Looking for a rack-mountable CPU case

[thekl0wn]

I have three thoughts here...

1. Find a case designed to mount to a rack (easiest)
2. Place shelf on rack and use black case (gaudiest)
3. Find shelf/blank plate and modify for fan, CD-R/DVD-R, LED's, IR, USB, switches, possibly HD-DVD/Blue-Ray device, etc. (hardest)

What are some thoughts and suggestions for mounting a HTPC in a rack? As of now, the PC will be just a PC... No media storage. That will all be stored centrally on a server. So basically, I'm needing a case for power supply, motherboard, CPU, small hard drive, memory, graphics, sound, etc. The PCI slots can be relocated if height turns out to be an issue.

This project is currently on the back-burner, but I would like to pick the brains of those out there who've tried this already or if anyone knows of a solution that may be easier, but still be scalable.

[mechman]

Rack mount PC cases can be found just about anywhere. Googling it I found this. Looks like a good idea for a HTPC!

[zeet]

Having built a fair number of rack-mount cases for silent applications, I can tell you this: get a 4U case if you can spare the space. You'll have room for optical drives, you can use a standard power supply, room for big fans, no riser cards needed. Lately I have been buying ones from Norco, the RPC-810 specifically. They need 90-degree SATA connectors to mount hard disks, but you can put three disks in with fantastic ventilation, or six with decent ventilation. With a good CPU fan, the included 120mm fans rewired to 5V and a Seasonic power supply, one of them is quiet enough that it's in a rack three feet behind a theater audience member. You literally cannot tell that it is on without looking at it, as even the (fairly quiet) HVAC is noisier than any fan in the case.

[bob1029]

I picked up a nice heavy steel 4u case from frys electronics a while back on the cheap... I would check them out if you have one in your area.

[thekl0wn]

That Norco case zeet mentioned looks pretty slick! Especially for under $70 from NewEgg.com! Thanks for the help!

[MatrixDweller]

For sure at least a 3u case is needed in order to be able to pack it full of HTPC goodies like a high end video card, sound card, and a standard height CPU and cooler. A big thing with the 1 and 2u cases is that they use smaller fans that spin high and create a lot of noise.

Antec IMO makes some of the best cases around and they have a rack mount line. Another option is to buy an old 3 or 4U rackmount case off Ebay. Another neat case manufacturer is Silverstone. They're not rackmounted but they're pretty cool. HTPC cases are their forté.

[toecheese]

I honestly think rackmount for HTPC is a mistake. Rackmount for servers is fine. But with some many features that most people expect in HTPC (lots of connectors to plug up your usb key, your dv camcorder, optical out), etc. I would stick with using a shelf in your rack and a nice dedicated HTPC case like the NSK2400.