There are hundreds of different colors, looks, styles and brands when choosing a new computer case. A PC case is optimized to give you the best cooling and protection for the PC internals. Dust filters keep out harmful dust, metal construction allows the PC to stand tall and firm, and included fans assist with air flow.
When choosing and recommending a computer case, I tend to lean towards brands that provide the needs of the builder as well as the essentials I listed above. A computer case is something that will last for years to come and should provide ease of functionality.
For the last ten years, Antec P series computer cases have been an underdog in the market. Antec is seen as the budget-friendly case brand, when in fact they offer some stunning and featured-packed computer cases. The P series of cases are used with ATX, mATX and mITX motherboards and offer some stylish designs. Moreover, these cases can handle massive cooling systems all while keeping the system quiet.
In an all matte black color, Antec’s newest case, the P70, is a case that continues their ten year tradition of perfecting build quality. Backed by the Antec quality, is the new P70 the “builder-friendly case for performance and silence” that they claim it to be?
Welcome to my review of the Antec P70 computer case. Throughout this review I will be covering the following subjects: the design, functionality, and my final thoughts. I would like to thank Antec for providing me with this case.
The Design
Most people will keep their computer cases buried away underneath a computer desk to be left there until the time comes to clean it of dust. Since most computers sit on the floor, the front of a computer case has to offer some of the best looks.
The P70 is designed to have a flat black look that is both clean and stylish. Focusing on the front of the case, you’ll find that the P70 offers an Antec logo at the bottom, one multimedia card slot, two CD tray slots, and a bright blue LED bar that signals the computer’s power status alongside the blue LED hard drive status indicator. Along the sides of the front panel are two vertical air vents to give the front fans a place for air draw.
You won’t be finding any windows on this case as the P70 comes with two aluminum side panels that include a pushed out section to allow for better cable management. On the bottom of the case are four reasonably wide feet to allow your power supply enough air if you place the PC on the carpet. Furthermore, the bottom of the case also features a power supply fan filter.
When looking at the back of the case you find only the external vents for fans and general air flow; there’s nothing special at the rear of the case over any other standard PC case. The top of the P70 is where the exterior really shines. Towards the front is the power and reset buttons, followed by two USB 3.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks, and three different fan controllers to adjust fan speeds of three sections inside the case; the front, top and rear. The rest of the top contains a plastic honeycomb cover that acts as an exterior exhaust for two of the three included Antec fans; the honeycomb cover can be easily removed within seconds for access to the fans if needed. For those who don’t wish to use the top fans, Antec includes a plastic cover that can be set in place to stop dust and other material from falling into the case.
Antec’s choice of building materials were spot on with the front panel being fingerprint-resistant plastic, the side panels being scratch-resistant aluminum and steel for the mold of the case’s structure, which provides rigged strength. One strong point of this case is that Antec provides dust cover plugs for the front USB and headphone/microphone jacks; something that you very rarely see.
When making your way inside the case, the panels come off by unscrewing two thumb screws and you quickly notice that the external matte black color makes its way inside the case too. Antec includes three Antec fans, two located at the top and the other in the back for a rear exhaust. It doesn’t stop there as the case can hold an additional two fans in the front and then connect to the included fan controller of the P70; an amazing value for a case at this price. There’s also more than enough room for those who will be using a water cooling setup.
As mentioned earlier, the system can support two CD trays and a multimedia card reader and also inside are the trays for hard drive and SSD mounting. The case uses tool-less mounting for the hard drives and provides small rubber cushions to stop vibrations in your hard drive.
There is one major design complaint I have with this case and that is the fact that Antec opted to use one-time, non-replaceable, PCI covers. In a typical PC case, to remove a PCI cover it’s as easy as unscrewing the holding screw and removing one. In the P70, you are forced to break the metal taps, therefore making the PCI cover irreplaceable. This is a cost saving exercise, but I would much rather give up the included dust plugs at the front for reusable PCI covers.
Functionality
Antec priced this case quite well and the P70 has a lot to offer for both new computer builders and enthusiasts, but not every case is the same and the P70 uses tool-less hard drive mounting brackets which can be confusing on how to install them, especially if you’re new to computer building. Unfortunately, the P70 lacks any type of user manuals, so you’re on your own.
I disassembled an old computer I had and gave it an upgrade with the P70. Installation time for the P70 took about an hour to an hour and a half. During installation I installed an ATX motherboard, CPU cooler, two hard drives, a non-modular power supply and a graphics card.
You won’t find any special rubber cable management grommets or fancy lights inside and quite frankly, they’re not needed on the P70 due to the windowless design.
When inserting the motherboard, your standoffs are preinstalled and Antec provides you with a plethora of screws for the motherboard, hard drives, CD drives and power supply.
The side panels have a pushed out bulge that allows you to have more room for cable management. With my non-modular power supply, I had a lot of cables to hide in the back compartment. With a little strength and movement of cables, I was able to get the side panel on without too much hassle.
After installation was complete, I left the stock fans in place and did not insert any others. I also left all three fan controller switches on high; you can also choose between low, off, and high.
Using HWMonitor and the BIOS for testing, temperatures were about 25°C (76°F) on the motherboard. The CPU ranged between 30°C (86°F) and 45°C (113°F) and the GPU stayed around 60°C (140°F) while at idle. The preinstalled Antec fans can be a little loud when the room is silent, but certainly nothing where it became obnoxious to run the PC. When running at the low fan controller setting, the noise is at a minimum and can barely be heard.
One small thing to note is that if you use a RAID configuration and use a dedicated RAID card, your hard drive status LED may not blink. This is a motherboard issue, not a P70 issue.
My Final Thoughts
Antec’s P in P70 stands for Performance and their goal is to create a quiet, functional, and stylish case for all types of users. With this case in use for over a month now, it certainly meets their goal and is well worth the cost of $69.99, especially considering this case comes with three Antec fans, a fan controller, and dust plugs to keep the case working and looking clean for years to come. If you’re looking for a new, reasonably priced computer case, you can stop your search now.
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