie them down tight to the base with ties, etc. Not as pretty, but much better than spaghetti strands of cables inside 😉

I'm anal about wiring though so I don't mind the work....it's therapeutic LOL.
 
That one link I posted has a shot of the backside, sorry I don't have better ones yet. I'm gonna get some this weekend, I'll send them or post them.

I got the 9500 modded with a Tri-Cool 92mm fan so it's fairly quiet when I run it at higher rpm's now. It's pointing out the rear of the case right into the exhaust Noctua so that's fine. I also have a 120mm silent on the top blowhole venting out so the area around my CPU is pretty good, considering my case is near the furnace vent........which is why I had to limit my OC :evil:

I'm still considering the Ninja though. I gotta do some more measurements and see about my NB HSF. I was thinking of getting the little Thermalright SLI one instead....it has more lateral clearance I think. I might do that and get the Ninja if I can sweet talk the wife into letting me spend more $$ 😉
 
Because some of the spaces are so tight/small, I just bought an everyday handsaw at Home Depot. It's a small one though, not the big kind. Only cost $5 :) Took awhile, worked up a sweat LOL, but I don't mind....I think the end result is worth it.

Ya, you have to cut/notch those "bars" that are horizontal, which close up tight against the case when you close it. The motherboard itself is actually recessed inward slightly so the cables will fit against the back of the mobo and the case will close. It's the horizontal supports that are the problem.
 
well, idk, how hard is it to remove a stock intel cooler after u put it on?

i dont think this free class that im in (which gives u 600 bucks for free), would appreciate me bringing in a 50 dollar tuniq.

and...idk, cant u just tape the wires down to the metal areas in the case??
 
Mine stays cool, and is clean inside to boot, granted it took some time and patience, i havnt found a flaw yet with this case.

That's not even a modular power supply.. :)


tnimg0010uq0.jpg
 
unused PSU Cables are folded nicely and placed in the small area on top of the PSU, not alot of room there, but enough.

Drive cables, and data cables are run along the sides and on the perimeter of the case, almost like working with oragami.. lol, I did go through 28 SMall zip ties and about 10 zip tie anchors.

it wasnt easy, and i used a few choice words while i was doing it. I never thought of dremeling a small hole on the backside though, that would have been easier.
 
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