Should I buy an Antec P182?

vinnie

vinnie

vinnie

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I haven't built my own PC for a good few years - an old Lian Li that was bit noisey - so I thought I'd get a new case this time round.

I initially settled on the Antec P182 a couple of months ago but have since been a bit silly and read far too many reviews than is good for me.
My head is now close to meltdown. I've been through the Eclipse 62 (bit 1980s), Cosmos (nice, but not sure about the airflow), Stacker 830/832 (looks a bit plasticy/cheap HiFi), Silverstone Temjin TJ09 (very nice), Lian Li V2000 (massive and a bit overkill), Thermaltake Mozart TX (absolutely crazy, but I nearly bought it :-))...

In the end I came full circle and back to the P182 and I'm thinking now I JUST want to buy a case. I've looked at so many that I'm starting to not care anymore.

Anyhow, I intend to put a Q6600, 8800GT and Corsair 620W in there so I was wondering whether this will actually fit in a P182? Would there be any problems with the length of the Video Card or the PSU?

I'll also probably go with a Tuniq Tower 120 or Thermaltake Big Typhoon and am not sure whether either of these will fit OK in the P182. Am I likely to run into problems?

I'm aiming for a mild overclock on the Q6600 nothing too extreme.

Of course I'm still open to buying any other case. Price isn't really an issue unless it's a freaky Zalman costing £300!
Would the TJ09 be a better choice? I probably only intend to use up to 3 hard disks initially but I still want the space to up that to 6 in the future.

So, will the P182 fit the bill? Or should I go mad and get that freaky Mozart TX? ;-)

Any feedback would be much appreciated.
 
I have the Antec P182. It's a good case but a couple of things

Depth- it needs to be a couple of inches deeper - the gap beween SATA cables and bottom fan is too close, and it's difficult to wire up with the cage fitted, you need to partially pull it out then wire, then pull the cables to the side otherwise it'll make contact with the case

5.25" drive mountings- really need screw holes, they just slide in and not even lock down.
 
Do you mean the Depth (front to back) or the width?
Is that the middle HD cage? I've also read that the middle HD cage can get in the way of long video cards?

Screwing in Optical drives isn't a problem. Once they're in they're in.
 
Well... I was looking at the P182 too a while back, was almost decided on it, but ended up getting a PC-7 PLUS instead, on a few recommendations from this very forum. Must say I'm extremely happy with it and saved a fair few quid on it too. :)
 
vinnie said:
Lian Li V2000 (massive and a bit overkill),
Click to expand...

Considdered the v1000? same as above but not as tall...

Although, for the price, and cable mangement, the p182 is an awesome case, and should fit all of the mentionned hardware with ease, only gripe you may have is routing the 24pin power cable, i don't htink it's quite long enough to be able to be routed behind the motherboard tray.

C64's suggestion is also a very good one, very nice cases indeed.
 
vinnie said:
I intend to put a Q6600, 8800GT and Corsair 620W in there so I was wondering whether this will actually fit in a P182?
Click to expand...
The graphics card and PSU will fit no problem, no sure about the quad-core though? :p

I picked up one of these cases (about two weeks ago now) but still didn't get the headspace to transfer my system over lol! :D

I don't think there is such a thing as a 'perfect case', you will always have something thats not quite right, suppose the only thing you can do to get around this is to Mod it, either that or build your own case from scratch!

Couple of things about the P182, it will take any graphics card if you take out the upper hard drive caddy, I suspect this is what I will do and just have a 120mm fan intaking air and blowing it straight at the GPU. Pity though because that upper bay is nicely designed with quick release drive trays. I will just put my drives in the bottom.

The bottom of the case seems to be not quite right, firstly there is that 120mm fan bay sitting inbetween the PSU and lower drive bay, doesn't look ideal but not a huge negative, however I was a little disappointed when I found the lower hard drive bay has no 120mm fan intake, I mean the space is there but no mountings provided (some have modded their own here). I was thinking of just removing the lower 120mm fan but then there would be no active hard disk cooling which is a no no for me.

