Reviewed by: clamrade on 09-Jun-07 Rating:

Strengths:silent, solidly built, aesthetics, no included PSU

Weaknesses:no included PSU

Summary:I have owned a dozen cases so far (three Antecs), and the Solo tops them all. There\'s nothing to fault in the quality and design. Attention to details in every corner is superb. I did not want the P180 with the PSU compartment on the bottom due to the non-standard wiring required. There are also other excellent HTPC cases and LAN party cases, but the Solo is perhaps the best \"standard\" form factor case. The case does NOT come with a PSU which is a plus for me but a minus for some.

Detailed review can be found here: www.silentpcreview.com.... Note that the Solo is the black version of P150 without the PSU.

Reviewed by: vws on 31-May-07 Rating:

Strengths:Professional looking that easily blends into most environments, removable front cover and easy-to-install front intake fans, drive bay side wire organizer

Weaknesses:Albeit overall good build quality the case uses lesser materials than Antec P180/B. Not really a con if the price is < $40

Summary:Antec Solo mid-tower case has an overall solid build quality, however, the company\'s Quality Check (QC) is questionable. I\'d suggest anyone who purchases this case inspect it inside-out carefully as soon as possible (before it passes the return period.) The two Solo cases I purchased, one has very loose hard drive trays that rattle during normal HD operation, the other has a cheesy loosey (which makes rattling noise after every touch) power & reset buttons that may break any minute. These are the common \"weakest links\" in any mid-tower case design and unfortunately, Antec doesn\'t want to enforce a strict QC level on this model. So if you find your new purchase exhibits the same problems, exchange your case before the return period is up.

I purchased this case for its advertised quietness but I wasn\'t very impressed. The noise containment power of the Antec Solo, is between Antec Sonata (slightly louder) and Antec P180 (much quieter). You will have to use low RPM 92mm/120mm fans to keep the case quiet, but then you sacrifice the internal air flow. The P180\'s 3-layer composite side panels dampen the noise more efficiently than the Solo\'s plastic linings. BTW, the P180 has a better internal air flow design that keeps the system temperature cooler than the Solo case.

All in all this is an ok case for conservative and/or professional system builders. It blends into the furniture (home theatre/office environment) easily, provides useful configuration options inside, and covers the system noise adequately (though not dead silent which I\'d prefer.) But if you want more I\'d suggest Antec P180/B which can be had for $50 ~ 80 after rebate as of late.

Reviewed by: yanusbfd on 31-May-07 Rating:

Strengths:Easy-to-remove front bezel, nice looks, piano gloss black finish, noise dampening panels, heavy, drive rails, rubber HDD grommets or elastic HDD mounting, stiff I/O shield

Weaknesses:Heavy, piano gloss black finish, cramped interior, HDD elastic mounting system, no speaker

Summary:Prior to acquiring the Antec Solo, I\'d assembled a system in the Antec Sonata II, so I had an idea of what\'s entailed by a case designed to be quiet.

With an Antec TruePower II in the system, the only sound to be heard is the whir from the stock Intel cooling fan. In fact, there would be less noise if the Solo didn\'t have the huge 120 mm rear fan and its associated opening.

As other reviewers have said, the interior is rather cramped, but this appears to be a by-product of all the wiring associated with the power supply. A modular power supply into which only those cables that are required are plugged, like the Antec Smart Power 500 or other higher end options, would solve some of the cable cramping problem. Going to SATA from PATA would help with the rest.

One thing I learned very quickly with the Solo: Install your power supply first! This might seem like common sense to some people, but it hadn\'t occurred to me. The cases I\'ve been working with recently are old, early ATX-era full towers, and it is entirely possible to remove from and install a power supply into one of these without touching anything else in the system. Not so with the Solo once a motherboard and CPU are installed.

I tried the elastic HDD mounting system but did not twist the mounting tabs a sufficient number of times, and, for this, I was rewarded with my HDD slipping out of the elastic mount and crashing into the back of the case. I opted for the rubber grommet mounts instead -- which are twice as thick as those on other Antec cases -- and was able to boot the system.

The piano gloss black finish is quite classy, but you will get fingerprints all over it during system assembly. Wiping the panels with a dry, soft cloth will take care of this. I\'d also note that the Solo will attract dog hair in carpet because of its slick black finish.

So, overall, the Solo is definitely a notch up from other Antec mid-tower cases. Recent promotions have had it selling for $19.99 after rebate, so the price is definitely right if time is not of the essence.

Reviewed by: Supercop007 on 23-May-07 Rating:

Strengths:Solid case construction, professional look, includes speaker, microphone, USB, and Firewire ports on the front.

Weaknesses:Power and reset buttons are hard to push, tight working environment, lacks motherboard tray.

Summary:After looking over the many choices of cases these days, the Antec Solo stood out as a very professional-looking case that would blend right into any home-office, home theater, or computer room.

