INTRODUCTION
With most hardware components (including mainboards, memory modules, CPU coolers and fans) and gaming peripherals (such as keyboards, mice, headsets and mouse pads) in the market currently featuring RGB LED illumination it's only natural that PC case manufacturers couldn't really stay out of the game. As a matter of fact due to the high popularity of PC cases that use tempered glass panels there are currently many models in the market that feature various RGB sources for all tastes from LED fans and single LEDs up to entire LED strips. Antec has already released some PC cases featuring RGB illumination but it wasn't until only recently that they released a spacious mid-tower that also featured a tempered glass side panel. We are of course talking about the brand new Performance Series P110 Luce and today we have it with us.
Antec, Inc. is the global leader in high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself markets. Founded in 1986, Antec is recognized as a pioneer in the industry and has maintained its position as a worldwide market leader and international provider of quiet, efficient and innovative products. Antec has also achieved great success in the distribution channel, meeting the demands of quality-conscious system builders, VARs and integrators. Antec’s offering of enclosures includes a wide range of cases, such as its advanced Performance One Series, economical New Solution Series and VERIS family of media components designed for the home theater PC market. Antec’s products also include front line power supplies, such as its premium Signature Series, powerful TruePower Quattro Series and EarthWatts, one of the most environmentally friendly power supplies available. PC gamers are an increasingly significant consumer of performance components, and many Antec products are designed for the gaming demographic, like the premier gamer enclosure: the Nine Hundred. Antec also offers a line of computer accessories comprising many original products, including its patented LED fans and notebook cooling solutions. Antec is headquartered in Fremont, California, with additional offices in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, as well as in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China and Taiwan. The company’s products are sold in more than 40 countries throughout the world.
Since the brand new P110 Luce mid-tower (compatible with mini ITX, micro ATX and ATX sized mainboards) is part of the Performance Series by Antec they have equipped it with a large number of features aside RGB LED illumination (limited to 7 colors via a LED switch) and a tempered glass side panel including an front top HDMI port (very useful for VR setups), two vertical PCI expansion slots (vertical VGA mounting position is supported), removable air-filters (front, top and bottom), adjustable VGA holder, PSU chamber, removable HDD cage and two removable single drive cages. In terms of available space the P110 Luce has nothing to be jealous from previous Performance series models since it can accommodate up to six 3.5" and/or eight 2.5" drives, front 240/280/360mm and top 240/280mm radiators, up to six 120mm fans (or 4x140mm and 1x120mm), 165mm tall CPU air coolers, 390mm long graphics cards and up to 200mm long power supply units. On paper the new P110 Luce seems to check most boxes so let's move forward with today’s review and see for ourselves.
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
As expected the P110 Luce arrived in a plain cardboard box that has a product drawing at the front.
The specifications table is printed on both sides in 8 languages.
An exposed drawing of the P110 is placed at the rear of the box right beneath the features list.
The tower is wrapped inside a cloth cover and place between two thick foam spacers.
In a small cardboard box mounted in one of the 3.5" drive trays you will find a bag filled with mounting screws, 4 cable straps, warranty information paper, tempered glass handling paper and an information guide.
THE P110 LUCE EXTERIOR
Standing 518mm tall, 230mm wide and 489mm long the 11.7Kg heavy P110 Luce is a rather large mid-tower.
As expected the entire left side panel is made out of tempered glass.
I was actually surprised a bit to see the Antec logo on the 4 thumbscrews that keep the tempered glass in place.
The brushed aluminum fascia looks great but as usual you will be skipping on a optical drive bay (a large removable air-filter is placed on the other side).
The Antec logo placed on the upper left corner of the fascia is also one of the 3 RGB LEDs used in the P110.
Just over the fascia we find the I/O which includes the power on/off button (surrounded by yet another RGB LED), LED button (used to rotate between the 7 available ones), headphones and microphone 3.5mm ports, two USB 3.0 ports (surprisingly enough these are black and not blue) and an HDMI port.
At the top of the tower we find a removable air-filter (kept in place with magnets) and of course the 240/280mm radiator mounting area.
Turning the tower around we find a 120mm exhaust fan, 8 horizontal and 2 vertical PCI expansion slots and the PSU area.
A large removable (from the sides) air-filter is placed beneath the tower and takes almost every bit of space.
