Antec P180 Owners Thread

[HighlandeR]

Wierd so its a good thing im gonna take off the door then

 

[drunknmunky]

What does the P180 look like without the door on?

 

[mrochester]

Probably odd, and you lose some of the sound dampening by taking it off.

 

[HighlandeR]

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article249-page2.html

It looks good I reckon, id guess u may loose some sound dampening but if you have built your PC right it wont make a whistle, I plan on getting one 12v 5volted fan on the back and the heatsinks passive/GTX is using a 92mm fan that rotates so slow it cant be heard and hdd is in a giant rubber silent box so not a peek from that too.

 

[mrochester]

Having the door open increases the sound of hard disk drives, even those enclosed in drive enclosures.

 

[rel]

Hi there,

Will I have problems fitting the:

Tagan TG530-U22 530W ATX2.01 2Force SLi Compliant Silent PSU

in the Antec P180 SPCR Advanced Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU at all?

If so please could you outline what sort of problems and how I may prepare such as purchasing neccessary extensions and such.

Thanks in advance,

 

[HighlandeR]

Having the door open increases the sound of hard disk drives, even those enclosed in drive enclosures.

Hmm dang may just leave the door shut then majority of the time wont be exactly burning....and yes im gonna go for a sythe silent box enclosure.

Im still in 2 minds about going for this case cos £100 quids a lot and after reading your post and other complainers on quiet pc forums it dont help.

Whats your personal opinion on this case for someone looking for super Silence ?

 

[Le Samourai]

Hi there,

Will I have problems fitting the:

Tagan TG530-U22 530W ATX2.01 2Force SLi Compliant Silent PSU

in the Antec P180 SPCR Advanced Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU at all?

If so please could you outline what sort of problems and how I may prepare such as purchasing neccessary extensions and such.

Thanks in advance,

I've got the 580w easycon - no major problems with it.

The p180's psu 'cage' takes a bit of elbow grease to secure and the easycon cables are a bit fiddly to fit inside the small space. The tagan's pci-e cables are also pretty chunky, so if you have this fitted you're unlikey to get the 120mm lower chamber fan fitted as well.

If your mobo's power connectors are on the side then you won't have any cable-reach problems, if they're located at the top-left then the 4-pin 12v might have to go over the mobo rather than to the side.

I was thinking about getting the enermax liberty at some point as it's cables looked more flexible, especially the pci-e, and the spacing between the modular connectors looks less fiddly than the Tagan's.

 

[rel]

I've got the 580w easycon - no major problems with it.

The p180's psu 'cage' takes a bit of elbow grease to secure and the easycon cables are a bit fiddly to fit inside the small space. The tagan's pci-e cables are also pretty chunky, so if you have this fitted you're unlikey to get the 120mm lower chamber fan fitted as well.

If your mobo's power connectors are on the side then you won't have any cable-reach problems, if they're located at the top-left then the 4-pin 12v might have to go over the mobo rather than to the side.

I was thinking about getting the enermax liberty at some point as it's cables looked more flexible, especially the pci-e, and the spacing between the modular connectors looks less fiddly than the Tagan's.

Hiya, thanks for the response. Is it this one you're talking about?

Enermax Liberty 500W ELT500AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU

I don't really mind as to which PSU I get as long as it's decent/tidy/quiet and ample for my general setup/case. This can be seen in my post in the General Hardware forum entitled "Critique my new pc please!" if you wish to suggest anything.

Thanks,

 

[Speed]

On the left side of the case there is a hinge which the door clips into. The top and bottom of this hinge have holes and the door has 2 little prongs which line up with these holes and clip into them. If you open the door fully out and press down on the top of the door it will allow the top of the door to unclip and come away from the hinge. Takes a little pressure but is perfectly safe.

I have had my door off loads and swapped with friends to figure out what was going on. And its the same old story. In a cold room the thing is warped. As the room heats up over a few hours it actually changes shape and sits more flush. Doesnt bother me anymore. I just wonder did they sort it in the black SPCR edition.

I understand part of what you are saying, I'm still unsure having just tried it. Does the door itself come off the hinged bit of plastic (the bit with lots of holes in) or does the hinge come off the case?

Thanks!

 

[Le Samourai]

Hiya, thanks for the response. Is it this one you're talking about?

Enermax Liberty 500W ELT500AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU

I don't really mind as to which PSU I get as long as it's decent/tidy/quiet and ample for my general setup/case. This can be seen in my post in the General Hardware forum entitled "Critique my new pc please!" if you wish to suggest anything.

Thanks,

If you're going SLI at any point in the near future I'd try and get nearer 600W.

 

[rel]

If you're going SLI at any point in the near future I'd try and get nearer 600W.

I'm kind of having mixed views about this case now to be honest mate. I read the reviews somewhere that pretty much said it was the best case to get if you had the cash to spare. That said, It has been 3 years since I've put a PC together and the amount of fiddling that seems apparant with this case along with some components having problems fitting is quite off-putting. Is it as bad as it sounds or is it relatively easy to modify? I'm spending quite a lot of money on a machine and this case seemed the best housing based on cooling/sound and general design. Will the 600W Enermax Liberty solve the fitting problems and aid the overall airflow of the case based on its design? Is there better cases I can buy around the same price region? Is it loud?

Thanks in advance,

 

[Le Samourai]

It is fiddly and if a few things don't work out then you're having to strip the case of some of the components e.g. vga fan duct, or swapping out the 120mm fans.

