Home > Consumer Reviews > Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mini Tower ATX Case (Black)
Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mini Tower ATX Case (Black)
See it at Amazon.com for $86.00Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
Good case but BIG problem could damage system
(2 out of 5) by S. Roberts on Feb 21, 2008 (Chicago, IL)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.
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.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent case for home theater PC. High wife approval factor.
(5 out of 5) by Don Young on Sep 20, 2007 (Sacramento, CA USA)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.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Fantastic Value , Flawless Design
(5 out of 5) by L. White on Mar 7, 2008 (Florida)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.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Nice case
(4 out of 5) by V. Sandberg on Sep 25, 2007 (Michigan, United States)Pros: Very quiet. High quality, seems sturdy, easy to load the drives. Love the all black look. Power supply is good and 500 Watts.
Cons: Plastic door seems a little flimsy. Also the front USB, firewire and audio ports are kind of difficult to use, I mean that you really need to push the usb plug into the outlet and it scratches the cord's metal, same with headphones they are a little difficult to push into the front port.
Other than that it is a nice sturdy case. I got it on sale for 80$ and am very happy with the deal.
Cons: Plastic door seems a little flimsy. Also the front USB, firewire and audio ports are kind of difficult to use, I mean that you really need to push the usb plug into the outlet and it scratches the cord's metal, same with headphones they are a little difficult to push into the front port.
Other than that it is a nice sturdy case. I got it on sale for 80$ and am very happy with the deal.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Very Nice
(5 out of 5) by William C. Rowe on Sep 4, 2007 (Redwood City, CA)This is my third Antec case and by far the best. The hard drives are very easy to install and maintain in this case. The mounting system system keeps vibration from being transmitted to the frame. Another plus is the removable filter in front of the air intake. In my older cases, the hard drive became coated with lint without this feature.
It is very quiet with the case fan on low speed. I had to run it at a higher speed probably because of my four hard drives. I replaced the fan with one that could be controlled by the BIOS.
It is very quiet with the case fan on low speed. I had to run it at a higher speed probably because of my four hard drives. I replaced the fan with one that could be controlled by the BIOS.