| Antec P183 Mid-Tower Computer Case |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |
| Written by Mathew Williams | |
| Wednesday, 08 April 2009 | |
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Antec P183 Computer CaseLaunched in 2005, the original Antec P180 case was immediately welcomed into the industry as one of the best cases of the year. A few years and a few revisions later, we find ourselves in the presence of its latest successor: the Antec Performance One P183 mid-tower case. While the basic design remains the same, Antec took their end-user feedback to heart and implemented several highly requested changes. Today at Benchmark Reviews, we look at those changes and find out how the Antec P183 stacks up against another recently launched enthusiast case: the CM Storm. Antec has been building high-end cases for quite some time and it shows, particularly in their attention to detail and user feedback. The first and most obvious change to the P183 is to the exterior styling. The gun-metal color is unchanged from the previous model, however, Antec pulled the front panel vent design from the Antec Mini P180 and tweaked it a bit to accomodate the taller frame. They also got rid of the detachable top fan cover, replacing it with a more integrated approach. 
The interior of the Antec P183 has received some much needed attention as well. The fan mount that once divided the lower chamber has been moved to the front of the case, providing much more room to work and route cables--a welcome change for those of us with larger power supplies. Equally important, the air intake filters of the P183 have been revised to let more air into the case. Instead of the two small filters hidden behind stifling plastic doors, the entire front panel is now composed of open mesh filters. This open design proved effective in Antec's gaming cases and should help out here as well. Of course, we'll test this claim with some hard numbers in the benchmark section. About the company: Antec
Antec, Inc. is the global leader in high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself markets. Founded in 1986, Antec is recognized as a pioneer in the industry and has maintained its position as a worldwide market leader and international provider of quiet, efficient and innovative products. Antec has also achieved great success in the distribution channel, meeting the demands of quality-conscious system builders, VARs and integrators. Antec's offering of enclosures includes a wide range of cases, such as its advanced Performance One Series, economical New Solution Series and VERIS family of media components designed for the home theater PC market. Antec's products also include front line power supplies, such as its premium Signature Series, powerful TruePower Quattro Series and EarthWatts, one of the most environmentally friendly power supplies available. PC gamers are an increasingly significant consumer of performance components, and many Antec products are designed for the gaming demographic, like the premier gamer enclosure: the Nine Hundred. Antec also offers a line of computer accessories comprising many original products, including its patented LED fans and notebook cooling solutions. Antec is headquartered in Fremont, California, with additional offices in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, as well as in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China and Taiwan. The company's products are sold in more than 40 countries throughout the world. Please visit www.antec.com for more information.
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Comments
Though, P183 has one little thing which I don't like: magnet, which holds front door in closed state is on the bottom of the door. When I try to open the door, it slightly skewing. Why Antec engineers do not place this magnet on the middle of the door, where door handle is?
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If you can handle the weight and size and need many disk slots, the Antec P18x series is very quiet with convenient pull-out modules for disks that constantly remind me of the massive improvement over older designs. I use a fanless pwr supply.
The problem with the door magnets: there should be 2 magnets, middle and bottom of door. The original adhesive is not strong enough. If you can't find the middle magnet, it might have migrated elsewhere on the case. Superglue the magnets in and it works perfectly.
The 3 layer side panels can need 2 hands and an elbow to slide in, but the excellent sound deadening is worth it.
one would at least expect a Antec Case with an Antec power supply and not with a competitor
just look very carefully at the pictures.