Antec P180 Mini users, post your rigs

I'm running my sig rig in a P180 Mini. I like the case, but I'm disapointed in its lack of cooling. When I bought it I was thinking it would be stellar for cooling while still being a quiet case, but what I've found is that it tends to run pretty warm. You have to keep the front panel closed to maintain any hope of quiet computing, but this restricts airflow to a large degree. I've done a lot of experimenting with mine with the door shut with fans at different speeds vs. door open with fans at different speeds. With all my fans at 100% I can drop my CPU load temp but about 3C just by opening the front door wide open and opening the front fan grills up and removing the dust filters. The extra airflow really helps my load temps but there goes the quiet computing concept.

I'm interested in what kinds of setups you guys and gals have installed in your P180 Minis and what kind of fan setups you run and what your temperatures look like.

My setup:

I have a Scythe 1200rpm S-FLEX (E) on the back side of my TRUE. It is plugged into my mobo header and runs as long as the computer is on. It pulls air through the TRUE and blows in out the back of the case. On the front of the TRUE I have a 1900rpm S-FLEX (G) set up to blow through the TRUE. This is hooked into a Sunbeam Rheobus. On the back of the case I have another S-FLEX G set up as an exhaust fan. This is also hooked to the Rheobus. On the front of the case I have two 1600rpm S-FLEX (F) fans set up as intakes and hooked into the Rheobus. In the top of the case I have the 200mm fan that came with the case set to run at its lowest speed. I never turn it up. On the front of the case I have removed the two dust filters in front of the two intake fans.

When I'm just surfing and listening to music I have all fans on the Rheobus turned completely off. The only fans running are the pull-through (E) on the CPU and the 200mm exhaust fan at the top of the case. This keeps CPU temps in the mid forties doing light-duty desktop duties and it quiet enough. When I am gaming all turn all channels of the Rheobus to 7v (just at the threshold where the LED switches from red to blue). I don't know what RPM the Fs and Gs turn at this voltage, but it keeps temps in check while I'm gaming. I also turn my XFX 5870's fan from my normal 20% duty cycle to 35% duty cycle. This seems to keep the card in the mid to high fifties and is quiet enough for gaming. I can't stand to turn it up much more than that. For benching I turn all channels of the Rheobus to 100%. I also open the front case door and open both fan doors. By doing this I keep my CPU temp at 48-49C during full load in a 21C computer room. As soon as I close the front doors the CPU load temp climbs up to 50-51C.

What experiences do you all have with your P180 Minis?

Pretty sure I already know what the answer will be, but to fit a 5870 in the mini P180, you have to remove the lower HDD bay, correct? The 5870 won't fit with it in there?

Correct, the lower bay has to come out. I actually removed both of my drive bays. I installed my hard drive in the uppermost 5.25 external bay with a 5.25-->3.5 converter. I only use one hard drive so this isn't a problem for me, and this removes any air restrictions inside the case downstream from the fans.

It's a neat little case, but I'm surprised more of us aren't using it. I know most members hear at OCF go for the big, roomy mid or full towers but I was expecting to see more replies from those of us that chose this for our mATX builds. Maybe I'll take some pictures this weekend and post them.

Do you have any pictures of your rig by chance? I've always loved the mini P180. It's just something about a cramped case (neatly organized of course), looks amazing. Someone else here had a mini P180 with a (I think) 4890 CrossFire setup, it looked great.

I loved my P180 mini case. Had the White version. wish I still had pictures and that case.