Antec Sonata Elite Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Beautiful Case

Reviewed By: Puck on 3/30/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: What a solid case! Beware, it's heavy (in a good way.) You know when you pick this up that it is high quality construction. Case is quiet when in "office" mode and has tons of room for the more advanced power supplies.

No Gaudy Blue lights everywhere, very sleek and very sexy. Let's be honest, they were cool when I was in college 8 years ago, but my wife's not too crazy about a bright blue computer in our office.

Blower is a flat out great idea. Really quiet on quiet mode (when I can reach the fan controls to turn down the fans, See Cons)

Cons: Antec Tri-Cool fans are a flat out pain to get too. I go to play Crysis or Oblivion and I want to crank up the fans I have to wiggle back there to flip the switches. Antec really needs to either put better access to the switches, enable some sort of software, or allow the fans to hook up to the motherboard so the hardware can control fan speed.

Also, not really sure if this is a con as I knew this going in, but this sucker BARELY has room for my GTX 260. I literally have 1/2 an inch clearance between the end of the card and the hard drive cage.

Other Thoughts: Contrary to an earlier review here, this case has no room for additional fans. You get the nifty blower and one rear exhaust fan and that's it. Air inflow is expected to come in via induction. It would have been very simple for them to have added one fan on the front to help with cool air coming in.

Its this simple lack of a front fan along with the really inconveinent means of control that keep me from rating this a 5. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a fantastic case, but if you are looking for a sleek case with adequate cooling then go for the Antec P182. $40 more but you get twice as many 120mm fans.

If on the otherhand you aren't building a gaming machine with gaming hardware, you won't regret buying this case. It's very quiet with low power hardware and very good looking.

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Reviewed By: James Ryan on 3/22/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 month to 1 year

Pros: The 3/4 turned hard drive bays w/ removable bays make installation quick and easy. Each bay is equipped with four silicone grommits which quiet them down considerably and also (hypothetically) would extend your hard disk life by reducing shock. Nice roomy case with a 120mm fan and a spot for an additional 120mm fan. Comes with a 500w power supply. The 2x USB and a SATA port on the front make for quick external hookups.

Cons: nothing... well, if i could get this in a full tower for my rig that would be awesome but for a mid tower it has alot of room.

Other Thoughts: I use this for alot of my clients. They love how quiet it is and its attractive appearnce. I love its easy accessability and also the fact that it comes with a decent enough power supply for most of them. I have been installing a lot of intel boards with onboard graphics and sound so 500watt is more than enough power.

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If you want quality this is the case for you !

Reviewed By: Jerry on 11/17/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: This case is used by a company in Florida that builds custom multiple monitor systems for major companies around the world, Boeing, General Electric , and the list goes on and on. This case is a bragain at the price. Inner panel insulation for sound deadening etc.

Cons: No con. If you want quality get one of these cases, you'll enjoy that decision every time you look at your computer. Don't forget to install an Antec supply in this case, Antec is nothing but quality !!!!

Other Thoughts: I installed the Antec 650 Watts supply, along with the Intel DX58SO MB, with the extreme processor. I also am using a Firepro 2450 4 monitor vodeo card.Runs well within temp limits with all fans on low. Runs "cool" and quiet ! I don't over clock.

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Great Case

Reviewed By: on 10/29/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Solid construction, nice finish. System is much quieter than before.

Cons: The in rear 120mm fan was only quiet enough for me when it was set to low. The rear slot fan was just too loud at any setting, so i opted to remove it, but keep in mind that I was going for a very quiet system.

Other Thoughts: With the right hardware it is possible to create a VERY quiet system. q6600 @ 3.00Ghz w/ Xigmatek 120mm cpu cooler. Underclocked 9800gt w/ arctic cooling fan. I can't tell if the thing is on!

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Solid, Sleek and Quiet

Reviewed By: B on 10/28/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: less than 1 day

Pros: This is a very quiet case with good amounts of room. The build quality is fantastic. Everything fits just so.

Cons: The rails for the optical drives took a while to get bolted into the correct place, and take lots of force to click in. Only graphics cards under 10" will fit.

Other Thoughts: Quietest PC I've ever built.

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