New cases inspired by the P180 - speculation and wishes

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 4:53 pm

I was very surprised by the P150; of derivatives of the P180, a sonata sized one was the last thing I would have expected.

I thought the most logical follow up would be a case with a near identical design, except micro ATX sized, possibly with the lower chamber shrunk(which would make bottom fan PSU's unusable, unless they were upside down, or if there was a hole in the bottom, but those things would have their own problems). That would make the top 120mm fan slot far more usefull, and it would be of a unique size for antec cases.

The possibility of P180 type cases departing from the P180's layout somehow never occured to me before the P150. Now, I wish there was a P180 derivative with a upside down motherboard design, so that it would make it easy to give some space for a 120mm fan PSU and duct out CPU heat.

I was expecting that there would be some knock offs of the P180 by other companies before there'd be follow up models.

CraiginNJ · Post by **CraiginNJ** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 11:12 am

Maybe something like these?:

Lian Li V1100
http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chassis/ ... -V1100.htm

Lian Li V1100 Plus
http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chassis/ ... 00plus.htm
(seems to add ducting to PSU and a blower fan over the cards)

PC-V2100/PC-V2100B
http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chassis/ ... -V2100.htm

PC-V2100 plus/PC-V2100B plus
http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chassis/ ... 00plus.htm

FWIW, I read user comments on newegg the PSU space in these can be a tight fit (too small for some). And ventillation for floppy/DVD-RW drives in the top front seems questionable.

PositiveSpin · Post by **PositiveSpin** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 9:13 pm

I'd hardly call the Lian Li designs derivative of the P180 - they were shipping years before the P180.

I have three of the V1000 (same family, released same time) that I bought years ago - I've even taken one of them out of service.

The idea of a MATX P180 is interesting, though.

Ackelind · Post by **Ackelind** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 1:15 am

From what I've heard the P150 was actually designed before the P180 but put on ice, and then after the release of the P180, the final touches learned from the P180 were added and it was released.

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 1:22 pm

Here's a really radical idea: a modular P180, ie. one where the main and PSU chambers are detachable. This way, the PSU chamber could be above the main one, or to the side. Additionally, it could be rotated 90 degrees, making a bottom sleeve bearing fan wear out less and/or make less bearing noise. This could also make it a lot easier to transport.

Although the modularity idea probably will never take off, I think making the PSU vertical would be a good idea. Perhaps it could be made possible to mount it either horizontally or vertically.

The suspension option in the P150 seems to be quite popular, I wonder if Antec is planning a P180 successor with suspension. I think that would be a great idea, with the hard drives being split between the two chambers in the P180, it would be possible to suspend a high vibration drive in the top chamber and have a few drives in the lower chamber without worrying about the hard drives all pancaking onto each other.

Edit: And the top fan slot should be 140mm, or even bigger.

SilentKev · Post by **SilentKev** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:35 pm

My ideal case has the following features:
- inverted ATX layout
- PSU on the bottom
- hard drives (not perpendicular to the MB) in front of the PSU
- hard drive suspension would be nice
- USB and other connectors on the top/front case edge
- side window

I like the PSU and hard drives on the bottom for stability. Inverting the MB puts the PS connections at the bottom closer to the PSU. HD connectors are farther with the MB inverted, but SATA cables are smaller and easier to hide. It also puts the heavy processor HSF at the bottom. Finally, I just saw a mod in Hardforums where the 5 1/4 bays were rotated 90 degrees so that the drive bays were facing sideways to show of the case interior more.

It seems I may have to chop up one or more cases and combine various sections to obtain all of these features. Or I could just make my own, I guess.

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:09 pm

Naturally, this discussion interests me... for obvious reasons.

One reminder about precisely why the motherboard was not inverted in the P180: The CPU ends up near top and the back of the case, which allows airflow through two openings at 90 degree angle to each other. IE, it allows for very high airflow -- including fresh air intake if desired -- and keeps the CPU far away from the PSU so the two hot things don't add up for even more heat. By keeping the CPU and PSU separate, you make the heat more manageable.