The last thing is the frigging door, different strokes for different folks but I have never really appreciated a door on the front of my case, on the plus side maybe it will help quieten down the system.

For the price I can forgive it for the few points I have raised. I have only ever used ANTEC cases so I guess that makes me an ANTEC Fanboy lol! :)
 
Your asking if the TJ09 would be the ideal case? but u said earlier u already been thru that case aint it ?

Sorry didnt understand that bit ;)

Read my P182 case review, as u can see from the title not so happy with that case sadly.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17791636&highlight=p182+review+username_highlander

However many of this forum do love it to bits I saw no joy from that case, just tedious and no depth/room or space to work with, airflow was bad and no real well thought out design imo.

Ive been thru many cases Eclipse 62/Antec 900/Antec P182 and now got the Lian li A70B which set me back 150 quid and its 4 weeks old and even still im not pleased with it.

Just goes to show there is no perfect case ;)

Can I ask you had the coolermaster cosmo case? what didnt u like about that case I know its got weak cooling but this can be fixed with front bay coolers/hdd active coolers giving the hdd/system good cooling.

I only ask since thats my next case ill proberly get....
 
Hmm why aren't you happy with the a70 digress?
I like the cosmos only things putting me off is the hdd cooling and the apparent negative airflow and the biggest no no of all no removable motherboard tray.
Have you owned a coolermaster stacker or thermaltake armour ?
 
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HighlandeR said:
Your asking if the TJ09 would be the ideal case? but u said earlier u already been thru that case aint it ?

Sorry didnt understand that bit ;)
Click to expand...

Ah, sorry I think I might have misled you :).
I haven't actually owned any of those cases. At first I was definitely going to get the Antec P182, then after second thoughts and like spending days of reading reviews I was definitely going to buy all of the other cases that I mentioned at some point. My question was should I get the P182. I had considered the TJ09 at one point and I still think it's a good case.

I've been sort of deciding on a case but instead of just buying the thing I then start reading up on other cases and on and on...and now I've come back to the P182 :)...I think.

I think I'm looking for a case that will do everything that I want when I want to do it...now and at any time in future. Unfortunately as others have said that case just doesn't exist and I end up with a headache.

I've looked briefly at the Lian Li A71 which looks really nice and I particularly like the HD cooling - 4 x 120. Is the A70 exactly the same without the front door? I'm not that keen on a door and I will most likely end up just removing it anyway which sort of makes the case look a bit ugly.
One thing I noticed though was that it has 4 x 120 intakes and only 2 x 120 exhausts. I don't know much about airflow but wouldn't this cause weird airflow? i.e. more coming in than is going out?

I think I'll probably go with a RAID 5 at some point in addition to a couple of other single drives so definitely want some good HD cooling...at the expense of noise or lack of it, I suppose.
 
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Big.Wayne said:
The graphics card and PSU will fit no problem, no sure about the quad-core though? :p

I picked up one of these cases (about two weeks ago now) but still didn't get the headspace to transfer my system over lol! :D

I don't think there is such a thing as a 'perfect case', you will always have something thats not quite right, suppose the only thing you can do to get around this is to Mod it, either that or build your own case from scratch!

Couple of things about the P182, it will take any graphics card if you take out the upper hard drive caddy, I suspect this is what I will do and just have a 120mm fan intaking air and blowing it straight at the GPU. Pity though because that upper bay is nicely designed with quick release drive trays. I will just put my drives in the bottom.

The bottom of the case seems to be not quite right, firstly there is that 120mm fan bay sitting inbetween the PSU and lower drive bay, doesn't look ideal but not a huge negative, however I was a little disappointed when I found the lower hard drive bay has no 120mm fan intake, I mean the space is there but no mountings provided (some have modded their own here). I was thinking of just removing the lower 120mm fan but then there would be no active hard disk cooling which is a no no for me.