THE P110 LUCE INTERIOR
At first glance the interior of the P110 Luce looks very spacious (and i bet it is).
Antec ships the P110 Luce with a low-RPM 120mm fan at the front (here you can also mount a radiator but just like at the top 55mm in total thickness is all you have so an AIO cooler could be the best choice).
We've seen a few VGA card holders in the past but the one found in the P110 is by far the easiest to use (its only drawback is that it feels a bit flimsy).
On the PSU chamber cover (the Antec logo is again one of the three RGB LEDs) Antec has placed two small removable drive cages.
Each of these cages can either accommodate two 3.5" drives or one 3.5" and one 2.5" (as seen above).
All 10 PCI expansion slots are secured in place via regular screws.
Taking a look from the other side we see the LED light hub, the cables routed behind the VGA card holder, a vertical drive tray and the bottom drive cage.
The drive cage can accommodate up to two 2.5/3.5" drives and is removable.
With the drive cage installed the PSU area is enough for units up to 200mm in length.
Both the vertical drive tray and the trays found in the drive cage are made out of aluminum.
On the vertical drive tray you can mount up to two 2.5" drives.
Here's the top radiator area from inside the case.
BUILDING THE SYSTEM
As always the purpose of this section is not to build a functional system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.
As clearly stated by Antec the P110 Luce has enough space for mainboards up to ATX form factor.
You can easily mount a 240/280 AIO liquid CPU cooler at the top of the case as seen above.
According to Antec you can also mount an 240mm/280mm radiator at the top for a custom water cooling loop but we were able to fit an 360mm radiator (with a maximum available space of 55mm you will either need to use a 27-28mm radiator with regular fans or a 40mm radiator like the one seen above with slim fans) rather easily. The only "problem" is that only two and 1/2 of the fans mounted would actually work (you can secure it in place with several screws so that's not a problem).
Of course you can opt to use a regular CPU cooler but when it comes to graphics cards 390mm is the maximum allowed (the VGA holder can be removed to allow for even longer cards).
200mm for a power supply unit is enough for most models currently available in the market (if by any chance you have one even longer than that you can always remove the drive cage).
NOISE LEVEL TEST
After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically ontop of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller (if the case doesn't have one we use our own).
CONCLUSION
With the latest P110 Luce Mid-Tower Antec may not have introduced anything new and groundbreaking in the market but their offering easily takes on any similar RGB capable models. Granted not using RGB LED fans and a front clear tempered glass panel like much of its competition means that the P110 Luce is not as impressive to look at but for people who care not about that (or who want something more subtle) the three small locations that feature RGB LEDs may actually be a better choice. Speaking of fans Antec chose to go with two low-RPM models which are pretty much inaudible even when standing next to them. The only issue is the limited airflow levels these fans produce. Also just like with the Signature S10 I was surprised to see that Antec skipped placing a 360mm radiator mount at the top but unlike the S10 it’s actually possible in the P110 Luce. The VGA holder makes for a fine addition to the list of features found in the P110 but it’s not very sturdy so my hope is that Antec changes in that when they update the P110 Luce (or launch another tower with a VGA holder). Finally in terms of available interior space the ability to mount up to six 3.5” drives and two 2.5” drives (or two 3.5” and six 2.5” drives), two 240/280/360 radiators (or up to 6 fans), 390mm long GPU’s, 165mm tall CPU coolers and 200mm long PSU’s is not easily matched by many mid-towers.
Antec has always done extremely well with the pricing of their products and the P110 Luce is no exception to that rule since it currently retails for just USD85.87 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 109Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Of course with more and more manufacturers joining the RGB illumination trend competition will only get harder but for now the Performance Series P110 Luce Mid-Tower by Antec with its very good build quality, features, interior space and price is more than worthy of our Golden Award.
PROS
- Build Quality
- Spacious Interior (390mm Long Graphics Cards / 165mm Tall CPU Coolers / 200mm Long PSUs)
- Room For Six 3.5” And Two 2.5” Drives
- Vertical Graphics Card Mount
- Room For Up To 6 Fans or two 240/280/360mm Radiators
- VGA Card Holder
- Inaudible Fans
- Bottom/Top/Front Air Filters
- RGB LED Illumination (7 Colors)
- Price (For Some)
CONS
- Limited RGB LED Illumination
- VGA Card Holder Quality
- Airflow Levels With Stock Fans