Antec P183 Mid-Tower Case Review

Conclusion

So there you have it! In a way, we were glad that Antec didn’t drastically redesign the P180 to produce their new P183. Let’s face it, when you’re on to something good, why scrap it and go back to the drawing board? Antec made some important -albeit subtle – improvements, like improved airflow thanks to the front door design and the relocation of the optional lower chamber fan. On the aesthetic front, Antec also made the P183 an even better looking case by ditching that little top wing, and offering it in a beautiful gun-metal grey finish.

So let’s recap, shall we?

Going back to aesthetics, we think that Antec did a great job with the P183. Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but there is really not much to dislike about the P183. It enjoys an incredibly universal appearance that would look just as much at home in an office as it would on the desk of a PC enthusiast. The high quality gunmetal grey finish is top notch, and the front door helps to provide it with a classy yet simple appearance.

Aside from just looking good, the P183 is also a nice and solid enclosure; the plastics used in the build are nice and thick and the steel construction is top-notch. The side panels are also very unique with Antec’s three-layer plastic and aluminum construction, which provides a nice and heavy feel with good acoustic properties. Although it is difficult to describe in writing, tapping on the panel yields a light “thud” noise as opposed to a “ding” or a “clang” that you get from normal steel or aluminum panels.

In the performance department, the P183 is no slouch. Thanks to the powerful TriCool fans, the P183 can exhaust a lot of air from the main chamber and maintains decent CPU and GPU temperatures. Even more impressive is the exceptional PSU and Hard Drive temperatures yielded by the P183. The thermal isolation of the lower chamber is most definitely effective and even without an active intake fan, the PSU exhaust fan provides all of the necessary airflow. The only unfortunate aspect of the P183 is that its good performance comes only with the fans at full speed. Moving 160CFM of air with a pair of 120mm fans is unfortunately very difficult to do while maintaining low noise levels. At the “Medium” or “Low” setting, buyers will enjoy a nice and quiet case, but must be willing to live with higher CPU and GPU temperatures.

About the only thing we wish Antec would have done with the P183, was to implement two features found in their “Mini P180” case; a painted black interior and larger 200mm exhaust fan. From an aesthetics perspective, it just seems unfortunate that the beautiful exterior finish of the P183 was not continued throughout the interior of the case. We think that just about anyone would agree that the P183 would be an incredibly beautiful looking case with a black interior. Secondly, the large 200mm top exhaust fan in the Mini-P180 would have been a perfect addition to the P183 as well. Let’s face it, competition is fierce in the enclosure market, and most enthusiast cases employ oversize fans for their high level of airflow and low-noise levels.

These are really the only minor gripes we have about the P183. Overall, we think that it is a high quality enclosure, with an intelligent internal layout, good cooling performance and good cable management features. At a reasonable $170 and backed by a three year warranty, we certainly wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the P183 and are pleased to award it with Hardware Canucks’ “DAM GOOD” award!

Pros:

- Solid build quality
- Excellent cable management design
- Beautiful gun metal exterior finish
- Multi-layer side panels are effective at rattle and noise dampening
- Spacious interior
- Excellent PSU and Hard Drive temperatures thanks to dual chamber system
- 3-speed fan control
- Fair price and 3-year warranty


Cons:

- Bland looking grey steel interior, and no available window options
- Intake fan not included
- Case a bit loud with fans at full-speed, and CPU/GPU temperatures increase significantly when fans turned down.