Conclusion

Everything about the Sonata II is geared toward a low noise and high performance. The smart 450 watt Antec power supply will adjust its fan speed based on the load and the 120 mm case fan offers three speed settings. At it's lowest setting, the noise level is barely noticeable - the video card fan and CPU fan is much louder. We then removed the CPU fan and turn off the video card fan and added the chassis air duct with the optional 80 mm and 92 mm fans. The end result was a near silent system.

Complaints are few with the Sonata II. We would like to see a removable motherboard tray to ease installation and we would really like it if Antec made those fans for the chassis air duct standard instead of an optional feature. We don't feel a need for the optional 120 mm front fan unless you filled up the case with four hard drives.

Overall, the Sonata II is a worthy upgrade to the original Sonata and anyone in the market for a new case should take a good look at it - whether or not they're building a silent system. The Sonata II offers near silent operation in a package so attractive you'll want to show it off every chance you get. It's a good thing the Sonata II can be locked up. Otherwise your friends might take too much of a shining to it.

Where To Buy It