Antec Lifestyle Solo Mini ATX Tower

Comment:
Terrific cooling. Uncomplicated to develop. Very, incredibly, quite Quiet. Heavy. Shinny black, a little far more attention needed to keep it searching new. Do not hesitate if comparing this to one more case and this meets your requirements, obtain it, and you will be appreciate. All around the greatest case I've ever owned and I've owned quite a few 赨 plus Antec and LiLian situations. I could not be more pleased.

Comment:
Excellent case. Heavy build and it is a very quite case. The feet are rubber and has a lot of room for most heatsinks. Just to give you an thought I installed the Cooler Master's RR-920-N520-GP "Hyper N520". Rubber mounts for the hard drives too. Overall it is a properly produced case and works properly if you require a very case without having braking the bank. None I noticed some people today are having troubles with the power button. I do agree that it could have been made much better. But if you are gentle it must be OK.

Comment:
Very heavy case so don't expect to move it around too much. Feels very solid and sturdy. Paint not as fingerprint happy as I originally thought (they disappear 5 sec after you touch it). Access to harddrive bay is a bit of a hassle since you need to open case, open front panel, remove filter, unscrew door. Front USB ports built VERY close together so don't except to use the other one if your device is wider than any standard usb cable.

Comment:
Case is definitely showing signs of aging. For the same price, I'd definitely go with the Fractal Design Define R3 instead, which has side mount HDD cages, easier access to fan cage.Many minor annoyances that really add up 92mm fan placement in the front is a pain. No speaker, useful for POST analysis No backplate opening on motherboard tray (changing heat sinks will be a pain) HDD trays side out the front of the case, front a pain to get to sometimes (could be good or bad, depending) Firewires instead of eSATA front portSatisfactory for minimal build, i have a passive Zotac GT 430 and an SSD, so minimal air flow cooling required.

Comment:
I built a system for my office in an Antec Solo and the case is perfect for the job. It's very well built, relatively compact and very easy to service. Providing you use good fans it's completely silent and airflow is excellent. Overall, it's solid, stylish and very well engineered case that has plenty of space for it's size and offers great airflow for your important parts.

Comment:
I wanted a well built traditional looking case providing good ventilation and sound deadening for my new build. I am very happy with the purchase and result. The Diamond HD5850 I ordered only just squeezes in (I wanted the reference design to restrict length to 9.5 inches, but the card I received was longer. NCIX states, "Actual product may not be exactly as shown" in small grey letters). Replaced the Tricool based on reviewers comments concerning noise.Build by NCIX; Antec Solo case, Enermax 625W Modu82+ PSU, Noctua 120 & 2xNoctua 92 case fans, Asus P6X58D-E mobo, Intel i7 930 CPU, Noctua NH-C12P SE14 cooler, 3x2GB Corsair XMS3 CL8 RAM, Intel X25-M 160GB HDD, 2xWD Blue 1TB drives in Raid 0, Diamond HD5850, LG CH10LS20 Bluray DVD reader/burner, Diamond TV wonder 650, ASUS Xonar DX7.

Comment:
I've bought this new case recently but it's my second one: I have another one I've been using for 2 years.This is a great case with flexible mounting mecanism for hard drives (sliding rail but also suspension system).I like the fact you can have direct access to your DVD drive (no front door to open in order to insert  a DVD).After 2 years usage, I found the suspension system for by HDD had loosen up and the drive was not leveled anymore. The material used to suspend the drives seems to stretch over time. However that can be easily fixed by retightening it.I really enjoy this case.

Comment:
I bought my P-150, the Solo's sister three years ago. It's been great with an E6600 and Asus P5B Deluxe combo with Noctua cooler and fans. I'm considering my i5 and i7 upgrade options. The P-150 (Solo) will still be my case.

Comment:
this is a nice case and easy to assembly. will buy it again. became my favorite case, price match offer is also very attractive. way to go!

Comment:
This is a great case. Compared to most other Antec cases I've worked in, it's not actually too cramped. I have yet to try the suspension drive system, because I had to move the computer around.Aesthetic wise it's a very clean and basic look. I much prefer clean looking cases apposed to gamer cases with many LEDs.Acoustically it's excellent. Put in a passive video card (I have a Powercolor HD4650 passive) and set the fans on low - it's very quiet. Loudest thing was definitely my hard drive.Overall, I would build again using this case. Despite the high-ish price for a basic tower, it's well worth it.

