Computer cases are probably one of the most understated upgrades ever when building or purchasing a new computer. Buying a good computer case is as important if not more important than your choice of processors. Essentially your computer case will house all your expensive computer equipment for many years. It's been known for people to spend £2k on the insides of the computer but only £25 on a case. If you're spending that much on the top of the range system then the same care and attention should be taken when choosing your next case. Antec have been well known for producing some of the best computer cases and power supplies. Its current range of products includes the P160 Anodised Aluminium Super mid Tower. The P160 sits in their Performance One range and has proved to be very popular since its release. The key aspects of any case are looks, noise level, ease of installation, cooling performance, expansion space and the P160 excels in all areas.

On unpacking the P160 you immediately know you’ve got yourselves a top quality case. Antec have spent some time designing this case making easy to install and setup. The installation of the hardware in your case couldn’t be easier. The case features a removable motherboard tray making it easy to install. Antec have used thumbscrews wherever possible with the case making it a relatively tool less installation. The only tool really needed is a decent Phillips head screwdriver. The 3.5” hard drives are also easy to install. Unlike most cases the hard drive bay points out rather than towards the back of the case. This means you can install new drives with ease without the cables getting in the way of the motherboard. The hard drive trays also have rubber-mounting grommets in them to lessen the noise made from vibration against the case. The drives slide into the trays with ease once you have fitted the included rails. The installation of your CD/DVD drives is just as simple. Don’t worry if your CD/DVD and floppy drives are beige or black. Antec have even included 2 CD drive bezels and 1 floppy drive front which match the case perfectly. This is superb as a lot of case manufacturers don’t think about this and often charge extra for them. The case is kept cool and quiet by a low-speed 120mm fan, which is installed onto the case via rubber like screws to minimise the case noise from vibration. The case also has the ability to install another 120mm fan to the front of the case should it be needed. To monitor the cases internal temperature you can attach two included temperature sensors. The temperature is then displayed on the stylish front display in either Celsius or Fahrenheit. The sensors can be connected anywhere, but its recommended to attach 1 to the motherboard chipset and the other to the primary hard drive.

The front display panel also contains 2 USB ports, audio jacks and 1 firewire port. The front display panel can also be tilted level with the case front or at around 45 degrees depending upon where you place the case. As well as the stylish and useful front panel the case also lights up with a blue neon light on the bottom halve of the case. It looks awesome at night, but if it’s not to your taste then it can be disconnected.

Like a lot of quality cases the Antec P160 has an air-filter installed in the front lower region of the case, however with the P160 it’s removable making cleaning the case and keeping it dust free easy.

The feature of the case speak for themselves. Features:

• Stylish, durable 1.2mm anodised aluminium
• Swivelling front control panel
• Swivels up to 45 degrees.
• Connectors: 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire, i.Link) and 2 x audio jacks.
• LED temperature display with two built-in sensors
• Removable motherboard tray.
• Accommodates any ATX12V power supply
• 10 drive bays
• Color-coordinated CD-ROM & floppy drive covers
• a. 4 external 5.25"
• b. 2 external 3.5"
• c. 4 internal 3.5"
• Rubber mounting grommets in hard drive trays
• Cooling capacity:
  -a: 1 x 120mm low speed fan
  -b: 1 x 120mm fan mount
• Fan Specs:
  -RPM: 1600
  -CFM: 56.13
  -dB(A): 28
• Built-in washable air filter
• Removable Side Panel
• Fits motherboards up to Standard ATX

The one downside of the case as with most cases these days is there isn’t a power supply. While this helps to keep the cost of the case low it does mean if you don’t have a good PSU you will need to add that on to the cost of the case. However if your upgrading you may already have a power supply which means you probably save money as its not been added on to the cost of the case. Not having a PSU fitted does leave room for someone to fit a poor quality PSU though, and with such a great case it would be easy for a novice to buy a poor quality PSU thus defeating the object of buying a quality case.

Overall the quality of the case is exceptional; however the front can be a pain to remove when you’re installing new cd/dvd drives. The front is also a little delicate and can be easily broken, especially at the top.

Overall

The Antec P160 is one of the best cases on the market today. It will keep your PC cool, quiet and running smoothly for sometime. The case has been well designed meaning it’s easy to install your equipment in. While the P160 has been replaced by the Antec P180, the P160 is easier to install and feels a lot stronger. Plus the absence of a door is an obvious advantage. The value as well as quality this case offers can’t be ignored.