Antec Sonata 3 Black Mid Tower

fermicn

Member Since
Jul 2007

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User has 3 Months of experience with this product

Very nice computer case for DIYers

Strengths:

Looks great. Solid built. Enough space to fit in everything. Comes with an excellent 500W power supply. Runs cool and quiet.

Weaknesses:

No front panel 1394 port(There's eSATA instead). The panel for the 5.25" external drive bay sealed not very well for my case(not sure if that's general).

Posted Apr 20, 2008 - This is a very nice looking computer case. Feels classic when you look at it. It has enough space to fit in all your hard drives and CD/DVD drives. Runs cool and quiet. The power supply came with it is a highly rated Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX,> 80% efficiency, Dual +12V inputs combined of total output 34A. Way better than other general brand 500W supplies. Enough to support your Qual core CPU with SLI high-end video cards. One thing I don't like is that there's no front panel 1394 port for my camcorder.

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surferkev from CA

Member Since
Jan 2005

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User has 1 Week of experience with this product

Sonata 2 was good This one is even better

Strengths:

80 Plus Certified 500 Watt Power Supply, quiet, sleek, well-made chassis, convenient drive bays, no sharp edges

Weaknesses:

Maybe if I was a firewire device user, I'd dock points off for not having a firewire port in the front.

Posted Jan 11, 2008 - This is a good looking, piano-black case without the annoying aircraft blue LED lights of the Sonata 2. It comes with the great Antec Earth Watts 500 Watt power supply which has plenty of juice to power my Core 2 Quad, 8800 GTS 512, 2x 500MB SATA II 7200RPM drives, and DVD Burner. The front panel has 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 eSATA port, 1 audio output and 1 microphone input ports. eSATA transfers data at a finger-blistering rate compared to Firewire/USB. If you are looking for a case with decent power supply, look no further.

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cocoonit

Member Since
Aug 2007

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User has 1 Months of experience with this product

Sonata 3 Black Mid Tower

Strengths:

Solid construction and designed to allows plenty of room for assembly of components. Rails make drive insertion a snap, literally. Plenty of bays available. PS generates a soft hum.

Weaknesses:

None I can see.

Posted Mar 6, 2008 - I have owned this case for about a month but have bought several of the Sonata series cases and become more inpressed with each one I buy. The price design and quality can't be beat. The most questionable detail of comparable cases is usually the power supply. A cheap PS in a decent case will still cause you headaches. The first Sonata I assembled must be well over 3 years old and it still hums along like it did the first day I turned it on. The next computer I build will have a Sonata Case. It's a proven product.

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gman757 from TX

Member Since
Oct 2003

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User has 3 Weeks of experience with this product

Great mid-size case

Strengths:

Nice looks, quiet, nice features, PSU included. Easy drive installation.

Weaknesses:

Prone to finger prints. Paint chips easy. Have to open the front door to turn on your PC. Rubber feet come off.

Posted Oct 30, 2007 - This is a nice, attractive, quiet case for your everyday PC. It has many quiet features, including a huge 3-speed exhaust fan, silent PSU, and rubber grommets to isolate the hard drives. It has good airflow, and the front intake includes a washable filter, a nice added touch. The front panel has all the connections you need, including USB, HD audio, and even an eSATA port. The PSU is 500 watts, enough power for just about anything except maybe a high-end SLI system. The PSU is higher quality than most included in a case, and has all the electrical connections you need for just about any build. On the minus side, the nice gloss finish is prone to fingerprints, and the paint chipped off a corner when I accidentally dropped a tool on it. Also, just a personal preference, I don't like cases where the power switch is on the inside of the front cover. But a very good case overall. You can get one cheaper than this, but not with as much quality as an Antec.

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inawink

Member Since
Apr 2007

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User has 1 Day of experience with this product

Sonata Case

Strengths:

Easy to install drives, plenty of connectors

Weaknesses:

Rubber feet come off easily, need to open drive door for power on. Wide IDE cables interfere with IDE DVD/CD drives.

Posted Oct 19, 2007 - Nice case once you wipe the finger prints off. MoBo and Drives install easily, robber grommets are a nice feature. Most P4 and Duo chips will need a second 120mm fan to improve air flow. Best bet is to buy round style IDE cables. A wide IDE cable will prevent good airflow with second fan.

