#1106 - Antec Sonata Elite Case Video Review

[utubeb14]

lol the new sonta is like the same.... antec need to make better cases atleast the new hcp psu's are good

[georgek35]

I own two of the Sonata III cases (the predecessor to this one) and they're great as a value purchase.

It looks like Antec made some good changes to the Sonata Elite.

[Disinf3ctant]

@georgek35

I usually mount all my best hardware in my antec 1200 but when I upgrade the components I usually move the old computer into a more budget case so I can use the 1200 for the new computer. Do you reckon I should get this case as one of my budget cases?

[njaffar]

"Great Value" LOL. You need another term like "Suck-ass Product."

[AriesLT]

I'm not sure I like that opening door for the CD drives. The main reason being I remember our first computer (years ago) had a hinge door for our floppy drive and it managed to get broken off fairly early into the computer's life.

We kept the computer for 7 years and it was an eyesore the whole time. :p

[David12King]

great value

never heard 3GM use that term before.

[Templarofsteel18]

damn that one is UGLY as hell

[Duckrad]

This case includes a blower style fan because it blows.

[DeltaPhi79]

Sounds like an electric train.

[madjimms]

My case is louder....

[PCMichiana]

I have since dropped door cases... lol, so much work opening a door to open your CD-Rom drive :P

[DieChaplinMelone]

I like the CoolerMaster CM690. Does anyone has experiences with this case?

[Lvaneede]

Great value is the lowest score I have seen him give

[ChrisHoyt]

This guys voice is annoying...this is stuff I can see on Antec's website :P

[LaDeXi]

I love my P183 ^^

[SonsOfHateSphere]

100% shitass product!

Serously, Antec cases gets worse, since 902...

[MN12BIRD]

@SonsOfHateSphere I do agree in general Antec has had little to get excited about and usually for the price CM has a case to kill them all. BUT these are quiet hence almost every sound engineer/recording studio I've seen that uses a PC (and not a Mac) uses a Sonata case.

[nothin240]

@SonsOfHateSphere You obviously know nothing about Antec then, this case is atleast 4 years old i think mabey 5 if im not mistaken. It is a great case, solid structure dosent feel cheap and light, feels strong and well together, Very quiet, no vibrations, looks great in life reeealy shiney

[callecam]

First GREAT VALUE I've seen from 3DGameMan ;)

[Agremen]

sorry but i prefer my Antec Nine Hundred Gaming Tower 200M Fan - 9 Drive Bays - External 3 x 5.25" - Internal 6 x 3.5" for HDD - Top mounted I/O ports - 2 x USB 2.0 - 1 x IEEE 1394 - Audio In and Out

...Way more air flow :D

[StefanH1234]

lol this case should cost like $50 AUS its pretty lame feature wise...

[Punk462]

Hey guys the Sonata III is about the same price and it comes with a 500 watt Antec Earthwatts power supply, therefore the Sonata III case is "Greater" than the Sonata Elite (and I'm sure Rodney would agree) ;)

[DualCorePower]

And welcome to another video game review.

lol, you rock.

The Case looks ok tho.

[latoywri]

garbage...

[esspytood]

$140.80 AUD. cheap?

[Dunceiam]

Compared to the 800D, yeah.

[StefanH1234]

I think so... but I think the Antec 300 is far better because it has heaps of front ventilation. Though its more a business case, hence the acoustic sound dampening material on the inside xD.

[cal920c]

highly negative case, but would work for a business case. not enough ventilation is the problem.

[NitroglycerinStudios]

Another worthless case from Antec. Can't belive they didn't change more from the original Sonata III case! '

-Poor cooling

-loud fans

-plastic front

-bad cable managment

-PSU in top

[nwstud31]

Great Value = POS

[ahgnfjie]

the front bezel looks way too cheap

[unnamednewbie13]

They got the options backwards. Fancy side vents and what should be an after-market fan on the back? Acoustic shield? Wow...no wait, no removable tray and a plastic bezel. I also prefer horizontal storage, but it doesn't matter too much for normal computer use and environment.

"Nothing extraordinary, so it has great value." I know his rating system, but I still got to laugh.

[4ourTimber]

this case sucks

[lakeb0dom]

is this a case or a safe lol...

[Jonnyinter1]

Wait is there no intake fan in the front?

[downscreen129103]

what a crappy case.

[tehpwnerer117]

great value!

[pigflesh]

Thanks for reviewing this product Rodney.

[ironeagle69]

barely any ventilation to give adequate cooling.

[Kenster1025]

He just loved saying that this case was of great value. What a small budget case, something you would see from Acer or Dell.

