Antec Sonata Elite Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: - Solid build quality
- Relatively more quiet than other cases
- Protected hard drive in the HDD bay area
- Cheap price for what you get
- Good airflow

Cons: - HEAVY case (not best if expect moving it from time to time)
- Not silent as you would expect

Other Thoughts: Owner of an Antec Sonata Elite as my main computer for 2 years now.

Been using my computer for gaming in this case, never had a problem, good airflow even though it's not a gamer case. Kinda silent but don't expect too much. Good quality build. I like the HDD protectors in the HDD Bay area. I think the price is good considering what you get.

If you expect you move your computers from time to time, be aware, this case is heavy.

Pros: I have built several desktops, but this was the first time I started with a new case, PSU, MB etc and did everything from scratch. Previously it was always using older cases from prior desktops I bought fully assembled and ods/ends accumulated over the years. This is by far the best case design, quality and layout I have seen and used. Very spacious, sturdy and a breeze to install hard drives with the simple slide in system. And the drives are rubber-mounted for vibration. I an now looking for the best mATX HTPC case...any advice?

Cons: none that i have seen so far...

Pros: The case dampens noise fairly well. There's ample room for cables. There are easy to open doors on each side that give easy access to everything except power supply. The looks are sleek yet understated.

Cons: If you replace the power supply (PSU), the supports on the sides (held in place by pop rivets) preclude removing the unit laterally. And likely the CPU cooler will get in the way of removing it underneath, a major nuisance (in my case I had to remove the entire motherboard to replace my PSU). After about two years of having the main case fan mostly at high, it started to squeak slightly when at low and medium speed.

Other Thoughts: The case is better suited for the left side of a desk than the right side, because the door that hides the disk drives and power button has its hinges on the left.

Pros: Decently quiet
Good cable management options - cleanest build I've ever done

Cons: The hard drive mounting cages are poorly designed.

A normal 7200rpm hard drive's vibration rattled the entire hard drive cage when installed as intended. I removed the bottom bracket so the drive hangs freely and the rattle is gone. The rattle was very loud and made the case useless for my recording studio.

There's no easy way to install SSDs in this case. I have 2 OCZ drives. I ended up mounting them to just the top bracket so they hang freely, much like my hard drive. Rather than drill holes in the mounting brackets to attach the ssd brackets by two screws, I attached them by only one and used tape/paper buffers to keep the hanging cages from touching metal on metal. Drilling holes would have been better but that is a lot more effort.

As others have mentioned, the included ssd mounting location is not usable with any standard sata cables, straight or 90 degrees.

Other Thoughts: I'm happy with the case except for the hard drive mounting options.

Pros: - Sound dampening material
- Hard drive mounts reduce vibration noise
- Finish is superb
- No sharp corners/edges

Cons: - Heavy
- 5" Drive Mounts were not in hardware box and were freely floating around in the case resulting in finding them in multiple places

Other Thoughts: I have been a builder for around 10 years now and have always respected Antec as one of the best case and power supply manufacturers. The level of quality put into their cases is top-notch. There is never any fit issues that you find with cheaper manufacturers.

For the cost you can't find a better no frills case.

Pros: With the proper components makes for a near silent build
Unique mounting system for HD's makes swapping easy
Unobtrusive low key styling
Easy to get to filter for cleaning

Cons: Gloss black=fingerprint magnet
Not tool free, you need a screwdriver
No cable management. If you are a neat freak.

Other Thoughts: I've been doing so many budget builds lately, its a real pleasure to finally work with a quality case. Sure its heavy, but the interior panels have some padding to deaden noise. No sharp corners to cut myself on. Clearance for all but the longest video cards. I'm going to swap out my personal case for this one when I get time.

Pros: I've purchased 5-10 of these over the years for various purposes, and they're great. Solid, quiet, and visually appealing - my go-to case for everything.

Cons: Included case fan doesn't support motherboard fan headers. The 2.5" drive mount doesn't really leave enough room for SATA power and data cables. It works but is awkward.

Pros: Solid, quiet case

Set the fans to maximum speed with the intention to turn them down to the point where the noise doesn't bother me. I have not adjusted them yet - mine sits under my desk, it might be different if it was on top.

Cons: The mounting brackets to install a CD or DVD drive are hidden in the cover to the slot. Once you know that they are there this Con can become a Pro. But it would be nice to be told they were there

Other Thoughts: I used this case for my first computer build from scratch.

I don't understand the complaints about cable management. By removing the panel behind the mother board, I was able to run several cables between the mother board tray and the side panel. Other cases may handle it better, but this was sufficient for my use.

My computer is for business use- a gamer may look at it differently.

Don't buy it for the locking cover - the plastic door can easily be compromised

Pros: The case has a solid build quality and I like the removable side air intake with filter. Unlike many other cases, this one is solid and will stand up to a number of years of use and many future upgrades/re-builds.

Rails to hold 3.5" HD's have nice silicon grommets to minimize vibration noise, and rails for 5" drives are cleverly hidden on back side of plastic drive bay cover.

Cons: Cable management and convenience were obviously not part of this case design...

Everything went smoothly until it was time to start adding cables:
1) The 2.5" SSD mount is next to a beveled edge that forces you to jam the power and SATA connectors in place. Makes me wonder if anyone at Antec ever did a test build with an SSD, or if it just went straight to production.
2) The vertical arrangement of hard drives makes it difficult to run power and SATA cables in a neat and organized manner.
3) There aren't many points built into the case to restrain cables to.
4) After installing hard drives I had to uninstall them and flip them to more easily connect power and SATA to adjacent 3.5" HD's.

Other Thoughts: I've worked with other Antec cases in the past and always been happy with their build quality, but the problems with running and controlling cables in this case will make me think twice in future builds.

The bundled 120mm has a 4-pin molex connector, which is disappointing since most motherboards now have 3 and/or 4-pin headers to connect case fans.

Pros: Similar to the above or other reviews, nice look - good design for noise abatement.

Cons: No parts list! I cannot figure out how to install a DVD burner - from what I gather from other reviews, there should be some screws that will allow me to slide the burner into the slot and it magically notches into place - I do not have such hardware that came with this case, of course I wouldn't know since there is NO PARTS LIST with this case - just the usual computer hype about the features. About some of those features - the 2.5" drive mount for an SSD, I'm taking advantage of that but have to go get a left angle SATA cable because the rolled edge is too close to the drive for a standard install - the power cable is tight too. If it's intended to go in BACKWARDS, perhaps the diagrams should be different! I've got my computer just about complete, but because of these little oversights - I have to run out and get some esoteric parts to make it all work - very frustrating!

Other Thoughts: No doubt when I get over this hurdle, I'll calm down and enjoy the build, but attention to detail is what they need to do, when they don't give the buyer sufficient detail to detect the problems in advance!