rack mountable computers and hard drives?

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minofifa

minofifa

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hey everybody,

incase some of you were waiting to bust me on double post, i'll be honest and tell you that i did post about this before in the rack gear forum but the topic was off base and i did not get the information i was looking for

anyways...
I was wondering if there are PC cases available that can be mounted into, say a 4U or 3U rack? I asked this in the rack gear forum and was told about several models but when i checked them out, they were all rediculously expensive servers. i just figured it would take that much to convert the comporatments in a tower to a rack shape. I am looking to get this rack case taht is virtually sound proof and self cooling so i though putting the computer in there would be a good idea.

Thanks for any help.
 
Here is where I got my case and I've installed speed controllers for all of the fans (wire wound rheostats from Radio Shack) to keep the noise to a minimal.
If you have ever built a computer, you will have no problem building one in a case like this one.
You would want to check the dimensions of the rack case you are looking at to see if can accommodate the depth of the PC case you decide to use. The one above is 21" deep plus a couple more inches for the handles.

HTH

-Ken
 
Good luck on the sound proofing as it is more of the internal fans /hard drives that cause the noise...not the case. You could try sound absorbing material inside the case and maybe get really big 120mm fans and possibly water cooling.
Click to expand...

well the reason i wanted it in a rack shape was because the rack i am planning on getting is relatively sound proof itself. what i had planned was to put a reasonably quiet computer inside this rack which has a glass window and wood sides and have it contain the sound.

Hey crankz aren't all rack units the same size? i thought they were all like 24 or 30 inches deep or something. well here is a link to the rack i want to get, you think it will work?
http://www.raxxess.com/product.asp?ID=548

thanks for the info guys
 
minofifa said:
well the reason i wanted it in a rack shape was because the rack i am planning on getting is relatively sound proof itself. what i had planned was to put a reasonably quiet computer inside this rack which has a glass window and wood sides and have it contain the sound.

Hey crankz aren't all rack units the same size? i thought they were all like 24 or 30 inches deep or something. well here is a link to the rack i want to get, you think it will work?
http://www.raxxess.com/product.asp?ID=548

thanks for the info guys
Click to expand...

THANK YOU! I've been looking for one of those for awhile to think about purchasing. Rack units vary in depth size though...just depends on how deep your gear goes back. However, I'm thinking about using this for just an isolation case for an upright PC....not a rackmount one. Thanks again!
 
ya i think that little unit looks pretty classy.... actually i wonder if i could just build one...

Anyways... I'm starting to lean away from getting a rack computer... they look like they have limitations as to what you can put in them. Also their fronts look very bleek and non-practical. I have seen a couple models with a usb port or two, but no CD bays or stuff like that. it seemed like a good idea..
 
minofifa said:
ya i think that little unit looks pretty classy.... actually i wonder if i could just build one...

Anyways... I'm starting to lean away from getting a rack computer... they look like they have limitations as to what you can put in them. Also their fronts look very bleek and non-practical. I have seen a couple models with a usb port or two, but no CD bays or stuff like that. it seemed like a good idea..
Click to expand...

Huh? Since rack boxes are designed for servers, they often have gobs of drivebays; I saw one 4u box that had 6 bays in the front panel. They also usually have many more fan mounts than tower cases, and they are often heavier gauge metal than towers. In short, rack boxes rule!
 
serious? well the ones that i have been scoping either have nothing butfans in the front (not too practical for me) or have drivebays in the front but are sideways so if i were to put a CD bay in, the CD would not stay in (as it would be on its side).

A question: what are the different size drives used for? That is a dumb question i know but i just want to be clear as i have almost exclusivly used laptops and am not too faimilar with case specs. Are the 5.5 inch bays used for optical drives like CD burners, DVD drives etc? and are 3.5 used for floppy disks? What other things go into these two bays? PCI devices are not related to these are they (they have their own space on the motherboard)?
 
The one crankz1 referenced houses up to 3 cd drives and a floppy behind the door. And 8 expansion holes in the back for PCI/AGP depending on the motherboard.

Yes external 5.25 are for CD-sized drives and who uses floppy any more? You can typically
put internal drives in unused external spaces. so you could mount another internal hard drive at the ext 3.5 or I've seen multi-format card readers and usb/firewire hubs put there.

You could also just get a low-profile desktop and mount it on a rack shelf.
 
The one crankz1 referenced houses up to 3 cd drives and a floppy behind the door. And 8 expansion holes in the back for PCI/AGP depending on the motherboard.

Yes external 5.25 are for CD-sized drives and who uses floppy any more? You can typically
put internal drives in unused external spaces. so you could mount another internal hard drive at the ext 3.5 or I've seen multi-format card readers and usb/firewire hubs put there.

You could also just get a low-profile desktop and mount it on a rack shelf.
Click to expand...

oh cool, thanks i missed that. so standard hard drives can fit into 5 inch and 3.5 inch drives? the same goes for USB and Firewire ports? what about ethernet cards... same deal?

I may have to get a model up from the one crankz suggested as i will need more slots i think. Thanks a lot for the help
 
I may have confused the issue a bit.

3.5" hard drives go in 3.5" internal bays. They can also go in the external bay - usually there's a cover to hide it.

3.5" bays can also be used for 3.5" floppy drives. Those are really antique these days though. Certain manufacturers make stuff that will go in these 3.5" external bays. This stuff includes USB/Firewire hubs, multiformat cardreaders, and anything else they can squeeze in there.

