Antec Sonata Proto Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

This case is nice and sleek, had good access to ports and is quiet on the low or medium setting, but a bit loud on high. It would be nice to adjust the fan speed from the exterior (it is on about an 8in cable inside the case and would take some work to get it on the outside). I haven't had any the static problems that others reported (had it since beginning of Feb '10). The case is a nice black piano finish everywhere except the front, which is black plastic. The front panel is nice and opens wide (I have a 2 yr old, and a 9 month old who is starting to walk and it keeps them out of the optical drives/card reader I have installed). I didn't have any cuts from the metal from the initial install or when adding all the extra hard drives and re-routing cables, but there are a few sharp edges, so be mindful. Also, one of the rubber feel fell off when I was sliding it back into my desk, but it caught on an edge (it went right back on and have had no problems since, but it's only glued on not screwed).The internals are nice too. The front panel cables are long enough to reach near the back if your motherboard has connections toward the rear. The motherboard installed easily, and the power supply has plenty of power connectors (see Antec's web site for specifics). I don't think it will work with dual video cards though. I have 2 optical drives, card reader and 3 hd (going to ad a 4th soon) and the power supply still has extras if I need it. The hard drives have rubber gromets that isolate them. There are a few areas that allow you to tuck away the extra cables to keep the case clean. There's not a cable management system, but it was easy to zip tie where I wanted to to keep things clean and organized.Air:I initially used only the single 120mm fan on medium and everything kept cool, so I put it on low and found that everything was still very cool. When moving large files though, my hard drives got a little warm, so I added a second Antec Tri-cool 120mm fan in the front to help. It actually mounts in the middle of the case (if looking at the side-shot photo) just to the left of the hard drives. This is ok, but I had to move a few wires around since this is right where all my SATA and front panel hookups are on my motherboard. Not a big deal though, and my hard drives are running a little cooler. The power supply is also amazingly quiet and, along with my hard drives during larger transfers, is the only thing that gets even SLIGHTLY warm with my setup.Overall, still quiet running the rear fan on med or low and my front (middle) fan on low. The front fan isn't even necessary though, just thought I'd add one since they're under $15. Can't even tell the cpu fan is running, and can barely hear my caviar black hard drive and 2 older western digital ide drives.My setup:- This case- AMD Athlon II x2 240 w/stock fan & radiator- Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H Micro ATX Motherboard- Corsair CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 XMS3 4 GB PC3-12800 Core i5 Memory Kit (yes, it works on an AMD system too)- Windows 7- 2 120mm fans (1 included (rear), 1 added in front (mounts behind hard drives)- 1tb wd caviar black hdd, 2 wd ide hdd

I chose this case because I had the Antec Sonata Elite case, and I was very happy with everything about that case. Unfortunately, that case was an older design and didn't have USB 3 ports on the front, and I don't think it's widely available anymore.This case is different than the Sonata Elite in a few ways. Some are good, and others are less than ideal when compared to the older case.The finish is very similar. From the front and the side, you would be hard-pressed to notice the difference at a glance. The air filter has been moved from the right side to the front bottom, and the latching mechanism for the left side panel is different. The reset button is now located close to the power button on the right side of the front behind the door. Lastly, there are now two external 3.5" drive bays, which will be nice for a card reader or other panel.Removing the side panel is the first piece of unfortunate news you'll find if you are expecting an updated version of the Sonata Elite. The weight of that panel demonstrates that the metal must be lighter grade than the older case, and there is no sound isolation material on that panel either. While sound isolation material can be added, it shouldn't have to be on a case that advertises its silent operation potential. I've found that using a very large aftermarket CPU cooler has made the system so quiet that the sound deadening measures aren't needed right now, however.Like the Sonata Elite, you can store a huge number of drives in this case! There is also a place to mount an SSD drive, which keeps you from having to purchase an adaptor and burning a drive bay or leaving the SSD lay loose.Another design similarity to the Sonata Elite is the fact that the power supply is mounted high in the case, behind a metal cross bar. Changing the power supply will likely cause me to have to remove the motherboard, which won't be a lot of fun, but my previous Antec power supply has been running for 5+ years with no issues, so hopefully this Antec power supply is of similar reliability.The rear chassis fan is Antec's Tri-Cool model, which has an inline switch that allows you to control the fan's speed. Strangely, there is nowhere to mount this switch on the back of the case. The Sonata Elite has a built-in switch on the back, making changing the speed of the fan that way very easy. Fortunately, the ASUS Z97-Pro controls the fan speed very well, so set the tri-cool switch to the highest speed and tie it down so it doesn't get in the way. (I had set it on the low setting, and had issues with the fan not starting at all with the default fan settings on the motherboard.)After three weeks of daily use, I have no complaints about the usability of the case. All the ports work, installing drives was easy, and air flow through the case works very well with the CPU cooler and the rear chassis fan. Altogether, the system is barely audible in a completely quiet room. If you were to use a loud CPU cooler, lots of drives, additional fans, and/or loud video cards, you would want to add some sound isolation materials.Overall, this is a good quality case similar in tradition to the Sonata Elite, at a good price point for the combination of the case and the power supply.

I bought this from the Amazon Warehouse because the description led me to believe that, at most, there was only a little cosmetic damage. Instead, I discover that the case had been dropped with such force that the rear of the case had been deformed because of the effects of the heavy power supply on the lightweight metal. The motherboard I/O shield couldn't even be snapped into place.I kept the case because my son was desperate for a new desktop and I could make it work. However, I WILL NEVER order anything from the Amazon Warehouse in the future!

The cabinet arrived in great shape and well packed. Included instructions were readable and the English was generally without the need to decipher! The Gigabyte MB installed with no problems and the space inside the cabinet coupled with the special cable routing channels kept the cabinet area clean and neat. After installing the power supply (Bottom mount), drives, accessory cards and making sure all the included cooling fans were connected and speed selected, the power on went quickly and the computer is the quietest I've ever had! Recommended!