Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mid Tower ATX Case (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)There is a very big and annoying problem with this product. It does not adequately discharge static electricity. If it has been running for a while and you, or your pet, brushes up against the metalic insert on the front of the panel, you can discharge your energy and crash the system. This happens all the time for me when inserting a USB drive. Antec is aware of the problem, here is their response:
Comment: 1. We are working on this problem with a high priority, and have already tested multiple proposed fixes. Unfortunately, the problem is turning out to be more difficult than anticipated. The case is currently being tested in a special ESD lab.
2. The metallicized plastic IS grounded. That fact is one of the reasons this problem is proving so difficult to pin down.
3. We cannot refund monies that were not paid to us, but if a customer needs help returning product to a distributor we can usually help arrange that if the distributor is being uncooperative.
4. We actually expect an answer fairly soon, and as soon as we can we will be making it available to customers encountering this problem. We definitely apologize for the inconvenience, but Antec is well known for the quality of its customer service and for the way we stand behind our products.
UPDATE 3/17/08: As an update, Antec has come up with a solution. they have replaced the front silver metallic panel with a flat piano black panel. I have yet to see if this will fix the problem, but I think that bodes well to their commitment to fixing the issue.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mid Tower ATX Case (Black)

The Antec Sonata III 500 Super Mid Tower combines style, silence, and efficiency. The Sonata III is whisper quiet when it comes to system noise and the High Definition front audio ports ensure that music will be crystal clear. Use the convenient front eSATA connector for simple data transfer. It is all powered by the EarthWatts 500-watt power supply unit, which is equipped with universal input and Active PFC. This power supply unit is 80-plus certified, one of the most efficient available. The Antec Sonata also features improved overall air intake for better and quieter cooling. To keep your systems running cool, it has one rear standard 120-millimeter TriCool fan with a three-speed control and one optional front 120-millimeter case fan. This case has a total of nine drive bays--three 5.25-inch external bays, two 3.5-inch external bays, and four 3.5-inch internal bays that are held in individual trays with silicone grommets to absorb hard-drive vibrations. The Antec Sonata is designed to fit motherboards up to standard ATX. It measures 16.7 by 18.2 by 8.1 inches (HxDxW) and weighs 20.2 pounds. Other features include:
Metal double hinge door opens up to 225 degrees
Constructed from 0.8-millimeter cold rolled steel for durability
Built-in washable air filter to keep dust out of your case
Front-mounted USB, eSATA, HDA, and AC'97 audio in/out ports

Get 2% OFF

Click here for more information about Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mid Tower ATX Case (Black)

Acer AS7552G-6436 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Acer Aspire 7552g-6436 Review, as of 24 hours...
I'm coming from a Dell inspiron 2200.
Con's :
So at first glance i noticed the keyboard has tabs on the keys instead of keys. seems a little flimsy
only time will tell.
Not really happy with the power cord either but as the zen master says "we'll see".
The placement of the usb and other ports on both sides instead of the rear is less than perfect in
my opinion.The Middle Ground : Price vs. performance.
So far the CPU has yet to disapoint, despite some decent games and multi-tasking i have throw at it.
Even though it's only an AMD Caspian and lacks level 3 cache and suffers from low clock speed this cpu
should serve well for a few years at least, its also an upgradable option, if you know how and if you can
get your hand on an AMD x940 you can expect a little bump. For the Price this N950 is about as good as it
gets for amd and they are only on par with the fastest i5's. BUT at least it has 4 threads not 2 like the i5's.
640gb western digital blue 5400rpm hard drive, is ok and plenty big but slow, HD tuner gave it 55mb min 85mb
max transfer.I have ordered a kingston v100 64 gb for this laptop, and will let you know more about that upgrade.
I installed a kingston v100 64gb SSD, and let me tell you it is FAST. I did not like the error messages
i got when cloning the drive, but after hitting ignore a couple times everything seems to be fine, if i end up
having to jump through hoops to fix it i will let you know. I assume if i have a problem with the ssd then
i can always put the hard drive back..Hd tech wont run on windows7 even in compatiblity mode.
So i used hd tune which gave me reads at 148mb's on twice, though i did have one test show 169mb's.
Makes me wonder if this sata controller is 1.5gb or 3.0gb as i should have in theory got only 143mb/s reads
with a sata 1 or 1.5gb controller.Pro's : The screen is amazing ! Nice and sharp ! Really Pops out at you. I know its not 1080 but 720 is
still easy on the eyes compared to 1024x768 on 14.1 inch monitor.
The laptop has many features that are upgradable, including the Hard drive ( yes you can have 2 , after you
purchase another hard drive tray from acer for $29.99 ? must be how the corporate exec's get their bonuses,
i mean really 30 bucks for a piece of bent metal ? SAD !!)
Also their is 3 memory slots as newegg reports so you can have as much as 12gb of ram.. smoking for a laptop
in this price range.
And yes the 6650m ATI radeon can also be upgraded, not that it's the weakest part of this system by any means.
I'm getting 80+ FPS in BF2, Cod4 and other games with all set to max settings.
I have heard and read about a bios mod for acer computers that unlocks all kinds of goodies, which i will
try in the near future.
Conclusion : This is a great laptop for the price of 700.00 or so, despite some limitations with AMd CPU's.
If your looking for a solid gaming laptop for a low cost, this as7552g-6436 will not let you down.
I hoped this helped someone.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Acer AS7552G-6436 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)


Enjoy a portable theater experience with the Acer Aspire 7552G (AS7552G-6436) PC laptop, which features a 17.3-inch CineCrystal display with an HD+ resolution (1600 x 900) and a 16:9 aspect ratio--perfect for viewing content created for the widescreen. It's powered by a quad-core AMD Phenom II processor and the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6550 graphics processor, which combines multi-core processing and powerful graphics for a superior digital entertainment experience.
Enjoy entertainment and gaming on the enormous 17.3-inch HD+ widescreen LED-backlit display.

Get 9% OFF

Click here for more information about Acer AS7552G-6436 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)