Antec LifeStyle Sonata II Chassis

Great for cooling and silence

Strengths: Quiet w/o spending big $. Rubber grommet mounts for fans/HDs. PS has two fans that pull air out. Rear PS fan off when not needed. Two 12V rails = 32amps total. Air channel is great if you can use it.

Weakness: SATA drive power wires are short. Air Channel is difficult to install around CPU Heatsink. Bare bones weight of 20 lbs. VERY HEAVY. Power switch is behind the front door.

The air channel would be a great feature had I been able to use it. My heatsink is too large. It has a pop out panel for an 80mm fan mount above the video card area and an 80mm fan mount for the CPU heatsink. You can actively draw in cold air for your hottest components. However more fans mean more noise. Over all I am very satisfied with this case and recommend it to anyone that needs quiet or...

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SONATA II

Strengths: Built in PSU, comes with 120mm fan, very stylish.

Weakness: Small size renders overclocking very difficult, very little space, therefore hard to install components.

For those that would like a stylish case with an integrated PSU and cooling, the Sonata II is right up your alley. While not the easiest case to install a motherboard in (due to it being a mid-tower), and not having ideal ventilation, if you do not plan to overclock, this tower is perfect.

SONATA II

Strengths: Sturdy, quiet, side mount racks for hard drives. It came with Antec's Smart Power psu, and has the adapter

Weakness: Would be nice if you could change the side the door swings open from. Swings from right to left, which is Okay if your computer is on the left side of your desk.

It came with Antec's Smart Power 450 watt psu, and has the adapter for 24 pin boards. The chassis air duct for the cpu heatsink is rather odd, my cpu ( Intel 630) actually ran cooler when I removed it. The 120mm fan in the back is quiet, even on high speed. I would buy it again.

Good Decision to go for an Antec

Strengths: Pretty quiet and good cooling

Weakness: slightly difficult to assemble especially the ACCG duct

Hi, I replaced my generic 15$ Cabinet with this brand new Antec Sonata II case. Well this kind of cases were difficult to find in India 1 year back but now people are realizing that a good cabinet and Power supply are key to a stable system. I use the Sonata with my Antec True power 430W SMPS, a winning combination, found that my system temps hardly cross 50"C now, I got mine with 2 X 120 Antec...

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Great Case for the Money

Strengths: Strong 450W Power Supply! Excelent Use of Space, especialy with the HD Bay's. Tons of Room for fans, and the 120mm fan that comes with it is very impressive. Awesome Finish.

Weakness: Front Door a tad bit flimsy. Make sure to remove it when doing instalation or you might break it. LED's are just a tad bit to bright but hey, you can just disconect them.

Overall this is an awesome case, im very glad i went with Antec. The 120mm fan that was included was a nice touch, especialy with the variable three speeds on it. I would have improved on the build of the door, something made out of metal would have been nice. But other than that the door on this case beats all other plastic doors hands down. Also when you are doing an install make sure to remove...

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Can't Go Wrong!

Strengths: Solid Power Supply - 120mm fans - Antec Quality

Weakness: Power supply could be quieter - Case is made from .8mm steel, whereas most Antec cases are 1.0mm. The additional thickness would help keep noise inside the case.

Update 10/14/2006: I recently purchased the Antec P150 for my home computer. As much as I like the Sonata, the P150 is a superior case in every respect. The black version of the P150 is called the Solo. Don't think twice about getting it over the Sonata II. Overall, an excellent case. While not perfect, Antec knows how to deliver at the right price. Aesthetically, the case is very appealing. The...

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Good case.

Strengths: Well built, True Power 450W PSU, all the power connectors I could ever need. Great trays for the hard drives.

Weakness: Front audio input "standard" 10 pin Intel connector not compatible with my MOBO or soundcard (Audigy). Not as quiet as I would have hoped.

This is a very nice case, a definite value for the price with the True Power PSU. Lots of room for expansion, space for 4 case fans (comes with 1), a cowling to direct the heat away from the CPU. It even has power connectors for SATA drives. I like the Firewire and USB ports on the front (in the middle) of the case where you can actually use them. The case is quiet, especially with the front...

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Quietest Case I've Had

Strengths: Very Quiet, Very Well Constructed

Weakness: Processor Duct is Cumbersome, Front LEDs are Too Bright

This is a great case, though it takes a little more effort to assemble, mostly due to the duct that mounts over the processor to vent out the back. I marked the LEDs as a weakness, though they have a strength too, because a couple times I wasn't sure that the computer was on (it's REALLY quiet), so the LEDs are a good indicator. Just too bright. Otherwise, this case is well designed, well...

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Nice case, good value

Strengths: Sturdy case. Accessible, spacious inside with easy access to internal hard drive bays.

Weakness: Documentation sufficient, but could be better.

This was the first time I built a system from scratch (although I have been inside them before). After shopping around, it seemed like this was a decent case from a good supplier. It had all the things I wanted (lockable front door, usb+firewire in front, 450W power supply, etc). The documentation was not the greatest for a beginner, but after reading it a couple of times I got through it....

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SONATA II Black Mid Tower

Strengths: Easy access to hard drives. Very Quiet fan motors. Good Power Supply

Weakness: Plastic door hinge was broken on arrival. Very weak design Front access to USB very hard to open and close. Air duct seems not to improve anything and hard to install Power switch behind front door

Contacted Antex and doors were on back order. They wanted me to send the case back to the dealer. Expensive shipping for a door that should only cost a few bucks.