A Detailed Look
The Antec P150 incorporates a steel chassis fitted with a heavy plastic front bezel that is covered top-to-bottom with a brushed-aluminum plate. Slotted openings on both sides and bottom of the bezel allow air to flow into the front of the case. The fit and finish is excellent and the painted parts match the white plastic bezel perfectly. Both of the solid side panels are removable but the top is not.
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There are four exposed 5.25′ drive bays on the front, two of which are fitted with stealth drive covers that automatically open up when a CD/DVD drive tray extends. The lower 5.25′ bay comes with a 3.5′ adapter installed. I used the 3.5′ bay to mount a universal card reader with silver bezel (instead of painting it white), which fit right in with the overall color scheme.
The Power-On and Reset buttons are located on the right side of the front panel and have a solid feel. The Power-On button is back lighted with a blue surround power-on light and a small HDD activity indicator is located on the left.
An external I/O panel is located down the right side and includes the following ports.
· Microphone In
· Headphones out
· USB 2.0 (2)
· IEEE 1394 Firewire
The front bezel is not really a door but it can be swung open like a door after releasing three plastic latches inside the case. Once opened, the front bezel can be lifted off.
In this area, the Antec P150 really excels. Opening the front bezel exposes the front intake filter and fan housing. The plastic dust filter is easily removed for cleaning or the whole fan housing can be removed after loosening two thumb-screws on the right. This provides access to the front of the four internal HDD bays.
The front fan housing is designed to mount two optional 92mm fans for additional case cooling if desired. All of the HDD bays are nicely spaced apart to insure optimum airflow around all drives.
Each of the four internal HDD bays comes fitted with a slide-out tray that uses silicone vibration isolator bushings to mount each drive.
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For the really noise conscious, Antec has included an elastomer HDD suspension system that can be used to further reduce HDD vibration (noise). There are three pairs of suspenders inside the HDD cage to mount up to three hard drives. Each hard drive uses two suspenders (front and rear) to suspend it in mid air.
