Author Topic: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?  (Read 3921 times)

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Online Homer J SimpsonTopic starter

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Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« on: February 14, 2017, 12:14:19 am »


 

Offline Ampera

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2017, 12:39:58 am »
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Offline joeqsmith

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2017, 03:06:52 am »
How big was a micoVAX.  Looks similar.

Offline rdl

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2017, 03:59:23 pm »
At one time I built a PC in a Supermicro SC750 case which wasn't much smaller.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/383
 

Offline MarkS

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2017, 04:38:52 pm »
For $700, that case better do something rather awesome!  ???
 

Offline SeanB

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2017, 05:48:18 pm »
For a long time I used an old IBM minicomputer case as a PC case, just put a few blanking plates in to cover the large hole in the rear, which used to have an A3 size heatsink on it, put the PC power supply in the base  and wired it up to the mainboard. Kept the fan hole, but put a regular 120mm 12V fan in there instead of the 115VAC one big blue used, a lot quieter. Mainboard on the middle, and the hard drives on brackets and the FDD drives through the front panel Monitor on the top of the case, at desk height, and keyboard in front of it with the mouse, all on the metal case.

Lots of spare place, even put the UPS in there in the bottom. Never thought to take any photos of the thing though, and when I moved I scrapped it, obsolete, and I had been sitting with a beige box on top of it running Win98.
 

Offline rollatorwieltje

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2017, 06:24:19 pm »
Reminds me of those huge 486 machines, for some reason there was a period when your desktop computer needed at least 8 external bays. Didn't matter that you couldn't reasonably use them with a consumer grade motherboard, especially when you consider how extremely expensive computer parts were back then.
 

Offline rrinker

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2017, 07:07:33 pm »
 That thing is bigger than most tower SERVERS. Why? What all goes in there that you'd need such a monster case? I have an ordinary mid-tower size unit as my 'server' with 8 3.5" drives in it. Even a big dual CPU server motherboard would be lost in that giant case.

MicroVAX? That case looks almost as big as a PDP 11/23  (ok, that might be stretching it a bit, it's not quite THAT big). Two of those and a solid core door and you have yourself a workbench!
 

Offline Ampera

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2017, 07:11:24 pm »
That thing is bigger than most tower SERVERS. Why? What all goes in there that you'd need such a monster case? I have an ordinary mid-tower size unit as my 'server' with 8 3.5" drives in it. Even a big dual CPU server motherboard would be lost in that giant case.

MicroVAX? That case looks almost as big as a PDP 11/23  (ok, that might be stretching it a bit, it's not quite THAT big). Two of those and a solid core door and you have yourself a workbench!

A lot of it is for very large server/workstation boards, some of it is for very powerful watercooling. PSUs can get beefy too. Drives are also a factor, and room for cable management is never a bad thing.
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Offline SingedFingers

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #9 on: February 15, 2017, 07:15:34 pm »
I had a Sun E450 as a desktop machine for a bit (until the electricity bill came in). That was large!
 

Offline hans

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #10 on: February 15, 2017, 07:50:38 pm »
Quote
Total possible HDD locations with extra HDD cages (using additional mounts, purchased separately)    22
Total possible SSD locations with extra SSD mounts (using additional mounts, purchased separately)    48

That is why. If you only have "1 does it all" server and need to be a data hoarder, you could surely fit 100TB of raw storage into that machine and find a space in your house to put it.
After all, racks for server machines in a home environment isn't great for everyone

Back in the day, I think I had a similar sized case as @rdl talked about. Something like this size:
http://cdn.overclock.net/8/8c/500x1000px-LL-8c834770_IMG_20121106_185526.jpeg

I absolutely didn't had enough hardware in it to fill it up. At it's peak I believe only 3 hard drives, 2 CD/DVD drivers, a fan controller and that's it. I still had to crawl to the back of my machine to plug in a thumb drive. And oh.. I believe the case weighed empty 20kg or so.

And here we are now.. you can get 8 core machines with 64GB+ of RAM, Terabyte SSDs and hugely powerful graphics in a Mini ITX case.
 

Offline Ampera

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #11 on: February 15, 2017, 08:25:32 pm »
Quote
Total possible HDD locations with extra HDD cages (using additional mounts, purchased separately)    22
Total possible SSD locations with extra SSD mounts (using additional mounts, purchased separately)    48

That is why. If you only have "1 does it all" server and need to be a data hoarder, you could surely fit 100TB of raw storage into that machine and find a space in your house to put it.
After all, racks for server machines in a home environment isn't great for everyone

Back in the day, I think I had a similar sized case as @rdl talked about. Something like this size:
http://cdn.overclock.net/8/8c/500x1000px-LL-8c834770_IMG_20121106_185526.jpeg

I absolutely didn't had enough hardware in it to fill it up. At it's peak I believe only 3 hard drives, 2 CD/DVD drivers, a fan controller and that's it. I still had to crawl to the back of my machine to plug in a thumb drive. And oh.. I believe the case weighed empty 20kg or so.

And here we are now.. you can get 8 core machines with 64GB+ of RAM, Terabyte SSDs and hugely powerful graphics in a Mini ITX case.

I am TERRIBLE with keeping my data clean, but I have like 5-6 TB of storage across all my machines, and I don't use most of it. My largest use for that space is video storage for TV shows and movies that I have gotten from DVD rips and TV recordings over the years. My question is what do you possibly use 100TB for?
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Offline eugenenine

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2017, 01:43:21 am »
My question is what do you possibly use 100TB for?

Pr0n of course, what else would you use it for.

I built an open frame case in college using the extruded aluminum channel that hardware stores sell.  Had something like 20 5&1/4" drive bays down the front, a 286 and later a 386 in the right and an amiga 500 in the left.  It was about 3' tall and 1.5' wide and 2' deep.
 

Offline Ampera

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Re: Need a larger tower case for your next PC build?
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2017, 02:45:51 am »
My question is what do you possibly use 100TB for?

Pr0n of course, what else would you use it for.

I built an open frame case in college using the extruded aluminum channel that hardware stores sell.  Had something like 20 5&1/4" drive bays down the front, a 286 and later a 386 in the right and an amiga 500 in the left.  It was about 3' tall and 1.5' wide and 2' deep.

100TB of porn...

legit, I don't think there exists 100TB of porn I like. I am very picky with my selection of explicit material.

AKA I am not right in the head.
I forget who I am sometimes, but then I remember that it's probably not worth remembering.
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