Final Thoughts
There is no mistake that ANTEC made only slight changes to the Sonata III, but the tweaks here and there were definitely improvements. In my opinion, they improved the overall look of the case with a freshened front bezel. The “why fix it when it’s not broken” approach taken from ANTEC allowed them to produce a case that takes all of the great features of the Sonata II and incorporate them into the Sonata III.
The only gripe I have is why ANTEC did not include another Tri-coolTM rear case fan? For those that may have an SLI setup, multiple hard drives, or are into overclocking, an additional Tri-coolTM fan would help to maintain lower internal case temperatures and assist with controlling component temperatures as well. At the same time though, folks running such high end systems will likely not care about complete silence and will opt for thermal performance over the quiet computing offered by this case.
Overall, ANTEC has once again created a winner and a worthy successor to the Sonata II. I would recommend this case to any mainstream user that is looking for style, quiet performance, and quality construction.
Pros
- Very quiet case when fan is set on low speed setting
- Features such as rubber inserts on hard drive rails help control noise levels
- Earthwatts 500W power supply included
- Hard drives that mount perpendicular to the length of the case
- Only minor changes made from the Sonata II
- Front eSATA port
- Well thought out cable management
Cons
- Only 1-120mm case fan included
- Only 1 additional 120mm case fan slot available
- Poorly attached rubber feet
- Case is not suitable for those that require extreme case cooling.
Overall Rating: 9.0 / 10.0