[MrFlo306]

powerbutton behind the door. coomon, that's stupid! who always want to open the door to turn his machine on???

[legendray2008]

This is not good

I didn't like at all :(

[Izliecies]

Cool, new rating logos.

[alex14469]

I kinda like this case but I just bought the cooler master storm scout.

[pmmers]

Is it better to have a case where the PSU gets installed at the top or at the bottom of the case? Considering heat, air circulation in the case. Or doesn't it matter?

[onoff314]

Does not really matter.

[Kenster1025]

Better at the bottom, since you can do a better cable management, and for air circulation, since it is at the bottom. You also with a bottom mount you can run liquid cooling much easier through the top of the case if ports are already in place.

[tqrules]

depends on you using fans or not .... if so let physix do its work ... hot air rise's remmber

[takeapieandrun]

@pmmers I would say bottom. The center of gravity would be lower, and there is more space below the motherboard. Also, cable management would be slightly easier, as you could put unused cables in the drive bays.

[pmmers]

I wanna thank you all for answering my question.

[LivingOnMyPC]

Great Value? Wow. This must suck.

[declaration963]

"Great Value" ??

this is first time he giving it, he always says GREAT - KICKASS - 100% KICKASS

[GCVos]

This is not the first time.

[Charlaweyd]

Great value.

hmm, that's new.

Nice case btw. It's nice that a more normal looking case gets reviewed :)

[ktonlai]

whoa whoa, is that a new rating i hear?

so:

100% kickass

kickass

great

great VALUE

good

[loveheartagrammetal]

I've seen this in the UK with £55 being the cheapest price and for an extra £10 you could get a much better CM-690 case.

you could even spend less than what this case costs and get something which looks better and has some extra features.

I'm not saying this is a particularly bad case but feel it could be better for the price its at or at least be priced lower.

[CYB3RN1NJA]

These cases are pretty good if your wanting to build a quiet pc, I had the original Sonata for a budget audio workstation and the sound proofing makes a real noticable difference.

[SoylentBreen]

How the hell is it a "great value"? It's $100, the same price as some MUCH better cases (CM RC 690, CM Storm Scout). If it were say $50 with free shipping then you could say that it's a "great value".

[fickie321]

Great value means totally fucked up in the universe of rodney

[CYB3RN1NJA]

I guess what he's really saying is the case is good but nothing special.

[Asdemus]

3dgameman you seem to like what you are doing since you upload videos every 5 hours XD

[totojaaat]

Always 5* Rodney

[CustomWP]

woah! First time I've seen a review with less than "Great" rating

[xxPeCe]

Thats true :D

[Jspeterson]

The main difference with other non-OEM cases is that it doesn't look strange and ugly. A Dell case still looks better though.

[kakarotrage]

what is great value?

[Petsku333]

Great value means that you get alot for your money and you get a good product for a cheap price..

[GreenyPoop]

a product that does nothing more than just bare minimum and it is not different from any other product as well

[madjimms]

Bare minimum? I have a case that fits bare minimum, this is a GREAT value.... your just a snob.

I'm guessing this only costs about 40-60 bucks.

[KuruGDI]

Why the thumb screws near the HDDs? Do you really have to srew the thumb screws back in again while holding the HDD in place? If so: That idea is not good at all.

Moreover I don't like swing open doors (but that is my opinion)

However, the drive rails is the 5,25'' covers is a nice idea.

@ Rodney: You rate (starting with the best) "100% kickass", "kickass", "great" and "good". Is "great value" below "good" (as I know you only rated a product as "good" once; it was a case with plastic feet)

[madjimms]

Looks like a good budget case to me, it has lots of features for a minimal price.

[EmilLantz]

Ugly, bad price. Buy a Cooler Master 690 instead, it's a superb case.

[cotyslick]

nica case i might consider it when i buid my new pc

[iheartcomps]

woo only the second great value I have seen.

[qbthething]

no intake fan lol....and that little hole is block by those harddrive bay. Buy this if you want your computer to blow up lol

[videosurfer69]

A silent budget case? Don't see a big market for that. And the temps will probably be terrible.

Rodney informative as always, but the case sucks.

[doomtomb3]

This case kept it simple but lacked some important and obvious design features. This isn't progress, Antec.

[wildboyz322]

i seriously dont understand why they sell this more than the antec 300 and 200 series

[gamermax007]

once a time no "kickass" =D

[JayCtto]

awsome case, awsome review

[sebaswildboy]

Ugly.

[ksmsli]

totally agree

one ugly case bad air flow

[iNfx1]

*Shields eyes*

I still don't like it.