Test System

Assembly

Installing the motherboard inside the Antec P82 Flow is done by screwing it onto spacers. There is not really any room on the top and bottom of the board, which definitely has the openings come in handy for cable routing. As there is a little lip on the right side of the board where the cable management goes through, you also don't have loads of space to work with there.


Installing an SSD can be done outside the confines of the chassis by detaching the metal mounting plate. This piece can hold two drives which are secured onto it with rubber-ring-equipped screws. As you can see, there is around 25–30 mm between the drive and the lip with the openings that lead to the motherboard.


Installing a 3.5" drive usually requires no tools as you just bend the tray apart and snap it down on the drive. However, with four pins, two on each side, and some 8+TB drives these days forgoing that middle mounting hole on either side, some light modding may be necessary to make things work—slice off that extra pin on each side of the tray and use screws to hold such a drive in place properly. Sliding the tray back in is easy, but pulling it out is harder because of the design, as your fingers won't be able to grip it well.


Installing a PSU is straightforward, and you should be able to find a potent high-quality unit to easily fit in the space provided.


With everything installed, the interior of the Antec P82 Flow actually looks really clean because of that lip through which all the cables are routed. On the backside, all the leads essentially run along that lip with lots of zip ties to keep them away from the 2.5" drives for access at a later point should you want to switch things around or upgrade. Only the audio cable was quite short and didn't fit, so I had to run it across the backside of the motherboard tray instead.

Finished Looks

Once turned on, the Antec P82 Flow makes a beautiful exterior impression. I am always a fan of clean and understated looks, and this case manages it well. One of the grills on top lights up white to let you know the system is turned on as well.


Thanks to the clear side window, all the components are clearly visible, even without much interior lighting. In the rear, there is nothing out of the ordinary either, with everything connectable where it should be.


Last but certainly not least, I installed the rubber covers on the I/O ports Antec had also provided as a cherry on top.