Rackmount case vs tower +5in3

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marvel

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Apr 14, 2010
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Hey everybody,

I've been retiring my old gaming PC parts and repurposing them as a file server for a few years now, but recently I've been taking a look at all the sweet servers on these forums and I'm looking to upgrade.

I was checking out the 5in3 modules (is there a recommended best 5in3 module? The Supermicro one on Newegg?) and noticed that for the price of 2-3 5in3 modules I could just get a new 4U rackmount case with the hotswap bays already built-in.

I have a few questions about these rackmount servers though.

1. What do you guys do for racks? I tried looking on craigslist and found a few but WOW people want a lot for an empty rack. Not to mention trying to transport it.
2. Are these rackmount servers designed to go in an air-conditioned data center? My house can get pretty hot. I know my desktop towers are designed for a home environment. I'm concerned that the airflow in these 4U cases isn't as good as the airflow in a standard desktop tower case. In my experience HEAT is the worst killer of hard drives.
3. Are the rackmount cases generally noisier than a standard case?
4. Can I fit all my normal hardware in there? ATX size motherboard, standard Intel OEM CPU Cooler for a Bloomfield i7, etc.
 
1) Craigslist, ewaste recyclers, ect. Not always necessary though, there is nothing that says you can no just stand it up...
2) These generally have better airflow then standard cases and you can equip it with low db/quiet fans.
3) Yes, but Norco (4020, 4224) are designed for the "enthusiast" and have add in panels that support large, quite, fans (120mm).
4) Yes.

Honestly every question you asked could have been answered in about 5 minutes of searching online.
 
Thanks. Are the Norco 4020 / 4024 the most recommended cases?

The Spyder said:
Honestly every question you asked could have been answered in about 5 minutes of searching online.
Click to expand...

I've been searching online, and found some somewhat unsatisfactory answers, but I was hoping the questions would help start a discussion wherein people might share some personal experience or perhaps some information about which I hadn't thought to ask.
 
The Norco cases are extremely popular. For the price it can't be beat. If you want something of higher quality, you'd have to look elsewhere like supermicro.

Think of Norco like Cooler Master and Super Micro as Lian-Li. :)
 
5 in 3 is really expensive, 4 in 3 is better, the xigmatek's, im doing custom 10 bay drive inside my antec 300 because i want something that looks nicer then a norco, although once completed, my server case will cost as much as a norco...
 
The Norcos are a steal. Looking for racks on craigslist can take some time depending on where you live. I looked for a couple of months before I found one that was the size I wanted and cheap enough. I also repainted it.
 
marvel said:
I have a few questions about these rackmount servers though.

1. What do you guys do for racks? I tried looking on craigslist and found a few but WOW people want a lot for an empty rack. Not to mention trying to transport it.
2. Are these rackmount servers designed to go in an air-conditioned data center? My house can get pretty hot. I know my desktop towers are designed for a home environment. I'm concerned that the airflow in these 4U cases isn't as good as the airflow in a standard desktop tower case. In my experience HEAT is the worst killer of hard drives.
3. Are the rackmount cases generally noisier than a standard case?
4. Can I fit all my normal hardware in there? ATX size motherboard, standard Intel OEM CPU Cooler for a Bloomfield i7, etc.
Click to expand...


1) No rack here. I have one of those chrome wire shelving units from Home Depot, approximately 72x36x18 HxWxD, with wheels. I just have the Norco laid out desktop-style across one of the shelves, with about 6" hanging off the front and back. On other shelves of the unit I have my UPS, an Antec P182 with a 5-in-3 that I use to back up the Norco, and another small PC I use for general stuff when I'm in the basement.

2) I personally don't think the airflow on the Norcos is all that great compared to a desktop case, but its about the best you can do in 4U without modding (no room for a 120mm fan above the ATX panel, for example). But, the 5-in-3 backplanes are just as restrictive on intake. If you run all low power drives (i.e. "green" drives that typically draw <4W) you shouldn't have a problem either way. I don't even use the midplane fan board in my Norco and the drives all stay in the 40C range. If anything, I'm having more trouble keeping the motherboard cool, so I may add the fan board just to blow more air on the chipset.