The last thing is the frigging door, different strokes for different folks but I have never really appreciated a door on the front of my case, on the plus side maybe it will help quieten down the system.

For the price I can forgive it for the few points I have raised. I have only ever used ANTEC cases so I guess that makes me an ANTEC Fanboy lol! :)
Click to expand...

You say the P182 won't take a Quadcore? I didn't think that would be a problem. Is that because the case won't handle the heat??? Or I'd need such a big HS that it won't fit in the case?:confused: I've read that the Thermaltake Big Typhoon works OK for Quadcores.

I don't really want to start taking a Dremmel to any case I buy, I just want it to do what I want as close as possible. I don't intend to do any mad overclocking. So long as I end up with something that will give me a decent game of COD4 and Crysis at lowish resolutions. :)
 
vinnie said:
You say the P182 won't take a Quadcore? I didn't think that would be a problem.
Click to expand...
Lol sorry Vinnie, it was meant to be a 'joke', hence the :p

I thought you were meaning physical dimesions, I didn't see that you may take it as a serious suggestion thinking about it from a heat point of view! :o
 
Big.Wayne said:
I was thinking of just removing the lower 120mm fan but then there would be no active hard disk cooling which is a no no for me.
Click to expand...

Why would there be no cooling? The power supply would be pulling a constrant stream of cooler air over the hard drive/s. IMO the bottom cage is better for the HD`s. The silicon grommets work really well, and whether by design or not, they actually create more room for air to flow around the drives.

First thing i did was remove the bottom fan. I moved it to where the upper HD cage would be.

Of course, i may be wrong and my HD may be getting too warm without me knowing. Is there a utility to let me check my Seagate temps? I could then post my results.
 
vinnie said:
I haven't built my own PC for a good few years - an old Lian Li that was bit noisey - so I thought I'd get a new case this time round.

I initially settled on the Antec P182 a couple of months ago but have since been a bit silly and read far too many reviews than is good for me.
My head is now close to meltdown. I've been through the Eclipse 62 (bit 1980s), Cosmos (nice, but not sure about the airflow), Stacker 830/832 (looks a bit plasticy/cheap HiFi), Silverstone Temjin TJ09 (very nice), Lian Li V2000 (massive and a bit overkill), Thermaltake Mozart TX (absolutely crazy, but I nearly bought it :-))...

In the end I came full circle and back to the P182 and I'm thinking now I JUST want to buy a case. I've looked at so many that I'm starting to not care anymore.

Anyhow, I intend to put a Q6600, 8800GT and Corsair 620W in there so I was wondering whether this will actually fit in a P182? Would there be any problems with the length of the Video Card or the PSU?

I'll also probably go with a Tuniq Tower 120 or Thermaltake Big Typhoon and am not sure whether either of these will fit OK in the P182. Am I likely to run into problems?

I'm aiming for a mild overclock on the Q6600 nothing too extreme.

Of course I'm still open to buying any other case. Price isn't really an issue unless it's a freaky Zalman costing £300!
Would the TJ09 be a better choice? I probably only intend to use up to 3 hard disks initially but I still want the space to up that to 6 in the future.

So, will the P182 fit the bill? Or should I go mad and get that freaky Mozart TX? ;-)

Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

I think the Antec 900 beats the 182 any day.

Its got better airflow, more room inside (just about) and its cheaper.

Only thing is, its a bit of an aquired taste in the looks department.

I have one, now empty as its not water cooling friendly but still one of my all time favorite air cooled cases.

DeadMan
 
Personally, i think the P182 is a great case, but then again, i have not used many over the years. Its not perfect, but its quiet, cable management is great (If you are willing to put in the effort), and build quality is good also.

Yes there are some issues for some people, but it all comes down to personal choice. It seems a decent case for overclocking, but there are clearly better available for hard OC`ers.

I wanted a balance between quality construction, noise level, ease of installation and price. The P182 ticked all those boxes for me. :)

The 900 case looks OK. But its targeted at a much different user than myself IMO.

