[rabb1t]

Wasn't a big fan of the P180, so I don't know exactly what's changed, but there is a new version of the Antec P180, the P182. (Maybe they say what's different in the article. Super sleepy and brain isn't workin so good. )

AnandTech article

NewEgg P182 Gun Metal Black $170

NewEgg P182SE Silver Mirror Stainless Steel $230

I gotta say though, wtf is up with case prices going up and up and up?!? Back years ago when I got my first fancy Thermaltake case (I think it was the Shark) I thought $120 was just insanely high, and compared to the high case prices of $80 at the time it was. Now $120-160 seems to be closer to "average" for the high-end cases (Antec, Thermaltake, etc.) and the really high end stuff seems to be hitting the $250 range. Wtf, seriously. Yeah they mostly look better / cooler, but they really don't seem like they are that much "better" in terms of what you get.

Anyways... there is that for you peeps that like 'basic' cases. I'm sure the price won't be that extreme for long.

[Akuma]

review:

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling...oc.aspx?i=2966

Minor tweaks to the P180, pay 40+ $ more.

Not worth it for the price its sold at.

[Giftmacher]

Had I not already invested in two 900's I might have been tempted by this but probably not bought it at that price. It's a bit expensive for a little bit of peace and quiet, and the case is a bit fiddly to set up too by the looks. I dunno, I still like the concept and would like to build a system with a p18x if I thought it'd stay cool enough but I'm really not confident it can cope with the heat kicked out of current and forthcoming graphics cards.

Gift.

[Strike Anywhere]

That looks like a really nice case. I was torn between the P180 and the 900 when I built my system last fall and ended up going with the 900 for myself but it was a close decision. I think when I help my brother in law put together his system in the next month or so I will push for him to use the P180/2 so that I can get a chance to work in that too because everyone who has one seems to love it.

[Kriptical]

Originally Posted by Strike Anywhere

That looks like a really nice case. I was torn between the P180 and the 900 when I built my system last fall and ended up going with the 900 for myself but it was a close decision. I think when I help my brother in law put together his system in the next month or so I will push for him to use the P180/2 so that I can get a chance to work in that too because everyone who has one seems to love it.

Add me to the love it list, I have a p180 cold rolled brushed steel and its great, helps keep my cpu in the 20's. That is gettin a bit pricey though>

[evilsofa]

Reading the Anandtech article and owning a P180B:

The special edition of the P182 (the P182SE) has a small flexible interior spotlight (which only works when the computer is on which is not when you would want it to be on), and has a mirror finish (which is apparently quite amusing to take pictures of). Other than that, the regular P182 is the same. I'm underwhelmed. The P182SE costs $60 more than the P182, and the P182 is going for about $40 more than the P180B.

Differences between the P180B and the P182:
1. External switches for the two top fans.
2. The entire interior is painted black.

Far as I can tell, that's it. Doesn't seem worth the $40 to me.

That being said, I love my P180B and I think anyone getting one of these (P180 or P182) would be very happy. These cases are quiet. VERY quiet. I've got an E6600 overclocked to 3.0Ghz, an 8800GTX, an Intel BadAxe 2 and a Corsair 520W PSU in my P180B, and my wife, who has very sensitive hearing, can't tell if the computer is on while she's in the same room.

If you get the right kind of 3rd party cooler, you can have the heat from the CPU blowing directly out of the top of the case. The PSU and hard drives are at the bottom of the case, and are separated from the rest of the case, so they are both cooled by a fan that's down there and don't add their heat to the rest of the case. This is how cases should have been designed in the first place - it's clearly a better layout than the norm.

The one possible problem with the case is that certain PSUs won't have enough cord length to reach certain motherboards due to the nontraditional layout. This is, I think, more of a problem with poor quality PSUs that don't give you enough cord length than a problem with the case.

These cases can take a very long video card if you take out the middle hard drive rack (which you would only really need if you have more than, oh, about 6 or 7 hard drives). The 10.5" long 8800GTX is no problem in this configuration, and there's many inches left so it could easily take the ATI R600 even if it's the rumored 12 or 13 inches long. Doing the 8800GTX or R600 in SLI may be a problem, depending on the layout of the motherboard.