Need recomendations on a case for Windows Home Server

[Kingbee13]

As the title says I'm looking for a new case in which to opperate windows home server
A quick list of things I require or prefer in the case and a a list of things I do not want

Start with tihngs I don't want in the case

*I dont want a case with anything glowing, flashing or otherwise calling attention to itself

*No side Window

*No PSU bundled with the case (from past experience they are cheap ineffiecent and loud)


Things I'd prefer the case to have but am Flexible on

*I prefer not to have a door covering the drive bays (normally I refuse to have a door but since it's a server I'm more open to the idea in this case)

*I would prefer to have the Upside down design Lian Li popularized with hte PSU on the bottom

*I prefer the case to be under $100 but willing to go up to 150

*as quiet and cool opperation as possible (subjective I know)

*prefer to have at least 5 or 6 internal 3.5 inch drive bays

Things that I consider absolutely necessary for the case to have

*must have good airflow and at least mounting position for 120mm fans or larger (shouldn?t be an issue these days but I don?t want any random 80mm fans)

*must have tool-less design (side panels, drive bays expansion slots)

*side facing internal 3.5? drive bays (I do not want to remove the memory, video, other add in cards etcetera just to install or remove a hard drive)

* I need this case now future products aren't an option

I have been looking around and so far the closest case that I have seen is Lian Li 1100 but its a little expensive, and has a door covering the front drive bays, but mostly price, I wouldnt mind having an aluminum case, but at the same time it wouldnt be a compelling feature if I can get one that meets my other criteria at a lwoer price point


another case I was looking at is the CM-690 but I've read the quality is lacking (power and reset switch), that hard drive installation requires you to remove both side panels and I am not a fan of having usb and ESATA ports on the top of the case

Maybe i'm being picky, maybe there isn't a case I will like, but I need to have the case sometime in the next week or so

Any input would be appreciated

 

[Zepper]

Well, if $200. or more for a case doesn't put you off your feed, the new Silverstone Fortress (SST-FT01) may be what you're looking for. OTOH, if you aren't really stuck on a bottom PSU design, maybe one of the Chenbro SR105xx workstation/entry-level server cases could work for you. I have one version that was OEM by Chenbro for Alienware (for their first shot at a Workstation design) available. It does have a door but its hinges allow it to park flat against the side of the case. The HDDs aren't sidesaddle, but all you have to remove to get to them is the front bezel which has quick release levers just inside the left panel - the drives then can slide in and out on rails. If interested, PM me for more info.
. Other than those, there are the Antec 900 or 1200 but I think their HDD mounting arrangement is significantly more troublesome. Or maybe one of the Silverstone Kublai (probably the KL02) or the black version of the Rosewill Conqueror (same as the Silverstone PS01) which is at a super deal right now (that's on free ship right now from the Egg) - the original HDD cage(s) could be replaced with a "Kublai Kage" for more convenience and flexibility (also can be made hot plug/hot swap for low bucks). Just for grins you might want to take a look at the XClio WT (windtunnel)/Tagan Monolith (both the same case).

.bh.

 

[RallyMaster]

A Cooler Master Mystique? Those aren't big in terms of volume but if you don't have too much stuff to fit, it'll handle a decent sized mobo and four hard drives.

 

[Kingbee13]

Thanks for the replies so far, given me some oher options that had not occured to me

The mystique doesnt look bad except those doors are huge and only 4 hard drive bays will not be enough, in recnet years I've had a number of coolermaster cases and been happy with tem for the most part

the silverstone cases are somewhat closer to what I'm looking for but they are fairly expensive.


Chenbro, thats a name I had't heard in a while, Anyone remember he original gaming bomb? I'm not sure why new egg doesnt carry Chenbro anymore, which brings me to another note I fialed to mention for business reasons I have to buy from newegg, so that eliminates anyproducts they don't cary

I kinda liked the rosewill, or maybe just the pric 69 shipped is enticing, the removable front door is nice, but the drive cage looks likw a bear, and they drive cage mentioned is shwoing ans deactivated or something like that from newegg so thats not an option.

at this point I'm sill leaning towrd the lian li, s3eems like its a closeout tye deal on that case,as I recall it used too for about 100 more than it is right now

 

[Zepper]

Newegg does carry some Chenbro, but they are under the server cases category: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811123085 - the Alienware OEM is much nicer than the one model of the SR105xx that the Egg has. Unfortunately it looks like the GBII is gone forever - finally pulled from the current product pages on the Taiwan Web site. Almost impossible to find their regular mid-tower cases in the States.

Here is what I named the Kublai Kage long ago:
http://www.google.com/products...oducts&hl=en&scoring=p

IDK if the Egg stocks it, but doesn't look like it does. Neat cage but may take some minor modding to hold the fan housing in place on a non-Kublai case.

.bh.

 

[Kingbee13]

Do you have any pictures of this Chenbro/Alienware case?


