INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Most people i know almost always place price and size above quality, features and design when out to get a brand new PC case so when they ask my opinion on the matter they always point out that they want to get either a small or large (depends on the use) yet budget-friendly model. At the end of the day i don't really blame people for thinking that way since most casual consumers are worlds apart compared to enthusiasts, serious gamers and hardcore overclockers so spending much on a PC case especially nowadays is not something they'd do. However there are many people such as i who always prefer to get a case that offers pretty much everything they need from looks and build quality up to plenty of useful features and of course pay very little attention to price. The latest P380 by Antec may not be the largest full tower in the market today but according to Antec it's the most advanced model in their already successful Performance One line so we just had to see for ourselves.

   Antec, Inc., is the leading global brand of high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) markets. Founded in 1986, Antec is recognized as a pioneer in these industries and has maintained its position as a worldwide market leader and international provider of efficient, quiet, and reliable products. Antec has also achieved great success in the distribution channel, meeting the demands of quality-conscious system builders, VARs and integrators. Antec’s offering of enclosures includes a large range of cases, such as its technically advanced Performance One Series, cost-effective New Solution Series and server grade cases designed for the needs of all workstation and server markets. Antec’s products also include front line power supplies such as its TruePower Quattro Series and EarthWatts, the most environmentally friendly power supplies available. PC gamers are an increasingly significant consumer of performance components, and many Antec products are geared toward the gaming demographic, like the Nine Hundred, the premier gamer enclosure. Antec also offers a computing accessories line comprised of many original products, including its patented LED Fans and Notebook Cooling solutions. Antec is headquartered in Fremont, California, with additional offices in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, as well as in Germany, China and Taiwan. The company’s products are sold in more than 40 countries throughout the world. Please visit www.antec.com for more information.

   The P380 is part of the last wave of full towers to hit the market and since it's a member of the Performance One line by Antec we expected to encounter something special right from the get go. It measures 555mm in height, 223.6mm in width and 557mm in depth, has enough room for up to seven 120mm fans (or four 140mm and one 120mm) and/or two 360/240mm radiators, features a total of 9 PCI expansion slots and room for up to eight 2.5/3.5" drives and is dressed with noise-dampening material. However what makes the P380 standout is the lack of front 5.25" which have been replaced with a 6mm thick aluminium bezel which extends from the lower front and up to the rear top. We don't know how "practical" the P380 is since even we have use for 5.25" devices such as blu-rays and fan controllers which is all the more reason for us to move forward with this review.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The box inside which the P380 arrived has a large product picture at the front, the company logo and the "designed in California" note.

 

 

Both sides are also taken by large product pictures.

 

 

All of the product features are listed and showcased at the rear with the help of 11 small pictures.

 

 

The tower is packed inside a plastic bag and two very thick foam spacers.

 

 

Bundle is unfortunately very limited and so aside the tower itself you're also getting a product overview paper, 5 cable ties and a bag with screws and standoffs.

 

 

THE P380 EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The P380 is really one of the most elegant full towers (555mm tall, 223.6mm wide and 557mm deep) to have reached our lab in years and that's largely because of the front/top aluminum bezel.

 

 

A large clear side window takes most of the left side panel.

 

 

The front fascia leaves room on both sides to allow air to reach the fan area.

 

 

Since Antec skipped on the 5.25" optical drive bays entirely the fascia looks very simple but yet quite elegant.

 

 

This may come as a surprise to all of you who've yet to check the P380 out but Antec has actually placed power and reset buttons on the interior of both sides of the fascia so it doesn't matter where you place it.

 

 

A very long air-filter is placed between the case and the fascia but unfortunately you can remove it only by pulling downwards (great for people who will put it on their desk, bad however for those who will choose the floor).

 

 

The top is also perforated on the sides and on the right side we find the I/O which includes two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports and the usual microphone and headphones ports (unfortunately no activity LEDs are present).

 

 

As expected the rear is painted with the same matte black color as the rest of the frame.

 

 

Unfortunately unlike most towers the rear 120mm exhaust fan can't be replaced with a larger 140mm one.

 

 

You can gain access to the top fans by removing the two thumbscrews holding the top cover.

 

 

You can replace the two 140mm fans pre-installed at the top with three 120mm ones or a 240/360mm radiator (a 280mm radiator should fit too).

 

 

There's also the option to move the top I/O to the other side if you decide to place the tower on your right.

