Test of a PC case Antec P82 Silent: Silent sequel

Test methodology

Antec recently expanded its mini series of P82 PC cases with a model Silent. This should be a quieter alternative to the P82 Flow with priority in the best possible cooling, which will probably be worse with the Silent, but the reward could come in the form of low noise. You can see how this solution worked in the following test. We will show you the bright sides but also the cons of the P82 Silent. And not just in terms of cooling.

Main specs

Elegancy on the desk

The contents of the package are as common as most cases on the market. A few cable ties, all the necessary screws with anti-vibration rubber for mechanical disks and brief instructions.

The whole case looks simple to me, but also decent. Today’s trend is tempered glass, but you would be unsuccessfully looking for it here. The entire exterior is made of SPCC sheet metal and a piece of plastic. Both sides panels are lined with a soft insert, which serves to lower the noise inside the case. The thickness of the sheets is 0.5 mm, which is significantly reflected in their flexibility. You are at around halfway to proper stability. But at a price of 80 euros, it is acceptable. The attachment of the side panels uses the old known system of two screws, nothing special.

The I/O panel of the case is located on the left side of the exterior, its frame is made of glossy plastic. Since I have my computer on the table, I approve of this approach, everything is at my hand. The power and reset buttons are pressed very comfortably. Neither hard or deep, nor easy and shallow. Other components include slower USB x2 and 2× 3.5 mm jack for headphones with a microphone.

A little bit below the classic elements of the panel, there is a switch to adjust the fan speed. This is the main difference compared to the first model Flow. You have a choice of three modes. The first sets the speed to low for less demanding work, where the noise in my test was at 35.8 dBA. In the second mode (middle position), the fans are completely switched off. The last one is high performance mode, in which I measured the noise level of the case at the level of 38.9 dBA.

The rib-like perforation of the front panel for cold air intake is relatively large. It goes across the entire width of the front panel at the bottom and top, and it also extends to the right along the entire height of the case. The front of the case is quite neat. The left side remains obscured for better I/O panel prominence. The Antec logo does not spoil the sleek impression of the case. The cherry on the cake is a status LED, which is in the shape of the last rib on the top of the case. The light intensity is relatively low and won’t annoy your eyes even at night.

One of the disadvantages of the front panel is the cables. They hold on to the case, so be careful when removing the mask. However, the dust filter is located on the main framework. It is held only by magnets, so it is not necessary to manipulate the front panel to remove it. It is a pity that Antec did not use a finer mesh for suction, this way the majority of dust penetrates inside.

Two 120 mm fans with unknown specifications for intake are located behind the mesh. If necessary, you can replace them with up to 3× 140 mm or a water cooling radiator up to 360 mm. The identical fan is pre-installed on the exhaust.

The back panel does not differ, it contains a classic hole for the I/O panel of the motherboard, a hole for a 120 or 140 mm fan (120 mm one is pre-installed, as we have already mentioned). The case has seven PCI Express slots for expansion cards. The blanking plates intended for them are removable, so they are not supposed to be broken open. The plate next to the card plates is perforated, which is also one of the few perforations on this box. The position for the power supply is traditionally at the bottom. It is standard, the power supply is screwed directly to the cabinet frame (no frames, adapters, or anything like that). Supported PSU format is ATX.

The entire exterior ends with four rubber feet at the lower part of the case and a removable fine dust filter under the position of the power supply. I’ll add that the rubber part does not leave any smudges on the floor.

Antec recently expanded its mini series of P82 PC cases with a model Silent. This should be a quieter alternative to the P82 Flow with priority in the best possible cooling, which will probably be worse with the Silent, but the reward could come in the form of low noise. You can see how this solution worked in the following test. We will show you the bright sides but also the cons of the P82 Silent. And not just in terms of cooling.

Decent interior with little flaws

The layout of the individual elements in the case is not extraordinary, but modern. At the bottom, there’s a tunnel (for the power supply and HDD) separated from the rest and 2.5″ HDD/SSD is mounted vertically, next to the motherboard, which the supported formats range from Mini-ITX to ATX. However, a few standoff screws will be needed before mounting an ATX board. These are of course in the package, but not everyone has a 5.5 mm wrench or head at home to tighten them. Yes, pliers can also be used. This is one of the things I could blame several manufacturers for, not just Antec.

The tower processor coolers can fit up to a height of 178 mm, i.e. practically all models. There is enough space for a high performance graphics card, which can theoretically be up to 380 mm long. The cable openings are without rubber coating. It is commendable, however, that the top opening for the PSU cable (EPS) is large enough and installation is convenient in this regard.

It is worse with side openings for 24-pin or 6+2-pin PCIe, they are only slightly wider than the width of the connectors themselves. These must be run with more patience, always directly, you will not succeed by pushing the connector from an angle. However, wider openings at this point could mean a collision of the SSD holder (we will get to that in more detail right away) with 140 mm fans.

The back offers SSD/HDD mounting in a combination of 4× 2.5″ or 2× 2.5″ + 2× 3.5″. The drawer stored in the tunnel is a hybrid with two positions for 3.5″ HDD or 2.5″ SSD/HDD, although it may not look like it at first glance.The first position is in the frame, where the 3.5″ disk is attached and inserted. The second position is less used (for a 2.5″ SSD or possibly HDD), directly on top of the frame structure.