C64 said:
Hd tune
Click to expand...

Thank you :)
 
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DeadMan said:
I think the Antec 900 beats the 182 any day
Click to expand...
Well I gave up on the Antec 900 before I had even finished swapping all my parts over, I powered it up for 1 minute, then switch it off and took all my kit back out and put the 900 back in its box and sold it the next day, really cramped in there, I didn't like it one bit although it does look cool!

Haven't done a build with the P182 yet so cant compare the two cases.
 
Having had both the P182 and the Antec 900 both are badly cramped, you will almost find an GTX or similar long graphics card approaching the end of the case....

The P182 was worser u couldnt even fit the 120mm fan on the end of the bay ! the Antec 900 while theres a small gap my GTX almost hit the end of it.

However the Antec 900 was of a much better build/design then the P182, much better cooling my hdds had all that lovely front ventillation and got cooled so easily and well ive never had hdds running at 28c in a tiny bedroom thats always 27-30c room temp.

Both Antec 900/P182 took a whole day to build and wasnt easy..... lots of cable routing and cable tieing and managment was poor despite the P182 having cable mangement.

Having said that the Antec 900 due to its overall size the 2 front 120mm fans provided excellent cooling and was more then enough to keep my GTX and hdds and system cool, so cool my GTX never revved up once :)
 
C64 said:
Hmm why aren't you happy with the a70 digress?
I like the cosmos only things putting me off is the hdd cooling and the apparent negative airflow and the biggest no no of all no removable motherboard tray.
Have you owned a coolermaster stacker or thermaltake armour ?
Click to expand...

Well im never happy ;)

But I sleep 1 meter away from my PC and the Lian Li A70 while the best case ive owned, it leaks noise too easily due to its alu build. The panels are too thin, the 4X fans at the front create a tunnel effect due to the poor front vents. Theres too many niggles and things I just dont like with this case but they could be solved with some mods/effort ie paxmate and even more silent case fans etc etc.

However the coolermaster Cosmos is the case I feel I should have gone with, its solid steel which would stop the noise leakage.... and its got sound proof inbuilt to top it off.

If you check out here:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SY-000-SY&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=

You can find a few products like this one that will aid in the hdd cooling, personaly im considering just getting one of these and 2 silent boxes for extreme silence.

The negative airflow is something people find ok or bad, but with those devices going for 12 quid u can add plenty air flow at the front.

Im not trying to say the Cosmos is better then the Lian li but I guess if I dont try it will never find out !

Again my quest for building a decent "silent" pc begins again ;)
 
vinnie said:
Ah, sorry I think I might have misled you :).
I haven't actually owned any of those cases. At first I was definitely going to get the Antec P182, then after second thoughts and like spending days of reading reviews I was definitely going to buy all of the other cases that I mentioned at some point. My question was should I get the P182. I had considered the TJ09 at one point and I still think it's a good case.

I've been sort of deciding on a case but instead of just buying the thing I then start reading up on other cases and on and on...and now I've come back to the P182 :)...I think.

I think I'm looking for a case that will do everything that I want when I want to do it...now and at any time in future. Unfortunately as others have said that case just doesn't exist and I end up with a headache.

I've looked briefly at the Lian Li A71 which looks really nice and I particularly like the HD cooling - 4 x 120. Is the A70 exactly the same without the front door? I'm not that keen on a door and I will most likely end up just removing it anyway which sort of makes the case look a bit ugly.
One thing I noticed though was that it has 4 x 120 intakes and only 2 x 120 exhausts. I don't know much about airflow but wouldn't this cause weird airflow? i.e. more coming in than is going out?

I think I'll probably go with a RAID 5 at some point in addition to a couple of other single drives so definitely want some good HD cooling...at the expense of noise or lack of it, I suppose.
Click to expand...

TJ09 or Lian Lis would always be a wiser choice then the Antec 900/P182s :)
 
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