Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mini Tower ATX Case (Black)
- Metal double hinge door opens up to 225 degrees
- Constructed from 0.8-millimeter cold rolled steel for durability
- Built-in washable air filter to keep dust out of your case
- Front-mounted USB, eSATA, HDA, and AC’97 audio in/out ports
EarthWatts 500 Watt power supply (80 PLUS certified) Front mounted USB, eSATA, HDA & AC 97 Audio In/Out ports 9 Drive Bays: – 3 x 5.25″ external drive bays – 2 x 3.5″ external drive bays – 4 x 3.5″ internal drive bays in individual trays with sili
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(out of 35 reviews)
List Price: $ 149.99
Price: $ 100.00
Review by S. Roberts for Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mini Tower ATX Case (Black)
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There is a very big and annoying problem with this product. It does not adequately discharge static electricity. If it has been running for a while and you, or your pet, brushes up against the metalic insert on the front of the panel, you can discharge your energy and crash the system. This happens all the time for me when inserting a USB drive. Antec is aware of the problem, here is their response:
Comment: 1. We are working on this problem with a high priority, and have already tested multiple proposed fixes. Unfortunately, the problem is turning out to be more difficult than anticipated. The case is currently being tested in a special ESD lab.
2. The metallicized plastic IS grounded. That fact is one of the reasons this problem is proving so difficult to pin down.
3. We cannot refund monies that were not paid to us, but if a customer needs help returning product to a distributor we can usually help arrange that if the distributor is being uncooperative.
4. We actually expect an answer fairly soon, and as soon as we can we will be making it available to customers encountering this problem. We definitely apologize for the inconvenience, but Antec is well known for the quality of its customer service and for the way we stand behind our products.
UPDATE 3/17/08: As an update, Antec has come up with a solution. they have replaced the front silver metallic panel with a flat piano black panel. I have yet to see if this will fix the problem, but I think that bodes well to their commitment to fixing the issue.
Review by Don Young for Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mini Tower ATX Case (Black)
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This is an excellent case for my home theater needs. Very quiet and extremely well put together. Installing the motherboard and drives was very easy. The locking front is absolutely essential if you have young children. It prevents them from powering on and off the system. I previously had one of my hard drives crashed by one of my cute little button pusher. Thank goodness for backups. Could not ask for a better case in this price point.
Review by L. White for Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mini Tower ATX Case (Black)
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I have had this case a few weeks and have been super pleased with it. My third build with Antec cases this year. Two 900 cases for gaming systems and now this Sonata III for myself. Hey, I’m 58 and a nice cool and quiet case are what I want. I have never worked with a case this well thought out. All the cables can be run without crossing the motherboard. I picked up a second fan as I have three hard drives. My CPU stays at 104F or less no matter how hard I run it and the mobo is the same. Beautiful black finsish and the drive bays are the easiest I have worked with. Mounting the hard drives to be in side mounted, sound isolated trays makes them super easy to install and remove. The sound is almost imperceptable, even on drive access. Maxtor sata drives, gigabyte GA-EP35 DS3R mobo and Core Duo 6550. Best system I have had since I started building them in 1984. Buy this case and you won’t be sorry…. unless you are a super overclocker and running wide open.. then go the 900.. not as nice, not as quiet but super cool.
Review by Mark Dunbar for Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mini Tower ATX Case (Black)
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The product is excellent. I believe the 2&3 year old reviews should be removed as the company has fixed issues and all the old reviews do is diminish the products worthyness. Just sayin. If it was my product I would petition removals of any reviews past current manufacture dates.
Review by Dougie Fresh for Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mini Tower ATX Case (Black)
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I recently purchased this case to build a custom PC for my brother. He wanted a tower case that wasn’t too big like the behemoth sitting next to his desk then. I am a big fan of Antec cases and power supplies so I’ve had my eye on this one and the usually cheaper NSK-4482B for a while. Features-wise, looks-wise and at the time pricewise, this one proved to be the better of the two so it’s the one I went with. I was not disappointed.
The case itself is a thing of beauty. The piano black finish looks beautiful and it was actually more compact that I expected. The front design is interesting, not just a big black box. The front features two USB 2.0 ports and an eSATA port. I am not sure how useful and eSATA port in the front is going to be for anyone but it’s there. There is also a mic and headphone jack. Above those, there is a swing out door that hides the 3 x 5.25″ drive bays (for ODDs and such) and 2 x 3.5″ bays (for floppy drives and card readers) as well as the power and reset switches. The swing out door is lockable though it’d be pretty easy to break off if someone really wanted to get inside.
This combination of 500W power supply and Antec Sonata case is a bargain. Mine came with the latest Antec EA-500D power supply. If you were to buy the Sonata case and power supply separately it would cost quite a bit more. The included power supply is 80+ rated meaning it’s energy efficient. These power supplies get great reviews.
Accessing the interior of the case requires removing two thumbscrews from the back and then using the handle to swing the door open. It can then be removed fully. There is a ton of room inside. I didn’t even need to remove the power supply to install the motherboard. The hard drive and optical drives were easy to install with the included screws. The hard drive cages/rails have rubber bushings and are secured with special screws. The intention is to reduce vibration. It does make the drives feel more secure. Everything was well labelled and and the cable were long enough to reach everywhere needed on the motherboard. There was tons of space to route cables neatly. It came with a ton of different screws with plenty leftover for adding more harddrives later.
Starting up, I found it to be very quiet. It was certainly inaudible sitting under my desk.
Best of all, my brother loves it. I am thinking of build a new server and I am thinking this will be the case unless I decided to go with the Antec 300. If I need to build any tower desktops for anyone else I’ll be sure to use this case. I looks great, is easy to build with and feels and looks like quality. And, with the included PSU, it’s a great deal.