Test System

Assembly

Installing the mainboard is done by traditional means, on normal spacers and with screws Antec includes. There is plenty of space all around, so you can install the largest CPU cooler without running into any issues. The same goes for graphics cards as Antec mentions a maximum length of 330 mm for such units, which is plenty for even the biggest cards.


Even though made of plastic, the hard-drive trays are rather thick and sturdy. Each of these comes with large anti-vibration materials and seems to be an evolution of the trays found in the Nineteen Hundred. Instead of simple clips, the ones in the P380 come with a solid front and sturdier clips. To install an SSD, you have to use the default screws Antec provides; a 3.5" drive require you to use the longer and larger screw instead.


With the drives in place, slide the trays back into the chassis until they snap down. The solid front nicely hides the drives, which you can barely see once installed.


As the P380 does not offer any external drive bays, Antec included a plastic tray for a slimline drive. To add such a drive, simply slide it into place and secure it with the tiny screws. You now have to pry off the front of the chassis, take off the dust filter, and screw it onto the backside of the aluminum panel. Just like with the I/O and power and reset button, which are accessible through the left or right of the chassis, the slimline drive may be placed in such a way as to align with your workspace. You should, however, connect the drive's SATA plug and route it through the front before screwing the drive on to the front panel.


Installing the power supply is done by traditional means since it only takes screws and a screwdriver. There is plenty of room for a long PSU - space should not be an issue.


With everything in place, the Antec P380's interior looks quite clean, but as you can see, I had to really stretch the USB cable as I chose to run it in from the bottom instead of the side. I simply did not want to cover any of the motherboard's parts, but you may have to do so. With the audio plug, the idea was the same initially, but here, the cable was too short, so I had to run it down the entire height of the board and route it behind the graphics card. Antec should really make these cables 5 cm longer.

Finished Looks

With everything back in place, the P380 looks extremely clean. There is a blue LED on each side of the front panel. These glow through the cracks of the power supply. but are so soft you won't notice them unless the room is dark.


Looking at the chassis from the side, all the important components can clearly be seen through the window. In the rear, all the ports are where you would expect them to be - there are no issues or surprises to report on.