Antec Sonata Designer 500 Chassis - SONATA DESIGNER
Antec Sonata Designer 500 Quiet Tower Case w/ EarthWatts™ 500w PSU - White

This is a modification of my previous review. I love the case, and got a great price at buy.com. Everything about the case is very quiet, but I've discovered the PSU emits odd high pitched ticking sound with disk and video activity such as scrolling a web page or spreadsheet. I originally thought it was the SATA HDD, but am 100% sure it's coming from the PSU. It's not a fan noise and nothing I've experienced before. Not too big a deal, but has become very annoying since everything else is SO quiet.
 
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Very easy to use, super quiet, adjustable speed 120mm fan, looks great, HDD suspension reduces need for front fans. It even has CD/DVD blanks you can fit over your drive if the color clashes and you care about that sort of thing...... I've discovered cases vary wildly in price. A special deal really is a special deal. I was looking at a Sonata III at another vendor, when the price jumped fifty dollars. The price on this case has since gone up fifty dollars at buy.com, so I'm glad I didn't wait any longer. Shop around for case specials.
 
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This model is selling at N*w*E*g for a hundred-seventy bucks, which is a true rip-off. The only complaints are that *very* long gaming video cards may require cutting a bit of metal off the drive cage. However, this is a very good case nonetheless. Comes with a 120mm exhaust fan - you may want to (or not) add good quality, quiet (slow speed, about 1500 RPM) 120mm intake fan to the front, such as a Panaflow brand. The Earthwatts line of PSUs have "active power factor correction" which mean that they do not waste power by generating excess heat within the PSU itself. They are also have greater than 80% efficiency which also reduces waste heat.
 
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Bought this after a review in PC World. I've never built a computer before, and this case is far superior to any I've purchased in a package. It's solid and easy to use with many handy features, like a place to store cables. It comes with a power supply included, and it has many power cables, enough for almost anything you can put in it (didn't have to use one adapter). Both sides and the front open for easy access and I like the power unit off button (very handy for a full system shutdown). The only criticism I have is I wish the instructions were a bit more complete. They're okay, but more designed for a person whose done this before than a newbie. For example, it came with a big bag of screws -- I had no idea what they were all for, but it wasn't too hard to figure out. It would have saved time had they listed the types in the instructions. Also, the hard drive rails are in a nifty holder on the bottom of the case (didn't quite know what they were initially, until I needed them). I'd recommend getting two 92mm front fans for the case, though. I think one of the reasons my old computer died was a heat problem, so I'm taking no chances with this one. I didn't really buy this for it's sound-dampening properties, instead I just wanted a nice case -- and this sure fits the bill.
 
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This case is quiet, solid, has an immaculate finish. Nice touches with the cable organizer, HD suspension system.
 
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Purchased this case at a very reasonable after-rebated price. Very please with the quality of the product. Quiet. Well-built. Looks sexy. I plan to buy another Sonata Designer 500 in a couple months. What more can I say?
 
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