 

 

At the bottom we see that the tower sits on 4 high feet and that it has a removable air-filter right beneath the PSU area.

 

 

THE P380 INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As mentioned already both side panels are dressed with noise-dampening material on the interior.

 

 

In terms of interior space the P380 seems to be doing great.

 

 

Strangely enough there are two 5.25" drive bays inside the case without any type of tool-free locking mechanism.

 

 

Right beneath that we find 3 drive cages which can hold a total of eight 3.5/2.5" drives.

 

 

The drive trays are quite sturdy and feature noise-absorbing silicon pads (unfortunately you need to screw the drives on them).

 

 

Unfortunately to remove the 3 drive cages you first need to remove 6 regular screws from the interior (that's not the end of it however).

 

 

You also need to remove the front fascia and to do that you need to first remove 3 round screws placed on each side as seen above (two more are placed on the base of the fascia).

 

 

After you remove the fascia you will also notice that it features a vertical side slim optical drive bay (unfortunately not visible in this picture).

 

 

By removing the fascia you now have access to the front fan/radiator and the 12 screws you will need to remove in order to release the 3 drive cages.

 

 

As you can all see the standoffs are already installed on the mainboard tray (there are also 4 grommets for cable routing).

 

 

All 9 PCI expansion slots feature regular thumbscrews.

 

 

The PSU area is pretty standard but the removable air-filter is not something we see with every tower.

 

 

Moving at the rear we see that Antec has equipped the P380 with a 6-way fan hub powered by a Molex port (all 3 pre-installed fans feature individual speed controllers which unfortunately are not accessible from the exterior).

 

 

There's not much room behind the mainboard tray for cable routing purposes but it should be sufficient (not that we see more in most towers).

 

 

Here you can see the top fan/radiator area from within the tower.

 

 

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always the purpose of this section is not to build a functional system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.

 

 

Since the P380 has room for up to E-ATX mainboards our regular ASRock model looks small.

 

 

Even with the two fans installed at the top you still shouldn’t have a problem mounting even the largest CPU air cooler around (as long as it’s up to 180mm tall).

 

 

With room for up to 465mm long graphics cards (with the drive cage removed) the P380 is a good choice for serious gamers.

 

 

Even the largest, longest PSU is no problem for the P380 and this is one of the things I like a lot with full towers.

 

 

NOISE LEVEL TEST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically ontop of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller (if the case doesn't have one we use our own).

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   With the Performance Line Antec has won the hearts of many enthusiasts, gamers and even office users all around the world so when they told us to expect the new P380 we were hoping for something unique. The P380 is unique in its own way bit unfortunately it’s far from perfect. For once we did like the design of the fascia (quite a bit actually) but we still can’t figure out why they skipped on internal 5.25” drive bays. As a matter of fact since the tower has two we think it would be easier and preferable had Antec used a door fascia which could be virtually identical to this one but yet allow access to the 5.25” bays. A smaller issue is with the removable drive cages since in order to do so you need to remove several screws including the ones holding the fascia (and that will take time). The front air-filter is a great addition to the tower but unless you place it on your desk or someplace high you will not be able to remove it (well you will but again it will take time to do so). On the other hand the P380 looks great, is of high build quality, offers a very spacious interior, comes with 3 pre-installed fans (and room for 3 more), has room for up to two 240/360mm radiators, can accommodate up to ten 3.5/2.5” drives (with the ones you can place in the two 5.25” bays by using adapters), has a swappable side I/O, left & right power and reset switches and features 9 PCI expansion slots.

   As a type these lines Antec asks USD160.49 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 164.12Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) for the Performance One P380 Full Tower a price which is actually a lot lower than what it was even a few months back. This price cut regardless of the reason is enough for us to “overlook” some issues with the P380 but certainly not enough for us to ignore all of them. In the end the P380 is a balanced enough offering by Antec to get our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design
- Spacious Interior (180mm Tall CPU Coolers / 465mm Long Graphics Cards)
- Room For Up To Ten 2.5/3.5” Drives (With The Two 5.25” Drive Bays)
- Slim ODB
- Space For Up To 7 Fans And/or Two 240/360mm Radiators
- 3 Pre-Installed Fans
- Air-Filters
- Noise-Dampening Panel Coating
- Price (For Some)

 

CONS

- No Front 5.25" Drive Bays
- Hard To Remove Drive Cages
- Hard To Remove Front Air-Filter (If The Tower Is On The Floor)