Good source (maybe only source) for Palo Alto cases...

[AU Tiger]

I was interested in tracking down a Palo Alto PA-450 MicroATX case and contacted Flextronics who suggested I contact amax.com. Amax pointed me to Ajump.com that seem to carry the complete Palo Alto line of cases.

Palo Alto ATCX (Also available at Directron and KD Computers) - PDF - Ajump link - $62
Palo Alto PA-450 MicroATX - PDF - Ajump link - $62
Palo Alto PA-700 - PDF - Ajump link - $59
Palo Alto PA-810 (Also available at Directron) - PDF - Ajump link - $115

I have the ATCX currently and am contemplating trying one of the other cases, but thought I would share this information with others here at Anandtech who might also be interested in Palo Alto.

 

[mudboy]

Nice find, AU Tiger. You'll like the PA-450 if you get it, though the ones I got earlier had 250w (non-P4) power supplies. It should still take an ATX PS, so you can put whatever you want in there. There is also some good cooling mod potential with that case, 2 of the 3 in my house now have a 92mm hole at the top of the rear panel

I only wish it had 2 internal hard drive mounts...

Pete

 

[Plantsman]

Check here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2041056708

This is a Dutch Auction on Ebay for 4000 of those cases, without power supplies, and with the AST logo on them. The current bid price is $7.59 (and $25.00 shipping).

 

[rch4001]

thx for the info. I have built several systems in the "convertible" palo alto case and have always been satisfied. Good airflow and easy to get into. However, a friend had a surprise using an old Micron case (which is the Palo Alto convertible) , building system with the latest intel board with integrated audio. The audio i/o is vertical instead of the standard horizontal setup and the case I/O opening was too not tall enough for the mb connections. He had to go to one of the few cases on Intel's tested list. Only time I've ever heard of a problem but need to be careful.

 

[mudboy]

Wow, NICE find. I might have to pick up a couple just because.

Pete

 

[J3anyus]

Dumb question...what's so special about these cases?

 

[amdskip]

Originally posted by: J3anyus
Dumb question...what's so special about these cases?

These kinda look some of the cases like gateway uses I guess, kinda ugly IMHO especially that ebay one.

 

[mudboy]

Here's what I like about the PA-450:

* Good looking
* Very easy access, side of case releases very easily (while still being secure) and the PS swings up out of the way
* Takes a standard ATX power supply
* Tool-free optical drive rails
* Nice and compact
* Well made, good plastic and thick steel
* VERY fast and easy to build a system up with this case, I've assembled in 20 or so minutes.
* Good drive bay selection (2x5.25, 1x3.5 Ext, 1x3.5 Int)

Minuses:

* Relatively poor stock cooling, though it's straightforward to cut an 80 or 92mm hole in the upper rear
* Can be hard to find

 

[hans007]

wow thanks for the link on the ebay one! $32, and i'm getting a case that is made of plastic finally, they are so much quieter.

 

[mudboy]

Actually, I emailed the seller and they told me that their shipping price was too high, so they dropped it to like $19/ea.

That means I'm going to buy 3

Pete