I need a tough MicroATX case.

[bupkus]

They destroy everything-- power switchs, bay covers, keyboards; rutting boars are less destructive.

*takes a breath*

I just got back from delivering 3 repaired computers to my nephew's childcare center and I'm returning with 3. I should post some pics at what some of these pre-schoolers and grade schoolers have done. You'd be amazed after you stopped laughing. I mean, they tore out the entire 4 drive bay panel with each of the 4 bay covers with it. Shades of "Village of the Damned." They're the "Children of the Corn."

I need some microATX cases that have strong, tough front bay covers, and switchs that even a 5 year old can't break, jam, remove.

 

[montag451]

try wiring up the front to the mains.
that'll stop them,

till they see you putting in a dvd with thick rubber gloves

 

[SocrPlyr]

i haven't seen any microATX cases like this b/c i haven't look, but maybe try for ones w/ lockable doors... that could cover everything up...
someone correct me if i am wrong but the microATX components should be able to fit into an ATX case if you cannot find an appropriate microATX one...

Josh

 

[montag451]

Yeah, but if you are getting an ATX case, unless you really don't want to upgrade, then you might as well get ATX mobo with more PCI's.
Then,
cpu,
ram
oooohhhhh where does it stop

 

[MrControversial]

Two words: Barbed wire.

 

[bupkus]

I have the microATX motherboards.
Here's the case Link

It's too bad the power switchs fail. The case itself is pretty strong and durable.

Newegg used to cary an AOpen microATX case called the H400A which was pretty good.

 

[piasabird]

Well you could question why day care kids need a computer. In my state you have to have so many day care workers per x number of children. Where were the employees?

I would recomend isolating the computers in booths or a room and make them all use the computer under supervision. You really need supervision when a young child is using a computer. A lockable cabinet for the computer may be a good idea. However, I would consider a lockable room or even a booth that separates the computer from most of the younger children.

How do you know the employees aren't damaging them?

There is the option of using a security camera or two.

Another idea is to mount the guts in a big box with a lock so only the keyboard, mouse, and monitor are accessable. Even the monitor could be behind plexiglass or glass. I have seen desks where the monitor and the case are secured, so it would just be one more step to put them behind a panel or some tough mesh wire or something like that.

 

[dwcal]

Originally posted by: piasabird
Another idea is to mount the guts in a big box with a lock so only the keyboard, mouse, and monitor are accessable. Even the monitor could be behind plexiglass or glass. I have seen desks where the monitor and the case are secured, so it would just be one more step to put them behind a panel or some tough mesh wire or something like that.

:thumbsup:

I've seen this at a museum too. Computer in a locked cabinet. The monitor behind a glass screen. Just the Mouse and keyboard exposed. They're cheap enough to be expendable.

 

[w00t]

two words: click link

http://www.rareads.com/scans/10084.jpg

 

[Andres3605]

just make a cabinet like the prepaid internet pcs

 

[Zepper]

Hey Bupkus,

Yeah, as hinted at above, it's not possible to make reasonably priced PCs child-proof. If nothing else, they'll manage to pull the AC cord out of the back. Better to put them out of reach - say on a high shelf above the work area. Run the kbd/video/mouse extension cables up thru a pice of pvc pipe (or use wireless kbd/mse - scratch that, too expensive for the situation) (smooth the pipe edges with sandpaper and cover the edges with duct tape) and out thru a smoothed hole in the side of it. Then wrap the cables at least full turn around the pipe before heading toward the PC connections. That will act as a strain relief to keep even very strong tugs on the cables from affecting the PCs (adding zip-ties to this idea will make it even stronger).
. Of course you will still need to have a substantial lip on the shelf just in case - don't want one to fall onto the little tykes, now do we .
. I can elaborate on this in a diagram if you need. Putting the monitor(s) behind a sheet of plexiglas or lexan is a good idea too. Or you can get lockable switch covers to keep their paws off the monitor switches.
. These ideas were just cooked up sitting here and doing a little thinking on the problem - nothing I've actually done before. But I haven't been able to find a fault in the logic of them yet.

.bh.

p.s. If you're stuck on the "child-proof case" idea; InWin makes some sturdy mini-towers that use std ATX PSUs, the Ahanix Plasma (discontinued and getting hard to find) has a door that could be made lockable and the Athenatech A-100 series has the drives behind (unfortunately fairly flimsy) doors and the switches aren't obviously switches (silver bars that look like ornamentation). IAC, you can cut the wires off the front panel switches and make some slot plate mounted switches with SPST, momentary-contact switches from Radio Schlock.

.bh.

 

[bupkus]

Zepper, I've created a nice design for a small computer station module, the prototype of which is in the next room. We had a carpenter build it and it only took him 9 months to get it done (personal problems I gather). However... the situation I speak of above is one where a custom, but conventional desk/table had been built by that same carpenter but designed by said carpenter and not by me. This was the owner's doing of leaving me out of that part of the process. So, I'm left with a problem to manage myself. Still, I could use a good sturdy microATX or ATX case. I suppose I need to just try some out. After all, the most compelling need is a good power switch on the case. Oddly, the case that I linked to above and now here again is the best case but the worst power switch.

Decision: I shall modify this post to one where I ask how to create a power switch outside of and remote to the pc case itself! Yes, I like this decision. I shall include an indicator in the sub-title on the OP.

