Item: Antec P182
Author: Matt Davey

Final thoughts, HEXUS.awards, HEXUS.where2buy, HEXUS.right2reply, related reading

Over the last year or so, this hack's ears have taken a beating - from a wide range of system cases and a whole lot of different CPU-coolers.

And, as someone who's opted for a quiet-running water-cooling system on my daily-use PC, I am keenly aware of how big an irritant noise can be.

So, when a product like the P182 comes along, it's a considerable relief. And have no doubts, the P182 is a vast improvement over its forerunner, the P180.

However, a lot of the difference I noticed may be down to the easy-access of fan controls at the rear of the P182 and just how little effort is required to get the settings right.

What is certain, though, is that the P182 is one of the quietest air-cooled cases I've used in a while.

In addition, the new cable-management features are a boon, making it very straightforward to build a system with a tidy interior - though the problem routing eight-pin power to the top of the board did rather spoil the look of the inside of the P182 when fully kitted out.

Generally, the fit and finish of the P182 were exceptional but the lack of thumbscrews on the right-hand side panel still irks. In our view, it's a quite unnecessary cost-saving. Antec, though, may have reasons we don't understand. If so, hopefully it will let us know.

However, both of the issues we've raised are minor and don't significantly detract from our belief that the P182 is a crackingly-good chassis.

But is it as good as the similarly-specified Silverstone TJ-09 that we reviewed in mid-November?

Well, no, on paper, it's not. Most noticeably, the Silverstone has a removable motherboard tray, plus a special side vent intended to help keep the graphics card and HDDs cool.

Factor in the prices, though, and you can't help wondering if the extras for the Silverstone are worth all that extra money - the Antec is around half the cost.

That puts a very different complexion on things and leads us to the conclusion that anyone in the market for a quiet, high-performance chassis, but without limitless money to spend, should get out their normal-sized wallets and opt for a new-generation Antec. Your components (and your ears) deserve a P182.

HEXUS.certification

Antec P182

HEXUS.Awards

Antec P182

HEXUS Where2Buy

The P182 is available from the following retailers (prices correct as of June 18, 2007):

SCAN Computers - £82.24 (£99.33 with delivery but that's free to active members of the HEXUS.community)
YOYOtech - £79.19 (£86.18 with delivery)
CCL Online - £81.13 (£87.12 with delivery)

HEXUS Right2Reply

At HEXUS.net, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If Antec chooses to respond, we'll publish the company's commentary here verbatim.

HEXUS related reading

HEXUS Forums :: 12 Comments

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Posted by Aez - Tue 19 Jun 2007 12:12

Mine had thumb screws on both panels.

Posted by frazered - Wed 20 Jun 2007 08:54

sweet case - very tempted to get one

Posted by sitalchauhan - Wed 20 Jun 2007 09:41

Aez
Mine had thumb screws on both panels.

Are you sure about that? My p180 is like in the review, where the left side pannel has thumb screws and right uses normal screws. Not a problem for me though because I never need to remove the right side pannel.

I absolutely love my p180 and the only problem that I had with it is cable management. However, cable management is now fantastic in the p182 :)

Posted by jwr3 - Thu 21 Jun 2007 11:22

Open the case front and look carefully at the grates over the air intake areas. There will be a small arrowhead midway down the right side of each of them. Press in gently and voila. At least, thats how it works on mine.

-j

Posted by lost eden - Thu 21 Jun 2007 14:36

Again, no shot of the case with the test system installed? Am I the only one who finds shots like that useful for gauging the size & layout of the interior?

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