Some of the lan-li's have a similar approach to having compartments but are pricier still. But if money is no object then that's also a consideration.

Most PSUs will be much the same for installation. I would say the general rule is: if your mobo has power connectors at the top-left then you'll probably have to get an extension cable if you want to route the cables around the side of the board. If the connectors are on the side then you won't have to worry about this.

 

[rel]

It is fiddly and if a few things don't work out then you're having to strip the case of some of the components e.g. vga fan duct, or swapping out the 120mm fans.

Some of the lan-li's have a similar approach to having compartments but are pricier still. But if money is no object then that's also a consideration.

Most PSUs will be much the same for installation. I would say the general rule is: if your mobo has power connectors at the top-left then you'll probably have to get an extension cable if you want to route the cables around the side of the board. If the connectors are on the side then you won't have to worry about this.

Much difference between the Enermax 600W Noisetaker and the Liberty Samuorai? Also, the mobo I'm getting is the DFI LanParty SLI-DR so is there any size/fitting problems known to this setup?

You've been a help mate, cheers.

 

[cmsbfent]

hey folks..

Anybody used this case for watercooling yet. I was thinking if hard drives were placed in the bottom chamber, the space left over from removing the other hard drive caddy would be ideal for the pump and resevior.

Then the radiator could be attached to the top blow hole. At the mo i arent using my watercooling kit cause its just too tight a fit in my coolermaster 110, but am very tempted to get one of these because there is ample space..

would mean gettin rid of my 110 though its such a pretty case!!

cheers

 

[Le Samourai]

Much difference between the Enermax 600W Noisetaker and the Liberty Samuorai? Also, the mobo I'm getting is the DFI LanParty SLI-DR so is there any size/fitting problems known to this setup?

You've been a help mate, cheers.

I have the sli-dr as well... no problems to report and all the power connectors on the board (there are 4: atx24pin, 4-pin 12v, molex and floppy-type points) are within easy cable reach.

The liberty is modular meaning you don't have to have all the cables in at the same time. If you have a big system with a few optical drives then you're more than likely to use them all though. But it does at least give you the option of trying to cut down on cable clutter e.g. by using a fan controller to control all the fans (which would only use up one psu molex cable).

 

[Flanno]

I just got my Enermax liberty 620w from OcUK today. And I can't use it as the cable management is toss in a P180. That is - it is a disaster if you have 4 hard drives in the bottom cage of the p180 as I do. This is because each cable has 2 sata and 2 molex connectors but the enermax manual says for hard drives or optical you only ever use 2 connectors so as not to cause undue pressure on the volts. This means for 4 hard drives I need to use 2 cables, so you end up with a major mess with 4 spare connectors in the bottom bay interfering with the 38mm bottom fan. Same thing for your Opticals though not as bad - you end up with spare sata connectors hanging around but they can be tucked away. To top it all off because the Antec has so many fans (I use all the stock plus an additional tricool on the top hdd bay), you end up using nearly all of these modular cables. In the end the Enermax Noisetaker I think is a much better proposition from a cable management point of view. At least for me. Don't know what possessed me to buy a Liberty. Temporary insanity I guess.

Unfortunately I found out the hard way and didnt even bother installing the PSU. Just took a look at the cables and the manual. And since the distant selling act OcUK observe only applied to the UK (read the t&c's) and I am in Ireland I really dont have the right to return it. So I guess will sell it to the first person on this board that makes me a decent offer Anyone ?

 

[ironhorse]

I had the same problem with the front door, what u have to do is remove the aluminium insert from the plastic, you'll notice that the thing is pressed and formed so as to get the lugs and the logo into the aluminium sheet. at the edges it's got a small radius formed into and it's this radius that causes the problem, because it sits in a groove on the plastic part of the door. this doesn't give the aluminium room for shrinkage/expansion.

what i did was to put double sided tape (aka blue peter special lol) on the plastic part of the door then locate the top tabs of the ally sheet in place and work your way down the door bending back the tabs as u go and pressing firmly onto the tape. when you get to the bottom of the door you'll notice that it wont fit in the bottom groove but the tabs should go some way. this leaves you without the bend in the middle and only a slight lip at the bottom of the door. I'll get some pictures and post them.

it looks far better than it did before and the door closes no probs.

 

[sniper007]

I had the same problem with the front door, what u have to do is remove the aluminium insert from the plastic, you'll notice that the thing is pressed and formed so as to get the lugs and the logo into the aluminium sheet. at the edges it's got a small radius formed into and it's this radius that causes the problem, because it sits in a groove on the plastic part of the door. this doesn't give the aluminium room for shrinkage/expansion.

what i did was to put double sided tape (aka blue peter special lol) on the plastic part of the door then locate the top tabs of the ally sheet in place and work your way down the door bending back the tabs as u go and pressing firmly onto the tape. when you get to the bottom of the door you'll notice that it wont fit in the bottom groove but the tabs should go some way. this leaves you without the bend in the middle and only a slight lip at the bottom of the door. I'll get some pictures and post them.

it looks far better than it did before and the door closes no probs.

I noticed this as well when I had a look. I think your right. Should be able to sort something out with that method.

 

[Le Samourai]

I just got my Enermax liberty 620w from OcUK today...

Thanks for the heads-up!

rel: The Tagan actually might be ok then! It has 2 molex on individual cables as well as 2 sata on their own.

The pci-e cable is the only let down.