Although the Solo lacks a motherboard tray, which would have made installation much easier, I found that it wasn\'t too difficult to work inside the case. My only problem was connecting the front panel connectors to the motherboard headers, but otherwise I found it easy to install the power supply, DVD-ROM drive, and hard drive into place. One nice feature was that hard drives are installed with silicone grommets that dampen vibrations and keep the case quieter.

Overall the case was on the quiet side (although particular parts inside will make the most difference in noise). It\'s certainly much quieter than \"gamer\" cases which house 4 or more case fans. I\'d definitely recommend it if I were to build another desktop.

Reviewed by: shimq1 on 21-Apr-07 Rating:

Strengths:Hard drive suspension system, great looking, sound dampening panels

Weaknesses:Heavy, mirror finish shows fingerprints easily

Summary:I had fairly quiet hardware, but I couldn\'t eliminate the seeking sound from my hard drives. The hard drive suspension system in this case eliminated the seeking noise from my hard drives. This is the ultimate case for people who want a quiet computer. With the right parts, you can have a silent system.

Reviewed by: N/A on 28-Feb-07 Rating:

Strengths:as advertised and more

Weaknesses:none

Summary:It came with every standoff and screw I could have needed.

The manual is excellent. It has the pin diagrams for everything... connections to usb, audio and firewire. If your motherboard doesn\'t match the common audio block plug that is on the Antec Solo\'s cable, this case also has each wire on single blocks to attach front audio however you need to.

I\'ve got two hard drives, and one of them is a scsi. I can\'t hear the hard drives anymore except a tiny bit of occassional read/write clicking. I know how loud these hdd\'s are, and this case has cut the noise down to almost nothing. The thing I hear now is the chipset fan, and that thing is just real loud period. With all the same components from my former case in this one, the noise level is way down... drastically.

Reviewed by: mshan242700 on 18-Feb-07 Rating:

Strengths:Very well thought out and solidly constructed

Weaknesses:Not quite as stylish as my Antec Sonata

Summary:This is a wonderfully well thought out and solidly built computer case for the quiet pc / htpc enthusiast. It\'s not as stylish as my Antec Sonata, but it has much better airflow and a great hard drive suspension system (to minimize hard drive vibrations from causing the whole case to pulse and hum annoyingly).

Reviewed by: Fye on 13-Feb-07 Rating:

Strengths:Nice 120mm fan speed controller for the exhaust fanStylish blue LED, unlike the green/red blinking lights.Glossy exteriorHand screwed side panel for easy accessHDD bay with cable suspension.

Weaknesses:Still requires screws for regular HDD tray and DVD roms, though it\'s more of a preference. Front bezel doesn\'t stay on when opened all the way, unless you work on hard floors.

Summary:I enjoy having this case around! I made it so there aren\'t any blue LED lighting in the front, though it does look classy with it on, and it\'s the quietest case I\'ve had thus far. The HDD suspension is pretty sweet, with two 92mm fans for intake in the front. Something that might get a little annoying is when you push the button for the DVD rom to close, it may get caught on the black lip and you will have to manually push the lip down a tad to let the DVD rom close. It\'s a great case, and the extra noise reduction sheets on the inside are a plus. Same goes for the glossy black finish on its exterior.

Reviewed by: ahqiu on 12-Feb-07 Rating:

Strengths:quiet sturdy construction, beautiful.

Weaknesses:Too Heavy, No PSU included (P150 has it ).

Summary:Good looking well thought out case. Easy to work on. Excellent for the price.But the power and reset buttons seem a little cheap. Front fans not included. Its still a good case. I like it.

Reviewed by: sononkyo on 12-Feb-07 Rating:

Strengths:Airflow, noise suppression, and clean industrial design

Weaknesses:Weight and cheap plastics

Summary:Having migrated from a P180 due to the faulty door design, I wanted to experience the \"sibling\" of the Antec silent series. I can attest now that the SOLO makes a bigger leap silence performance wise than its older brother.

The strengths lie in the fact that this case was designed for the silent hobbyist in mind. Airflow and those little attention to details will make you smile. Though not SILENT, the noise suppression really works because it is so efficient in funneling the hot air produced by the CPU or the video card so that the fans don\'t have to spin at full max. If anything, coupled with expensive fans, this system gives any processor a chance at being inaudible.

While the strengths certainly make up the bulk of its praise, some of the weakness do detract from the overall rating. Antec has lately chosen weak third party suppliers for their plastics. Hinges and gaps do not hold up. If you don\'t swap components, you will never notice. If you frequently upgrade, then it will start to vex you. A compromise is making sure you don\'t swap components at an above average rate. Lastly, the weight of this case does figure if you are moving the computer from residence to residence. If this is a set once and forget about it computer, this weakness is moot. Weight does give credulence to noise suppression, so it really is a tradeoff that I\'m willing to make.