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User has 90 Days of experience with this product

Sonata III

Strengths:

It's black and doesn't look like it was made in the hood like most cases these days

Weaknesses:

Air filter is cheap and flimsy. If your not careful you'll snap tabs off. I did this twice in almost a year.

Posted 1 year ago - Too Small to work in with my big hands, no conectors for motherboards with P/S and Case fan sensors,. Adding another fan is tricky, unless you have tiny hands.

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sayeah

Member Since
Dec 2006

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Not as good as other Antecs

Strengths:

Good looking. Great PSU included. eSATA port.

Weaknesses:

Sigle layer steel side panel. Flimsy HDD rack. No sound dampening.

Posted Feb 11, 2008 - This case has too much hype. It's actually a very ordinary Antec product. There's no sound deadening effort. So for quiet PC purpose, P180/P182 and Solo series are much better and cheaper. There's no wiring management options either so wires look like a mess inside. The only good thing is probably included 500W EarthWatts PSU. DO NOT buy this if you want to build a quiet PC.

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stockshowgyp... from TX

Member Since
Aug 2005

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User has 1 Months of experience with this product

Sonata 3 Black Mid Tower

Strengths:

500w psu, finish, quiet, washable filter

Weaknesses:

no firewire port, shows fingerprints

Posted Mar 27, 2008 - Antec produces beautiful and quiet Sonata cases. the psu is much improved over the Sonata II. A high quality 120mm fan is included but this case is built for quiet operation so airflow is not as good as cases like 900. Rubber grommets and thick panels cut down on noise.

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ilovecanada from UT

Member Since
Jun 2005

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User has 2 Days of experience with this product

Great little case

Strengths:

Solid construction. esata on front of case

Weaknesses:

only one fan included. Not completely tooless

Posted Jan 6, 2008 - This is a good solid, quiet case. Very happy with this purchase after rebate. I think I like the look of the older sonatas a bit better, but still a very nice case.

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misera from GA

Member Since
Jan 2004

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User has 2 Days of experience with this product

Beautiful, quiet, and convenient!

Strengths:

Sleek, modern look, convenient ports in the front, secure locks, easy to open, removable bays, Antec EA 500 psu

Weaknesses:

Non modular power supply

Posted Dec 27, 2007 - This case is very quiet and very pretty. It is made of steel which makes it heavier than aluminum but sturdier at the same time. The glossy shine to it makes it look great but others say it attracts fingerprints (I haven't had that problem though). The side panel is convenient to open with it's latch but still secure because you have the option of locking it up with the included locks and keys. It is also held together with convenient large thumb screws. The only thing I don't like about the whole package so far is the power supply. The supply itself is great, but only the main power cable that connects to the motherboard is sleeved. The rest is just held together by ties so it makes it very messy. The power supply has a billion SATA connectors but not so much of the regular ones (um what are they called?) so you have to make do with two main lines if none of your devices can hook up to the SATA ones. There are six of those connectors, 3 on each line. I currently have to have extensions and splitters to reach everything. My computer has 2 CD/DVD drives, 1 floppy, and 2 hard drives. Since it is generally not a good idea to put the CD/DVD drives with hard drives, one line goes to the CD/DVD drives while the other to the harddrives and fan. My third harddrive had I not removed it and put it into an xbox would have no where to connect to. I am using a splitter and extension to reach extra fans and an extra connector to my motherboard (abit an8 sli). More up to date computers probably wouldn't have this problem, but I don't feel like upgrading my entire computer more than once every 3 to 4 years. Besides this problem which can be remedied by putting in your own psu or more up to date components, the case is great and quiet like advertised.

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User has 1 Week of experience with this product

Sonata III on 22-Dec-07

Strengths:

Easy to Install Drives with superior sound/vibration isolation. Great Looks & build quality. Good PSU Very Quiet Price!

Weaknesses:

No Firewire on Front/Side panel. Hard to find any other.

Posted Dec 22, 2007 - Easy to build a system with this enclosure. Best vibration isolation for hard drives that I've found (silicone grommets). Ingenious design for HD installation that keeps SATA & power cables away from MB and improving airflow. Very quiet and would be hard pressed to need a second 120mm fan. Front door to access ROM drive(s) and Power/Reset switches opens 270 degrees..nice! My personal pref is to have P/R switches inside..prevents accidental power-offs. Other than no firewire on front panel everything else including SATA connection is on the front/side. My other fav enclosure is the Cooler Master Cavalier...and this Antec is now numbero uno!

