Quiet Please: Antec Takes Wraps Off Two New Cases

The Fremont, Calif.-based vendor recently rolled out two new cases aimed at cutting the noise level of PCs for home, business and gaming users.

Silence can be an important consideration when building PCs, said Jon Martin, owner of Computer Solutions, a small solution provider in Thornton, Colo. "PCs don't have to be completely silent, but they also have to be designed so customers can't hear them," Martin said.

Computer Solutions only builds systems using Antec cases, and the previous models were already very quiet, he added.

The first of Antec's two new cases, the Sonata II, has a similar chassis as the Sonata I but was redesigned to improve the airflow to the CPU to accommodate new Intel Pentium processors, said Scott Richards, worldwide vice president of sales and marketing at Antec.

To reduce noise, the vendor added larger openings on the front bezel and closed the side panels to change the flow of air, he said. The case includes a single rear-mounted 120mm fan with an adjustable three-speed switch, and has mounts for additional 120mm, 92mm and 80mm fans.

The power supply is now a low-noise 450W model capable of handling the newer high-powered processors and graphics chips, Richards said. The Sonata I used a 380W power supply.

Also new is the P180 high-performance case for the gaming and high-end computing markets. "It's the first case where you can put in a high-performance system and it's quiet," he said.

Unlike the P160, with its all-aluminum case, the P180 has a three-layer aluminum/plastic construction to deaden noise, Richards said. "All-aluminum cases act as an amplifier. They can make the sound of the hard drives louder."

The P180 has 11 drive bays and space for seven expansion slots. It also comes with three 120mm speed-adjustable fans, a mount on the front of the chassis for an additional 120mm fan and an adjustable VGA air duct with another 120mm fan mount.

The Sonata II and the P180 are currently shipping to Antec's channels, Richards said. The Sonata II has a street price of about $129, while the P180 has a street price of about $159.

Antec works with D&H Distributing, Ingram Micro, Tech Data, ASI and Synnex, Richards said.