P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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jmsummers2012
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P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by jmsummers2012 » Thu Dec 30, 2010 9:40 am

I ordered a P-183 and received this message.

"The P-183 has been discontinued and we no longer have any stock. The replacement is the P-183 V3 which will be in stock the week of Jan. 3rd. Regards, http://www.axiontech.com"

Any idea what's going on here?
Did antec fix the top vent?
Did they make it worse?
Is axiontech full of it?
My god, could the ultimate silent enclosure be days away? :lol:

speedkar9
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by speedkar9 » Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:00 pm

Interesting,
http://www.jr.com/antec/pe/ANT_P183V3/

If the Antec 900 V3 added USB 3.0, SSD, and CPU cut out, maybe we can expect such minor improvements in a revised P183...?

whispercat
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by whispercat » Sat Jan 01, 2011 5:41 pm

This is good news. I hope Antec borrows some improvements from the Fractal Design group (a la R3).

BCF
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by BCF » Sun Jan 02, 2011 3:40 pm

It would be nice if Antec also refreshes their SOLO case, with similar changes... since Antec will be at CES 2011 (Jan 5-9, 2011), be sure to check out any announcements for their new & refreshed cases.

sub
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by sub » Mon Jan 03, 2011 5:29 am

i'am afraid they only made small changes, on another topic i've posted picture of the new sonata case, they only add a 600psu...

Ozkar
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by Ozkar » Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:02 am

Anyone can confirm that the new version will be available this week?

whispercat
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by whispercat » Mon Jan 03, 2011 11:06 am

sub wrote:i'am afraid they only made small changes
...such as?

Ozkar
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by Ozkar » Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:16 pm

whispercat wrote:
sub wrote:i'am afraid they only made small changes
...such as?
Version 3 now has USB 3.0 and CPU cutout:

http://www.antec.com/pdf/flyers/P183_V3_EN_flyer.pdf

m0002a
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by m0002a » Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:44 pm

What is a "CPU Cutout"? Is that only on the backplate of the MB mounting? I don't see any holes in the side of the case near the CPU.

I still cannot figure out why they discontinued the the Mini P180 since it seemed to sell pretty well (more customer reviews for the Mini P180 than the P183 on NewEgg). There is no real reason for the vast majority of people to use a full ATX motherboard anymore (versus just using a Micro ATX MB). The P183 (with top fan and vent) is too close to the underside of my desk to be effective at removing hot air IMO.

quest_for_silence
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:51 pm

m0002a wrote:I still cannot figure out why they discontinued the the Mini P180

AFAIK the Mini P180 is not phased out.

m0002a
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by m0002a » Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:26 pm

quest_for_silence wrote:AFAIK the Mini P180 is not phased out.
None of the major retailers in the US have it in stock (for quite a while now) and even the Antec Online Store has said "Currently out of stock" for several months. There are some White models floating around, but not many of those either.

The only retailers I have seen that claim to carry it are ones so small I have never heard of them (and would not trust doing business with), or I suspect their inventory counts are not current on their website.

fumino
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by fumino » Wed Jan 12, 2011 4:39 pm

v3 doesnt seem like anything to get excited over.

btw: mini-p180 still in stock in black at performance pcs, which by all accounts is a very reputable etailer.

whispercat
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by whispercat » Wed Jan 12, 2011 7:10 pm

And still in stock at Newegg.ca (Canada) at least the white ones

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6811129044

m0002a
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by m0002a » Wed Jan 12, 2011 9:30 pm

whispercat wrote:And still in stock at Newegg.ca (Canada) at least the white ones

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6811129044
As I mentioned above, there is still some Mini P180 white stock around, but I am not interested in that color. I am fairly sure that both the black and white Mini P180 are discontinued by Antec, although some stock may be in the channel, apparently more so outside the US. But there is always hope that Antec will introduce a new MATX case with the same type sandwich panel construction and bottom PSU.

quest_for_silence
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Jan 13, 2011 2:56 am

m0002a wrote:
quest_for_silence wrote:AFAIK the Mini P180 is not phased out.
None of the major retailers in the US have it in stock (for quite a while now) and even the Antec Online Store has said "Currently out of stock" for several months. There are some White models floating around, but not many of those either.

The only retailers I have seen that claim to carry it are ones so small I have never heard of them (and would not trust doing business with), or I suspect their inventory counts are not current on their website.

Hmm, if i were you I would check again: Amazon, Buy.com, CostCentral.com, another about fifty sellers... However, officially it is not ever phased out.

m0002a
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by m0002a » Thu Jan 13, 2011 5:51 am

quest_for_silence wrote:Hmm, if i were you I would check again: Amazon, Buy.com, CostCentral.com, another about fifty sellers... However, officially it is not ever phased out.
I don't know what you mean by "officially it is not ever phased out". Apparently Antec is not manufacturing it anymore even if there is stock in the channel.

Looking the links you provided for this particular item, Amazon is really ReStockIt, Buy.com is really Beach Audio, etc. If one looks deeper, the reputation of these companies is suspect. They often sell B stock and returned items as new. I don't consider them to be reputable.

quest_for_silence
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Jan 13, 2011 6:09 am

m0002a wrote:I don't know what you mean by "officially it is not ever phased out".