Overall, you will love this case. Nothing shiny aesthetically (besides the early 2000s fad of an obscenely BRIGHT/BLINDING LED), this case masks a more masculine form of the personal computer coupled with substance. Apple products might make a nice porn shot for Madison Ave. marketing campaigns, but if you value substance over the latest trends, this PC Case makes a fine base component for any build.

Reviewed by: openwheelracing on 12-Feb-07 Rating:

Strengths:Solid thick steel construction. Harddrive suspension systems. Simply and elegant design. High quality paint.

Weaknesses:Airflow is low. Plastic button could break any second.

Summary:This is a great case from Antec. My complete system built with this case is extremely quiet. Two harddrives in suspension mode eliminates all vibration/seek noises. The rear 120mm fan is pretty quiet on 5v. The paint is absolutely stunning. This is a very simple and elagant design. The only thing I have to complaint about is the power button. It feels like I will break it everytime I push it. There is a simple mod with metal button if you search around. I highly recommend this case.

Reviewed by: yoyoliu on 12-Feb-07 Rating:

Strengths:High quality solid case, well designed

Weaknesses:It\'s pretty heavy, The opening for the powersupply is very small.

Summary:Overall, this is a great case, Looks nice.
The blue LEDs for the power and HDD make it look even better.
Case is very well constructed both
inside and outside, very easy to install components.
It has nice features for noise abatement, harddrive suspension.
I\'m very pleased with this case,
I would definately buy this case again.

Reviewed by: mgchin on 12-Feb-07 Rating:

Strengths:Solid construction. Quiet with speed controlled 120 mm fan. Good looking.

Weaknesses:Nothing to complain about. Everything that I wished for. Might be too small for a larger video card though like the 8800 series nvidia

Summary:I would definitely recommend this product to anyone looking for a good, quiet case. I personally like the simplistic styling. All of its features work well to make a quiet machine. It has upgrades from is silver brother the P150 with fabric suspension mounts instead of rubber mounts. The rubber ones were reported to breaking sometimes after a year.

Reviewed by: haksoolee on 11-Feb-07 Rating:

Strengths:Ultra Quiet, fabric based Hard Disk Drive suspenders, Built-in washable air filters (No more compressed air to buy to clean fans!), lockable side pannel (extra security), beautiful Piano Black look!

Weaknesses:No Power Supply included! This is actually a positive for me since I wanted a non Antec power supply for an SLI certified PSU!

Summary:The shiny case does leave finger prints, but I keep mine really clean. It\'s so beautiful and yet so quiet and functional! I was looking to buy a Dell due to their quiet designs, but I read that their fans are slightly underpowered to achieve their quietness. Also, I\'m not a big fan of an all plastic exterior - has a cheap feel to them. This is an amazing case. I mainly purchased this to protect my hard drives. My old computer had its hard drive fail several times and I believe that protecting your data by good design is an excellent idea. Antec uses fabric based HDD suspenders, rather than rubber O-rings which break after a while, even if the elastic suspenders snap, the fabric will still hold to absorb HDD vibration, preserving your HDD to last you a very long time. It was a real pain losing all of my data when my HDDs failed, so this is a welcome change. If you\'re a gamer and want to run 2 Graphics cards simultaneously, you\'ll want a really good power supply. I chose this case to go with a Corsair 520W PSU since it\'s SLI ready! If you\'re not into gaming and would like a PSU included, you can\'t go wrong with Antec P150, which is almost identical to this Antec SOLO! If you build your own PCs, this is your next Case!!!!

Reviewed by: darkrot5 on 11-Feb-07 Rating:

Strengths:Very stylish, well made, and very silent

Weaknesses:a little cramped on the inside, no power supply included

Summary:My Antec solo case is quite sleek with its piano black finish. It honestly doesn\'t look that great in pictures, but in person, out of the box, and all setup, it looks fantastic!

The case is very well made and lives up to its promise for delivering a quiet computing experience. The side panels contain sound-deadening polycarbonate that helps to kill the inside noises from inside the case. Also, I\'ve found that using the rubber suspenders (instand of the standard tray mount) to mount the hard drives in the case does a nice job of reducing noise levels. This is, so far, the quietest case I have ever owned.

The case is also easy to take a apart and put back together. Well positions screws that you can undo and tighten with your hands are in the back and front of the case and allow for easy access.

The downside to the case is that it doesn\'t come w/ a power supply - which is to be expected considering its normal price. Though it does come w/ a 1 rear 120mm fan, it does not include two front 92mm fans (used to cool the hard drives). I think Antec should have thrown those two fans into the package. Also, if you add tons of things to your case, things might get a bit cramped as there isn\'t TONS of room on the inside of the case.

I bought this case for $19.99+tax after rebate, and for that amount, it\'s a steal!