| Antec Sonata IV Computer Case |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | ||||||||
| Written by Nate Swetland | ||||||||
| Thursday, 10 March 2011 | ||||||||
Page 4 of 6
Closer Look: InteriorLooking good is only half the point when it comes to a computer enclosure. Being able to install your components with a minimal amount of effort, and contain those components in a safe way is just as important. If a case is not built right, parts won't fit correctly, and installation can be a big headache. Also, if it is not designed right, cooling may suffer, and your components will run the risk of overheating, and with the money you spend on them, that is not a gamble many are willing to take. The Sonata IV claims that despite it being quiet due to having only one external fan, it will run cool as well. In the next two sections, we will take a look at the Sonata IV on the inside to see how well the components fit, as well as how well a quiet case can keep your components cool.
This is the bare case as it comes from the factory. There is space for four 3.5" hard drives, one 2.5" drive, and three 5.25" drives. At first glance, the hard drive cage looks a bit unconventional. The Sonata IV will hold Mini, Micro, and Standard ATX size motherboards. Shown in this photo is the included 120mm Tri-Cool fan, which unfortunately in order to allow for the 3 speed switch, has a 4 pin molex plug. If you are curious what the cord is from under the hard drive cage that goes to the PCI slots, that is the USB 3.0 cord. Taking a measurement from the motherboard tray to the side panel, it is just a bit shy of 7.25 inches, so keep that in mind when considering a CPU cooler.
This is the back side of the motherboard tray in the Sonata IV. You can see the openings for the top and bottom hard drive cages that will lead to the side vent. You can also see a few spots for zip ties to manage your cables, as well as a couple small holes where the cables will run through. Measuring the distance between the motherboard tray and the side panel, it is about .75 inches, which is not very much room for hiding your cables on this side.
I have never seen a hard drive cage like the one found in the Sonata IV. The four hard drives will install vertically in the cages, and the idea is that the air will flow across them and be vented out the side. One of the problems is that there is no fan near the hard drives, and the only airflow the drives will experience will likely come from outside the case.
This is the 5.25in to 3.5in cage. If you are unaware, this will allow devices such as a card reader, or other external 3.5in device to go in the 5.25in optical bay. One of these is included with the Sonata IV. 
The slide rails for the optical drive mount are pretty standard. Normally, you put the rear screw in loose so it can slide, pick a hole in the front that will allow your drive to fit flush, and then tighten the rear screw once you are happy with the fit. Notice the hole to the left of the front screw (on the right side of the photo). The metal and plastic holes do not line up, so it does not allow me to put the slide rail in the right spot, so my optical drive won't mount flush. I don't know if this is simply a defect, or a design flaw. 
This is how my optical drive sits. It is not the end of the world, nor does it prevent the door from closing, or the drive from working. I rarely use my optical drive as it is, so I typically take it out after the OS installation. To remove the drive, there are small grooves on either side where you can pinch the rail clips and pull the drive out. If you wish to install additional drives in the 5.25" slots, you must take the front bezel off and then break away one of the metal covers.
Included with the Antec Sonata IV is the Antec Neo ECO 620c 620W power supply. This is an eco-friendly power supply that is 80-Plus certified. The 620c uses a dual ball-bearing 120mm fan to help keep the Sonata IV quiet. The power supply has one 20+4 pin, one 6+2 pin PCI-E, one 6 pin PCI-E, six SATA, six Molex, one floppy, and one 4x4 Pin ATX/EPS connector(s) on it. The current price of just the power supply alone is $70 on Newegg.com, so this being included with the Sonata IV adds a lot of value to the enclosure.
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Comments
That's your choice. Your motherboard doesn't even have a slot at the top position, so using that for the USB bracket would cost you nothing in terms of lost space.
"I still have cause for concern that air is not being circulated correctly throughout the Sonata IV."
I see no problem here. The air enter the case through the side vents, pass the drive cages and then turn backwards to the graphics card and rear vents (fan and PSU).
I think the provided PSU is overkill for the types of builds one can expect in this case. A PSU rated at ~400W would be perfect.
I do understand that the air will be drawing in from the vents next to the hard drives, but there is basically a wall separating the hard drives from the rest of the case, so air flow to and from the drive cage will be very restricted. A fan mount on the vent would make a great improvement, in my opinion.
I agree with you on the power supply. 620W is a bit much, but it is a nice selling point for the case.
Thanks for the comments.
In your case it would be strung across the NB cooler, not the video card.
"...there is basically a wall separating the hard drives from the rest of the case, so air flow to and from the drive cage will be very restricted."
I think you overestimate the restriction imposed by that wall. I'm sure there's at least a half inch gap between that wall and the side panel for the air to pass. That's considerably less restrictive than a full frontal mesh.
As noted initially this case is designed for quiet operation. One of the basic rules for a quiet computer is to make it require little cooling, thus allow a minimalist cooling solution. More fans means more noise. Fans at the front have a direct path of noise to the user, and also open up a direct path from noise generated inside the case. Therefore these are to be avoided.
As far as the wall and the air flow, I don't like the idea of the HDD vent drawing air in, over the hot hard drives, through the wall, over the hot expansion cards, and then finally making its way to the CPU. The GPU will exhaust some of that air, but drawing the warm HDD air across my components is not a great function in my book.
The HDD vent is on the left side, and while each person has their tower set in a different spot, I have mine below me to my right, so a low RPM quiet fan running where that HDD vent is would add little to no noise. I get the quiet part of the case. The less moving parts, the better, but sometimes the silent hum makes me know my parts are being kept cool.
Thanks for your comments.
A HDD doesn't use much power once it's spinning. A few watts is all it use, and you better have an air stream across it to prevent it from heating up.
I know of no small/mid size computer case that use a totally separated cooling for the drives, and that's simply because the heat added is too little to be a problem.
The graphics card and motherboard will both add much more heat to the CPU cooling air anyway, and I've only seen one case that thermally separate the graphics card from the CPU.
How did Antec ever get a rep for building cases?
Thank you Colin for providing the measurements for heatsink and cable management. But I thought you were way too generous with the points you dispensed.
One last bit: no cpu window in the mb tray. The whole shebang looks like something from two generations back.
Thanks for the comments.
This case looks so old, I know its function is probably okay but the aesthetics leave a lot to be desired, so 90's
Thanks for the comments.
Thanks for the review all the same and this isn't a dig at you rather than just an opinion, and only on the physical appearance.
Thank you for your comments.
my graphic card is 26 cm long
is it fit to sonata IV ?
Page 5 of the article points out that the distance between the hard drive cage and the back is 11 inches, which is a little less than 28 cm.
Your video card should fit in the Sonata IV.
If you wannt, you can install 1 or 2 add fans on the left side :-)
They've wasted a lot of space on the HDD bays. While I have four HDDs installed in my Sonata II, I think most owners would only have two installed, at most. They only need one row/level of HDD bays.
As you have pointed out, there's a wall in between the HDD compartments and the rest of the case. There also used to be holes for a mid-case fan (for drawing air from the HDDs), that seems to be missing on the IV.
The only real plus I can see in the IV is that the right side panel is now removable. The 620W PSU isn't really a plus because it is overkill for this case. The USB3 port might be a plus for some people, but not at the cost of eSATA.
Thanks for the review. I hope Antec makes improvements for the Sonata V.