Comment:
bought this two years ago for my main rig and havent looked back. this is a fantastic case! it is very easy to work on and very well built. cleaning and changing things is a breeze, the side panel comes off with thumbscrews(that are attached so they dont get lost), the front clips and swings open, the drives have trays and clips so you can pop them in and out easily. lots af space for everything, very good airflow, quiet and very stylish to boot. this is a case that will survive through many builds, highly recommended.

Comment:
I seriously love the suspension on this case.also it's a definite improvement over the original sonata.You have to remember this case doesn't come with a psu. it's good if you're like me and would just put in a seasonic and toss out whatever they put in there. but the cost is still pretty high considering.

Comment:
Already very pleased with this case and I've only had it a day! I did a lot of research before buying this and am not disappointed. I replaced the stock fan with a Nocturna version straight away so can't comment on stock cooling. What I can say is that when powered up, with the HDD suspended and allowing the Asus power management to run the fans it is extremely quiet and running very cool compared to my Thermaltake Lanbox. CPU temp dropped by 20C! My main reasons for purchasing were noise and cooling, as this is running my HTPC setup. I was surprised that just one extract fan would provide enough draw, but so far it seems to be coping without any problems. I have a Scythe Shruken heatsink with 100mm fan and Seasonic power supply that has a 120mm fan. No intake fans yet - and probably never if the temperatures stay as good as they are.Cable management also fairly logical, though a good power supply that allows you to connect only the cables you need would be a bonus. The only weird thing is that it doesn't ship with a case speaker. An odd omission, and I hope I don't have to troubleshoot the motherboard and reply on the POST beeps.

Comment:
yeah been using it for abit more than 1 year, still goes strong, dust filter works well, no major flaw with the case, nothing broke after a year, hurt my back building this case cuz it was so heavy, but overall a really nice case and well thought out, not like i know how to make a case but just things work pretty well, had no trouble at all with it and would recommend it to anyone.

Comment:
I'm already very satisfied with this case, had a few concerns about the length of my video card, it fit, but it makes things very narrow for some of the ide/sata cabling since there was no point in feeding them behind the motherboard. Case is wide enough to fit a Thermalright HR-01 Plus as well. With everything tuned up and the drives suspended the only way I know the computer is on is by the light.

Comment:
Very not expansive for an Antec case. Only problems, I had to do some modifications to fit my 9800GTX video card, the case was a little bit too small.

Comment:
I'm already very satisfied with this case, had a few concerns about the length of my video card, it fit, but it makes things very narrow for some of the ide/sata cabling since there was no point in feeding them behind the motherboard. Case is wide enough to fit a Thermalright HR-01 Plus as well. With everything tuned up and the drives suspended the only way I know the computer is on is by the light.

Comment:
This case is designed to be very quiet, first the HDD suspension elastics reduce the HDD vibration, then the side panels are covered with some kind of material to reduce vibration and noise, and lastly the case has some very good airflow which allows you to reduce the number of fans in the system.I have managed to build a fairly quiet system with the following components: intel E8400, Xigmatek HDT-S1283 cpu heatsink, Western Digital SE16 500GB, Corsair HX520 CMPSU-520HX 520W, ASUS GeForce 9600GT Silent, and a pair of 120mm and 92mm nexus fans. All fitted perfectly in the case. It may not be the quietest system, but that's good enough for me.

Comment:
The case is classy looking with the piano black finish, inside is roomy (unless u doing a gaming computer), the edges are not razor sharp. I really like the idea of suspended hd mounting, just need to remember not to move my case around when hds are mounted that way SUPER IMPORTANT!!i really dont like the on/off + restart buttons, they sure are build cheaply...for a regular price of $85 case, that just doesnt make any sense to cut this minor corner

Comment:
overall a great case for a great price when they are on sale. A good case if you arent looking for something that overly big. Although it may be a little small, easy to work with, and good cable management system.

Comment:
Overall, a very nice case. I'm quite impressed with the build quality, as well as the way everything works together. I really like the removable air filters in the front but would like to see one for the rear vent above the expansion cards. The silicon grommets are a good compromise between silence and securing your drives in place. So far the temps seem cool inside the case and it's not to noisy at all. Would definately recommend.

