Antec P193 Review - PAGE 1

Antec introduced the P180 to the world and many were taken in awe by the chambers, the silent operation and style of the case. Leading into the P180 the company often on traditional designs from things like their SX series to while trying to find that next step to take. The P180 though was a huge shift in aesthetics, it used 120mm tri-cool fans to bring noise levels down and provide direct cooling over drive cages, to the PSU and across and out of the CPU, they implemented easy mounting and easily removable drive cages, they also made the system streamlined for heat management as a whole. The design was a break in the mold that brought about a new generation of products from the company.

The P193 continues the performance line tradition, it incorporates previous ideas from the series improves upon them as best it can, as a result the case is the perfection of their ideas to date. The front facia incorporates new venting methods for more effective airflow from the front of the case, behind the front panel are a series of grills so that maximum airflow can be obtained from top to bottom. Thanks to the front panel the noise doesn't really become that evident even with 2 120mm fans running as noise is distributed away from the ear of the user.

The case management continues to develop in the Performance series, small ports are found all around the case enabling users to run the PSU cable, power cables, drive cables and panel connections around the case with no issue. Ties are mounted throughout the case to help keep things secure and really the alloted space in the back is sufficient for hardware currently on the market, the result of the use of the cable management is quickly realized as case temps drop due to increased airflow and fewer pockets for heat to sit in.

For formalists, we do have the Antec specs on the case

Dual chamber design isolates heat and noise: the power supply resides in a separate chamber to isolate heat and reduce system noise

No power supply included

Power supply option: comes with a power supply mounting adapter to mount either a standard size power supply or Antec's exclusive CP Series power supply

Innovative two-layer, sound-deadening side panels (steel, polycarbonate) and three-layer front door (aluminum, plastic, aluminum) dampen noise and ensure Quiet Computing™

11 drive bays
- External 4 x 5.25"; 1 x 3.5"
- Internal 6 x 3.5" for HDD

Cooling system:
- 1 rear (standard) 120mm x 25mm exhaust TriCool™ fan
- 2 top (standard) 140mm x 25mm exhaust TriCool™ fan
- 1 lower front chamber (optional) 120mm fan for HDD
- 1 side (standard) 200mm fan for dual graphics cards
- 1 upper front (optional) 120mm fan for HDD
- 1 middle (optional) 120mm fan for graphic cards

Cable organizers behind motherboard tray minimize cable clutter

Front-mounted ports provide convenient connections:
- 2 x USB 2.0
- 1 x eSATA
- Audio In and Out (HDA and AC’97 compatible)

Double hinged door opens up to 270º

7 expansion slots

0.8mm cold rolled steel chassis for durability

Compatible Motherboards: Mini-ITX, microATX, Standard ATX and Extended ATX

Net weight: 35.8 lbs / 16.25 kg

Gross weigh: 41.7 lbs / 18.9 kg

Case dimensions:
- 20.25" (H) x 8.1" (W) x 23.25" (D)
- Actual clearance needed for width is 9.5" due to the side panel fan
- 51.4 cm (H) x 20.5 cm (W) x 59 cm (D)

Overall the P193 strikes one right of the box as a new killer case, it maintains many features of the performance line and then it tweaks it for function just a bit more to make sure users get everything they can out of the case this time around.