Antec P70 ATX Mid-Tower Case Review

[Crashman]

Antec’s latest low-cost chassis carries the company's gaming hardware-oriented “Performance” moniker, but can it really perform? We find out.

Antec P70 ATX Mid-Tower Case Review : Read more

 

[SinxarKnights]

Hmm I just got rid of my 300 about a month ago. Is this really the 300's replacement? The 300 lacked any 2.5" bays but had great cooling with only the 2 included three speed fans. It seems they made the same mistake twice by sitting the motherboard too close to the top so it is practically impossible to mount a rad on the inside there.

Considering it is a $70 case, surely there must be much better options than this for budget builders.

 

[JeanLuc]

Argh, what's wrong with the site?? All the alignment is out. I was reading through the price list and the case came up at $46.99 now it says $70.

 

[SinxarKnights]

^^ It's not a $70 case you can pick it up for $47.

It is 47 because it is on sale. It is a $70 case.

 

[Plyro109]

I'm rather sad Antec still doesn't seem to want to make fan filters easy to access. That's why I replaced my 902, and why I've been steering people away from their cases for a while.

To clean the filters on the 902, it required removing 20(!) screws, and this case requires the removal of the front panel, and thus, both the side panels also. At the least, it looks like the top and rear filters are a bit easier to access, which is a step forward.

Probably not a case I'll be recommending for others to use, even if it is inexpensive.

 

[InvalidError]

Hmm I just got rid of my 300 about a month ago. Is this really the 300's replacement? The 300 lacked any 2.5" bays

The 300-2 had one 2.5" spot at the bottom and another behind the motherboard tray.

I own both a 300 and 300-2. My biggest pet peeve about them is having to unplug everything I may have plugged into front jacks and open the side panel to un-clip the front panel so I can remove it every time I want to clean the filters. Another problem with the 300s is that the filter sits so close to the front mesh that dust accumulates directly behind the front mesh' holes - there is not enough space for airflow to spread out evenly across the filter. I would probably need to clean the filter half as often if there was even only 1mm of extra clearance here.

Yet another filter-related pet peeve is the PSU filter: half the dust gets scraped off the filter and sucked right back in when the filter is removed for cleaning. IMO, the 300-2 would have been better off without it, letting the PSU draw from case air like it did in the original 300.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I think that Antec has been left behind in terms of case design. I do remember when I wanted a 900 but most of their cases are just now coming with features that others have had.

I find it strange that this is lacking side fan mounts. Even the Corsair 200R has those and that is a $60 dollar case right now.

 

[InvalidError]

I find it strange that this is lacking side fan mounts. Even the Corsair 200R has those and that is a $60 dollar case right now.

The 300-2 had side fan mounts on both panels. On my case though, both of them are taped shut to limit dust ingress. In an ocean of cases with goady side panels. There is no point in having windows or side vents when the case is wedged between a desk and a wall. The top fan is unplugged and the vent taped shut to prevent screws and whatever else I might have on my desk dropping into my PC through the top fan.

Sometimes, less is more. I would pay $10 more than I paid for my 300-2 for an otherwise identical case that had no side vents, no dedicated PSU filter/intake and no top vent for me to worry about but had direct access to intake filters.

 

[jjb8675309]

Why would someone bother to review such a mediocre product?

 

[ykki]

^Tech reviewers duh!

 

[aldenf]

I'll assume, since it is not mentioned in the article, that the two top fans are configured for exhaust. Three exhaust and no intake fans seems completely inappropriate for hot hardware. Since the option is provided "out of the box", I'd like to see the top fans moved to the front as intakes and the plug/panel installed on top. This should show very different numbers in testing. I'm rather surprised it wasn't attempted initially by the builder/reviewer as it seems rather obvious.

I'm not sure how many users would be trying to squeeze an extended MB into an inexpensive case. I don't see it as a con at all. Many enthusiasts look for more compact cases for ATX/m-ATX builds. If the P70 will often be on sale for <$50 and moving the two top fans to the front as intakes shows better all around performance as I expect, methinks the P70 could be a killer option for moderately priced gaming rigs/workstations.

I'll wait for a more thorough review of the product before making any final judgements...

 

[aldenf]

Why would someone bother to review such a mediocre product?

I'm leaning more toward a mediocre review than product.

 

[InvalidError]

Why would someone bother to review such a mediocre product?

Why wouldn't a reviewer review "bad" products? If there are no reviews of something out there, how are people supposed to find out the product might not be for them? As a consumer, I certainly appreciate finding reviews of things I consider buying, even if it is only to find out that I should probably consider looking elsewhere.

Reviewers need to cover a fair mix of good and not-so-good products if readers are to make their own informed opinion of what they consider good and not-as-good.

 

[Onus]

Why would someone bother to review such a mediocre product?

Reviewers wanting to save their readers from buying such a case by mistake.

