antec sonata

[Capricorn]

you mean to say it is 3.0 GHz compatible.

I believe what that really is trying to say is that the power supply is rated strong enough for tha 3.0 GHz P4. It will most likely handle anything in the current pentium 4 class as well depending on what other things you plan to put in it, which brings us to ...

what is an SLI?

SLI is an abbreviation for Scalable Link Interface. It refers to Nvidia's new line of GeForce PCI-Express cards that can be used in tandam. That is, certain PCI-E motherboards have not one but two slots for PCI-E graphics cards. As I understand it, one card draws the top half of the screen and the other one draws the bottom. There's more about it here.[/B][/QUOTE]The big problem with SLI is each of these cards draws on the order of 100 Watts. Multiply by two. The CPU is right in that range, too. Add a couple more things and 380W is not enough.

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

Yes, Antec's Truepower line is built with lower tolerances for fluctuation and better power delivery on indivdiual voltage rails. That's not to say the Smartpower line is bad. Given a choice between an Antec Smartpower SL450 and an Sparkle or PowerMax 5XX Watt supply, I'd take the Antec any day.

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

Yes, it has ports under a silver flip-up door in the front. Go to NewEgg's pictures of the case to see that it has a Firewire port, two USB ports and ports for headphones and microphone.

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 think power-wise the 380W should do fine for the Audigy 2ZS. Do you need a fan controller or anything else? Well fan controllers are nice if you're an overclocker and you need to crank up the fans while playing Doom 3, but would like your rig to be quieter when you're doing something less strenuous like reading tech forums boards. As far as needing more 5 1/4 bays, only you can answer that. The Antec Sonata is only one of dozens of Antec cases. There are 4-bay models as well. For example the Antec PLUS1080AMG at NewEgg is a 4-bay model that everyone seems to love and already has a TruePower 430. It's on my short list of cases to look at for sure. It's not as "pretty" as some, but it has it where it counts.

are there any competing cases?

Oh, hell, yes. You asked about a particular one, but there are probably hundreds of decent to good ones (and hundreds of bad ones). Go to NewEgg's Case Query Page and select things like 4-bay and 5-bay and color. Just stick with a good case manufacturer. I like Antec, Cooler Master, Enermax, Lian-Li and Thermaltake. They tend to use good power supplies and have well thought out cases.

 

[Trifid]

can i upgade the 380 watts to a 430 watts later on?

you proally wont need to get anything more powerful. I have a antec 330watt true power, and I got whats in my sig, 4 lighted 80mm fans and a cold cathode.

edit: I have a cd/rw and dvd read in there. I have 4 sticks of ram.

 

[rookie1010]

hey capricorn
thanks for all the help. i have got a nvidia 5700 ultra, that is not an SLI, correct? it requires power from a molex connection(does it draw lot of power?)

do you think the gigabyte 81875 ultra has ports which can lead onto the front side of the case?

i had selected the 1080 but none of the UK suppliers seem to do it, even in decemeber they said they are epxetced and then all of a sudden they dont do them !! any body in the UK who knows where i can get a 1080

alternatively there is the SX1040, dabs says it is on order(same as they said about the 1080), what do you guys think about it?

 

[Capricorn]

you proally wont need to get anything more powerful. I have a antec 330watt true power, and I got whats in my sig, 4 lighted 80mm fans and a cold cathode.

edit: I have a cd/rw and dvd read in there. I have 4 sticks of ram.

Dang. I missed that whole question. Thanks, Trifid.

Power supply sizes and screw hole locations are pretty standard, so yes, you could swap out that power supply at a later time. You wouldn't even have to use an Antec P/S. In addition to Antec, you might consider Enermax, TTGI and PC Power & Cooling.

 

[rookie1010]

hey capricorn
how do you have a 120 mm fan and 2 80 mm fans, is your case mod'ed?

 

[Capricorn]

hey capricorn
thanks for all the help. i have got a nvidia 5700 ultra, that is not an SLI, correct? it requires power from a molex connection(does it draw lot of power?)

Nope. The only SLI cards I know of right now are some 6800 GT and 6600 GT models using the PCI-E bus (which I'll assume yours is not. It's an AGP card, right?) SLI isn't available for AGP.

do you think the gigabyte 81875 ultra has ports which can lead onto the front side of the case?

