INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Whenever a friend or family member asks me what PC case to get for a new system i always advise them to leave that for last since i think it's very important to know exactly what hardware components you will place inside. For example if you end up getting a mini-ITX or micro-ATX sized mainboard there's no reason to get a regular midi tower with enough room inside for a full sized ATX mainboard (something similar happened some months ago with a friend who first got a mini ITX case and afterwards tried to fit an micro-ATX mainboard inside). Of course since the largest consumer market share still belongs to ATX sized mainboards there aren't nearly as many micro ATX sized towers in the market today and so when Antec announced their brand new P6 Compact tower we just had to take a closer look.

   Antec, Inc. is the global leader in high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself markets. Founded in 1986, Antec is recognized as a pioneer in the industry and has maintained its position as a worldwide market leader and international provider of quiet, efficient and innovative 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 wide range of cases, such as its advanced Performance One Series, economical New Solution Series and VERIS family of media components designed for the home theater PC market. Antec’s products also include front line power supplies, such as its premium Signature Series, powerful TruePower Quattro Series and EarthWatts, one of the most environmentally friendly power supplies available. PC gamers are an increasingly significant consumer of performance components, and many Antec products are designed for the gaming demographic, like the premier gamer enclosure: the Nine Hundred. Antec also offers a line of computer accessories comprising 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 the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China and Taiwan. The company’s products are sold in more than 40 countries throughout the world.

   The P6 is part of the Performance Series of towers by Antec and so although it's a model ment for micro-ATX / mini-ITX mainboards it's still fill with quite interesting features including a 4mm thick tempered glass side panel, 4 PCI expansion slots, white LED logo projector (placed at the base of the fascia), removable air filters (top and front are also magnetic ones), single 120mm LED fan at the rear and enough space for even the largest hardware components (minus the mainboard of course). To be more specific the P6 has enough room for up to six 2.5" drives (or 4x2.5" and 2x3.5"), six 120mm fans (or 4x140mm and 1x120mm) and/or a single 240mm radiator at the front, 160mm tall CPU coolers, 390mm long graphics cards and 160mm long power supply units.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The product name along with the company logo and a drawing of the product are all placed at the front of the cardboard box.

 

 

The specifications table is printed on both sides of the box in 8 languages.

 

 

An exposed view of the P6 is printed at the rear of the box.

 

 

Typically the tower is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between two thick foam spacers.

 

 

Antec has placed a small cardboard box inside the case which contains 3 PCI slot covers, plastic bag with screws, standoffs and spacers and the information guide.

 

 

THE P6 EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The P6 is 405mm tall, 470mm long/deep and 200mm wide so although quite compact it still comes very close to some regular midi towers.

 

 

Antec has used a 4mm thick tempered glass side panel with the P6.

 

 

As always the side panel is held in place with large but flat thumbscrews.

 

 

The I/O is placed on the left side of the fascia and it includes two USB 3.0 ports, headphones and microphone 3.5" ports and the power on/off and reset buttons.

 

 

The fascia is made out of plastic and features a white LED logo projector on the base.

 

 

You can access the magnetic air filter by removing the fascia as seen above.

 

 

Although Antec says that you can place a 240mm radiator at the front it's clear that you can also place a 280mm one.

 

 

The entire top is covered by a magnetic air filter and beneath it you can place up to three 120mm or two 140mm fans (you should also be able to mount a 240mm radiator here).

 

 

At the rear we find the pre-installed 120mm LED fan, the 4 PCI expansion slots and the PSU area.

 

 

Turning the case over we find a removable air filter (not as easy to remove however as the magnetic ones) and four thumbscrews (more about those later on).

 

 

THE P6 INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As expected the interior is quite spacious for a micro-ATX case.

 

 

At the front you can mount a radiator up to 30mm in thickness (55mm with the fans).

 

 

These holes on the mainboard tray can be used to mount up to two more 2.5" drives(at the rear).

 

 

Dual chamber designs have taken over the market so once again we see a separate compartment for the PSU.

 

 

Aside the very large cut out beneath the CPU area the mainboard tray also has 6 more holes for cable management.

 

 

Taking a look from the other side reveals a dual 3.5/2.5" removable drive cage at the base of the tower, the PSU area and two vertical 2.5" drive trays.

 

 

Although the 3.5/2.5" drive trays are made out of plastic the vertical 2.5" ones are made out of aluminum.

 

 

Here we see the top area from inside 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.

Unfortunately since we only have ATX sized mainboards here we'll be using our only mini-ITX one for this review.

 

 

As mentioned earlier you should be able to mount a 280mm radiator at the front and we did without issue so we don't know why Antec has included just an 240mm in the specs of the P6.

 

 

Same at the top since here we were able to mount a 240mm radiator without any clearance issues with the memory modules (280mm however is not possible).

 

 

Of course being able to mount 160mm tall CPU air coolers means you have a very large selection to choose from.

 

 

With enough room for graphics cards up to 390mm in length i doubt there's a model that can't fit in the P6 (at least currently).

 

 

The PSU area by default has enough room for an SFX sized model but you can move the drive cage (via the 4 thumbscrews placed at the base of the tower) to mount a full sized ATX model as seen above.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   As far back as I can remember I was never into compact PC cases not only because I always wanted plenty of room which made it easier for me to mount/remove components but also because I always wanted to have enough space for even the largest ones. Still if I had to build a micro-ATX system chances are that I’d choose a tower like the P6 by Antec primarily because it offers far more space compared to most micro-ATX cases. Of course with a total interior room for up to four 2.5” and two 3.5” drives the P6 is no match for its larger brothers but it has very little to be jealous of when it comes to graphics cards (up to 390mm long), CPU air coolers (up to 160mm tall) and power supply units (up to 160mm long). On top of all these add the fact that you can use up to six 120mm and/or four 140mm fans and one 120mm fan (or two radiators) and it’s clear that the P6 has very little competition in the micro-ATX market (granted however in terms of size it’s very close to a regular midi tower).

   At the time of this review the P6 Compact Micro-ATX Tower by Antec is quite affordable and so it retails for just USD64.56 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 62Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). With that in mind the only "serious" disadvantage the P6 has is its size since it’s positioned between very compact micro-ATX cases and regular ATX midi towers something which may push potential buyers away. That being said however the P6 offers something other micro-ATX cases do not, plenty of interior space for very large components which along with its tempered side panel and features in general are certainly enough for us to highly recommend checking it out.

 

PROS

- Spacious Interior (390mm Long Graphics Cards / 160mm Tall CPU Coolers / 160mm Long PSUs)
- Room For Two 3.5” And Four 2.5” Drives
- Room For Up To 6 Fans And/or Single 240mm Radiator
- Bottom/Top/Front Air Filters
- White LED Projector
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Airflow Levels With Stock Fan
- Size (For a Micro ATX Case)