Antec Sonata II Piano Black ATX Case Review

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:25 am

Can Antec take one of their most popular cases and make it better? We take a look at the new Sonata II from Antec and try to figure out if they made it better or worse. With a 450W power supply and improved cooling methods you may be pleasantly surprised to see that Antec did with the original design!

Quote:
This might be the quietest case I've ever seen. When using the ducting system, the CPU and VGA fans were noticeably quieter, coupled with the HDD rubber grommets, the Tri-Cool fan, and Antec's always quiet PSUs, the Sonata II could easily be used as a multi media center PC.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article.php?aid=217

Antonik · Post by **Antonik** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 9:05 am

hmmm you sure enjoy your Antec cases :D

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:49 am

As I said in every review, I was reviewing their entire 2005 line

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:07 am

Great first look at the Sonata II! Can't wait to see the rest of their lineup (if there are any).

I think Antec did a good thing with this case by changing the front intake and the overall looks of the case. But like you mentioned, there are still a lot of little things (the duct inside and the plastic door) that could have easily been redesigned to make this case nearly flawless. If us "regular Joes" can quickly see the flaws in case designs, how can a reputible company such as Antec (or any other case manufacturer for that matter) still make cases with these flaws. I know, I know, they probably don't see them as flaws or have thier reasons for doing it the way they did, but if they would let me get behind the scenes there and design a case, DAMN, it would be SWEEET!

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:12 am

Everyone I talk to in the industry has an Antec Sonata at home. Be it AMD, Intel, ATI or nVIDIA all the PR managers and directors use this at home. Heck I even use the Sonata in my personal system! No other case in the past 3 years has ever been praised as much as the Sonata. I upgraded my 380W PSU to a 600W unit from OCZ, but other than that the Sonata is perfect for my needs. I'm glad they beefed up the PSU as the 380W was far too small for todays leading processors. The original 380W burnt up when running the Intel 570J 24/7! Oh well problem fixed hopefully in Sonata 2.0 as I'd call it.

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:16 am

The next, and last, Antec article will be up next week. The Antec P-180 is sitting on my floor right now completely taken apart.
If you are looking for a high end case, wait a week until you read my review

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:59 am

Have any of you had any experience with the Cooler Master Centurion 5?

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 1:48 pm

It is a decent case. I reviewed it last year. Good looking and sturdy, a nice case. Came with a horrible PSU.

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:05 pm

I'll agree with you on that one also, did the same case last year and I've got the new version running as we speak...............

Minus the PSU................didn't want the junk.

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:11 pm

capper5016 wrote:It is a decent case. I reviewed it last year. Good looking and sturdy, a nice case. Came with a horrible PSU.

AAHHH, indeed you did. But the link in your Cases Article Archive doesn't seem to work

http://www.legitreviews.com/article.php?aid=134

LegitReviews.com wrote:Sorry, no such article.

The only reason I ask is because it looks like a very good all around case and it is only $49 at SVC.com right now!!

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 9:39 pm

For $49, i would say it is a very good deal. Please understand you will have to replace the crap PSU. I used the case for my Corsair Cool review, and it worked flawlessly, with more than enough room

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 9:41 pm

Yeah, definately, I already have a good PSU and the case doesn't come with one anyway!

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:43 pm

The jusk PSU was a option as far as I remember.................But the PSU does work well as a repair part in a Compaq...........................

Post by **Illuminati** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:51 am

gvblake22 wrote:
capper5016 wrote:It is a decent case. I reviewed it last year. Good looking and sturdy, a nice case. Came with a horrible PSU.
AAHHH, indeed you did. But the link in your Cases Article Archive doesn't seem to work
http://www.legitreviews.com/article.php?aid=134
LegitReviews.com wrote:Sorry, no such article.
The only reason I ask is because it looks like a very good all around case and it is only $49 at SVC.com right now!!

Got this article active again... SQL issue fixed ;). Thanks for pointing it out!

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 11:12 am

Ok, one more question, hehehe...

Is the right side panel of the Sonata II removeable?! From the pictures it looks like it is attached to the top panel and it is all riveted to the frame of the case, am I seeing this right???

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:24 pm

yeah, the right side is riveted to the frame, no way to remove it

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:58 pm

capper5016 wrote:yeah, the right side is riveted to the frame, no way to remove it

Wow, how lame... That just dropped the case a couple points, but still in the running ;)

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 10:51 am

Ok, yet another question

I've already read this whole review probably 5 times now

I am having a hard time picturing a 1200mm fan fitting in that front intake area. Where exactly do you mount the front intake fan?!

FBtje · Post by **FBtje** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 3:06 pm

I think this is a very beautiful case, but I was wondering if this case has screw-less PCI/AGP slots..

I've also seen cases with slots you have to break out, so if you remove a card out of your system, it's open.. are these kind of slots 'slots with screws'??

or are there 3 different ways?

1. slots with screws
2. slots without screws, but with clips
3. slots without screws, that has to be broken out

i'd like to have a case that gives me the possibility to put them back if a card is removed..

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 3:22 pm

it isn't a tooless design (thank God). I hate the tooless cases, they break within a month and you are left with a crap case.
The Sonata uses regular PCI slot covers with phillips head screws securing them in place. I like this system, although you need a screwdriver, they are very sturdy.