My new 4U case/system and "rackless rack"

MichaelD · Mar 3, 2008

I've had a dozen cases over the years. Everything from M-ATX to Midtower to Fulltower to E-ATX pedestal servers. Every case has something wrong with it; there is NO "perfect case."

I was enamored with my Antec P180 after I modded it to a P182. But the darn thing was just too small to work inside of, especially with a really hardware-intensive system crammed inside.

After over a month of comparing case after case searching for what I wanted, I came to the realization of what I really wanted. I wanted a big, honkin' E-ATX case that was built like a tank and would fit whatever I wanted to put in there. I wanted a big, ugly rackmount case. "WTF?" <--I said to myself

I found a 4U rackmount case that fit my needs perfectly. But where would the case sit/fit? Where DO you put a 26" deep, 4U rackmount case if you don't own a rack?

Good question.

As much as I'd love a half-height 24U rack, it's too expensive. So I built a rackless rack (it's a rack w/no rack

) and put the case and some other equipment in there. OK, so it's more like a mini-entertainment center with a shelf. Fine.

Inform 1500VA AVR UPS with shutdown software.

The box is basically 50%-50% video editing (Sony Vegas Movie Studio) and Gaming. An odd combination, but not from a hardware POV.

I've done some light modding to the case; cut out the grills on the fan mounting bar, replaced all the fans but other than that, the case is stock. The loudest thing in the case are the 80mm fans in the SATA cages. Even on low the "whine" is really noticeable. But it's getting fainter every day. I'm used to the silence afforded by the P182 I was using. Temps are MUCH better though. Even with the 3 Antec fans on LOW, my CPU temp is down 1C and case temp 3C(!). I haven't had time to test the noise level of the fans on MED. I'm guessing the SATA cage fans' noise would mask it...but I'll leave that judgement for another day.

I am very happy with this PC. It's fast, cool-running, has redundant storage and does everything I want it to do.

I hope the pics are OK. Enjoy!

Raider1284 · Mar 3, 2008

lol "Temps are MUCH better though. Even with the 3 Antec fans on LOW, my CPU temp is down 1C and case temp 3C(!).", 1C is alot better?!?! I would call that completely neglible and therefore no improvement. And 3c isnt that much either considering the thing is HUGE with more fans.

It's cool how you had to make an entertainment center for it but I honestly dont see the point. All that time and money was worth 1C?

jdkick · Mar 3, 2008

I can't see the gallery as I don't have a PhotoBucket account, but I like the case. While it doesn't have as much shine as the usual case choices, it's simple/clean and sounds like it serves your needs perfectly (7xHDD + 2xDVD certainly requires a fair bit of room and decent airflow).

DerwenArtos12 · Mar 3, 2008

Love it, my next workstation is going in one!

MichaelD · Mar 4, 2008

That's odd; I can see the pics and I'm not logged into Photobucket. I don't think you have to be a member to see pics directly linked. <--not sure on that though (Can someone verify, please?)

What I did is definitely not for everyone, to be sure. I could've went the "huge E-ATX pedestal case" route, ala a CM Stacker, but I liked this better.

The time and money spent was well worth it in order to have:

- All the storage space I'll ever need
- Migratable RAID arrays that can be expanded whenever I need the space
- Hard drives that can be swapped out w/o opening the case or disconnecting a single wire
- A case that's big enough to hold any workstation motherboard, big enough to work in without slicing my hands open and big enough to be able to swap out the motherboard without having to remove everything else in the case

I actually GAINED space in the room by building that little entertainment center thing and consolidating things under/in/on top of it. I can put my DV cam and digicam on top of it, which gets all that stuff off my desk. I also got rid of a small PC I had next to my main rig that I was using for backups. The whole setup (wiring, etc) is 100% neater than before. And the WAF went way up, which is always a plus. :thumbsup:

MichaelD · Mar 4, 2008

Originally posted by: jdkick
I can't see the gallery as I don't have a PhotoBucket account, but I like the case. While it doesn't have as much shine as the usual case choices, it's simple/clean and sounds like it serves your needs perfectly (7xHDD + 2xDVD certainly requires a fair bit of room and decent airflow).

Thanks! You summarized my thoughts on this quite well. :beer: I've still got "room" for 3 more hard drives...and I don't need to open the case or disconnect anything to put them in.

Nathelion · Mar 4, 2008

I'll be half amused if you wooden contraption falls apart and your new 50 lb computer falls to the floor and wrecks itself.

MichaelD · Mar 4, 2008

Unlikely since I sat my fat ass on it after I built it.

It's not strong enough to drag across the floor with it fully loaded. But what "table" is? It's plenty strong enough to hold what is inside and more.

imported_wired247 · Mar 4, 2008

cool... a true DIY project.

Congrats with finding the case that was best for you!

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My new 4U case/system and "rackless rack"

MichaelD

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Raider1284

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jdkick

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DerwenArtos12

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MichaelD

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MichaelD

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Nathelion

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MichaelD

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imported_wired247

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