I've been looking for a nice 4U Rackmount case for my main computer and after trying the Norco 470 (cheap POS), I found the Chenbro RM41300-FS81.
It looks similar to most other 4U Rachmounts, but here are the reasons I think it's a great case.
1) Solid - this thing is built like a tank. I'm serious, it feels stronger than my old P182. No comparison to aluminum cases.
2) Fantastic cooling - there is a dual 120mm fan intake that sits directly above the motherboard and CPU/GPU area. There is also room for 2 x 120mm and 1 x 80mm fans in the front. Exhaust is limited to 2 x 80mm fans but with room for 4 x 120mm intake fans, positive pressure should take care of that.
3) Spacious and versatile. Has 8 expansion slots and out of the box you get 3 x 5.25, 5 x 3.5, slim ODD/2.5. You can add another 3 x 5.25 cage. It comes with feet, so you can set it up as a pedestal case if you don't have a rack.
4) Almost no sharp edges! The Norco 470 I bought had sharp edges everywhere and felt unfinished. I found a few spots that felt a bit rough, but nothing major and pretty typical of any case.
5) Price. I bought mine at Amazon for $153 shipped. That's more expensive than a Norco, but less than some other brands I looked at like iStarUSA.
However, you will probably have to spend some extra money replacing the fans if you want something quiet. Server fans are notoriously loud and I didn't even turn these on, I just swapped in some Scythe fans I already had.
I'll be posting some pictures of my build soon.
It looks similar to most other 4U Rachmounts, but here are the reasons I think it's a great case.
1) Solid - this thing is built like a tank. I'm serious, it feels stronger than my old P182. No comparison to aluminum cases.
2) Fantastic cooling - there is a dual 120mm fan intake that sits directly above the motherboard and CPU/GPU area. There is also room for 2 x 120mm and 1 x 80mm fans in the front. Exhaust is limited to 2 x 80mm fans but with room for 4 x 120mm intake fans, positive pressure should take care of that.
3) Spacious and versatile. Has 8 expansion slots and out of the box you get 3 x 5.25, 5 x 3.5, slim ODD/2.5. You can add another 3 x 5.25 cage. It comes with feet, so you can set it up as a pedestal case if you don't have a rack.
4) Almost no sharp edges! The Norco 470 I bought had sharp edges everywhere and felt unfinished. I found a few spots that felt a bit rough, but nothing major and pretty typical of any case.
5) Price. I bought mine at Amazon for $153 shipped. That's more expensive than a Norco, but less than some other brands I looked at like iStarUSA.
However, you will probably have to spend some extra money replacing the fans if you want something quiet. Server fans are notoriously loud and I didn't even turn these on, I just swapped in some Scythe fans I already had.
I'll be posting some pictures of my build soon.
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