Alternatives to P182/P183

t1000 · Post by **t1000** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:58 pm

Hi there all.

I've been right out of the silent pc loop for quite some time so please bear with me.

I have a gaming system built in a P180 case currently.

I replaced all the Antec fans with Nexus fans, have a Zalman 1000W PSU (which is nearly silent), a Scythe Ninja HSF (again with a Nexus fitted). The only component in my rig that makes any noise at all is my Nvidia GTX280 GPU (I need it because I have a 30" LCD to drive) and it only gets noisy when the GPU ramps up under load. I should also mention that I have 2 optical drives and 4 HDDs in various raid configs so there is a fair bit of stuff in the system currently.

The thing is, my P180 is falling apart, the front door broke off a while ago and the thing has general wear and tear so I'm looking to replace it.

I've taken a look at the P183 case which seems to be a minor improvement over the P180 in terms of airflow and cable management, however, I have to confess that I'm genuinly bored with the look of the Antec P18X series of cases and would like to make sure that I consider other options.

Are there any tangible alternatives out there that match the P182/183 etc for a good case for a quiet system ? The Antec 300/600/1200 series looks quite interesting, as do some of the offerings in the silent cases offered by Lian Li.

Cheers

1000

Broadleaf · Post by **Broadleaf** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:38 pm

Check out the Silverstone Raven:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article942-page1.html

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 1:47 am

Silverstone fortress would be good alternative, albeit more expensive than Antec offerings.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/silverstone_fortress_ft01

Coolermaster CM 690 might be good alternative aswell, but requires bit work to silence. Just like Antec hundred series' cases.

danimal · Post by **danimal** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:31 am

the advantage with the p183 is that it gives you a door in front of the fans, which is pretty difficult to find with other cases... mikec is on record out here as saying that the door lessens the fan noise, and the big advantage with the p183 over the p182 is the extra venting, because it might be enough to allow you to shut the door during heavy gaming use.

the silverstone ft01 is very interesting, because of the positive pressure aspects, but there could be an issue with how the fan intake hole on the bottom of the case lines up with the power supply fan, so do a search for user feedback on that issue.

zimer · Post by **zimer** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:50 am

At $200 isn't the raven pushing close to cheap uber cases? Cases like the Coolermaster Cosmos?

Is the Cosmos worth silencing?

I'd also like to know about possible alternatives to the P183 with a added interest in cases that accommodate water cooling well.

zimer · Post by **zimer** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:00 pm

Is the Antec P193 any good?

t1000 · Post by **t1000** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 3:45 pm

What about the Antec Ninehundred Two ? A couple of giant fans - but they are tri-cools so on LOW they should be very quiet ???

1000

EsaT · Post by **EsaT** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 12:28 am

At stock no other case can really match P18x/193's vibration resisting multilayer panels (important with many HDDs unless those are suspended) so you would have to be ready to install some bitumen/vinyl mat mass damping for getting to similar level in other cases.

Antec's "hundred"-serie is acoustically one big nothing... like non-existing wall between you and neighbours. Because of whole front being one big direct noise escape path that kind case can't muffle any noises leaving silent components as only silencing option.

Lian Li has some very spacious cases with good features but all what they list under "silent solutions" aren't such.
Like B70/71 with direct noise escape path and fans behind it plus plasticky HDD mounting which is also present in A7x10... Also that thin light foam used in some of them is plain bogus feature and acoustically impotent so just in the way of installing working stuff.
"Old" A71 is pretty much their most balanced case for big number of components with lot of possible tweaks from extra PCI cooler to top panel with holes for triple radiator.

zimer wrote:Cases like the Coolermaster Cosmos?
Is the Cosmos worth silencing?

Rather good design considering "mainstream" fashion...
But can't keep many HDDs cool and using lowermost 5.25" bay would have effect of blocking HDD cooling.