Well, I can't do anything more if you are not able to understand that some old plain english I can write down: ask to Antec if they ever discontinued the Mini P180.

Eventually, if you won't buy a Mini P180, there's no problem at all for anyone out there: there will be at eCost, ProVantage, Directron, Performance PCS, CostCentral (and a bunch of other retailers with thousands of feedbacks) plentiful availability for every other else may be interested in a Mini P180 Black.

m0002a
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by m0002a » Thu Jan 13, 2011 6:33 am

quest_for_silence wrote:Well, I can't do anything more if you are not able to understand that some old plain english I can write down: ask to Antec if they ever discontinued the Mini P180.

Eventually, if you won't buy a Mini P180, there's no problem at all for anyone out there: there will be at eCost, ProVantage, Directron, Performance PCS, CostCentral (and a bunch of other retailers with thousands of feedbacks) plentiful availability for every other else may be interested in a Mini P180 Black.
I understand English, but not sure about your use of the word "ever". Do you mean:
  • 1. No product is ever officially phased out, or
    2. The P180 will not ever officially be phased out, or
    3. Antec has not yet phased out the P180?
If it is not discontinued (not manufactured anymore) I wonder why none of the major retailers stock it anymore (even Antec Store). I am hopefull that the issue is that they are in the process of making the same upgrades as on the new P183 V3 and a slightly revised Mini P180 will be back soon, but not holding my breath.

quest_for_silence
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Jan 13, 2011 7:18 am

m0002a wrote:3. Antec has not yet phased out the P180?

I think it's what I mean: since now they have not officially discontinued their Mini P180.
m0002a wrote:I wonder why none of the major retailers stock it anymore (even Antec Store).

IIRC the Antec Store have no Performance One case in stock, right now (and I don't know why).

I can't speak about USA availability history, but in Italy in the first half of 2010 the Antec Mini P180 was also virtually not in stock among most resellers, while up to now it is once again available.

However, as far as I was told by AntecRep, there will be no refresh soon for the Mini P180.

m0002a
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by m0002a » Thu Jan 13, 2011 11:40 am

In the US, NewEgg is the sine qua non of computer retailing, and if they don't can't get stock anymore then there is something fishy going on. On NewEgg (and on Amazon) there are more customer reviews of the Mini P180 than the P183, so I don't want to hear any claims that the Mini P180 was dropped from NewEgg due to low sales.

fumino
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by fumino » Thu Jan 13, 2011 6:09 pm

m0002a wrote:I don't want to hear any claims that the Mini P180 was dropped from NewEgg due to low sales.
nobody has made that claim.

antec's official position is that the case is not discontinued. this could still mean that they aren't taking any new orders for the case and that it's closing in on the end of its run...

if you want to continue believing that newegg is the only place to buy computer equipment online, then by all means do so; just point out your condition in your sig or somewhere else so the rest of us don't waste our time pointing you to the many acceptable alternatives.

m0002a
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by m0002a » Fri Jan 14, 2011 11:52 am

fumino wrote:
m0002a wrote:I don't want to hear any claims that the Mini P180 was dropped from NewEgg due to low sales.
nobody has made that claim.

antec's official position is that the case is not discontinued. this could still mean that they aren't taking any new orders for the case and that it's closing in on the end of its run...

if you want to continue believing that newegg is the only place to buy computer equipment online, then by all means do so; just point out your condition in your sig or somewhere else so the rest of us don't waste our time pointing you to the many acceptable alternatives.
I have purchased lots of stuff from others besides NewEgg. My comment about NewEgg was meant to suggest that if Antec is not supplying NewEgg, then Antec doesn't have any new stock to supply anyone, and it may be discontinued. NewEgg is the 800 lb. gorilla of computer component retailing, and manufacturers don't like to upset them. But the same "out of stock" situation applies to other large on-line retailers (and those with brick and mortar stores like Fry's). This is not a particularly recent situation for the Mini P180, as it has been this way for about 6 months.

There are plenty of other members in some older SPCR threads who have claimed that the Mini P180 is being discontinued for the reason that it does not sell as well as the P183 (this was speculation on their part as to why it was "apparently" discontinued). An Antec rep was quoted as saying there is no replacement for the Mini P180 planned, which sort of implies (but does not state definitively) that it is being discontinued.

quest_for_silence
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri Jan 14, 2011 1:42 pm

m0002a wrote:My comment about NewEgg was meant to suggest that if Antec is not supplying NewEgg, then Antec doesn't have any new stock to supply anyone, and it may be discontinued.

