P182 Special Edition - One of the best cases gets better
by Joshua Buss on April 12, 2007 1:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Final Words
Evolution and innovation drive all fronts of technology, and in the computer case business that translates into a constant battle for finding a perfect blend of functional usefulness, aesthetic acceptance, performance in regards to both temperatures and sound levels, and pricing to match competitors' similar offerings. Antec has already found great success with the original P180 and for years to come it will be a desktop case others are measured against. Its creative use of plastic, aluminum, and steel translated into some of the lowest noise levels yet on a desktop PC case without changing it at all from the way it comes out of the box.
At first appearance, there might not be much attracting a potential purchaser of a PC enclosure to the P182 SE over Antec's other offerings aside from the out-of-this-world paint job, but the work/showcase spotlight might be just the kind of accessory which nudges an interested party over the edge to choose it over the normal gunmetal gray P182. Choices are always good though, and in this sense the P182 and P182 SE make great additions to Antec's line.
The "vanilla" P182 is a nice choice; for around $170 online one can get almost all the same features as the case we reviewed, with a still very attractive dark gray finish. For the user who demands the "best", the P182 SE's still-killer noise performance - one of the best in its class - is available with the addition of the flexible work light, all black interior, and super-shiny mirror finish for a pretty substantial increase in price.. we've seen the P182 SE available for around $230 online. The special edition will be a limited offering, however, so if having the ability to see your reflection on the surface of your case is something you've always wanted, you'll want to jump on it as soon as it's available - but be aware of the fact that it's going to leave a bit of a dent in your wallet.
Evolution and innovation drive all fronts of technology, and in the computer case business that translates into a constant battle for finding a perfect blend of functional usefulness, aesthetic acceptance, performance in regards to both temperatures and sound levels, and pricing to match competitors' similar offerings. Antec has already found great success with the original P180 and for years to come it will be a desktop case others are measured against. Its creative use of plastic, aluminum, and steel translated into some of the lowest noise levels yet on a desktop PC case without changing it at all from the way it comes out of the box.
At first appearance, there might not be much attracting a potential purchaser of a PC enclosure to the P182 SE over Antec's other offerings aside from the out-of-this-world paint job, but the work/showcase spotlight might be just the kind of accessory which nudges an interested party over the edge to choose it over the normal gunmetal gray P182. Choices are always good though, and in this sense the P182 and P182 SE make great additions to Antec's line.
The "vanilla" P182 is a nice choice; for around $170 online one can get almost all the same features as the case we reviewed, with a still very attractive dark gray finish. For the user who demands the "best", the P182 SE's still-killer noise performance - one of the best in its class - is available with the addition of the flexible work light, all black interior, and super-shiny mirror finish for a pretty substantial increase in price.. we've seen the P182 SE available for around $230 online. The special edition will be a limited offering, however, so if having the ability to see your reflection on the surface of your case is something you've always wanted, you'll want to jump on it as soon as it's available - but be aware of the fact that it's going to leave a bit of a dent in your wallet.
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Icepick - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
They already did test it back in 2005. http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2670&p...">http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2670&p...Well, they tested the P150 but, it's identical to the Solo (power supply excepted, of course).
BPB - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
Actually, even excluding the power supply, they are not 100% identical. The P150 uses "trap doors" to cover the 5.25" and 3.5" drives. I don't mind it, but many do. It you like to use things like the headphone jack on a DVD drive or see the activity light, then you may not want the P150 anyway. Of course the Solo is cheaper due mainly to its lack of PSU, but in my opinion the Solo is not as good looking. I own both.yacoub - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
Wow, do people actually use that? The last time I did was 1996 when I had my first computer and tried that jack out with a pair of headphones just to see how it worked. :D
yacoub - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
(obviously referring to a CD-ROM drive btw, not a DVD-ROM drive)BPB - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
Not so http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">obvious! Click on the image and you will see, why strong wording and the truth, do not always agree.My experience is that many folks use the jack at work if the PC enclosure doesn't have a front headphone jack. And my experience is many work PC's at large, cheap companies do not.
BPB - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
I agree. I got the Solo for about $40 (shipped) from Outpost recently. That, of course, is after rebate. I wanted something smaller and quiet. I also have the P150, which is almost identical to the Solo. I'm not sure which I prefer. Still, if I decided I wanted to go back to a taller case, this would probably be at the top of my list. I'd have to wait for a special though, the list price is simply too high. By the way, I believe the Solo and P150 support 3 suspension mounts, not 4. The following are from the specs listed at Newegg:Spanki - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
I'm not sure if it happened earlier than the 182 rev or not, but the mb tray has also been inset a bit from early 180s. This gives room 'behind' the mb tray to run some of the power cables (I have my big, primary 24-pin power cable running up the back of the mb, out of the way).Also, I ordered the P180B from Newegg at the beginning of March and what I recieved was basically a P182, but painted black, instead of gun-metal grey. Apparently Antec/Newegg started shiping these hybrid models out in late Feb. - others have reported this as well.
Richey02hg - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
so you are basically getting a black p182 (the color i'd want) for the price of a p180?Spanki - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
Yes. As far as I can tell, the case I got is the one shown in the first few photo's http://www.silentpcreview.com/article717-page1.htm...">on this page.MadAd - Thursday, April 12, 2007 - link
Yes I bought a 180B a couple of weeks ago, it too has the twin switches externally accessible for the rear fans plus space behind the motherboard for wire routing.
A plus was being able to fit a 120x38mm fan infront of the middle tray (just) because I simply do not like 25mm wide 120s so took them all out, speedfan is great for controlling fan arrays so the tri-switched fans were less than useful compared to my own.
Cons were that I needed to buy a 12v4 extension as my seasonic s12 would not make the stretch to the top 12v on the A8N32-SLI mobo, also I still cannot see the point of the PSU cage when it has the 4x standard bolt holes in the rear, another useless item that is now thrown in a box to gather dust.
The rubber grommets that hold the hard drives in were also a bit flimsy and easily distorted before a good grip was had and also the top toolless optical mounting jams in somewhat.
Otherwise its a great case for cooling, my temps have never been lower and even while gaming speedfan rarely has to bump them up, whereas before in my old case with the same fans, just 10 minutes of BF2 and up went the temps making the fans lift...Ill have to wait for summer to see how good it really is but do far im impressed with the cooling ability.