ATTENTION Rig Builders! Will this case work with i7 thread builds?

[DeyBwah]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129052

Will that rack case work with all the i7 builds in the famous(infamous) i7 rig thread? I've seen a lot of mixed reviews, but ultimately I care most about the DUC's opinions and expertise. Any input is valued and will be a great investment on your karmaic return!

[NobodyImportant]

All depends on the motherboard. Some of the Ci7 motherboards wont even fit into a mid tower. Just stay away from extended ATX motherboards if your serious about a rack case.

[sunburst79]

It looks like that may be discontinued. Nearly any 4U server case is going to work sine Server boards are larger than desktop boards. I have been using iStar D400's for a couple of years. Ditch the included PSU for a Corsair HX series and the fans for some quiet Nexus, Scythe or Noctua fans and you will have a nice solid rig that will live through several upgrade cycles.

[NobodyImportant]

Originally Posted by sunburst79

It looks like that may be discontinued. Nearly any 4U server case is going to work sine Server boards are larger than desktop boards. I have been using iStar D400's for a couple of years. Ditch the included PSU for a Corsair HX series and the fans for some quiet Nexus, Scythe or Noctua fans and you will have a nice solid rig that will live through several upgrade cycles.

Your right Sun, most Server Chasis will fit extended motherboards, but not all . Some ATX would be harder to build in a case like that more because of their design rather than the size. My motherboard witch is as big as a dual Xeon motherboard, would be a tight fit in this case. Its got a giant set of jumpers that would be tough if not impossible to access in a case that small. Take my opinion for what its worth but I wouldnt chance it. Id recomend going with a case that has 22-25 inches of depth rather than try to get a motherboard that will fit in that case without any issue. That extra 2-4 inches will go miles. If your going to spend that much money on a case anyways, you might as well just do it right the first time. It can last you multiple builds if you want it too.

[sunburst79]

An oversize case may not fit in most racks. Its something to think about if your planning to work it into an existing rack, a standard depth rack or road case. Road cases run between 16 and 18.5 from the front to back rails, Most common studio racks are 18-20 inches deep. The case I recommend will fit in a standard 20 rack. Something thats 25 inches deep never will. If the units going into a Studio desk or a server room rack than depth may not be a issue.

A person needs to research both the motherboard size and the rack case to make sure they are both compatible. As I stated a standard ATX board should fit in most server cases no problem. The OP gave zero indication that he is interested in building some EATX monster. Most of the builds around here take place using standard desktop components.

Advising the OP to build a case thats 6-9 inches deeper than commonly available racks may not be the best advice. Thats of course my opinion but I have built a few of these things.

[NobodyImportant]

Originally Posted by sunburst79

An oversize case may not fit in most racks. Its something to think about if your planning to work it into an existing rack, a standard depth rack or road case. Road cases run between 16 and 18.5 from the front to back rails, Most common studio racks are 18-20 inches deep. The case I recommend will fit in a standard 20 rack. Something thats 25 inches deep never will. If the units going into a Studio desk or a server room rack than depth may not be a issue.

A person needs to research both the motherboard size and the rack case to make sure they are both compatible. As I stated a standard ATX board should fit in most server cases no problem. The OP gave zero indication that he is interested in building some EATX monster. Most of the builds around here take place using standard desktop components.

Advising the OP to build a case thats 6-9 inches deeper than commonly available racks may not be the best advice. Thats of course my opinion but I have built a few of these things.

Haha, sorry sun, I meant the hight spec. I guess some manufacturers refer to the depth as hight, not sure if thats the confusion.21/22"H is a pretty standard size for a rack case, extended chasis are ususally between 23"/26". I hear ya though, Im actually a system builder/IT guy, so I myself know hardware. I think were both just tryin to help this guy so he doesnt have to RMA a case that wont support his hardware. I know he didnt say anything about using an EATX mobo, but 85% of the Core i7 motherboards Ive put into my builds are bigger that EATX motherboards and they are classified as standard ATX. I think my motherboard is 11 inches wide but is only ATX form factor. Just giving him something to think about. Anyways, Cheers!!

[DeyBwah]

Wow thanks guys, I feel honored to have 2 experienced builders give their input.

As for my rack, it is indeed a part of my DAW desk, so it goes very deep and I have plenty of height available. With that in mind, I would be best off getting the largest rack case correct? (depth-wise)

Is there a rack case that doesn't come with power and fans, so I can purchase what you recommended Sunburst? Corsair P supply + Nexus fans?

This is exactly what my initial concerns were with what I was reading in reviews of rack cases. Certain motherboards were not fitting, and even if they did, the placement of the PCI slots and/or cable entries were too tight or butting against the power supply and/or fan.

