Thoughts on Antec P160.

Opinions on Antec P160:

Well, I've just got this case, and on the whole I'm quite impressed, but there are a couple of features that detract slightly, IMO...
Just thought I'd post them here for anyone else considering a new case who'd like the opinions of an experienced 'Average' user.

(I know this looks like more Cons than Pros, but I've just explained the negatives - as I see them - more thoroughly )

<font color=red><b>Pros:</b></font color=red>
Lots of room
<b>-</b> Drive bays at 90 degrees - nice and easy to fiddle with
<b>-</b> Provision for nice BIG intake/exhaust fans (120mm), with the intake blowing nicely over your HDDS.
<b>-</b> 2 temperature sensors, with a nice big LED display on the front.
<b>-</b> Generally Good build quality, no nasty hidden sharp edges or anything.
<b>-</b> The way all the components mount is generally well thought-out and obvious. The parts all fit together quite snugly.
<b>-</b> Oooh! Glowing blue lights!


<font color=red><b>Cons:</b></font color=red>
<b>-</b> The 'Screwless' boast. Yes, it has thumbscrews everywhere, but some (particularly the ones for holding cards in) are very fiddly to grip properly. It's hard to get those ones tight enough (by my standards anyway) without a screwdriver. OK, it's a LOT better than everything being screwed in, but Just replacing every screw with a thumbscrew-type one isn't quite enough to make that boast IMO.

<b>-</b> The Power/Reset buttons. These are fairly large and easy to press accidentally. I accidentally pressed the power switch when I was moving the pc back to its 'normal' position after I was done with building, so it turned itself off. The Reset switch is also right next to the Front USB ports, and since I'd be fumbling under a desk to plug anything into it there's a fair chance I'd accidentally hit the reset. It should be recessed or otherwise protected in some way. (I'm considering modding it and sticking a little flip-up cover on it as it is, Top-Gun style )

<b>-</b> The Colour-coded 3.5" Floppy front panel. While I appreciate this helps to make the case look nice when you're using a floppy, A lot of people now (including me) really don't need one 99% of the time, so the inclusion of another blank 3.5" cover would be nice. As it is, I've had to stick a floppy in. At least there's plenty of room so it's not consuming a valuable HDD slot though . I doubt I'll use it before I next re-install windows though... Not a great deal to ask for, considering the price of the package.

<b>-</b> The pre-drilled holes for the motherboard standoffs. I don't know whether it was just mine, or maybe the Aluminium had been slightly twisted out of shape or something (it didn't appear so), but one of the holes didn't <i>quite</i> line up properly with the holes in the mobo. I did manage to get the screw in, but it was a bit of an effort. For the money you'd expect a bit more attention to this most vital of 'features'. If all the cheap (£30 with PSU) cases I've bought/worked with had holes in the right places, why can't Antec do the same? It wasn't all that bad really, but suprising nonetheless.

<b>-</b> Not sure if this really counts as a 'Con', but at the moment I've not hooked the temp. sensors up to anything, so they're just bundled up into the top of the case with the other extraneous wiring, so they can't be more than an inch or so apart... But on the external display, one reads 25C and the other reads 28C. Of course this makes me doubt the accuracy of them. I'll have to check on their exact situation (still need to tidy up cables and suchlike anyway), but I still find this puzzling.


Well, that's an end-users account of it. For someone who's used to working in fairly cheap low-end cases, it's still a joy to do anything with and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to people, based on my experience thus far.

Whether I'd feel the same if I was used to higher-end cases I don't know, but my overall impression is still good. I have worked in countless cases and of them all so far, this is my favourite by a long stretch. Put simply, I don't at all regret spending the money (yet!).

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<font color=red>"Life is <i>not</i> like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapeńos - what you do today might burn your a<b></b>ss tommorrow."

You shoulda paid less and got the SuporFLower for $76 and you would have had no complaints.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

...And didn't seem available in the UK... Though I didn't exactly do an exhaustive search, to be fair.

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<font color=red>"Life is <i>not</i> like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapeńos - what you do today might burn your a<b></b>ss tommorrow."

So a 3700+ for $289.00 > 4000+ for $375.00?

Thanks.