Antec P-160 Build and Review

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

UPDATED July 9, 2007

After buying myself an Antec P-160 full tower case for Christmas, I'm finally getting around to this build/review.

I bought it at Newegg and it arrived in perfect condition. Here's a link if you want to check the price or look at the stock photos-

Edit- no longer for sale.

The first thing I had to do was the wiring for the Torin Blower. It uses 24v from a transformer, that is switched through a 12v automotive relay (it closes when the PSU comes on).

Here's the relay-

I installed the relay at the top of the hard drive cage and the rheostat (to control the voltage to the Torin) in the side of the 3 1/2 drive bay.

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

Then I tucked the wiring that goes from the relay to the back of the case into the support crossmember-

A small hole drilled in the back of the case was made and the 2 prong connector installed. This goes to the transformer-

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

The case came with 120mm fans- both are 2 wire fans, the rear fan with blue LEDs and the front without any. They are good Antec fans, but I wanted to make this rig as quiet as possible.

So I ended up buying 2 Coolermaster 120mm Blue LED fans, they are very quiet at full speed and silent when set to 7v by the Coolermaster Aerogate 1 fan controller.

I bought the fans and controller at SVC-

Fans - http://www.svc.com/tlf-s12-eb-19.html

Aerogate 1 - http://www.svc.com/ald-v01-u1-19.html

The front fan mounts in a tray that slides into the front of the case (rt side of pic) blowing intake across the hard drives.

you can also see that I mounted my speaker on the bottom, on double sided foam tape. Also in this pic you can see my hard drives in thier rubber isolated trays.

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

I always seal up any holes in the front of the case frame with aluminum tape-

Also, I put a small strip of tape at the bottom of the front fan (there's a slot) to reduce vibration

As you can see, I'm using a beige floppy- doesn't really matter as you can't see it with the front case bezel installed.

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

I had an extra blue LED so I taped it to the top of the case and pointed it at the Torin-

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

The case has a removable/washable dust filter in the front of the bezel- very nice!

But the bezel has a small open area at the bottom, (I asuume for a finger hold during bezel removal) that, if left open, allows unfiltered air to bypass the filter and go directly to the intake fan.

A little aluminum tape sealed it up nicely-

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

Most of the excess wiring can be tucked away, out of view-

I used an Antec PSU Vibration Isolator/Gasket to help reduce vibrations. It's made of silicone and makes for a tight fit.

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

here's a pic of the "toolless" PCI slot area- I still had to tighten them with a screwdriver-

I applied a aluminum tape to much of the case interior to help reflect the lights-

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

My Plextor 708 drive tray was hanging up on the drive door when closing. The trays' bezel/lip was hanging up. So I removed the bezel on the cd tray and it worked perfectly-

here's the drive door-

here's the drive with its' tray bezel removed -

Also, I taped up all of the small rectangular slots going around the front bezel to reduce noise and ensure that all intake air goes through the filter-

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

a view with everything installed except the front bezel and doors-

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

Here's the Torin installed, with it's extra support- a peice of aluminum roof flashing. I made 2 pins that secure the blowers' mount to the SLK-900A, and the extra support stops it from pulling the heatsink away from the cpu.

I painted the Torin fluorescent green- it's so big that I thought I'd call it The Green Monster-

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

The rotating top bezel has 1 firewire, 2 USB, mic/headphone ports, Power LED, HD Activity LED, as well as a power switch, reset switch, and a digital readout of the 2 temperature probes.

My temperature display quit working and I'm awaiting word from Antec on a replacement.

Here's that bezel, with my Lexar memory stick plugged into a USB port-

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

The Temp readout panel has a small square switch used to select either farenheit or celcius. I found a small square hole inside the case (by the floppy cage) that almost fit the switch- a little filing and it was a nice, snug fit-

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

Here are a couple of daylight views of the completed rig- you can see how well the Aerogate 1 fan controller (color set to blue) matches the case-

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

And here's a night shot-

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

Here are my thoughts on this awesome case-

Pros-

- Excelent Airflow, 2 120mm fan positions, unrestrictive grills
- Great fit & finish, no sharp edges to speak of
- Front connector ports and rotating bezel with temp probes (2)
- Hideable drive bays, very clean look
- Lockable side door
- VERY Light - All Aluminum
- Hard Drive Trays with rubber insulators
- Removable Motherboard Tray

Cons-

- Temp sensor has failed
- Power / Reset switches easily hit by accident- not recessed enough
- Came with 2 120 fans, rear had blue LEDs, front did not- both relatively quiet

Overall, I highly recommend this case!

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

I forgot to include this pic of the doors' locks - very nice design-

LordDarik · Feb 3, 2006

Great review itshondo! Beautiful case as well, this really makes me think about getting one for my next build.

itshondo · Feb 3, 2006

Thanks- I thought everyone ought to have the chance to look at the case, I like it that much.

adamwinn · Feb 3, 2006

omg, huuuge props. that case looks flipping amazing. its busy, but not cluttered on the outside. its very very nice looking. A++++++

Antec P-160 Build and Review

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