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The back, side panel.

Normally I would be looking at the inside now but in order to get inside you’ll need to switch the case round and look at the back.

Because the side panel is held in place by two easy-access thumb screws. These can’t be fully removed from the case so you don’t have to worry if you fall down to the ground. These are the best thumb screws to do the job of keeping the panel in place. I didn’t want to bore you with a picture of the back ( I couldn’t find a suitable photo ). So I’ll just tell you what you can expect. The back looks no different than any other case. Lots of ventilation holes and lots of pci brackets.

Once you open the case your surprised by a large bag full of cables and screws to get the show on the road and start assembling your computer. Not only do you get a case stacked with features, your also welcomed by a modular power supply which is one of their NeoPower series. Not just some cheap ass psu they stuck in there.

Getting back to the side panels. These are damped on the inside with sound dampening material. The side panels are layered with high-density poly carbonate material to dampen noise and vibration. They do a fine job of reducing the noise and only add a fraction of weight. The netto weight of this case is just under 13 kilograms so it’s not that heavy.

The Inside

Once you take a peak inside, you’ll notice how small it is. The inside is no larger than a normal motherboard, sure you can use a large video card in there. But even with my X1950Pro I was against the hard drive cables which didn’t made installation any easier.

The Antec Sonata Plus 550 has no removable motherboard tray, so you’ll need to tinker a bit to get everything cramped in there. The removable hard drive brackets makes it easier but once your ready to plug in the cables your granted with a video card, and sharp motherboard pins sticking in your hand when you try to wiggle your way through the inert’s. Not pleasant, but do-able though.