:beer: Cheers

 

[Zepper]

Yeah, I think the evercase 42x2 series is great. Have you looked at the new Antec SLK3000-B (best price at Provantage.com - less than $50. shipped). It has a door that could also be made lockable.
It's the same as the SLK3700-AMB except it's black and comes w/o PSU. This InWin style has the switches flush with a v-groove that could be easily covered with a padlock hasp: InWin V500 series . The best price I've found is at ChiefValue.com (related to Newegg) and ewiz.com .
. You can get lockable switch covers that can be mounted to just about anything from places that sell industrial electrcal products. Perhaps you could just mount them to your cases over the power/reset switches. And just hot-glue the drive bay plates in place. Hot glue won't make them totally child proof, but better than nothing.
.bh.

 

[bupkus]

Dude, thanks for the link. I really like the looks of these InWin's, especially the BT series. I'm not sure which I'll get, but I don't feel a rush to decide, especially since I just started a migraine about 20 minutes ago. I couldn't see 5 minutes ago.

 

[Zepper]

. Yup, the BT series looks very slick. Unf. the BT series accept only low-profile add-on cards. The Athenatech A-100 series I mentioned above uses full-height add-on cards. However, if you never expect to need any add-on cards...

.bh.

:moon:

 

[bupkus]

I did a search on the Athenatech A-100SC and found the case most attractive. How good are their power supplies? Comments on newegg suggest it's a Sparkle, but pics show something called a High Power. Are they as good atleast as the Irwins?
I will search for prices a bit later.
I must agree about the half-height nature of the Irwin BT series. They're listed as only 3.6 inches high. The Irwin D series, OTOH, is listed on newegg as 5.25 inches tall so it just may accommodate a full height AGP card just in case.

I found the Athenatech A-100SC at newegg and it looks quite nice. Not too bad of a price, either, sans shipping.

 

[Zepper]

I hope your migraine is gone.
. Yes, I have an A100-SC here and wrote a review of it here: http://www.techimo.com/reviews/ under cases.
. The PSU in mine (and in the other A100s too - the A106 cases, the ones with the shiny aluminum finish, have a 200W Sparkle) is a HighPower (made by Sirtec, the same company that actually makes most Enlight and Thermaltake PSUs) and is rated at 230W. It is prietty good. It weighs nearly as much as my standard ATX sized Sparkle 250 Watter. I'd say they are probably pretty equal as Fortron/Sparkle rate their PSUs at continuous output while others generally rate theirs at Max output.
IAC, you definitely want to have the P4-12V (4-pin square) connector on any mobo you choose as the load will be more evenly distributed among the rails. So you can usually get away with using a lower powered PSU even with a pretty high-powered CPU, etc.
. I have had an MSI KM2M Combo L with a Duron 1600 and an Abit VA-10 with a Sempron 2400+ in there with a HD and an optical drive and they all have done just fine without working up much of a sweat. Both of those mobos have the P4 connector (MSI, Abit, DFI and Soltek usually have the P4 on their uATX mobos too, Asus often doesn't except for their Asrock budget line). I don't buy uATX mobos anymore that lack that connector.
. If I recall correctly, it was a tight stretch for the front-panel connections on the A100 to reach to the mobo headers of the MSI. So if you're thinking of using that case, you might want to make sure the front panel header is in the left-front quadrant of the mobo. I think I noted that in my review too - I'll go back and check.
.bh.

 

[EnDaRi]

i would really consider a backroom for the computers where the chidlren cannot reach. The wires could lead from the back room to the regular room where only the monitor, keyboard, and mouse are assessible. That would be my solution in my opinion. Mainly because, children can find anyway to destroy anything...

 

[Arcanedeath]

I'll 2nd or 3rd or whatever the idea to isolate the PC from the Kids the only thing visible should be the KB Monitor and a Mouse.

 

[SagaLore]

Get a datacenter rack and lock them up.

I mean lock up the machines, not the kids.

 

[bupkus]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
Get a datacenter rack and lock them up.

I mean lock up the machines, not the kids.

I don't know what a datacenter rack is, but it don't sound cheap.
***sitting here, imagining a couple boys shoving the datacenter rack into a wall and it falling over on it's side casting pieces of computer downward, sliding across the floor with hollywood movie sparks flying in all directions with children screaming... *** wakes up and says, "maybe not."

 

[bupkus]

Originally posted by: EnDaRi
i would really consider a backroom for the computers where the chidlren cannot reach. The wires could lead from the back room to the regular room where only the monitor, keyboard, and mouse are assessible. That would be my solution in my opinion. Mainly because, children can find anyway to destroy anything...

Don't have a backroom. Owner had custom "U" shaped table made which does have a small shelf running underneath the desktop, so that may be ok, unless, of course, the kids just bounce their legs up from at the knees, kicking the case over and over and over and over...

 

[bupkus]

Zepper, I read your review from your link. I'm only concerned with the power switch as they have been problematic for us and also the bay covers which cannot be frail enough for some kid to completely yank out. I wish I could post a pic of what they did to this one case.

 

[Zepper]

Cases like the Inwin would be much tougher than the A100. But a couple of hinges and a standard padlock hasp along with a strip of Lexan could make the front of the A100 largely impervious.
.bh.

 

[bupkus]

Just ordered the Irwin IW-BT553G from Newegg.
I have atleast 8 PCs with a microATX board and an IGP so it won't go to waste.