Dual vidcard systems didn't exist when the P180 was being designed... and they didn't reach >70W. I expect gamers are probably going to play with adding a side intake hole for dual vidcards.

BTW, there is another project I am involved in w/ Antec: A HTPC case. enuf said.

autoboy · Post by **autoboy** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 12:19 am

BTW, there is another project I am involved in w/ Antec: A HTPC case. enuf said.

Whoa, cool. How long does it take a case to come on to the market? Maybe i'll wait instead of modifiying a silverstone lc11 to fit my needs. I kinda liked the upside down motherboard and thought a ducted cpu fan to the bottom intake would be all the case needed to cool an undervolted sempron. The positive pressure would force the hot air out. Of course the powersupply would have to go replaced with a passive mini-itx brick.

I can't wait to see what you come up with next. I'm thinking p180 on its side for matx with the NEO HE in there to cool the HD, eliminating the space hogging mount for 120mm fanned power supplies and 92mm fans for height reasons. maybe 80mm for lowest posible height but a 120 intake/exhast on top. Antec likes to please the hot intel people too. You could fit 3 fans in that space if you wanted to put one on the top above the cpu, one 80mm on the backplane, and one 92mm on the side. silent people could cover the holes they don't use. p150 suspension.

How about you send me one for beta testing if i'm right

klankymen · Post by **klankymen** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 6:59 am

MikeC wrote:BTW, there is another project I am involved in w/ Antec: A HTPC case. enuf said.

ok, I'm getting it!

since i have a combo HTPC fileserver type thing i just need something that'll hold a couple hard drives and is small and i'll be happy

CoolGav · Post by **CoolGav** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 7:48 am

MikeC wrote:BTW, there is another project I am involved in w/ Antec: A HTPC case. enuf said.

I've just redone my HTPC, which is in a Lian Li MATX case (forget the name). A goo HTPC case from Antec would no doubt be popular, as it would no doubt come in cheaper than the lovely cases you can get, and offer good features. I'm sure that a lot can be learbned from the P180 for it, and I guess it wont be tiny, to allow good cooling.

And since I can't decide on P180 or P150 (if any - too many things to spend money on), then maybe I could be swayed by another Antec to join my 3000B.

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:09 am

This HTPC won't by any chance be really big and comparable to a P180 or P150, will it? I'm sure you can't give away too much, but I figure because that possibility is kind of absurd, it might be an exception.

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:44 am

mathias wrote:This HTPC won't by any chance be really big and comparable to a P180 or P150, will it? I'm sure you can't give away too much, but I figure because that possibility is kind of absurd, it might be an exception.

No it won't be big; it will blend in well with other stereo/video components.

Sizzle · Post by **Sizzle** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 10:53 am

It's been said before, but a closeable top panel for the top 120 fan hole would be nice.

Richard Berg · Post by **Richard Berg** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 6:16 pm

No it won't be big; it will blend in well with other stereo/video components.

Can you tell us whether it will fit a standard ATX mobo? What about common SPCR heatsinks like the Ninja or XP120?

EndoSteel · Post by **EndoSteel** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 4:55 am

I wonder if any manufacturer will ever make those stamped fan grills detachable (like PCI slot covers in cheap cases)... That would be really helpfull.

Bar81 · Post by **Bar81** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:05 am

I'm not quite sure why anyone building a "quiet" system would go SLI. It doesn't make any sense from a heat/power perspective. The P180 is perfect for what it is, a case that is innovative and allows for optimal airflow around the PSU and the CPU/RAM. I have an X1800 XL oced to XT speeds and the cooling is more than adequate. What I also recommend is to leave one PCI slot cover open just below the PCI-E slot to allow some fresh air to come into the case and flow right into the GPU fan. The hot air from the GPU fan then should go around and up into the rear 120mm.