Antec P190

very well made.... yet very expensive.

wow... i like it. But the price, ouch...I'd better save on the case and get a slightly better hardware.

Nice review, I've always used Antec cases and this just fortifies why. Not sure about the price though :o

(BTW The link on page 2 for image 2 goes here, it should be to here instead; there are errors like this on other pages as well)

Picture links all double checked and fixed - I was missing the B on one or two of the imgurl= links. Cheers for the heads up.

Perhaps I'm just missing something, but is there any reason that a case should cost over $350? My motherboard and processor together didn't cost that much! Given the performance issues raised in the review, I get the feeling that Antec are trying sell this case on name alone.

Make it big and beefy, tell people it will support two power supplies for that ultimate hardcore gaming experience, and I suppose people will buy it just so they can say, "Oh yeah, well I have the uber-Antec, with gold accents! So there." Yeah, and I bet your amplifier goes to eleven, as well.

Sure, they might have the Hummer equivalent of a case; however, I'd rather spend a fraction of that and just put some thought into a simpler, more elegant setup.

-monkey

Originally Posted by supermonkey
Perhaps I'm just missing something, but is there any reason that a case should cost over $350? My motherboard and processor together didn't cost that much! Given the performance issues raised in the review, I get the feeling that Antec are trying sell this case on name alone.

Make it big and beefy, tell people it will support two power supplies for that ultimate hardcore gaming experience, and I suppose people will buy it just so they can say, "Oh yeah, well I have the uber-Antec, with gold accents! So there." Yeah, and I bet your amplifier goes to eleven, as well.

Sure, they might have the Hummer equivalent of a case; however, I'd rather spend a fraction of that and just put some thought into a simpler, more elegant setup.

-monkey

Well I'd assume the price comes from the 2 psu's included in the case...

Honestly please, £235 for a case made from thin steel

Originally Posted by supermonkey

Yeah, and I bet your amplifier goes to eleven, as well.
-monkey

Why not just make ten have the same power as eleven? ;)

Originally Posted by HandMadeAndroid
Honestly please, £235 for a case made from thin steel

It's actually quite thick steel. ;)

considering a decent PSU will run you £100, this case makes for good value in a rather perverse way.

Originally Posted by Tim S
It's actually quite thick steel. ;)

It's actually two layers of quite thick steel. Which is why we could barely lift the thing.

I like that it holds up to 2 PSU's in it now you can have one for the PC and one for the cooling system Unless you later get some next-gen PCI-E2 Video cards and need a ton of wattage :D

my case cost £15 and has two layers, plastic and sheet steel. ^ ^

infact my entire computer is probobly worth less than that case...

Ok, fair enough that it comes packaged with two power supplies, and that it's manufactured with two layers of thick steel.

I still can't help but wonder. This isn't holding up any walls in the house; two layers of thick steel is plain overkill for a computer case. I believe Antec could make this same case with aluminum, and I would eat my shoes if somebody actually lost his computer bacause the case fell apart.

I understand the importance of certain aspects of case construction: sharp edges, ease of access, tooless design, etc. But I don't think it's really fair to heap praise on a case for its double-layer, all steel construction. Ghetto-mods have shown us that a cardboard box can house the same computer just as well.

I submit that a $30, aluminum, off-brand case will hold up to the extreme physical rigors of computing just as well.

And I still question the necessity of two power supplies. If your cooling loop requires its own PSU, then it's either terribly inefficient or you're cooling too many components.

-monkey

That case is uglier than two pints of ugly.

your girlfriend has 84 pairs of trainers?

she's either a hip-hop superstar or a chav.... nice case though

Originally Posted by fev
your girlfriend has 84 pairs of trainers?

she's either a hip-hop superstar or a chav.... nice case though

:)

the case includes dual PSUs, which are pictured to be used. Where's the review on them?

Nice review, how does this thing compare to a lian-li case then (which usually seem to be held up as some of the best cases around) ?

Originally Posted by Tulatin
the case includes dual PSUs, which are pictured to be used. Where's the review on them?

We don't have a load tester sitting in our offices unfortunately, but if the case stays with us, we'll have a look at those next time we head up to test some more units.

You(B-T staff) have reviewed quite a few expensive, high-end, or "enthusiast" cases recently, is it possible for you to review a few sturdy, well-made cases that look good at the same time, without costing the earth?

A generic example:
The price range of the case not being above C.£40.00


H.B.

Originally Posted by supermonkey
This isn't holding up any walls in the house; two layers of thick steel is plain overkill for a computer case. I believe Antec could make this same case with aluminum, and I would eat my shoes if somebody actually lost his computer bacause the case fell apart.

I think it's supposed to dampen the noise more.

Personally, my opinion is "Meh. It looks too much like a fridge."

It's hard to review "generic" cases because the specifications can change very regularly (it's the same reason why nobody reviews generic monitors), but we'll have a look at getting some lower end cases in.

The last one we did wasn't too long ago, actually - towards the end of May and cost £40. ;)

Did anybody else notice "RERA" on the picture of the fan speed switches?

Originally Posted by GigantoR
Did anybody else notice "RERA" on the picture of the fan speed switches?

Joe did...

Originally Posted by Joe
One thing we did notice about the fans which led us to have a chuckle or two was that the fan controls on the back of the case for the top and rear fans have a spelling mistake on them.