We have with us to analyse today the Antec Sonata Elite, the Elite expands on the Sonata family of cases offering even more silence and innovative design.

Website: www.antec.com
Price: £85

In the world of PC enclosures there are some firm favourites across the brands on the market. Whether they be Lian-Li, Coolermaster, Silverstone or others. Inside each brand are ranges that focus on key characteristics in their build design. Some focus on visual appearance whereas some focus on being a superior cooling solution and there are other areas that are attended to, this helps you the buyer to work out which range would best suit your needs.

With the Antec Sonata range, quietness and build quality has always been a key feature. The Sonata range focuses on providing near silence as well as elegance, and the Sonata Elite is no exception to these attributes. It hopes to build on the reputation and qualities the Sonata has created, featuring 7 drive bays, 7 expansion slots, the size to harbour the latest graphics cards, sound proofed panels, vibration-reducing grommets, 2x120mm TriCool fans for silent cooling and an encouraging array of convenient ports on the front panel.



All this makes for an interesting review, we will soon see just how the Sonata has progressed and developed in this new version.

Packaging and Closer Look

The Sonata Elite comes packaged in a similar fashion to most Antec cases – in a large box with a high resolution print of the case itself on the box. All the features and details can be clearly seen on the box.

Inside the box the case itself is enclosed in a white protective cover and secured with some polystyrene fitments. The packaging is sturdy, I would doubt very much that this case could be damaged easily inside such packaging.



First impressions of the case are very good. The Elite looks like an object of great quality. You can immediately tell that this case is premium and something not to be confused with a tacky, cheap alternative. The high gloss finish on the side and top panels gleam and reflect any light whilst the front is a hard plastic. This front panel opens to discover the power controls along with the optical drives of your choice. In the middle are two USB ports, an e-SATA slot, and the audio jack for headphones. With the Elite there is the option to close this front panel door to secure operation.



Moving to the side, there is a new addition to the Sonata Elite. Antec have attached a mesh panel to the side to allow draft to come in to cool any 3.5″ devices and this little mesh panel can act as a outlet for dispersing any unwanted heat. A well thought through idea. Especially as you can remove the exterior panel and free it of any dust that is collected there.



To the rear of the case there is nothing unusual, it follows the standard layout of most ATX cases. The one thing you might notice is that there is a section of perforated metal near the expansion slots. We will talk more about this later.

Installation and Conclusion

Installing all of the components inside the Sonata Elite was a relatively easy process. The first device to install inside this case is the PSU. Installing it after the motherboard will only result in complications because of the beam that spans across the depth of the case. Inside the Elite, there is a fair amount of room and installing components is quite easy.

Installing the 3.5″ devices was a doddle thanks to the new system in place. All that has to be done is release two screws from whichever section you wish to install the device, slide the fixture out, install the fixture onto the device and slot the fixture back into the case and screw up. This suspends the device at a totally different angle than normal, tucking it out of the way and allowing for multiple drives to be installed in a smaller amount of space.

Although the Elite is directed at those who thrive on silence and isn’t particulary a gaming enclosure, the latest graphics cards will just about fit inside. I installed a NVIDIA 260GTX inside the Elite.

Along with the latest graphics cards, large coolers will also fit nicely into the case. During the installation I fitted a Noctua NH-U12F inside the case, and the tower-like heatsink sat just inside the side panel of the chassis.

As we have mentioned previously in this review, Antec have included an exhaust fan that you can attach towards the rear of the case, near the expansion slots. Installing this was very easy and I did see some significant drops in temperatures especially the GPU temperatures. I saw a good 2C drop. So these additional functionalities do indeed make for a very versatile case.

Conclusion

My opinion of the Sonata Elite is very high. The good design ideas and construction of this case are clearly evident. Antec have focused their efforts in supplying us with a case that dampens out the noises and droning of components from within the chassis, in attempting to fulfil this they have chosen to opt out of incorporating tool-less operations for installing 3.5″ devices, expansion cards and optical drives. Not only does this reduce the noise in the case over tool-less designs, it allows the structure to be firm and better quality that will last longer.

The Sonata Elite certainly meets those conceptions, it reduces the noise levels significantly, this is helped by the thick deep panels and sound proofing. The Elite looks like a case of quality and it will stand on your desk looking shiny and proud.

I’m confident the Antec Sonata Elite will do well in a market that thrives on whisper quiet operations and sleek designing. It’s big enough to fit the latest and greatest hardware thus appealing to a vast majority out there seeking to purchase a new case.

Vortez Hardware would like to thank Antec for supplying this case.

You can discuss this review: HERE!

Interior

When you first remove the panels on the Sonata Elite you quickly realise that this case is not light by all accounts. You also notice how well formed the construction of this case is. The side panels are extremely thick and they even feature sound proofing material on the inside to further silence the noise coming from components inside.





Another thing you will pick up on pretty quickly is the strange looking 3.5″ bay that sits just below the 5.25″ optical bays. Although this is appears to look quite odd at first, in the next section you will come to see that this method of installing the 3.5″ devices is a superb idea and something that I like very much.



The overall look and feel of the Elite is quite traditional and it doesn’t vary too greatly from its predecessors. It comes equipped with a rear exhaust fan and a fan for fixing to the expansion area of the case, so that any heat from graphics cards can be quickly removed.