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MrCmonster

Member Since
Mar 2007

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User has 2 Days of experience with this product

Great case

Strengths:

Pretty, sturdy, quiet

Weaknesses:

No Firewire on front panel

Posted Dec 5, 2007 - I only ordered this case because it was on a terrific sale and had a rebate. I wasn't too thrilled about the looks from the photos I had seen. However, when I received this case, I was amazed by how pretty it is. The photos I have seen do not do this case justice. It's black paint or powder coating has a nice glossy finish. The front panel looks silky and both the hard drive and power LEDs are very bright blue set into a perfectly mirrored strip. Enough about the looks. On to the guts! All the drives that are accessible from the front can be removed without opening the case. All the drives use rails which are of course included along with plenty of bolts and motherboard standoffs. You can access the retention clips for the drives just by opening the front door/cover. If that weren't nice enough, the internal 3.5" bays all have little silicone grommets that keep the hard drives from directly touching the drive trays. This helps keep vibration to a minimum. They even include special screws to attach your hard drives, since the regular ones are too short because of the grommets. The case is very easy to open and close as long as you have enough clearance on the side of the case. There is also a washable, removable dust filter at the front of the case. The one 120mm fan is very quiet. The power supply is completely silent as far as I can tell, it does have a fan but it runs at such a slow speed I can't hear it. My only complaints are that the case does not have a Firewire socket on the front panel, and that you have to lift the case up (or put it on it's side) to get the dust filter out. However these minor annoyances aren't enough not to give this wonderful case 5 stars. This case has made an Antec fan out of me!

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User has 3 Months of experience with this product

Sonata III 500

Strengths:

Good air flow, especially when a second 120mm fan installed, very sturdy box with a quality power supply. Easy installation af any type of drive in this case.

Weaknesses:

The feet on this case really do stink, but nothing a mixture of J-B Weld can't fix.

Posted Nov 19, 2007 - I've purchased three of these cases and for the money they're hard to beat with the power supply they come with. I don't think that it's too loud with the rear fan set on high. The front fan sits right behind the hard drive bay and pulls outside air over the top and bottom of the hard drive. I've installed a WD Raptor 150GB, 10,000RPM drive in all three of the systems and that fan really makes a difference in keeping the drive cool. The eSATA port on the front panel will come in handy too! I've used this case to build two CAD systems for our Design Dept. in New York and will continue to use then until I've replaced all ten of the old systems. I just can't find anything better for the money that has a decent PS in it.

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Warreng2389 from WA

Member Since
Oct 2003

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User has 30 Days of experience with this product

Overall A Very Good Quality Case!

Strengths:

Tower comes with high power quality Power supply, Quiet with nice HD layout, Strong solid construction inside and out & nice looking front face with good combination of front connectors.

Weaknesses:

Rubber feet on the bottom of the case come off easy. Black glossy paint on outside of case scuff & show finger prints very easily.

Posted Sep 11, 2007 - Good Quality case for the Money, when including the power supply,(the Power Supply alone "of that Quality and Size" will cost you the Price of this case p/s Combo) you will like this case.

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ukraintsev

Member Since
Aug 2007

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User has 5 Days of experience with this product

I would purchase it again

Strengths:

good design. many slots for mid tower.

Weaknesses:

poor documentation.

Posted Sep 8, 2007 - nice look. cool blue led's. indeed low noise of 3 speed fan. many slots for optical drives and HD's. many power supply wires and multiple connectors. easy to assemble. documentation could be better. one needs to search for solution. polarity of front panel led's connectors is not marked. i called. they gave me wrong description... had to re-do. overall I'm happy with the product. i would purchase it again.

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ATX, 9 Bays, 500W - MPN: SONATAIII

Very nice computer case for DIYers

Sonata 2 was good This one is even better

Sonata 3 Black Mid Tower

Great mid-size case

Sonata Case

Sonata III

Not as good as other Antecs

Sonata 3 Black Mid Tower

Great little case

Beautiful, quiet, and convenient!

Sonata III on 22-Dec-07

Great case

Sonata III 500

Overall A Very Good Quality Case!

I would purchase it again

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