Antec P183 and Sonata Elite pictured

SilentPCReview had a look at two upcoming cases from Antec.

First up is the Antec P183, this is model has some improvements to increase the airflow, support for longer power supplies and a 120mm top-mounted fan.

There are three changes inside: 1) The position of the intake fan for the lower chamber has been moved to the front in order to accommodate longer power supplies, 2) the mounting platform for the PSU has been lowered (for reasons that cannot be divulged at this time), and 3) the top 120mm fan vent from the Mini )180 has been adopted.

Also on display is the upcoming Antec Sonata Elite. This case features a large vent in the right side panel to improve hard drive cooling and surprisingly this is actually the main intake for the whole case.

Inside is an unusual HDD mounting arrangement: They are in their own cavity, and the side vent is the main intake for the whole case. The 120mm exhaust fan and the blower fan (for the VGA card) have nowhere else to pull air into the case from. In drawing the intake air from the side vent, air flows naturally around the four HDDs that can be installed. Note Antec's usual soft silicone rubber grommets for HDD mounting.

The HDD mounting arrangement in the original Sonata was also innovative and unusual. The arrangement in the new Sonata Elite eliminates the need for any vent opening in the front panel. It would make sense to position the case on the right of the user, to ensure that there is no direct sound path between user and vent opening.