I actually like the SR10769 Newegg has but the 92mm fans are apparently quite loud

 

[Zepper]

Here is a link to a review that has some pix:
http://features.cgsociety.org/...stom.php?story_id=3353

here is another:
http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/Alien_f/index.htm

In some early examples of this case, the inside misc. plastic bits are sort of a turquoise color like the standard SR105xx boxes and some have charcoal bits. I think mine has all or mostly charcoal bits - its been a while since I've refreshed my gray matter. Yup, all charcoal. Now I recall that instead of plastic rails on the HDDs, you pull the whole drive cage out thru the front and the drives mount with shouldered screws thru rubber bushings like the Antec SLK3000-B the Rosewill R6A series et. al.. The front ports come with the Alienware version and are optional on the standard models. The standard fans that came with it could make your ears bleed. I bought a new set of Zalman fans (1xF-3 and 2xF-2) for it. This case had been available in some numbers on fleaBay after AW was bought by Dell - don't see it anywhere now. This one is complete except for having only one key instead of a pair plus I have printed out a copy of the manual.pdf for it. I don't think it was ever used in a system as the right side still had the static-cling plastic protective sheet on it. On this one the panels in the door have metal mesh for better breathing, the standard door like the one on the Egg doesn't have a lot of breathing. The standard SR10569 version has no door and there are other styles of door (the last two digits in the model no. vary for the diff. fronts), but I've never seen the other styles in the States.

.bh.

 

[Kingbee13]

I might be interested if it has more than 4 3.5 drive bays, I can see it has 4 on top but cant tell if those are bays on the bottom or not, I will require more than 4 8 would be perfect


Thanks! PM me with details

 

[Zepper]

This version has only three 5" bays available to the front one of which can be converted to 3.5" external with the included adapter. Perhaps one other HDD could be snuck in behind the front panel in the bottom of the 5" bay rack where the drive rails are stored. Only four HDDs can be accommodated in the standard cage. There is room below the cage but AFAIK is used just for an extra 92mm fan. I don't see how much else could go into that space w/o some major metal work.

.bh.

 

[faxon]

what about the thermaltake armor? it comes with 3 dedicated 3.5 bays to start and a converter that turns 3 of the 5.25 bats into 3.5 bays as well, and you can purchase another 2 and still have room for an optical drive if you take out the little drawer the case comes with. total space for 12 drives in that configuration with good airflow over each drive (the converters come with attached 120mm fans that are pretty quiet). the only thing you wouldnt like im betting is the fact that the 120mm fans that come with the case are blue LED fans, but they are of a generic design and easily swappable for something else. case does also come with a side window though, but with space for 12 drives its pretty hard to pass up imo. im planning on turning my armor into a WHS box eventually, so i sort of already have this all planned out rofl.

 

[mooseracing]

I'm using a TT Armor for my server case, as I didn't have the cash to drop 500 on the server case I wanted. I've upgraded my armor to better 120mm intake and exhaust fans,a s well as putting a 120 up top. I'm using IcyDocks hotswap bays (the one with the fan on the front, not back) for the hard drives. I'm also running Dual Opteron 880's oc'ed to 2.78Ghz. The case works great for everything, but I would rather have a server case with hotswap fans behind the hard drives.

 

[Kingbee13]

Thanks to everyone who replied, I got a lot of information and went in directions I hadn't previously considerd

I've never been a fan of thermaltake, in fact quite the oppisite (still have bad rememberances of the orb coolers from many years ago) Thermaltake takes flash witohut substance to whole new levels IMO, but it's probably an irrational bias I have against them.


The Case I've persoanlly decided to go with is the CM 590 it has a removable drive cage with 4 slots for drives and I could at up to 12, its an unassuming design that I like, I've been happy with the 3 other Centurion CM cases I'm using now, and its on the cheap which is always good.

Again thanks to all the suggestions, I never would have considdered the removable front drive bay design otherwise!

 

[RallyMaster]

Oh boy...if I had known you were going to buy a CM 590, I would've sold you mine.

1. Watch out for quality control issues. The side panels might not line up, the side panel screwholes might not line up, the fan screwholes on top might be a bit too small for a standard fan screw to fit and the case has pretty low quality paint (which gets scratched easily).

2. The screwless mounting mechanisms for both the drives as well as the expansion cards are pretty worthless and won't hold anything properly. My Centurion 534 holds the video cards fine but the 590 does not. Only thing that does stay in there correctly would be my sound card.

3. The case lacks a reset button, so just in case your computer hard locks, you'll be holding the power button down for 5 seconds. The power button is also very close to the open/close button on optical drives. I have shut down my computer twice trying to open the DVD burner tray.

4. The case is also a noisemaker and dust trap. The case has many porous areas and you might want to consider very very low speed fans less than or equal to 1000RPM. The fan filters are pretty worthless and will just slow down the velocity of air and not really do much in the way of keeping dust out.

I am getting rid of that case once I transplant everything into my Mystique 632S tonight.

 

[Kingbee13]

Yikes, I had no idea the 590 had so many issues


I too have a Centuion 534


Maybe I should reconsidder the Antec 300, very similar features to the CM 590 thanks for the heads up