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ANTEC SONATA III 500 | 
 enlarge | Brand: Antec
Category: CE
Buy New: £73.55
New (18) from £73.55
Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 34191
Media: Electronics
Shipping Weight (lbs): 20.1
Dimensions (in): 21.5 x 19.7 x 10.6
Legal Disclaimer: Layer One UK does not offer any warranty other than the one imposed by the manufacturer. Consequently, the warranty conditions proposed by Layer One UK will be an exact copy of the manufacturers.
MPN: 0761345-08143-6
Model: 0761345-08143-6
UPC: 761345081436
EAN: 0761345081436
ASIN: B000RW56MS
Release Date: February 20, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Mini tower | | • | 20.6 cm x 46.3 cm x 42.5 cm | | • | 9.1 kg | | • | United Kingdom | | • | 2 x Hi-Speed USB ï 1 x storage - eSATA ï 1 x microphone - input ï 1 x headphones - output |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Ultra-silent, the Sonata III mini-tower from Antec's third-generation Quiet Computing range comes with a host of handy functions that make for a quiet working environment. Employing a power supply of 500 W 80Plus certified, the Sonata III guarantees pure and crystal clear sound thanks to its HD audio ports. What's more, this box has three 5.25" bays and six 3.5" bays so you can completely customise your computer system.Furthermore, the Sonata III features improved air slots and a Tricool fan to optimise the cooling of your configuration.
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| Customer Reviews:
Feature-rich but poor design August 25, 2008
14th Annual Review Steering Committee (England, UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Sonata III looks quite refined in plain black but it is really just a painted steel box with a plastic front. The paint can be scratched quite easily when assembling or disassembing it.
The side panel closing mechanism is quite an innovation, but this plus point is overshadowed by the flimsyness of the case's steel shell and the fact that the other side panel is rivetted on. The front door covering the drive bays is actually the case's worst point. It has no proper closing mechanism and if it hangs at all unevenly from the hinge, it may need to be lifted slightly as it is closed. On mine, you can't just push it closed. Another problem with the front door is that you have open it to press the power button or the reset button. As with the side panel, the front door has a lock, so from a security point of view, the case is good, but there's nothing stopping unauthorised access of the USB ports unless you physically disconnect them inside the chasis. Also, if you lock the PC and then mislay the key, you can't turn it on or off, and you may even have to bust the front door off altogether if you lose the keys. One more thing of note is that the key-locks are not very good and I reckon the lock could be picked relatively easily.
Vibrations inside the case are damped down by rubber feet on the hard disk drive bays. The bays are turned to face the side of the case for easier access. Unfortunately, the wires to the front panel connectors come into the case behind the drive bays and routing cables within the case is awkward because the case front isn't removable and the bays themselves are rivetted together.
The supplied rear fan has its own three speed switch, but it is incompatible with motherboard fan speed controllers and is only accessible by opening up the case. It really makes no sense to have switch you can't operate, does it ? I would go so far as to say the supplied case fan is loud too, even on its quietest setting. One final gripe is that there is nowhere for a front fan, but one can be put behind the drive bays instead. Fitting this extra chasis fan is again an awkward task unless the case is absolutely empty and may require the additional purchase of some M3 x30mm screws and nuts.
The included power supply and the front e-sata port make the package overall good value for money and taking these into consideration, it is not altogether disappointing if you can get over the flimsyness of the outer case, which is the bit you must deal with most of the time. If you can afford a more substantial case and you like a bit of space to work inside, go for something else. This case is undoubtedly feature-rich, but overall I think corners have been cut to keep the cost down and there a some unforgivable design flaws, which is odd considering that this is the third revision of the Antec Sonata.
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www.pcprotech.co.uk | |
