Question What constraints will I encounter with DIY Rackmount PC?

[timbopoise]

I'm in the process of piecing together a 19" Rack mount PC. I have specific requirements but for this post but I
have some questions that might prevent me from going down any rabbit holes.

19" rack mount chassis come with different depths and heights (U1, U2, U3, U4, ec). I'm sure I can find one
deep and tall enough to work with typical desktop PC parts, or at least I assume that, but I'd like to know when
i buy what are typical desktop parts when do I encounter a fit issue?

See brief list of some of my motherboard (MB) requirements below, but questions are:

1. Chassis needs to fit the motherboard, power supply (1200W+), cooling system, and possible 2x HDD. How will this constrain the height and/or depth of the chassis?
2. I need dual Ethernet ports and maybe good choice for MB might not have extra NIC so I may need to add a card slot. Would standard card fit into a U3 or U4 height?
3. As seen from my requirements, I want LGA1700 socket. Do you know of any issues when using this generation of socket with cooler in a chassis, e.g. what height is required for it to fit?
4. If you have a recommendation for MB in mind please let me know (brand/model)

Brief list of requirements:

• LGA1700, DDR4 >=64GB
• Dual Ethernet
• i7 13700K cpu
• No GPU anticpated
• Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
• At least one Thunderbolt 4 port
• height <=U4 height
• Linux (Ubuntu) all the way!

Thanks

 

[Tech Junky]

With that spec you're going to be limited on cooling due to height.

TB4 is much more economical as an AIC than built into the board. I picked up a dual port off Amazon for $60.

The mobo will do os raid if you're using Linux and should be able to do storage spaces with windows as well.

I would probably start out with PCPartPicker.com to see what your options are between the case and cooler and go from there. As long as the case has ATX mounts it should work just fine.

The other issue might be fans / cabling and for that I would be looking at arctic pwm pst fans since they daisy chain together to keep cabling neat and use a single header for better routing.

 

[timbopoise]

With that spec you're going to be limited on cooling due to height.

TB4 is much more economical as an AIC than built into the board. I picked up a dual port off Amazon for $60.

The mobo will do os raid if you're using Linux and should be able to do storage spaces with windows as well.

I would probably start out with PCPartPicker.com to see what your options are between the case and cooler and go from there. As long as the case has ATX mounts it should work just fine.

The other issue might be fans / cabling and for that I would be looking at arctic pwm pst fans since they daisy chain together to keep cabling neat and use a single header for better routing.

Thanks for you input. I've updated the req to include Linux. Thx. I'll check it out. Please clarify terms TB4 and AIC.

 

[Tech Junky]

TB4 = thunderbolt

AIC= add in card

 

[Shmee]

I am curious, what would be the use case for this computer? Also, as far as choosing a motherboard, you may want to specify what speed of ethernet you want for those dual RJ45 ports. Obviously if you aren't picky, it is easy enough to find boards with two 1Gbit or higher ports. However, if you need higher than gigabit speeds, or prefer a particular LAN controller, you will have more limited choices in motherboards. Of course, as you eluded too, you could just ignore the motherboard LAN and go with a dual port 10Gbit NIC if desired.

 

[zir_blazer]

An U4 rack assuming than it is intended for ATX Motherboards should be able to fit standard parts and full height PCIe Cards it in, with a major exception: Video Cards that have the power connectors facing up instead of to the side of the card.
My Radeon 5770 fitted in a 4U rack. Watch power connector on the side.
My Radeon RX 570 didn't, cause the power connector was facing up.
This change seems to have been intentional to do market segmentation of consumer cards vs high density. Which forced me to switch from a 4U rack that I intended to use for old style desktop (Monitor on top of case) because I couldn't close the top.
Read this too: https://www.servethehome.com/avert-your-eyes-from-the-server-humping-trend-in-the-data-center/

 

[timbopoise]

I am curious, what would be the use case for this computer? Also, as far as choosing a motherboard, you may want to specify what speed of ethernet you want for those dual RJ45 ports. Obviously if you aren't picky, it is easy enough to find boards with two 1Gbit or higher ports. However, if you need higher than gigabit speeds, or prefer a particular LAN controller, you will have more limited choices in motherboards. Of course, as you eluded too, you could just ignore the motherboard LAN and go with a dual port 10Gbit NIC if desired.

This project has some constraints like not being able to deploy on in commercial cloud for security reasons. So I'm aiming for a server room install and looking for a clean setup and rackmount seems like best approach. I will probably need dual ethernet and not factoring that into the height of the chassis will be a big problem so I'm going for it up front. 2.5GB and 1GB is fine I believe.

 

[timbopoise]

An U4 rack assuming than it is intended for ATX Motherboards should be able to fit standard parts and full height PCIe Cards it in, with a major exception: Video Cards that have the power connectors facing up instead of to the side of the card.
My Radeon 5770 fitted in a 4U rack. Watch power connector on the side.
My Radeon RX 570 didn't, cause the power connector was facing up.
This change seems to have been intentional to do market segmentation of consumer cards vs high density. Which forced me to switch from a 4U rack that I intended to use for old style desktop (Monitor on top of case) because I couldn't close the top.
Read this too: https://www.servethehome.com/avert-your-eyes-from-the-server-humping-trend-in-the-data-center/

Thanks for your comment. I don't expect to need/use a GPU in the system. I'm hoping to use more standard parts that I've put in Desktops. So, an ATX Motherboard with full height slots is good.
Will a 1200W power supply fit too?

 

[aigomorla]

19inch depth rack cases are a joke.
19inch is typically designed more for network equipment or DJ audio stuff.

You want a 36inch depth case if your going for hotswap bays for a NAS, and probably 25inch depth for a DIY build like a rosewell 4U case.