Today at Computex 2011 we were treated to a sneaky first look at Antec’s forthcoming P280 case which is billed as the spiritual successor to the near legendary P180.
The case clearly carries over some visual design elements from its predecessor, such as the large, metal door that can be opened a full 270 degrees to lie flat against the left-hand side of the case. The internal design of the chassis has been significantly changed however, with Antec opting for a single- rather than dual-chamber design.
This, Antec explained, was simply to make the cable routeing easier, as it’s no longer necessary to completely isolate the PSU in the way that the P180 did. This is because most PSUs use bottom-mounted fans these days so they can be easily isolated by placing them in the lower corner of a case with their own dedicated intake.
The drive bay focus of the case has also changed, with more 3.5in bays and fewer 5.25in bays now available. The cooling available has seen a revamp too with three of Antec’s new silicone-mounted fans acting as exhausts in the top and rear of the case. These are all powered by connections to a small PCB which requires a single Molex connection. In theory, this should lead to less cable clutter in the case.
The side panels of the case are lined with compressed polymer sheets which Antec claims offer the same amount of noise reduction as the triple-layer side panels found on the P100-series of cases.
The case we saw was only an engineering sample, but Antec said that it was ‘pushing hard' to have the case ready for release in time for Christmas. It also hinted that the MSRP was likely to be around the €100 mark which should mean the P280 hits UK shores at £70 to £80.
How did you get on with the original P180? Are you on the look out for a new, sleek-looking case? Let us know your thoughts in the forum.
The case clearly carries over some visual design elements from its predecessor, such as the large, metal door that can be opened a full 270 degrees to lie flat against the left-hand side of the case. The internal design of the chassis has been significantly changed however, with Antec opting for a single- rather than dual-chamber design.
This, Antec explained, was simply to make the cable routeing easier, as it’s no longer necessary to completely isolate the PSU in the way that the P180 did. This is because most PSUs use bottom-mounted fans these days so they can be easily isolated by placing them in the lower corner of a case with their own dedicated intake.
The drive bay focus of the case has also changed, with more 3.5in bays and fewer 5.25in bays now available. The cooling available has seen a revamp too with three of Antec’s new silicone-mounted fans acting as exhausts in the top and rear of the case. These are all powered by connections to a small PCB which requires a single Molex connection. In theory, this should lead to less cable clutter in the case.
The side panels of the case are lined with compressed polymer sheets which Antec claims offer the same amount of noise reduction as the triple-layer side panels found on the P100-series of cases.
The case we saw was only an engineering sample, but Antec said that it was ‘pushing hard' to have the case ready for release in time for Christmas. It also hinted that the MSRP was likely to be around the €100 mark which should mean the P280 hits UK shores at £70 to £80.
How did you get on with the original P180? Are you on the look out for a new, sleek-looking case? Let us know your thoughts in the forum.
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