antec sonata

[rookie1010]

What do you guys think of antec sonata, what are the competing cases? I originally wanted to go for the antec 1080 which came with a 430 watt true power and 4 5.25 inch but they don’t seem to be available in the UK 

Is 380 watts of power good enough
Are 2 12 inch fans good enough

It has got a 380 watt PSU, do you think I can upgrade it to 430 or above?

It comes with Quiet TruePower, is that better than SmartPower

I came across this primer, and one of the points they have mentioned is that the drives should be accessible, what does that mean?

It also mentioned If you are an extreme PC user or gamer you might consider buying a bigger power supply separately. What kind of games would require a power higher than 380 watts

How many fans is good enough? I have read that 2 120 mm fans are as good as 4 80 mm fans?

My understanding about the motherboard form factor is that a new form factor mobo coming up, I will have to upgrade my case in a few years anyway, correct?
Or are there any cases out there, which would allow for expansion at a later date?

What are the things you can have in a 5.25 inch bay
Dvd w, cd w, sound blaster, fan controller (not too sure if one needs it)

Does the PSU of the antec sonata also have a fan, that would make the number of fans 3 . Is it possible for me to have the intake fan at a lower height than the outtake fan


How much power does water cooling take?

I tried to do a bit of research and I came across this comparison by tomÂ’s hardware
http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20030428/case_review-51.html

there is not even a single antec being reviewed, is that worrying?

The sonata also states a max of 3.0 GHZ, can I not later on upgrade my processor to say 3.2 GHz

How are the USB ports on a mobo linked to the front side of a case e.g. the antec sonata

In one of the reviews some one had stuck a A Zalman cooler with 90mm fan, where doe you tstick a zalman filter on?

What 120 mm fan do you guys recommend?

I looked at the SX1040, it caters to extended mobo and i think 4 5.25 inch drives

however i qam not sure about its availability

 

[diabloII]

it's a good case, but try to get a second 120mm fan (in the front) for better cooling, since the back 120 might not always be enough

also, truepower > smartpower

 

[Joeisalsocool]

Holy crap, that is a ton of questions.

I'll just say that the Sonata is a good case, two 120mm fans are better than 80's, get a fan controller,
and where did you hear that the sonata only handles 3.0GHz, thats a little odd?

I'll leave the rest of the Q's up to everyone else.
-Joe

 

[diabloII]

Holy crap, that is a ton of questions.

I'll just say that the Sonata is a good case, two 120mm fans are better than 80's, get a fan controller,
and where did you hear that the sonata only handles 3.0GHz, thats a little odd?

I'll leave the rest of the Q's up to everyone else.
-Joe

nah it's "3.0ghz compatible" whatever the hell that means

the sonata should be able to handle any comp you get (unless you're getting 2 video cards in SLI), since the new ones are released with 22A@12V power supplies

 

[senseless]

The antec comes with front and rear fans. It's an alright case, scratches VERY VERY easy. If you look at it wrong it scratches. It comes with 120mm fan in the back, its kind of loud. I use a true 430 and true 550, i love them both. The true 380 should be enough for most. The sx 1040 is a very sturdy case, i have 2 of them at home. The usb front panel is connected via a set of cables that is compatible with any motherboard that has ports for front panel connectors.

 

[hygor]

It is an awesome case... I have one.... i disagree with the post above... it is the quietest case I have ever had, the rear fan is silent (has been atatched with rubber pegs (no vibration noise)) The case as standard only comes with the rear 120mm fan so I bough another antec silent 120mm fan for the front.

The case is beautiful and the interior mounting system is so good it makes assembly really easy all drives mount onto rails that just clip in!...

I really recommend this case, it is ultra quiet, the cooling is great (with the extra fan i never get over 25c in my case, and my cpu runs cool too), the mounting system is great, the standard psu (380w truepower) is able to handle my AMD Athlon 64 3200+, my geforce 6600GT, Audigy 2, 2 Hard drives, 2 optical drivesand all the usb stuff i have attached... no problems!

I love my case! Get one they are great!

 

[Capricorn]

I second, third, or forth the Sonata. I built one for my daughter to take to college. Quiet was important since she sleeps next to the thing. I put the second 120 mm fan in. It's still so quiet you have to look at the power light to really tell if it's on or not sometimes. I wish I'd kept that one for myself. After probably about a dozen trips between dorm room and home, the case still looks great. (The shipping box is starting to look like hell though.) It has a P4 2.6GHz C in it, with 1GB DDR400, 2x120GB Maxtors in RAID 1, 1 DVD/CD writer, 1 combo DVD CD/RW, Radeon 9700 Pro, onboard sound. Runs around 30C idle. (Coolest running one I've ever built.)

 

[diabloII]

I second, third, or forth the Sonata. I built one for my daughter to take to college. Quiet was important since she sleeps next to the thing. I put the second 120 mm fan in. It's still so quiet you have to look at the power light to really tell if it's on or not sometimes. I wish I'd kept that one for myself. After probably about a dozen trips between dorm room and home, the case still looks great. (The shipping box is starting to look like hell though.) It has a P4 2.6GHz C in it, with 1GB DDR400, 2x120GB Maxtors in RAID 1, 1 DVD/CD writer, 1 combo DVD CD/RW, Radeon 9700 Pro, onboard sound. Runs around 30C idle. (Coolest running one I've ever built.)

well she COULD turn off her comp

 

[Capricorn]

well she COULD turn off her comp

Oh, no way! One of her friends might want to send her an AIM message, and if it wasn't on she wouldn't get it. I kid you not.

Something I did forget though, the thing has these blazing blue LED lights in front. I put a switch on them. She shut them off and they've never been on since. Incredibly bright.

 

[rookie1010]

thanks for all the responses

you mean to say it is 3.0 GHz compatible.
what is an SLI?

so a true power is better than smart power
can i upgade the 380 watts to a 430 watts later on?

i have got a gigabyte 81875 ultra, does it have ports for front panel connectors, how do i find that out from its spec?


you think the audigy 2zs platinum edition will take up a lot of power and generate a lot of power and a temp/fan controller(do i need one), then i am out of 5.25 drives. do i need anything else after that though?

i was concerned about the number of 5.25 inch drives. if i stick in a dvd wr, audigy 2zs platinum and a

are there any competing cases?