Category: Case
Manufacturer: Antec
Product: Sonata III 500
Gallery: Click Here
Price: $129.95

Introduction
When reviewing cases we try to look for what works and what doesn't. Antec has been incredibly successful in designing enclosures that have captured the attention of system builders from different segments of the market for one reason - their stuff just plain does the job. From either eliminating noise with the Antec Solo, to just cranking air through a system with the Antec 900, this company is without a doubt one of the most consistent case manufacturers on the planet. No one company is perfect, but Antec rarely makes mistakes with its cases, and when they do, they man up. The Antec Sonata III carries with it some rather controversial design decisions and we let you know whether they're hot, or not.

Specifications

Test Setup

Hardware Configuration

• Case: Antec Sonata III
• Power Supply: Antec Earthwatts EA500
• Motherboard: DFI Lanparty 939 nForce4 Ultra
• Processor: AMD Opteron 146 2.0GHz (Overclocked 2800 MHz)
• Hard Drive: Western Digital 100GB IDE HDD
• Video: PNY GeForce 7900GS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express
  
• Memory: OCZ Dual-Channel PC4000 Gold Edition VX 1024MB
• Optical: Lite-ON 52x CD-RW
• Audio: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
• Cooling: Zalman CNPS9500 CPU Cooler
• Cooling: ThermalRight HR-05 Chipset Heatsink
• Display: Samsung Syncmaster 710N 17" LCD

Software Configuration

• Motherboard BIOS: NF4LD406 BIOS Update Revision A (2006/04/06)
• Chipset: NVIDIA nForce4/500 Series 6.86 32-bit WHQL Certified
• Operating System: Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2
• Video Driver: NVIDIA ForceWare Release 162.18 32-bit WHQL Certified
• Audio Driver: Creative SB Audigy 2 Series Driver 02.08.0004
• Test Software: Orthos Prime v20060420
• Test Software: Futuremark 3DMark 2006 1.1.0