Comment:
This case is great if you spend a lot of time inside your computer, easy access to all drives etc.Space is a little cramped around my Video Card (GeForce 9600GT), blocking one hard drive bay.Good cable management.Very heavy and well built. This review was modfied by poster @ 04-15-08 02:24 PM

Comment:
This is the quietest cases I have ever owned. I've purchased two of these because of that. It has a good 3-speed 120mm fan in the back that is impossible to hear on low. The side panel has a plastic noise-damping panel on the inside. I don't care for the cheap-and-ugly plastic front face-plates, which contrast sharply with the nice brushed aluminum front. Other than that and the slightly crowded interior, this is a great buy.

Comment:
Overall, this is a case that's nice to look at and work with. It's not especially quiet in that it can definitely be loud, if you want to buy this case because of its claims that it's quiet, save your money and invest in better fans.The cable management of this case is great, it's so simple to tuck your cables away in the space provided next to the hard drive rack, and makes for easy installation, the non-detachable oversized thumbscrews are handy if you access your case a lot, the suspension hdd rack works well, and the plastic metal theme on the front works well.Having said that, there are several things that annoy me about this case, first off, the case is heavy, it's made of heavy steel and not aluminum, which is okay as long as you don't have any rust in your case like I do. Rust on steel is bad because the affected area is weak and can break off, resulting in more rust, this is not a problem with aluminum, as aluminum rust have strong attraction to aluminum meaning that the rust will not break off and spread, not to mention that aluminum cases are usually lighter.Also the front panel power and reset buttons are cheap, they are fully plastic, and they break easily when you try to use them, and one last thing, in order to access the hdd drive rack you need to remove the side panel, front panel, fan panel, which is a real pain if you need to add/remove hard drives all the time.Next time, I'd definitely spend more time considering my options before buying this case.

Comment:
Like the previous reviewer I've got mixed feelings about this case. I really want to like it but it has a few glaring shortcomings. I've been looking at retiring my old Lian-Li PC-60 since I can't silence it anymore without some major surgery so I decided to get this case after reading all the raving reviews about it on silentpcreview. I guess my expectations were a bit too high.Some of the shortcomings I knew about, like the short depth and more cramped insides compared to my PC-60. The funny thing is, my PC-60 is only 1 inch deeper than the SOLO but it's much roomier inside because of the different layout. I'm also lucky that I'm using all 3 elastic drive suspension mounts because my 7950GT would have interfered with 1 of the 4 HD sled/hard mounts because the PCI-E power connector just barely sticks into the HD bay enough to interfere with a HD mounted there. If the case was just 1 inch deeper this would not be a problem. Also, for a case targeted at the silent computing crowd I'm surprised that the rear 120mm TriCool fan wasn't softmounted with rubber or silicon mounts (like the old Sonata II). Also the TriCool isn't really that quiet for me, except on the Low setting, which doesn't quite push enough air. I replaced it with a Noctua NF-S12 (undervolted) and softmounted a couple of 92mm NMB-MAT med speed fans (undervolted) up front.The power & reset buttons I can see breaking eventually, just a matter of when. There are just a couple pieces of plastic hot-melted onto the front bezel, not spring loaded like normal power buttons. I didn't know about the lack of a speaker either until I started plugging in all the front panel connections into my m/b. I'll probably pick up a piezo one from an electronics shop. The other shortcoming is the 3.5"-to-5.25" adapter cage. I have a 3.5" combo floppy & card reader that I use and I couldn't mount it flush with the front drive bezel because that adapter cage doesn't have enough holes in the side to accomodate the different mounting holes on the side of the 3.5" drive. Right now mine sticks about 0.25" inside the drive bezel and I can just press the floppy eject button. I'll probably drill a couple of holes in the cage later to flush mount the drive with the bezel.That's about it for the negatives. The good parts is that the case is quiet, really quiet. The soft silicon case feet (it makes a difference on hardwood floors), cable managment hooks, slightly dampened side & top panels. The integrated elastic cord suspension mount is awesome. I had to rig up my own DIY elastic suspension in my old Lian-Li case. This factory one is much, much better. Overall, my transplanted system from my old Lian-Li PC-60 to this SOLO is noticeably quieter and a couple of degrees cooler, which was my main goal.