Antec Performance Plus 1080 SOHO File Server Case - Conclusion page 2

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Preparing the case to receive the components for my system was relatively easy.  Just a little trial and error on where to set the standoffs, and the motherboard was ready to mount.  One of the upgrades I did during this swap was changing out my Thermoengine HSF to the Alpha Pal8045U.  That done, I mounted the motherboard and proceeded to install the various cards.  While installing the cards, I noticed that Antec did not provide relief cuts to make it easier to get a screwdriver or nut driver on the screws that hold the cards.  All of my previous cases have had these indentations or relief cuts.  After that came the drives.  My first disappointment came when mounting the 3.5" floppy drive.  The holes didn’t line up so that my TEAC 3.5" drive mounted flush with the exterior on the front bezel.  It would end up either inside the opening or sticking out.  Since I installed the drives with the bezel in place, I had a little difficulty getting the drive through the slot.  I started attaching the sliders to the various 5.25" drives.  My old Inwin’s sliders clipped on, but the Antec’s sliders had to be screwed on.  The drives slid in easily.  Next up, it was time to mount the hard drives for my RAID array.  With the GeForce 3 video card already installed, I was able to determine beforehand that one of the openings on the bottom hard drive cage would be unusable with the fan mounted in the cage.  Since I am only running 2 drives on the RAID array, this was not a problem.  Looking at it, I determined that if I were to get a GeForce 4 card, I’d have to remove it to get the hard drive cage out.  With all the drives mounted up, I was ready to start running power and cables.

 

After connecting the power button, speaker, and LED’s, it was time for the cables.  Even with the massive height of the case, standard IDE cables fit my particular application.  One might have to use longer cables if the IDE channels were located at the bottom of the motherboard and drives were mounted in the top bays.  Running power to the components was a snap, especially with the dedicated power leads for the case fans.  The next thing I did was connect the front USB ports to the motherboard.  In retrospect, this should have been done at the same time as the power button and LED’s, or even before mounting cards. Antec’s wires for the external USB ports are not done in just 2 plugs but in 8 separate plugs.  It proved a challenge to work around the cards and get each one of them attached properly and securely to the pins on the bottom edge of the motherboard.  I ended up pulling the NIC out to get this accomplished after much cursing and frustration.  A modular plug here would have saved the day.

Since this was a straight swap, I figured that everything should work just fine on power up, unless I messed something up.  The only questionable item was the USB connectors.  On power up, I discovered I had reversed the plug on the floppy - no big deal.  Everything worked as advertised.  I immediately put the side panel on and started Medal of Honor - Allied Assault.  I wanted to load the system a bit and see how the Antec TruePower power supply did.  As the load increased and temps rose, so did the speed of the fans.  I liked that.  I got to listening to the case and even under full load, it is quieter than my old one.  All in all, I am pleased with the result.

Speaking of results, I did some testing for temperature.  The system temperatures have dropped 11° C to 36° C, and with the addition of the Alpha PAL, processor temps have dropped 12° C to 43° C all under full load.  That’s pretty good in my book.

Conclusion: My conclusions are mixed.  I am very pleased with how everything turned out, which is what I have to live with.  My temporary frustrations are now gone, but their memory lives on.  There are several things Antec could have done to make installation more pleasant.  The first is to fix the upper 3.5" cage so that floppy drives line up.  I have since drilled holes to accomplish this.  Since I actually read the instructions, they could have indicated that USB installation would be easier on a bare motherboard, or, better still, provided modular plugs for connecting the pins.  The front dust filter could be easier to manipulate as well.  With everything finished and running correctly, I am confident in giving this case 8 out of 10 points.  I believe the Antec Plus1080 case is worth its price and worth the minor frustrations.

Pros: 

1. Plenty of room

2. Excellent cooling

3. Superb power supply

4. Dedicated case fan leads

5. Temperature monitoring with fan control

6. Lockable

7. Front USB and Firewire (IEEE 1394) ports

Cons: 

1. No relief cuts to ease card installation

2. No modular plug for front USB ports

3. Uneven mounting of floppy drive

4. Front fan filter a little difficult to manipulate

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