Antec Performance One P180 (761345-81800-1) ATX Mid-Tower Case

When shopping for a case for my first build ever I was amazed at the wide variety and price points of cases available at the various retail and online stores. I finally settled on the Antec P180 after seeing and playing with it a bit at a local superstore.
The first thing I noticed while carrying the box out to the car was this cases weight. It has plenty. This mass has the obvious negative of making a system difficult to lug around but the major pro to this heft is that most of the mass goes into triple sidewall construction with sound deadening material sandwiched between aluminum layers. This goes a long way towards making this one of the quietest cases I have ever been around.

Upon opening the box I found the P180 case to be well protected in plastic wrapping and Styrofoam inserts. No damage could be found, even though I'd dropped the box carrying it into the house. Screws and silicon washers were packaged in individual bags, and all components were easy to find. The instructions left a bit to be desired, however. Illustrations were sparse, but upon reading each step one could easily see what Antec intended the consumer to do on each phase of construction. The font was somewhat small, though. The case comes with three 120 mm fans included: one near the power supply, one on the top, and another directed out the back. The upper fans are well placed to cool the CPU. On the lower front of the case are two small vents that cover a pair of air filters. These should be cleaned fairly often, because the fans on the P180 can move ALOT of air through the case. Also included are rails for front mounting components in the external drive bays. These are attached to the component, which is then slid into the front of the case and clips into place.

The P180 is different from most computer cases in that the power supply is located at the bottom in it's own chamber, and is separated from the motherboard by an aluminum was with a sliding plastic door that the power cables must pass through. Directly in front of the power supply is an internal 120 mm fan dividing the bottom of the case into 2 spaces: the power supply chamber and an internal drive chamber. It has been noted in other reviews that the placement of the power supply in the bottom necessitates a long cable to the motherboard's plug. I was fortunate that my power supply (an Antec Truepower II 550) had a motherboard power cable with more then enough length to reach. In the reviewer's opinion the power supply in the bottom has many advantages that outweigh that issue. Isolating the power supply from the motherboard results in less heat around the CPU and other components. In addition, the 120 mm fan creates a venture effect over both the power supply and any hard drives in the lower bay. This wind tunnel helps keep your power supply and hard drives nicely cooled.

One P180 component that I had issues with was a plastic duct that is supposed to carry warm air from over your graphics card and vent it out the back of the case. The instruction sheet was very unclear on how to remove and reinstall this part, and removal is an absolute must in order to get your motherboard installed. Finally I removed the screws holding its retaining bracket to the back of the case and was able to wiggle it out of the way. After I had my build put together I experimented with this duct both attached and removed, and with and without an 80 mm fan (sold separately). My conclusion was that the duct was worthless, causing higher graphics card temperatures then if it was removed completely. I believe this was due to its blocking clean airflow around the cards. Of note is that Antec no longer includes this duct on new P180's.

Motherboard installation is fairly straightforward. Ample brass standoffs are included, as well as multitudes of mounting hold that will fit most any ATX motherboard. There are 7 expansion slot portals on the rear of the case, providing ample room for any cards you may wish to install. My system contains two graphics cards in an SLI configuration, and the case accommodated them with ease.

The P180 has ample room for storage, with 7 internal and 4 external drive bays. A nifty feature is that 6 drives can be mounted in removable bays: one in the lower chamber and another mid-case. Each bay slides out easily on plastic guides, and is held in place by a thumbscrew. Silicon rubber grommets are included that help to reduce any vibration noise caused by the hard drives. This is indicative of the attention that Antec paid to the design of this case, with sound dampening materials and features evident throughout the case.

The trickiest part of this build was the routing of cables around the case. As previously mentioned, there is a long stretch for the motherboards power supply. In addition, power cables for any drives in the lower bay have to come out the door above the power supply and down through a separate sliding door. Cables from the motherboard to the lower drives must also go through this same door. I do not believe it is possible for anything requiring a ribbon cable to be installed in the lower compartment. SATA cables passed down easily, however. Custom cables (non-ribbon) may fit, but I have not tried this. The rest of the cabling is fairly straightforward, as long as everything is tied off and care is taken to not impede airflow.

Many P180 buyers have complained about warping in the front door. I have had my P180 for 10 months now and have seen no problems whatsoever. I can only assume that it was a manufacturing defect that was either fixed by the time I bought mine, or only affected some of the P180's sold.

I use I am quite happy with my Antec P180 case. Despite some fairly noisy components, the case holds in sound very well. It is heavy, but that weight is part of the price of a cool and quiet system. The only customization I have performed is to add a fourth 120 mm fan in front of the mid-case drive bay. And it looks GOOD!