The other two places, exclusively for 2.5″ storage, are on the vertical wall (shared with the motherboard tray) and are installed via an additional holder.That is interesting in that you can install it at the front but also back, depending on where you consider it to be more suitable.

As for the lower chamber, there is still space for an ATX power supply, which can have virtually any length, even 220 mm would fit. In case you need more space for the cables and you do not use HDD, it is possible to unscrew the disk cage.

To supply the fan controller, it is necessary to take a cable with an older 4-pin molex type from the power supply package. Nowadays, it would probably be more elegant to use a SATA cable. Installation would be more convenient, the connector is smaller overall (and does not interfere much with closing the side panel), but one could argue the opposite, that molex is more suitable, as it will not be used for anything else and the SATA connector could be missing elsewhere (card reader for example).

The space for cabling behind the side panel ranges from 1 to 2–3 cm. It was not a problem to close the case, despite the side panel with filling.

Antec recently expanded its mini series of P82 PC cases with a model Silent. This should be a quieter alternative to the P82 Flow with priority in the best possible cooling, which will probably be worse with the Silent, but the reward could come in the form of low noise. You can see how this solution worked in the following test. We will show you the bright sides but also the cons of the P82 Silent. And not just in terms of cooling.

Test methodology

All three fans are interconnected so that the speed can be changed synchronously using the switch on the front panel. The measured noise values at lower and higher preset speeds are almost identical to the currently used values for testing. I decided to round the difference of 0.2 dBA at lower noise level and 0.1 dBA at higher and compare the measurement results with the tests already performed at 36 and 39 dBA. Mainly due to the approximate idea of the cooling performance of the case.

Testing runs at home, where I try to get the most accurate results. During testing, the air temperature in front of the cabinet is 23 degrees Celsius and the minimum noise level that I can measure with the Voltcraft SL-100 sound level meter is 32.4 dBA. The sound level meter sensor is aligned to the top center of the case at a distance of 10 cm, for the best possible measurement of the difference in fan speed, which I regulate using the motherboard. For simple comparison to other cases, they are always regulated to fixed noise levels.

The individual components are heated for 10 minutes in FurMark synthetic load tests and in parallel with Prime95 (custom settings). This time is long enough for all components to heat up sufficiently. Between the tests, there are then 15-minute cooling breaks, during which the temperatures of the components (and also the temperature of the air in the case) return to the initial level.

Noise levels of the modes:

• 35.8 dBA
• 38.9 dBA

Antec recently expanded its mini series of P82 PC cases with a model Silent. This should be a quieter alternative to the P82 Flow with priority in the best possible cooling, which will probably be worse with the Silent, but the reward could come in the form of low noise. You can see how this solution worked in the following test. We will show you the bright sides but also the cons of the P82 Silent. And not just in terms of cooling.

CPU and GPU cooling tests

Antec recently expanded its mini series of P82 PC cases with a model Silent. This should be a quieter alternative to the P82 Flow with priority in the best possible cooling, which will probably be worse with the Silent, but the reward could come in the form of low noise. You can see how this solution worked in the following test. We will show you the bright sides but also the cons of the P82 Silent. And not just in terms of cooling.

Motherboard cooling tests

Antec recently expanded its mini series of P82 PC cases with a model Silent. This should be a quieter alternative to the P82 Flow with priority in the best possible cooling, which will probably be worse with the Silent, but the reward could come in the form of low noise. You can see how this solution worked in the following test. We will show you the bright sides but also the cons of the P82 Silent. And not just in terms of cooling.

SSD cooling and temperature under the top wall tests

Air temperature under the top wall of the case

Antec recently expanded its mini series of P82 PC cases with a model Silent. This should be a quieter alternative to the P82 Flow with priority in the best possible cooling, which will probably be worse with the Silent, but the reward could come in the form of low noise. You can see how this solution worked in the following test. We will show you the bright sides but also the cons of the P82 Silent. And not just in terms of cooling.

Conclusion

Temperature tests turned out worse than everything else we’ve tested. But that was to be expected. Although these differences are relatively small, each degree counts.

The worst part is the cooling of the graphics card, where the card is slowly approaching its temperature limit. Those numbers will rise even higher in the summer. Because the case cools its interior within the standard, I would rather focus on the advantage of switching between different fan speed modes. By simply mechanically switching the fan speed mode, you can adapt the case to the current use. It can be found useful in the office, but also at home. You do not have to set fan speed in software, which takes significantly longer, especially if you have already started some more demanding activity (rendering for example).

Antec doesn’t have to be ashamed of the P82 Silent’s appearance. It is a decent case with an average design and is also suitable for showcase on the table. The I/O panel on the side of the case also encourages you to do this. The interior is well designed except for some details. By these details we mean narrower cable openings (especially for the 24-pin ATX connector) or the use of the old 4-pin molex to power the fan controller. But again, it’s not so serious.

The P82 Silent is already one of the few cases with solid, opaque side panels, so someone can boast that they don’t have to bother much with the cabling. And there’s enough space for a proper cable mess. We will see how much the case will actually be sold for in e-shops. If the price falls below the recommended 80 euros, the case will pay off for its elegance, quieter operation with the possibility of quick fan regulation directly on the front panel.

• Contents
• Elegancy on the desk
• Decent interior with little flaws
• Test methodology
• CPU and GPU cooling tests
• Motherboard cooling tests
• SSD cooling and temperature under the top wall tests
• Conclusion