Antec Sonata II Piano Black ATX Case Review
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killswitch83
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True, but if you're looking for a superb case with the tooless design (granted you leave the system the same for a long time), a little birdie told me that the Tsunami Dream case by Thermaltake was a good solution too, overall (it may have the tooless solution that's not very sturdy, but it does have vibration dampening and thumbscrews for the HDD enclosure, enough for 6 drives I think; that really got my enthusiasm for that case up). That case is also in the running for me as well as the Sonata II, and the TX1050B. So overall Capper, what do you think would be the best solution between the three, given a gaming and mild to high-end editing system is to be built (i.e. s939 A64 CPU and mobo, XMS or equivalent memory, etc.)?
thats a tough call. I have not used, but have heard incredible things about another Thermaltake case, the Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS. It was built with water cooling in mind, has a clear side window, and looks killer.
A case I am currently writing about that I love is the Anec P180, which I like a great deal. If you are going to use strictly air cooling, and sound is an issue for you, make sure you check out my review later this week.
A case I am currently writing about that I love is the Anec P180, which I like a great deal. If you are going to use strictly air cooling, and sound is an issue for you, make sure you check out my review later this week.
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killswitch83
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Oh, believe me capper, I'll be looking forward to it. What can I say, I'm a computer junkie like most everyone else here 
. Let's put it this way, the Tsunami Dream, like I was saying, has vibration dampening for the HDD's, thumbscrews to mount the HDD's, the drive rail system similar to Antec's, and 120mm front and rear cooling (front=intake, rear=exhaust), not to mention a 90mm in the side of the case, and this one also has a clear side case in the shape of an X, which compliments the rear blue LED fan nicely, and it's aluminum construction, so no more heavy case there, though I still believe in Antec's durability myself. One of the biggest downfalls, however, is how close the HDD's are mounted in relation to the expansion slots, so it could make for a pain when installing a rather large graphics card, or a graphics card with the huge Zalman VGA cooler, which I think has a 120mm fan built-in to the heatsink (the review I read said if you're not going to use all of the HDD slots, which there are 6 of em, then you should be fine). Otherwise, can't wait for the P180 review 
.
. Let's put it this way, the Tsunami Dream, like I was saying, has vibration dampening for the HDD's, thumbscrews to mount the HDD's, the drive rail system similar to Antec's, and 120mm front and rear cooling (front=intake, rear=exhaust), not to mention a 90mm in the side of the case, and this one also has a clear side case in the shape of an X, which compliments the rear blue LED fan nicely, and it's aluminum construction, so no more heavy case there, though I still believe in Antec's durability myself. One of the biggest downfalls, however, is how close the HDD's are mounted in relation to the expansion slots, so it could make for a pain when installing a rather large graphics card, or a graphics card with the huge Zalman VGA cooler, which I think has a 120mm fan built-in to the heatsink (the review I read said if you're not going to use all of the HDD slots, which there are 6 of em, then you should be fine). Otherwise, can't wait for the P180 review .-
killswitch83
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very true, thus the aluminum construction, however, it would make a good mild case, nothing too fancy and nothing you would want to be in and out of all the time, and that's mainly due in part to the screwless installation structure. I wonder, do they make univeral clear panel doors for the Sonata II? That would be an interesting thing
Antec Sonata II Case Question
I am building a PC (my first). I am basically using the design for a multimedia PC from http://www.dudecomputer.com. Basically, a AMD 64 3800 X2 CPU, 1 GB RAM, All in Wonder X600 Pro, a 300 GB hard drive, one DVD DL R/RW, one DVD player, Sound Blaster Audigy 2 value sound card, all in an Antec Sonata II case.
I read your review of the Sonata II case. My question(s):
1. Directions with the case is to put a fan in the duct over the CPU. Can I just use the fan and heat sink that comes with the CPU and lower the duce over it?
2. You can install a fan in the duct over the graphics card. Can I just use the fan with the All-in-Wonder X600 Pro?
3. If I install the fan and heat sink that came with the CPU and the fan with the All-in Wonder card, do I need the duct or can I just take it better. Will it cool better if I use the duct work with the fans that come with the CPU and All-in-Wonder card?
I would appreciate some advice.
smith04
I read your review of the Sonata II case. My question(s):
1. Directions with the case is to put a fan in the duct over the CPU. Can I just use the fan and heat sink that comes with the CPU and lower the duce over it?
2. You can install a fan in the duct over the graphics card. Can I just use the fan with the All-in-Wonder X600 Pro?
3. If I install the fan and heat sink that came with the CPU and the fan with the All-in Wonder card, do I need the duct or can I just take it better. Will it cool better if I use the duct work with the fans that come with the CPU and All-in-Wonder card?
I would appreciate some advice.
smith04
Geeky not Nerdy
Remove the ducting...its worthless, doesn't match up with anything and simply gets in the way.
I have built 4 systems for friends using this case, and everyone loves it.... without the duct. On my own system, I cut a hole in the side annd mounted a 120mm fan. On one system, I mounted a fan on the side of the HDD drive cage.
I have built 4 systems for friends using this case, and everyone loves it.... without the duct. On my own system, I cut a hole in the side annd mounted a 120mm fan. On one system, I mounted a fan on the side of the HDD drive cage.