Yeah, I peaked at the manual and there are four USB ports on the rear of the motherboard and connectors for four more for the front of the case. They are labelled F_USB1 and F_USB2. (Each connector handles two USB ports.) The Sonata only has two USB ports on the front though, which leaves two unused. There is also two front Fireware connectors (F1_1394 and F2_1394) with slightly different connectors. One of those could go to the Sonata's front firewire port. There is also F_Audio for hooking up the front panel headphone/speaker and microphone jacks. Nice board all in all.

i had selected the 1080 but none of the UK suppliers seem to do it, even in decemeber they said they are epxetced and then all of a sudden they dont do them !! any body in the UK who knows where i can get a 1080

Crap! I think it's been discontinued. I went to Antec's list of resellers in the UK, but none of them had it. Doesn't NewEgg deliver to the UK? Just a thought.

alternatively there is the SX1040, dabs says it is on order(same as they said about the 1080), what do you guys think about it?

That looks to be the same case with a SmartPower 400W P/S instead of a TruePower 430W P/S. I'd opt for the latter if possible.

 

[Capricorn]

hey capricorn
how do you have a 120 mm fan and 2 80 mm fans, is your case mod'ed?

That's the size of the fan holes on my Enermax case. (The Sonata I bought went off to college with my daughter.) 120 mm in front, 80 mm on the side, dual 80 on the back (I'm only using one) and 80 mm on the top (which I'm not using). I did mod the front of the Enermax to improve air flow to the 120 mm fan. If you look at my avatar picture (upside down), you can see the results.

 

[rookie1010]

thanks for all the info and going through all the trouble of digging up all the information for me.

newegg does not ship internationa, they dont even do canada, according to what i read

i am concerned about the supposedly flimsy hinge cover of the sonata, i read a number of people claim it breaks off.

i have been looking around for alternatives and have come across the P160 and the PlusView1000, the 1000 supports extended mobos while the P160 is alumnium and has a fancy temp indicator, while the P160 has 2 120mm fans, the 1000 has 5 80 mm fans. i dont knwo which one to go for.

what would be your choice?
i will stick a 430 watt antec PSU in it in case i dont go for the sonata.

alternatively i was wondering what would a comparable lian li cost, or is it too expensive and i should stick with antec's

i looked around for enermax and coolermaster, but most of the outlets in the UK dont do good coolermaster's or enermax's with 400 watts. (i am factoring for future requiremenets)

people said the thermaltakes are also quite flimsy and antecs are better.

i would appreciate your comments on my rantings

 

[Capricorn]

Bummer that NewEgg doesn't ship internationally. They could make some serious money I would guess.

The plastic front on the Sonata would probably pop off before it would break off. It's held in place with two plastic fingers and is made to come right off (to make it easier to install drives). It is probably the weak point of the case. But a dozen or so 4 hour cars trips so far and it's going strong.

The P160 looks a lot like the Sonata inside .. remarkably so. Not exactly the same, but very close. The P160 has four external 5 1/4" drive bays, so they are different. They both use 120 mm fans and Antec also markets the P160 as a quiet case. The Sonata comes with a TruePower 380 and the P160 would have a TruePower 430 if that's what you put in. That silver aluminum case looks mighty nice though. It will catch people's attention for sure.

You might note that the hard drives mount sideways in the front (with the connects facing to the left of the box when looking from the front). Unlike the Sonata where the second 120 mm fan (not included) goes right behind the hard drive cage so it's sort of in the middle of the box, the P160 looks to have that one in front of the drives, which is more out of the way. It looks like it has the same special insulating rubber hard drive mounts that the Sonata has. Those keep the drive noise down. The P160 is aluminum over the Sonata's steel. Aluminum is supposed to shed heat faster, so that's an edge. It's also why people Like the Lian-Li cases like the PC-60 and PC-7H. (Look them up at NewEgg.)

On the other hand, the PlusView looks like the same case as the 1080, but with a window on the side and no power supply. It has the same problem with a plastic front door on it that the Sonata does. Still a good compentent case. If you put all five 80 mm fans in it, you could probably get slower, quieter ones if noise or cooling is a problem.

I'd probably go with the P160 just because it's the kind of case I wouldn't mind having around for a long while. The ProView is nice, but it's like a lot of other cases I see.

 

[rookie1010]

thanks for all the info again

is there any benefit in mounting the hard drives sideways

i think the P160 is leading the race for my new case now.
would you recommend it or should i check out lian li's. do you know if lian li's with a similar spec as the P160 would be considerably more expensive.

how easy is to mate a power supply to case? i have got no experience in that department.

i have put my machine together, but not the PSU?

do you think i need to go for one of those anti-static wrist thingies?