Item: Antec Sonata III PC system case
Author: Matt Davey

Conclusions, HEXUS awards, HEXUS.right2reply

With a price-tag in the region of £79, the Antec Sonata III 500 isn’t ultra cheap. However, that sum also buys you a fairly high-spec'd power supply that's currently priced at £52.88 from YOYOtech and doesn't seem to be selling for significantly less anywhere else.

Although it's perhaps not appropriate to simply subtract the retail cost of the PSU from the price of the case, if you did so, it would make the cost of the case itself falls to only a little over £26. And that is cheap!

But, since it's not possible to buy the case withut a power supply - at any price - that line of reasoning is a little spurious.

Sticking with the PSU for a moment, 500W is more than enough for some pretty high-end kit nowadays and, although dedicated rails for over-clocking aren't part of the specs, the PSU seemed to do its job well enough.

One thing we do have issues with is the case's quiet tag. Under load, it sounded much the same as a bog-standard steel chassis.

Some people love the look of Antec's piano finish - others are less impressed. Our view is that, without it, the case is a bit of a Plain Jane.

We also think that some people with practical experience of PCs and no need for high security will be put off by the fact that the external drives and the buttons for power and reset are hidden behind a door.

Indeed, only recently, one of our staff members lovingly built a PC for his son using a pristine MkI Antec Sonata case and was a little miffed to discover that the front door had been removed soon after the PC was handed over. On questioning, though, he admits that he's done the same to every case he's ever used that had such a door!

And, without its door, the Sonata III 500 - like the MkI - doesn't look half as nice.

HEXUS awards

So what's our bottom line?

Well, it has to be said that, although the Antec Sonata III 500 feels a little too cheap-to-the-touch in places - notably the door and front-fan filter - as a package, it's a pretty tasty deal, though it doesn't really represent a major step forward in the progress of the Sonata line.

But, if you're not keen on built-to-a-budget Chinese cases carrying unknown brands, the Sonata III should be high up on your shortlist, especially since it comes with a quality power supply that's unlikely to burn the house down if the kettle and microwave oven are turned on at the same time.

As such the Antec Sonata III 500 fully merits a HEXUS Essentials Good Value award.

Antec Sonata III 500

HEXUS Where2Buy

The Antec Sonata III 500 is available for £78.13 from SCAN Computers. That price - correct at the time of publication - includes VAT and, for regular members of the HEXUS.community, delivery as well (find out more here).

HEXUS Right2Reply

At HEXUS.net, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If Antec chooses to respond, we'll publish its commentary here verbatim.

Just like Antec, you, too, can have your say - so feel free to comment in the HEXUS.community.

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HEXUS Forums :: 6 Comments

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Posted by LuckyNV - Tue 30 Oct 2007 13:10

Just like the Antec P190, if they shipped it without the PSU the case would be an utter steal.

Posted by menthel - Tue 30 Oct 2007 13:14

Its cheap with the PSU. I would not want a cheaper PSU than this and would not want to run a huge SLI rig in this either.

Posted by dave87 - Tue 30 Oct 2007 13:25

I think I've found the perfect case to transfer my athlon setup into, for when I want to upgrade to a Core2Duo based PC. That way my seasonic PSU and decent fans (£10 a pop) can stay in my main PC.

Posted by freddie - Tue 30 Oct 2007 14:59

is there anyone who has a antec 4480 case?
whats it like?

Posted by merlin2001 - Tue 30 Oct 2007 18:14

I've still got the Antec Sonata Mk I case and think these cases are a pretty good deal. The 380W PSU that came with my original case is still going and powered my various Athlon set-ups for a good 3 stable years… I was considering getting this case with my new core2quad, but ultimately decided to buy a higher spec PSU and sticking it into the, yep you guessed it, faithful old Sonata Mk I case… So far, all is good with the thermal performance (although I'm not OC'ing and have a front fan fitted..)

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