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killswitch83
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nightblood
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I have been using Antec cases for more then 2 years now whenever I build a computer for friends or clients and I have yet to find a reason to stop using them. They are always high quality cases and they make it easy to work on the pc.
I just used the Sonata II to build my brother a new computer and I am also impressed with the design
I just used the Sonata II to build my brother a new computer and I am also impressed with the design
I know this is an older review, but reading it compelled me to finally register for this site and post to the forums.
I am currently building my new PC, and i was working with a friend to help select the best parts for the price. One thing I wanted was a nice simple case design, that ran fairly quiet. I wasn't looking for an ultra-quiet solution since I am running Crossfire cards, but I did want a nice monolithic design without much flash, and I wanted to stay as quiet as I could.
After doing my research, this Sonata II was the case I thought had it all for me. Funny thing is, it is the exact case my friend suggested after I aksed him, without him knowing I had already bought it. He runs the same case and loves it.
Nothing new, this might be one of the best cases for the price ever. But the review really tore into the cooling duct. It is large, sure. and if you want to mod this case with a window, it would cover much of your board view. I suppose the duct itself coudl then be painted or modded also, but i digress. All that aside, many reviews (not just the one here) cried about how bad this duct was.
A common complaint is that it pulls air in from the back, which is where most hot air is expelled. It also has no filter, so it draws in dust and throws it straight at your CPU. The right angle also limits airflow coming in form the back, and then routing it down to the board. Lots of problems with it....
But thats wrong!
This is all assuming your CPU fan is sucking air down into your heatsink, which isn't always the case. If you have your fan expelling the hot air, you also want to install the fans into this hood to expel air. what this does is create suction just above your CPU, and also above your video card slot(s), pulling that hotter air directly into the duct and expelling it out the back. No dust problems, and less noise than another fan near the outside of your case.
With 2 fans in, you can really generate some suction into this chamber also, pulling quite a bit of air from your hottest 2 components. This means cool air comes in form the front and hits the board. The hot air form those specific component areas then has 2 ways to exit... out the back of the case via normal fans and the power supply fan, or it can exit through the duct whcih is directly pulling air off of it and seding it also out of the back.
So you have 2 options in how you want to install fans here, and sucking air away from these components is a viable choice. How you decide to use the duct, or if you decide to use it, is entirely up to each individual. But I think pulling air away from these 2 hottest components might be the initial design intent of this duct.
I have even seen extensive online reviews showing the 3.5 hard drives installed with their connectors facing the removable panel side of the case. Not sure how something as simple as putting the cables to the back of a case, and freeing up airflow gets missed by review sites, but apparently it does.
So I just wanted to post on here that the duct isn't as useless as many seem to think. It all depends on your desired airflow setup.
I am currently building my new PC, and i was working with a friend to help select the best parts for the price. One thing I wanted was a nice simple case design, that ran fairly quiet. I wasn't looking for an ultra-quiet solution since I am running Crossfire cards, but I did want a nice monolithic design without much flash, and I wanted to stay as quiet as I could.
After doing my research, this Sonata II was the case I thought had it all for me. Funny thing is, it is the exact case my friend suggested after I aksed him, without him knowing I had already bought it. He runs the same case and loves it.
Nothing new, this might be one of the best cases for the price ever. But the review really tore into the cooling duct. It is large, sure. and if you want to mod this case with a window, it would cover much of your board view. I suppose the duct itself coudl then be painted or modded also, but i digress. All that aside, many reviews (not just the one here) cried about how bad this duct was.
A common complaint is that it pulls air in from the back, which is where most hot air is expelled. It also has no filter, so it draws in dust and throws it straight at your CPU. The right angle also limits airflow coming in form the back, and then routing it down to the board. Lots of problems with it....
But thats wrong!
This is all assuming your CPU fan is sucking air down into your heatsink, which isn't always the case. If you have your fan expelling the hot air, you also want to install the fans into this hood to expel air. what this does is create suction just above your CPU, and also above your video card slot(s), pulling that hotter air directly into the duct and expelling it out the back. No dust problems, and less noise than another fan near the outside of your case.
With 2 fans in, you can really generate some suction into this chamber also, pulling quite a bit of air from your hottest 2 components. This means cool air comes in form the front and hits the board. The hot air form those specific component areas then has 2 ways to exit... out the back of the case via normal fans and the power supply fan, or it can exit through the duct whcih is directly pulling air off of it and seding it also out of the back.
So you have 2 options in how you want to install fans here, and sucking air away from these components is a viable choice. How you decide to use the duct, or if you decide to use it, is entirely up to each individual. But I think pulling air away from these 2 hottest components might be the initial design intent of this duct.
I have even seen extensive online reviews showing the 3.5 hard drives installed with their connectors facing the removable panel side of the case. Not sure how something as simple as putting the cables to the back of a case, and freeing up airflow gets missed by review sites, but apparently it does.
So I just wanted to post on here that the duct isn't as useless as many seem to think. It all depends on your desired airflow setup.
Hello there. I have what's probably a stupid question regarding this case; I purchased mine a couple of months back, but ended up not building a new computer until after I moved (which I just finished doing). In the meantime, I lost the rails that hold the 5" drives like the CD-ROM, DVD etc. I'm wondering, are these rails standard, or unique to this case? The comp store I bought the case at says they need to order the rails in, which will take a couple of weeks. Any other suggestions?
Zito
Zito