 

[Plyro109]

I'm rather sad Antec still doesn't seem to want to make fan filters easy to access. That's why I replaced my 902, and why I've been steering people away from their cases for a while.

To clean the filters on the 902, it required removing 20(!) screws, and this case requires the removal of the front panel, and thus, both the side panels also. At the least, it looks like the top and rear filters are a bit easier to access, which is a step forward.

Probably not a case I'll be recommending for others to use, even if it is inexpensive.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

Dunno if this case has mediocre fans in the mix or not. It might have some salvation in the cooling department if it did have a cooling fan transplant for some better fans. But, alas we know nothing about the fans other than size and that they seems to be inadequate (in number or efficiency) to do a good job.

What i do know is that this case will not be one I'd recommend for more than an office computer, someone who surfs the net or just does facebook. (All low intensity tasks.)

 

[jimmysmitty]

I find it strange that this is lacking side fan mounts. Even the Corsair 200R has those and that is a $60 dollar case right now.

The 300-2 had side fan mounts on both panels. On my case though, both of them are taped shut to limit dust ingress. In an ocean of cases with goady side panels. There is no point in having windows or side vents when the case is wedged between a desk and a wall. The top fan is unplugged and the vent taped shut to prevent screws and whatever else I might have on my desk dropping into my PC through the top fan.

Sometimes, less is more. I would pay $10 more than I paid for my 300-2 for an otherwise identical case that had no side vents, no dedicated PSU filter/intake and no top vent for me to worry about but had direct access to intake filters.

But yours is a single case scenario. Side fans help in other scenarios, for example I have my case up high on my desk so the extra air flow provided by my 220MM fan on my Corsair 500R helps with cooler air flow for my GPU.

Why would you not want a dedicated PSU vent? If you place the PSU upside down it will pull air away from other components and limit air flow.

 

[InvalidError]

Why would you not want a dedicated PSU vent?

Because I cannot see it get dirty. When I remove the filter to clean it, large chunks of dust get scraped off of the filter by the case when I pull it out and I cannot see where it ends up to remove it short of pulling the whole case out from under my desk and flipping it over. If I forget to clean that filter for too long, the PSU ends up practically sealed off and eventually trips over-temperature protection, which is not good for the PSU nor my system. Since I do not turn off my system while I clean filters, the PSU may end up ingesting clumps of dust when I remove the bottom filter. I much prefer having only one easily visible filter that I can remove as one unit without disturbing the dust trapped in it, take the contraption (whole front panel in the 300s' cases) to wherever I want to clean it, clean it without worrying about dust getting released inside the PSU/case and put it back in.

In other words, dedicated power supply intakes are far more trouble than they are worth IMO.

Where side vents are concerned, those are not really required until you get into high-power SLI/CF setups and people who spend $700+ on GPUs rarely choose $50-75 cases.

 

[Kridian]

I'm rather sad Antec still doesn't seem to want to make fan filters easy to access.

Dat's when you use your air compressor to just blast the dust outta der! No removal necessary. blast-blast-blast!

 

[InvalidError]

I'm rather sad Antec still doesn't seem to want to make fan filters easy to access.

Dat's when you use your air compressor to just blast the dust outta der! No removal necessary. blast-blast-blast!

If you blast filters without removing them for cleaning first, a fair chunk of the dust is just going to end up inside the case, exactly where the filters are supposed to prevent it from going.

 

[meribela]

Argh, what's wrong with the site?? All the alignment is out. I was reading through the price list and the case came up at $46.99 now it says $70.

You need Ad and Script blockers. Toms is littered with billions of them.

 

[ginnai]

I am glad to still have my 300... while USB 3 would be nice, I can always aftermarket that in. My, outdated, processor runs about 5 - 7 F above ambient; since I live in Arizona that is pretty great in the summer (although I do turn the fans up to high, which requires me to pop off the side panel... small price). My 5 HDDs/SSDs are all comfortably nestled in their slots, with their SATA & IDE cables (I said outdated) tucked into the cable area. While I could live without my front LED fans, I have no desire to. I like Antec, but until they design another homerun, I will hold onto my 300 with both hands!

 

[ginnai]

@ Meribela's - You need Ad and Script blockers. Toms is littered with billions of them.[/quote]

I use Ghostery & UBlock... I am only at about 14/15 blocks, what are you using to track?

 

[atheus]

What is with all these negative pressure case designs lately? Am I mistaken that this case comes with all fans in exhaust position? Is 100% exhaust fans not the worst way to cool a case? I'm puzzled. I wonder how this case would perform with a proper fan configuration.

 

[InvalidError]

Am I mistaken that this case comes with all fans in exhaust position? Is 100% exhaust fans not the worst way to cool a case?

At the very least, it is certainly the worst way of mitigating dust intake - there is not much point in having front intake filters when the all-exhaust configuration will pull dust in from every crack. The first thing I would do if I got a P70 would be move both top fans to the front and put the top lid on.