[KnowItAll]

Does anyone know of a retailer where I can browse for 1U / 2U rack mounted cases? Don't need desktop cases .. specifically need server cases.

[hk.com]

it is not that simple. Generally you just can't buy the case and put any hardware you fancy in it. Generally the biggest problem is the location of the raiser card and height, cpu heat sinks and air flow. I've found that you have to buy boards from a specific manufacturer, others don't fit.

If you do find a totally versatile 2U case that will take anything, the internal design will be poor, will waste space, or may have bad airflow.

We have Intel cases which were P3 boxes and we retrofit to P4's. The only snag is that the only boards which will fit properly are Intel desktop or server boards, nothing else. I have tried those new dual quad core Intel server boards and they fitted OK.

[KnowItAll]

So, current MicroATX Intel desktop boards would fit those cases? I should have added Intel Qualified ...

Need to throw together a couple of servers, but I have a lot of the hardware lying around (RAM, Disks, CPUs) and it does not make sense to be buying new servers .... would rather buy intel capable cases and whatever misc components that need to go in.

[hk.com]

Should do. what is the board model?

[buckshot]

I'm actually interested in this as well. There doesn't seem to be any store in the computer centres that sell 1U cases. I plan to ask the reps of data centres soon. I've also thought about asking my current hosting providers. But since they lease everything in a package and probably wouldn't like it if it seemed I was leaving them, I imagine they'd be reluctant to help...

[KnowItAll]

I did find one on the third floor of Wanchai Computer center.... (will try and lookup the name tomorrow at work).

PM me if I forget ... also, HK.Com has a number of cases ..

[MrMoo]

Cannot just use a shelf and rest the box on it's side like normal people?

Especially with modern processor power consumption heat dissipation on diy server cases can be problematic. There are plenty of outfits that provide matching gear though. Tyan being a major vendor and quite popular as they offer PCI-E AMD boards.

[buckshot]

Bump for more retailers. I was at 298 Hennessy earlier today and asked around but couldn't find a shop on the third floor that sold rack cases. (There was a shop with some neat-looking PC cases and cooling options.)

How hard is it to build a 1U server anyway? I just want to use my spare hardware and maybe save a little money. I've built dozens of PC desktops in the past. At the moment, I have an Intel Q6600 CPU, bare bones Asus P5KPL-VM (ICH7) mATX motherboard, 4 GB DDR2 800 RAM, and a WD 250 GB SATA drive. I couldn't find a build guide off Google, so I'm hoping it's just as straightforward as a normal PC...

[hk.com]

1U server with using generic boards pretty much impossiible to setup.

1. The heat sink will be too tall and you need specialize heat sinks. Normally even if you have low profile heat sinks they do no match the heat dissipation requirements or are too wide and can't fit in place.
2. Ram slots need to be inclined.
3. PCI raiser card is most likely to not fit on any slots on the PCI.

If you use a 2U case at least you overcome points 1 and 2. Then you may need to be able all the front panel buttons and stuff.

[buckshot]

Thanks for the input. But hk.com seems pretty pessimistic in the PMs. I'll do some more research at WHT. It seems a Supermicro 1U case and specific model Dynatron cooler should be able to do the trick. The cooler specifically lists quad-core CPU's as supported. I've no need for PCI.

I'll check out the 298 third floor again as well.