I haven't built a rig for over 8 years but I still remember the stress of realizing that certain components did not work well and the most important one back then was the case and motherboard combo. It could cause the biggest head ache.


I don't plan on EVER moving my rig once it is complete and depth or size is not an issue. And it would be great if I could find a case that didn't include power supply/fan to cut costs.

So with the above in consideration, is there a particular case+motherboard combo you guys could recommend? Thanks again for all your input, as NobodyImportant mentioned, I'd hate to RMA return stuff due to a poor decision on my part.

[NobodyImportant]

Originally Posted by DeyBwah

Wow thanks guys, I feel honored to have 2 experienced builders give their input.

As for my rack, it is indeed a part of my DAW desk, so it goes very deep and I have plenty of height available. With that in mind, I would be best off getting the largest rack case correct? (depth-wise)

Is there a rack case that doesn't come with power and fans, so I can purchase what you recommended Sunburst? Corsair P supply + Nexus fans?

This is exactly what my initial concerns were with what I was reading in reviews of rack cases. Certain motherboards were not fitting, and even if they did, the placement of the PCI slots and/or cable entries were too tight or butting against the power supply and/or fan.

I haven't built a rig for over 8 years but I still remember the stress of realizing that certain components did not work well and the most important one back then was the case and motherboard combo. It could cause the biggest head ache.


I don't plan on EVER moving my rig once it is complete and depth or size is not an issue. And it would be great if I could find a case that didn't include power supply/fan to cut costs.

So with the above in consideration, is there a particular case+motherboard combo you guys could recommend? Thanks again for all your input, as NobodyImportant mentioned, I'd hate to RMA return stuff due to a poor decision on my part.

If I were you Id pick a motherboard first, once you pick your motherboard, just browse through newegg and find a case that will support it. Most of the cases should say the size motherboards they support in the spec. I use only Corsair and Thermaltake for PSU. I use to use Enermax as well, but Ive had so many RMA's with their units I gave up on em. For fans, sun mentioned Scyth, they can be a little expensive but they make pretty good fans, super quiet. You might want to think about getting a heatsink as well. The stock heatsinks that come with the Ci7 cpu's are kind of junk. Last thing you want to do is check into motherboard ram compatibility. Its not that big of an issue now adays, but Id still recommend going with tested ram when you buy a particular motherboard. I usually use Corsair or OCZ. You can usually find a few tested modules from those manufacturers that are compatible with any given motherboard.

[sunburst79]

The only real issue I have run into is height. A 4 space rack case is about 3/8 of an inch shorter height wise internally than a standard ATX case is wide. Imagine flipping a tower on its side. What was once the the "Side" is now the "Lid". This isn't a issue except that the more desirable large heavy duty quiet CPU coolers won't fit. Off the top on my head the bigger coolers are 160mm tall and the largest your going to get into a rack case is about 140mm. The Coolermaster V8, Scythe Ninja revB and Zalman 9700 series will fit.

The Corsair HX Series PSU's are very quiet.

As mentioned the Nexus , Noctua and Scythe fans are very quiet. Your looking for fans in the 600-900 RPM range here

If space is not an issue than by all means buy a larger (deeper from front to back) case as it may make things easier to work on. The D400 I mentioned is 19 inches from the front rack mount to the rear panel.

If you use the fans I recommend and the PSU along with a quiet CPU cooler your machine should be nearly inaudible other than HDD noise.

Their website called silentPCreview thats quite good as far as actually testing things like fan's, PSU's and CPU coolers for noise under lab conditions.

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by NobodyImportant

If I were you Id pick a motherboard first, once you pick your motherboard, just browse through newegg and find a case that will support it. Most of the cases should say the size motherboards they support in the spec. I use only Corsair and Thermaltake for PSU. I use to use Enermax as well, but Ive had so many RMA's with their units I gave up on em. For fans, sun mentioned Scyth, they can be a little expensive but they make pretty good fans, super quiet. You might want to think about getting a heatsink as well. The stock heatsinks that come with the Ci7 cpu's are kind of junk. Last thing you want to do is check into motherboard ram compatibility. Its not that big of an issue now adays, but Id still recommend going with tested ram when you buy a particular motherboard. I usually use Corsair or OCZ. You can usually find a few tested modules from those manufacturers that are compatible with any given motherboard.

Good advice on matching the case to the motherboard. The Corsair PSUs are top notch, and I have had the best luck with Corsair and OCZ RAM also. As I mentioned in the prior post getting a good massive CPU heatsink and fan combo is a good idea - just beware of the height.

Oh, The other reason you want a 4 unit or larger rack case is they will take a standard ATX PSU which opens up a lot more doors as far as power supplies go. Server spec power supplier are notoriously noisy.