Recommendation for 4U case

[GreenGhost]

I want to move 2 older computers into a rack. Any recommendation for a 4U case? Anything decent for about $150-180? It can be a convertible tower/rack case. I'm afraid I'll regret getting the cheaper ones.

Thanks,

 

[i7Baby]

Have a look at user reviews - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...BESTMATCH&Description=4U+case&N=-1&isNodeId=1

 

[XavierMace]

Have a look at user reviews - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...BESTMATCH&Description=4U+case&N=-1&isNodeId=1

Wow, that was an incredibly insightful post.

I want to move 2 older computers into a rack. Any recommendation for a 4U case? Anything decent for about $150-180? It can be a convertible tower/rack case. I'm afraid I'll regret getting the cheaper ones.

Thanks,

What features do you want/need. Most of the time when you ask about a decent rackmount case, the answer you're going to get is Supermicro. However, you'll find they exceed $150 in a hurry.

 

[i7Baby]

The OP should see that by going through the Newegg listings.

 

[aigomorla]

ive always wanted to try a norco case.
However what stops me is the many bad reviews from people i hear about them.

I also heard 90% of the 4U cases u get as aftermarket have issues fitting in U tower racks.
But from what a lot of people tell me, they like to use supermicro chasis, or dell's as they are basically gaurentee'd to fit inside a server rack tower without any hassle.

 

[XavierMace]

ive always wanted to try a norco case.
However what stops me is the many bad reviews from people i hear about them.

I also heard 90% of the 4U cases u get as aftermarket have issues fitting in U tower racks.
But from what a lot of people tell me, they like to use supermicro chasis, or dell's as they are basically gaurentee'd to fit inside a server rack tower without any hassle.

I replaced a Norco 4U with a Supermicro 4U for my SAN. Here's the Pro's and Con's of the NORCO:

PRO's:
Very affordable
Was actually 4U (unlike Rosewill's)
Replacement/upgrade parts available direct
Mounted in both HP and Dell racks

CON's:
No power supply included.
Designed for standard ATX so a redundant P/S option is $700.
SAS Backplane poorly built
Insufficient cooling
Poorly designed drive trays
Optional rail kit is extremely basic and poorly designed.

If you're used to dealing with ~$40-$80 PC cases, you're probably going to be happy with a Norco. If you're used to dealing with HP/Dell/IBM/etc servers, you're not going to be. I'd actually take a Supermicro Case/Board over a Dell. Supermicro's rail kits are worlds better than Norco (and similar tier) as well. Many of Supermicro's cases have optional removable front panels with dust filters which is nice as well.

 

[Aikouka]

I replaced a Norco 4U with a Supermicro 4U for my SAN. Here's the Pro's and Con's of the NORCO:

PRO's:
Very affordable
Was actually 4U (unlike Rosewill's)
Replacement/upgrade parts available direct
Mounted in both HP and Dell racks

CON's:
No power supply included.
Designed for standard ATX so a redundant P/S option is $700.
SAS Backplane poorly built
Insufficient cooling
Poorly designed drive trays
Optional rail kit is extremely basic and poorly designed.

If you're used to dealing with ~$40-$80 PC cases, you're probably going to be happy with a Norco. If you're used to dealing with HP/Dell/IBM/etc servers, you're not going to be. I'd actually take a Supermicro Case/Board over a Dell. Supermicro's rail kits are worlds better than Norco (and similar tier) as well. Many of Supermicro's cases have optional removable front panels with dust filters which is nice as well.

Yeah, I've got a Norco RPC-4220, and it's not bad, but if you don't mind a loud PSU, just buy a used Supermicro case + PSU off eBay. I would've done that, but as you can guess, I can't stand "jet engine PSUs". 😛 I was actually a bit worried to buy one with people complaining about it frying their HDDs. I ended up testing every single bay with some old, working HDD before I'd trust it with my actual drives.