5.25" inch bays are typically used for CD type drives but there are still some 5.25" hard drives around needing that space (most hard drives are 3.5"). You can also put 3.5" drives here with adaptors.

These days the USB and firewire ports are commonly (but not always) built into the motherboard. From here they can be extended to the front if the case accommodates this. If they are not on board, you can get card that goes in the pci slot and the USB/firewire connections will be at the back of the PC. This is not convenient for stuff you plug in and out often (thus the reason for extensions and hubs including those that can go into the 3.5" external bay).

Ethernet can be found on board the motherboard or you could get a pci ethernet card or you could get an ethernet device that goes through USB.

You won't find many motherboards with more than 8 expansion slots and Windows is not going to handle this many cards with any grace whatsoever. Then you can have two hard drives and up to 3 CD drives. Why would you need more?
 
oooh ok, i am starting to understand, thanks rocket.

So with the 2 3.5'' slots, i could put in two hard drives, when with the 3 5.25 inch slots i coud put int one CDR drive, one DVD/CD drive and one more hard drive with an adaptor? cool, that is what i want.

The only part i am still not undertanding is, i have aeveral devices that require usb and firewire, and i would also want ethernet. Even if i chose a motherboard with all of these features, if the case does not have ports for this stuff, how can i access it? For example if i chose the K8V motherboard, which has ethernet, but chose that case the crankz suggested, where would i plug the the ethernet cord into? Another example, if iws to get a radeon 9800 graphics card (which i hope to get) how would i sue the TV out feature if the case does not have this plug in?
 
Yeah, all that stuff should fit in there.

The USB/firewire/ethernet will plug into the ports on the back of the motherboard.

The case should have some type of opening(s) for these ports on the motherboard. They are next to the expansion slots which put them in the middle of the back of the case (next to the power supply). It's difficult to tell from the picture how these ports are accomodated by the case. Maybe crankz1 can say.

The description of the RM-4190 says it takes 12" X 10" ATX boards which is what the K8V is. So there shouldn't be any problem.

You may want to call them and get a blessing on the compatibility anyway.

The graphics card will go into the AGP expansion slot on the motherboard and the connections will be accessible through one of the slots at the left rear of the case (the slots have metal dust plates over them in the picture of the case).
 
oh ok, it all makes sense now, thanks for the help. I think it seems like apretty good idea to get a rackmount case.
 
this may sound doof, but I`m razor serious. All my stuff is frankenputer homebuilt and I keep everything open to help cool it and wondered about relocating PS and noise isolating it. How about the length of the PS output wiring? What is the max length from the PS to the mb without having voltage issues?
 
Toki987 said:
What is the max length from the PS to the mb without having voltage issues?
Click to expand...

Too many variables - wire gauge/quality, PS output/quality, mb tolerance. You'd just have to try it. You would probably have issues though. It's not the worn path to a quieter PS. Most just get one that's built to be quiet.
 
very interesting, i was just looking up info about the same thing,

i hate the noize that comes out of my pc, i got a cheap metal case and rotten fans that make LOTS of noize,,,,,sometimes it even gives me a headache

so i deceided to build me a case for my pc, but i mean, more like a closet witha windows in front, so you still see the pc,
now i see that companies are offering these things,but i bet its real expensive

naw...i know there'"s a bunch of stores that offer so-called isolated cases,
BUT,,,, can we just trust them ? will any case be good for isolation ?
i'd really like to hear some suggestions from people who use such an isolation case themselves ... does it really cut back noize from fans and harddrives ?
and doesn't such a case make EVERYTHING inside the computer alot more HOT ?!

this is what i wanna do to upgrade my pc:
get some more ram
get me a decent isolation case
get me a decent cooling device (some fans or water cooling, dont know ;. just gotto be real silent)

so can anyway like "if you take this brand of case, then you can't go wrong" ?

of course i'm reading about it, but i don't always trust what they write on websites .... wanna hear it from the consumers themselves

thanx,
earworm
 
yeah, i decided i'm gonna make my own case as well. What they sell for 100's of dollars really doesn't look that hard to reproduce, it's basically just a cabinet with rack rails, a glass door and a fan in the back.
 
Howdy
I just built another rack PC. This one has twin 1.6 XEON Intel CPU, 2 Gigs PC6400 memory, a 500 gig Hard Drive, DVD writer, and a Digital Audio Lab's Card Deluxe (check them out!!!) as the primary mixer and/or instrument interface. PC also has USB 2.2 if one would rather interface with that. Also have a full size (6') US Navy surplus electronics rack with fire-proof lexan door & casters. This is a nice cabinet that would be an awesome foundation for ANY RACK!
You'd want to through in a 12 or 16 channel maixe with USB or balanced XLR Outs. Then pick your instrument pre-amp... and there's tons of them to choose from. In my opinion... stay with tube!!! Marshall's JMP-1 is a NICE Preamp!!! ART's MP Gold with GE tubes is a real warm preamp to plug-in AFTER like a Rockton tube Gainiac, or even a Line-6 Pod Pro. Just try to end up with as many 'tubes' as you can at the end of your chain. As far as effects, you can side-chain (effects loop) them to you mixer, and thus select them for each channel as required. TC Electric is as good as any.

Anyway, I would sell the rack, or just the rack PC... or trade them. I am always in the mood for more rack preamps & mixers.

will slee
purple hearts veterans band
10743 108st
largo, fl 33778

Rack 1.webprack system2.webp
 
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