Antec P101 - nice case, but lacking...
Antec (usually) makes pretty good cases - the P101, one of their latest, is a good value at the price point (well just a little pricey, at over $100.), but is LACKING in design...
Like most of the manufacturers these days, they think it's acceptable to mount an SSD between the the mainboard mounting panel and the outside case cover WHERE THERE IS NO AIRFLOW and the SSD GETS HOT (usually in the low 60's when specs are usually not to exceed 70 degrees AND as we know, continued high temps can lead to the premature demise of electronics.)
BUT the BIG FAILURE is with the PSU cover.
First off, is it even necessary? With solid side panels, who's looking, anyway?
The big problem is with its design - the unit DOES NOT ALLOW for use of modern PSU's where the (usually oversized) fan is on the TOP of the PSU; THER E IS NO CLEARANCE TO ALLOW FOR THE FAN TO BE FUNCTIONAL inside of the PSU cover. Which leads to the use of an 'older' architecture PSU with the rear-mounted fans - trouble there too. The older designed PSU's have shorter 'braided' cables for the power connection (instead of the new long, thin ones). And, the old PSU's were designed when the PSU was mounted in the TOP of the case instead of the BOTTOM (did I say SHORTER power connection cable?) THE CABLE HAS TO BE STRETCHED AND STRAINED TO THE POWER CONNECTION ON THE MAINBOARD! If this case were a "silly mm longer (taller)", IT WOULD NOT REACH!
And, it gets better... If any 'sense' were used in the case design, a removable panel on the PSU cover would have been provided for use with present-day PSU's (with the top-mount fans), OR in the alternative, the PSU cover WOULD HAVE BEEN MADE REMOVABLE altogether to solve the issue. What was done INSTEAD was that the PSU cover was RIVETED to the case. THE RIVETS WOULD HAVE TO BE DRILLED-OUT to remove the PSU cover (in lieu of removing a top-panel on the PSU cover - had it been designed properly, OR to simply dismount the cover if SCREWS had been used.)
Once, again, proof positive - If engineers HAD TO USE what they designed, it wouldn't be designed that way... Sorry Antec, try again.
Other than that, the case works nicely - plenty of bays for drives and nice use of drive caddies. Three NICE, BIG FANS in front of the drive bays for good cooling, and otherwise the 'ergonomics' are fine.
Does the job, except for the PSU cover issue.
And, I was able to relocate the SSD to the top of the upper-most drive bay cage (thanks to some openings in the top of the cage that facilitated mounting), where it sits with a fan blowing across it, to keep it cool.
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Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