So, as Microcenter doesn't have any Performance case in stock, we can argue that maybe Antec might have discontinued the whole series? I don't actually need an answer.
m0002a wrote:Antec rep was quoted as saying there is no replacement for the Mini P180 planned

"No refresh" (which I mean it's different from "no replacement): he said no refresh is forecast soon for some historical models (he meant the Solo, the NSK3480, and the Mini P180). Just to be precise.

m0002a
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by m0002a » Fri Jan 14, 2011 1:58 pm

quest_for_silence wrote:So, as Microcenter doesn't have any Performance case in stock, we can argue that maybe Antec might have discontinued the whole series? I don't actually need an answer.
You do need an answer. The reason the P183 is out of stock is because of the V3 refresh (just now becoming available). They also sell a lot of stuff during the Christmas season that depletes stock. They have not stocked the Mini P180 for a much longer period (unless it was some White models).
"No refresh" (which I mean it's different from "no replacement): he said no refresh is forecast soon for some historical models (he meant the Solo, the NSK3480, and the Mini P180). Just to be precise.
I was referring to a older post where it was implied it was discontinued. Of course, they sometimes say stuff like that to make sure that current inventory is sold, and not left of the shelves while people wait for the new refreshed or replacement models. But I am not holding my breath.

Avro
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by Avro » Wed Jan 19, 2011 10:48 am

This new v3 looks suspiciously like the unofficial "v2" P183 that I just bought 3 weeks ago. I have the same CPU heatsink cutout on the motherboard tray and the extra SSD/2.5" holes in the 2 drive sleds for the middle HD cage. The only difference between my v2 and this v3 is the replacement of the front eSATA port with a USB 3.0 port. And the official specs list on the product flyer list the v3 as 26mm taller than the v1/2. The outside of the box had a big round yellow sticker that said " 2.5" SSD compatible".

On a side note, I find the P183 noisier than the SOLO it replaced, even when I turned off all the exhaust & intake fans and just kept the CPU fans (and video card fan since I can't turn that off) running.

whispercat
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by whispercat » Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:14 pm

Antec mini P180 in black steel back in stock at Newegg.ca:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductLis ... +mini+p180

Not sure why it's so much more expensive than the white (but costs less to ship...lol)

danimal
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by danimal » Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:01 am

Avro wrote:On a side note, I find the P183 noisier than the SOLO it replaced, even when I turned off all the exhaust & intake fans and just kept the CPU fans (and video card fan since I can't turn that off) running.
that is logical, given that the p183 is a high-performance case with much greater airflow capacity, and larger internal volume.

i think you are right about the case differences, i wonder if this new version is just sales hype from antec?

Live
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by Live » Sat Jan 22, 2011 6:48 am

danimal wrote:
Avro wrote:On a side note, I find the P183 noisier than the SOLO it replaced, even when I turned off all the exhaust & intake fans and just kept the CPU fans (and video card fan since I can't turn that off) running.
that is logical, given that the p183 is a high-performance case with much greater airflow capacity, and larger internal volume
I don't get the logic behind this. Why would greater airflow capacity make more noise if its not used? You would think better airflow would lead to less cooling needed and thus less noise. Have you tried undervolting the fans in your P183? Why would a larger internal volume make more noise?

I'm not saying it's not true that the P183 is noisier than the solo, but just that I don't get the explanation.

m0002a
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by m0002a » Sun Jan 23, 2011 9:32 am

Live wrote:I'm not saying it's not true that the P183 is noisier than the solo, but just that I don't get the explanation.
I will say it. The P183 is not noisier than the Solo. It depends on the components and how it is configured.

I own both a Solo and a Mini P180 (which is almost identical to the P183 except it is shorter and has a larger fan on top vent).

Avro
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Re: P-183 discontinued... replacement P-183 V3?

Post by Avro » Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:46 pm

Well, in my case the P183 is noisier than the SOLO it replaced with the same components inside. I did change the front intake fans from 2x 92mm to 1x 120mm and used a different rear exhaust fan & top exhaust fan. But I also unplugged all 3 of those fans on the P183 to test the noise. The only fans running are 2x Yate Loon D12SL-12 1350rpm fans on the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ CPU heatsink and the stock fan on the XFX 4870. I turned down the YLs to 5v (same setup I used in the SOLO) with a Zalman MFC-1 and it's definitely noisier than when all the same hardware was used in the SOLO. I blocked off the top vent with a large soft cover book to block any noise from there and it is still noisier. I notice that the P183 has more holes in front (the SOLO has no holes in front), more holes in the front side intakes by virtue of being taller than the SOLO, and there are holes in the rear (the PCI slot covers in the P183 have holes in them vs the solid slot covers in the SOLO, but the SOLO has a rectangular hole area above the PCI slot covers). When I turned down all the same fans to 5v in the SOLO with the same fan controller, it was pretty much inaudible. Now when I turned them down to the same voltage it is clearly audible so I can't sleep with the computer running anymore. I will have to do some more experimenting to find out where the noise is leaking out from.

One more possibility is the fan on the video card running faster than before. I never monitored the fan speed of the video card before but it was inaudible in the SOLO when the system was in idle mode. I just checked the back and the exhaust air from the video card seems to be warmer than before. When it was in the SOLO, the video card was right up against the hard drive cage so it was getting some cooler air from the 2x92mm intake fans at 5v. Now that it's in the P183, it is no longer getting any cool intake air because it is partitioned off from the HD cage area which has the only front intake fan. I did not mount a 2nd intake fan in the upper 2xHD cage area. I may try mounting another 120mm fan at 5v in the upper cage area close to the video card to see if it will quiet down the video card fan which I can't control manually via the MFC-1.

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