3) Not necessarily, but probably. Since the only exhaust is 2 80mm fans on the rear panel and the power supply fan, you may need to run the 80mm fans fairly fast. The PCI slot brackets are also perforated, so if you have a 120mm fan board you may get some extra exhaust airflow there if the middle fans generate positive pressure, in which case you may be able to slow the 80's down a bit.

4) Yes, there's plenty of space for just about any motherboard and heasink. You should be able to fit anything up to a fairly tall tower heatsink.
 
marvel said:
Hey everybody,

I've been retiring my old gaming PC parts and repurposing them as a file server for a few years now, but recently I've been taking a look at all the sweet servers on these forums and I'm looking to upgrade.

I was checking out the 5in3 modules (is there a recommended best 5in3 module? The Supermicro one on Newegg?) and noticed that for the price of 2-3 5in3 modules I could just get a new 4U rackmount case with the hotswap bays already built-in.

I have a few questions about these rackmount servers though.

1. What do you guys do for racks? I tried looking on craigslist and found a few but WOW people want a lot for an empty rack. Not to mention trying to transport it.
2. Are these rackmount servers designed to go in an air-conditioned data center? My house can get pretty hot. I know my desktop towers are designed for a home environment. I'm concerned that the airflow in these 4U cases isn't as good as the airflow in a standard desktop tower case. In my experience HEAT is the worst killer of hard drives.
3. Are the rackmount cases generally noisier than a standard case?
4. Can I fit all my normal hardware in there? ATX size motherboard, standard Intel OEM CPU Cooler for a Bloomfield i7, etc.
Click to expand...

1. You can always do the $20 DIY 8U Rackmount IKEA Lack (although you want a file server on the sturdiest portion. Seriously though, you don't "need" a rack with only one server.
2. Yes they are designed for that but they generally have WAY better airflow. Looking at other chassis, I am wondering why I don't just by another RPC-470 for my main chassis (replacing the 80mm fans). Entire case front to back airflow is really good.
3. Yes. See above or how to install a 120mm fan partition in a Norco RPC-4020
4. Generally these things take EATX motherboards that can have two CPUs, 12-16 DIMM slots, onboard SAS controllers, dual northbridges and etc. The one harder thing is actually mounting radiators or very tall heatsinks. Then again, you don't really want to overclock your file server (for stability reasons.)
 
I noticed that the Norco cases come with VERY cheap fans that die quick and they are loud, i love the norco cases. I put in new fans then lowered the voltages to 8V they still push air, and are silent :)
 
1) No rack here. I have one of those chrome wire shelving units from Home Depot, approximately 72x36x18 HxWxD, with wheels. I just have the Norco laid out desktop-style across one of the shelves, with about 6" hanging off the front and back. On other shelves of the unit I have my UPS, an Antec P182 with a 5-in-3 that I use to back up the Norco, and another small PC I use for general stuff when I'm in the basement.
Click to expand...

Another vote for the baker racks. I have 2 4 shelf units, and have multiple computers and Cisco lab gear on one of them. I plan on getting a smaller rack in the next few weeks, but these shelves have been great for the past year or so at my old apartment.
 
Like pjkenned said above me... LACK RACK. It is cheap effective and plenty sturdy.

http://wiki.eth-0.nl/index.php/LackRack

File:Norco-3216-LackRack.jpg


This is what I have been using for years and it works great. I have 1 4U on the lower shelf and a 2U Mounted below that. No issues with strength and it looks reasonably nice.

For $20 how can you go wrong? If you don't like it use it in a spare bedroom as a book table.

Just a thought. :)
 
cocopup96 said:
Like pjkenned said above me... LACK RACK. It is cheap effective and plenty sturdy.

http://wiki.eth-0.nl/index.php/LackRack

File:Norco-3216-LackRack.jpg


This is what I have been using for years and it works great. I have 1 4U on the lower shelf and a 2U Mounted below that. No issues with strength and it looks reasonably nice.

For $20 how can you go wrong? If you don't like it use it in a spare bedroom as a book table.

Just a thought. :)
Click to expand...

Very nice, I've never heard of these before, thank you for sharing. This may not be a bad idea for a few people I know.
 
Cool, thanks for the feedback.

What's up with the drive LEDs on the front of those cases? Do you need a special motherboard or adapter card to get those to actually work? It would be cool to see which drive had failed on the front via LED, but I'm guessing I can't do that with my current linux software raid setup.
 
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