Antec Sonata III Mini ATX Tower

• Average user rating: 4.5 stars out of 3 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 9 stars

  One of the best quality, best looking PC cases on the market right now!

  by karl_stade on April 12, 2008

  Pros: Sleek, piano black finish. Hidden drive bays with extened door, front USB, sound, e-sata ports. Excellent internal design, easy to use. Comes with Antec PSU and 12cm case fan. Easy access dust filter!

  Cons: Have noticed that the PSU can be a bit noisy at times, apparrently this is a common problem with Antec PSUs.

  Summary: I bought this case for a system build, and all I can say in addition to the pros and cons is that I got this at a good price and ...

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  Summary: I bought this case for a system build, and all I can say in addition to the pros and cons is that I got this at a good price and I am still very happy with it. Even my g/f thinks its a beautiful looking case.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 10 stars

  Excellent case for low-noise & low-to-medium heat uses.

  by SunnyDanSan on November 14, 2011

  Pros: Quiet. Great drive mounting. Softer lights (compared to prior generations of Sonata). Adequate PSU for most applications. Excellent heat dispersal for low-to-medium demanding tasks.

  Cons: The 17-ish-inch tall case feels a bit tight when wiring, compared to some of the 20-inch tall options (when using a full ATX board). Not the best case for multi-GPU high-load, high-heat situations.

  Summary: I am an avid fan of Antec cases and power supplies. 3 of 4 of my post-Amiga computers have been Antec cases. I own a classic Sonata for my now ...

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  Summary: I am an avid fan of Antec cases and power supplies. 3 of 4 of my post-Amiga computers have been Antec cases. I own a classic Sonata for my now 9-year-old (still on original PSU) single-core XP gaming machine, but that's not what I'm here to review.
  
  My Brother In Law asked me to spec him a new machine just over a year ago. Quiet was his number one concern. I, of course, looked at the Sonata line. The Sonata III has several improvements. First, it has rid itself of the ultra-bright LED lit domes so it doesn't light up a room anymore (gaffer's tape still recommended for the two small lights, if in bedroom or dark-tv-viewing area). Next, it has a bit more space around the PSU than the original Sonata, so swapping power supplies no longer requires unmounting the MoBo or processor fan. Last, they've upped the stock PSU to 500 watts, which is enough for most non-SLI and non-CrossFire applications. They do offer the Sonata Proto, cheaper, and without a PSU, for people who want to build with a more powerful PSU.
  
  Of course, to build a very quiet machine one must be mindful of the noise made by other components (HDD, DVD, CPU cooler, Video Card Fan) and buy appropriately. My Bro-n-law's machine is so quiet that one must put their ear to the case to hear it run; but note that we used a fanless video card, quiet drives, and replaced the stock CPU cooler with an 24dBA max fan/heatpipe.
  
  Besides the above notes, the Sonata III uses the classic dampening tricks: Silicone grommets on drive mounting; quiet case fan... etc.
  My next gaming machine will be a Sonata Proto or Sonata III case; but note that I never use multiple video cards and never overclock, so I am not too demanding for heat dispersal. I would not recommend this case for SLI/CrossFire setups.

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• 9 stars

  Excellent case delivering the promised quietness

  by TheKostya on July 25, 2008

  Pros: Quiet as promised, stylishly looking, easy add/remove hard drives

  Cons: Opening side panel needs more force than desired

  Summary: I use Sonata cases on 3 of my computers that I have put myself together (e.g. not bought an already assembled configuration). I have 1 case of Sonata II ...

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  Summary: I use Sonata cases on 3 of my computers that I have put myself together (e.g. not bought an already assembled configuration). I have 1 case of Sonata II and 2 cases of Sonata III. Purchasing Sonata II case was a recommendation by a friend of mine, and at first I wasn't sure that extra $50-60 compared to the ordinary cases is worth paying for a computer case. But once I started putting the motherboard and hard drives inside I already started feeling the great user-friendliness and thought put in the design of this case. For my next 2 computers I purchased Sonata III model, and I didn't find much difference between the two models. Here are my pros/cons:
  
  PROS:
  
  1. Overall quietness is really good, and I appreciate that a lot, especially times when I sleep in the same room where computers are running and I need them to be on. It also gives better piece of mind while simply working. One of the computers stays in the living room and I use it to watch movies, which gives me better experience by not hearing extra noises coming from coolers and hard drives
  2. Side doors allow for very fast opening of the boxes and taking a look inside.
  3. First time putting hard drives in takes same time as in a regular box, but after it's a different story. The easily detachable hard-drive sliding panels allow for very fast moving around of the hard-drives. Combined with Point 2 (the side doors), it makes it even faster.
  4. The rubber (on model II and silicon on model III) between the panel and the hard drive reduces significantly the noise coming from it, as well as it saves hard drive’s life-time. To me, this simple feature alone is worth those extra dollars I paid.
  5. Access to turn on/off button, reset button and DVD player is protected by front panel that can be locked if needed. Even with no locking it already protects those buttons from my little son who often plays around by the computer that stays in the living room.
  
  CONS:
  
  1. Side panel sometimes are somewhat hard to close/open, even though the general idea is user-friendly. For one of the boxes I though it was locked and keys didn't help, so I called customer service, which recommended just to try harder
  2. Power and hard-drive lights are very nice (blue color), but I had to put a piece of duck tape on them for my computer in the living room, as it was irritating while watching movies.
  
  Summary: I simply love this box and in my opinion paying the extra dollars totally worth it for what you get.

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