Rackmount PC as opposed to Laptop for portable rig

[miketeachesclass]

Is anyone using a rackmount PC instead of laptop for their portable rig?

I'm sick of all the problems that come with PC laptops, and was thinking of putting my desktop in a rackmount case for use with my portable rig. Yes, it's a bit of a pain for ultra portable gigs, but I figure I've still got the laptop for things with really low track counts/requirements.

Any opinions?

[sunburst79]

I like rack cases.

It mostly depends on your tracking and mixing needs but as long as you can deal with the luggiblity factor the Rack PC is going to be about 10 times more powerful than a high end PC or Mac Laptop for the same amount of money or less. If your already lugging a rack of pres to the gigs its not that much of a deal to drag another rack.

Or you may find that its the straw that breaks the camels back.

Permanently mounted in a studio its a no brainer.

[Hercules]

Agree with sunburst79 - racks are great, but two words of caution :

1/ racks get heavy so be careful if you're moving it

2/ roadies are not the most careful creatures.......

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by Hercules

Agree with sunburst79 - racks are great, but two words of caution :

1/ racks get heavy so be careful if you're moving it

2/ roadies are not the most careful creatures.......

Its true.

Moving my PC/001/D8/D8/Power Strip/etc 12 space rack is not a one man job. Splitting it into a couple of 4-6 spaces would be more managable.

However all I currently have do is unroll the snake and find a power outlet

Something to keep in mind is most rack cases are deeper than standard racks. So you want to lock at depth measurements closely.

[mykhal c]

travel with a cloned OS hdd...not mounted in case

[miketeachesclass]

Originally Posted by sunburst79

Its true.

Moving my PC/001/D8/D8/Power Strip/etc 12 space rack is not a one man job. Splitting it into a couple of 4-6 spaces would be more managable.

However all I currently have do is unroll the snake and find a power outlet

Something to keep in mind is most rack cases are deeper than standard racks. So you want to lock at depth measurements closely.

You're not kidding. I can't find a case that's shallow enough to fit in a normal rack. What case are you using? And what rack are you using? Any suggestions?

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by miketeachesclass

You're not kidding. I can't find a case that's shallow enough to fit in a normal rack. What case are you using? And what rack are you using? Any suggestions?

The rack is a 12 or 14 space Road Ready rack with room to mount a angled mixer in the top compartment. As I recall the rack case is a ARK 500 from New Egg. I can look and see if your interested.

Fit...In order to get it to fit I had to find a 90 degree electrical cord. But it does fit.

According to New Egg it should be this

The Road Ready case is one like this

[miketeachesclass]

Originally Posted by sunburst79

The rack is a 12 or 14 space Road Ready rack with room to mount a angled mixer in the top compartment. As I recall the rack case is a ARK 500 from New Egg. I can look and see if your interested.

Fit...In order to get it to fit I had to find a 90 degree electrical cord. But it does fit.

According to New Egg it should be this

The Road Ready case is one like this

Thanks a lot!

Looks like a pretty good solution.

Do you think it would be necessary to use a shock mounted rack for this, or is being pretty careful while moving it enough?

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by miketeachesclass

Thanks a lot!

Looks like a pretty good solution.

Do you think it would be necessary to use a shock mounted rack for this, or is being pretty careful while moving it enough?

Unless you literally throwing it into the back of a truck it should be fine. You don't need the slant top rack by anymeans either. I just posted it to link to the dimensions. A standard rack would most likely lighter than a slant mount one.