IMAGE GALLERY & PRODUCT WALKTHROUGH
If there’s any indication of how large the Antec P280 is, then the printed box it comes in is the first thing that’ll give you that idea. Antec is one of the companies that still uses full-colored packaging for their casings and this one is no different. A large mood shot of the product is displayed in the center of the box with minimal text on it.
Forgive us for the blurry photograph of the back of the box, irregardless of how much we do not pay attention to the marketing details on packaging materials, we’d certainly enjoy reading them though so we assure you that this is not intentional. Going back to the image, lots of marketing text here with images and text describing the features of the P280 are displayed here.
The sides are as simple as the front with a shot of the case on one side and another shot with the internal on the other side.
The top of the box lists specifications in multiple languages.
Now we get to the unboxing. As we can see in the images above, the Antec P280 is protected by a thick plastic bag and cushioned by styrofoam on 2 sides to support the case during transit. Everything seems to be fine and working as the case arrives to us scratch-free as you’ll see later.
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We’ll start off with the sides of the case. And as you can see, the sides are as bare as can be. This is typical of cases that follow these styling. The other side is an exact duplicate of the one before it. The entire case is coated in matte black with a very nice matte finish and solid texture which just exudes quality.
If you’re still looking for any kind of flashy design, you won’t find it here. The front of the P280 is a sleek, dark gunmetal surface with every front connectivity on top. A simple engraved Antec logo is on the bottom of the front cover which is lined with a thin plastic film to prevent from scratches.
Opening the front cover, we see the front cover is lined with noise-dampening foam which muffles noise from this part of the case. Looking on the main side, we see we have three 5.25″ drive bays available for us. Below this we see the removable mesh filter that covers up the drive bays inside. A total of two 120mm fans can be installed on the front of the case.
The back of the case has a bit more detail to it, up top we see a 4-port switch which is actually a fan controller hub for Antec 2-speed fans, 3 of which are already populated by the rear and top exhaust fans. A total of 9 expansion slots are available as this case supports up to XL-ATX form factor motherboards so this is a very good consideration for people looking to house large motherboards. Next to these are holes lined with rubber grommets for users who still use external components in their liquid-cooling loop. Conventional bottom-mounted PSU placement is in use here which support standard ATX form factor PSUs.
The top of the case has provisions for two 120mm fans which can also accomodate a 240mm radiator. Totally absent for this case is the support for 140mm fans. The power and reset buttons are found on the top of the case near the front.
The upper side of the front of the P280 is where we’ll find our front panel connectivities which include two USB2.0 ports, two USB3.0 ports which run off internal headers and a pair of audio ports for headsets.
Here’s a closer look of the controller hub found behind the case. The panel is numbered 1-2 signifying high and low for Antec 2-speed fans. We also see a thumbscrew, 4 of which secure the side panels of the case.
The front mesh cover pops off easily by pushing on the hinges and pulling. This mesh covers up the drive trays and filters dust and other specks from entering the case. Front fan allocations can be seen here and we have space for a pair of 120mm. You can fit a 240mm rad in there but it’ll require extensive modding as the drive trays sit next to the fan mounts.
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Checking out the space inside the P280, we can see that we’ve got plenty of room here. Immediately noticeable are the rubber-lined cabling holes which is a very nice touch. A large cut-out is also available on the motherboard tray which makes removing back-plates for aftermarket cooler an easier ordeal. There are a total of three 5.25″ drive bays as mentioned already, then we also have room for 6 drive trays and space for two 2.5″ drives just above the top drive tray. And no, we’re not missing a tray, we’ll show you where that tray went later.
Here’s a view of the other side of the P280 behind the motherboard tray. Plenty of room for cable routing and aside from the grommets, the P280 also has provisions for zip-ties to to tie down your cables. There is a touch above 1 inch of space in between the motherboard tray and side panel so we have plenty of room for cable management.
The Antec P280 uses tool-free securing mechanisms for its 5.25″ drive bays. We can also see spaces for 2.5″ drives like SSDs and you can put 2 of these in the space in-between the drive trays and 5.25″ drive bays. Speaking of drive trays, there’s that missing one tray we were talking about. As you can see, there’s no tool-free mount for the HDD trays and you have to screw the drives via the silicone mounts.
The in-take vent for the PSU is filtered and the mesh filter easily slides out from the side so no need to remove the side panel when cleaning the filter. Worth noting is that there’s no other space for fans in the bottom of the P280.
Here’s a shot of the rear-exhaust and motherboard tray cutout. The rear exhaust used is 2-speed Antec fan rated at 1200RPM at high setting and half of that at low speed. The cutout is large enough to maneuver some large backplates for gigantic coolers but is just right to still maintain the tray’s rigidity.
Another angle from the back of the motherboard tray, we see plenty of raised portion for cable management.
Included in the package are screws of different sizes for securing your drives, fans and everything. There’s so many of them I gave up counting. There’s also a product sheet as well as a zip-ties for helping you fasten your cables and reduce cable mess.
The P280 uses an all-steel body to dampen noise and the side panels are lined with a thin polycarbonate sheet to further increase noise dampening. Here we a side by side show of the P280 side panel with the CoolerMaster Silencio’s dampening material which is corrugated foam.
Here’s the case populated with components. Notice that there’s still plenty of space around the case. Also note that we intentionally left the cables on the bottom but there is plenty of space behind the tray to hide those cables as you’ll see in a bit.
There is a bit over an inch of moving space between the side panel and the motherboard tray rear so that’s actually plenty of space to route cables and cram them around. Provided your cables are long enough though, our Antec EarthWatts Platinum PSU’s ATX12V line was a bit short so we had to route it in front of the board. All in all though, extensions will save you in these kinds of situations but if you have a higher end PSU, it’ll have longer cables most likely.
One of the best feature we’ve seen from the P280 is its tool-less fan mounts on the inner side of the drive trays. This area can accommodate two 120mm fans without screwing them in. Clips on both sides lock the fans in place while small notches line them up.
The front panel header connectors are standard fare: USB2.0 and 3.0 connectors and audio as well as the LEDs and switches.
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1 Comment
Superb, Silent, Sexy. All S man, all S.