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cheap PSU's and cases?

B

budec

Gawd
Joined
Jul 10, 2002
Messages
748
I need to get a hold of a few PSUs and rack mount cases.... anyone know where I could buy apox 5-10 PSUs in bulk? Need about 5 that are 300 watt or so and about 5 that are 400 Watt (duelies)

Also will a normal mother boards (Pent V, Dual Pent III (slot 1)) fit into 2u chasis or will I need 4u cases? I got a bunch of naked boxen and want to rack em up for cheap... anyone know where I can get rack cases for cheap and in bulk? I'll need apox 10 of em. Cheapest I've seen is about $45.00 on ebay, but think that the shipping is going to kill me.

The other thing I'm looking for is a KVM switch, 10 ports would be good, but optimally would like 20. I don't need anything fancy, but something cheap.


 
rack != cheap

if you want a cheap solution, buy some quality PSUs and build something similar to K*s Fold Tower.... Cheap PSUs kill more boards/chips that they help....

threaded rod, nuts and cardboard washers are your friend :D

As for the KVM... why not use something like TightVNC? if I can get it to work, I know anyone can!


Keep on Folding!! For the [H]orde!!

 
Cheap Rack mount cases is an oxymoron, it’s the most expensive way to go. Problem two is unless you go to the taller cases you can’t get enough HSF on your CPU to keep it cool.

Rack might look cool and might save space but it’s a poor use of your monetary resources.
 
In terms of rackmount, you'll need 3u cases IIRC to use expansion cards - pci or agp or whatever - without riser cards. In terms of PSUs, this or this would be good bets. But Spectre'll probably stop by and completely pwn those. Wait on his advice for that.

For mounting normal boards in 2u cases, 2 things to look out for - mounting holes and coolers. Don't get gargantuan coolers, they may not fit. And some cases may come with the wrong pattern mounting holes for the desktop motherboards.

 
there is such a thing as cheap rack mount cases, heck my 3u rack case showed up yesterday and I only paid $76.00 from a person off of ebay.

It matters where you look to find it cheap.
 
thanks, those PSU's look good.

Also another question, anyone know where I could buy, say, 300 computer screws?


Yea I know racking isn't cheap, but would rather not go naked if I can help it. I was hopeing I could find a bunch of used rack cases in surplus from somewhere... any suggestions would be appericated.
 
budec said:
Also another question, anyone know where I could buy, say, 300 computer screws?
Click to expand...

Hardware store.

Case screws are 6-32 ?
Other screws are M3 or M3.5 by 6mm ?

Just take a couple with you to get the correct sizes.

Luck........... :D
 
Man, it seems I have about that many spares just sitting around at home. Which is odd, since I've only put together about 4 computers. Where do all the extra screws come from?
 
Ok, it's time to have a screw collection showdown. The sheer amount of screws we have at home boggles the mind. RJ, get to it.

 
Yup, case screws are 6-32s... not sure about the others you mentioned.... I have a 8-32 and 6-32 drill and tap combo that I've used in the past on my cases....

I have an icing can or two full of screw, standoffs,etc,etc,etc,etc,etc,etc..... I doubt I have 300 of them, but quite a bit.... extras always come with the case/CDROM/etc...


Keep on Folding!! For the [H]orde!!

 
unhappy_mage said:
In terms of rackmount, you'll need 3u cases IIRC to use expansion cards - pci or agp or whatever - without riser cards. In terms of PSUs, this or this would be good bets. But Spectre'll probably stop by and completely pwn those. Wait on his advice for that.

For mounting normal boards in 2u cases, 2 things to look out for - mounting holes and coolers. Don't get gargantuan coolers, they may not fit. And some cases may come with the wrong pattern mounting holes for the desktop motherboards.

Click to expand...


Someone rang :p

Actually both are goos units....the real issue though is I would need to know what board he is running and how complete the boxen are. The 400w unit selected is an ATX12v2.0 PSU and 5v heavy systems tend to throw the 12v rails out of spec pretty badly when employed in that situation. The 400w units though would be a good bet for the P4 systems.........the P3's are just harder to guess at without knowing......

OP can you give me the mobo's and the system setup?
 
Pay attention to what unhappy_mage said because I would think that slot 1 processors would take up at least 2u or more....[edit] Well now that I think about it more, I think I've seen slot 1s in a 2u rack. Slot 1 procs kind of work well for that since the fans blow sideways...But those mobo/cases/psus were made specifically for a 2u case. If you are squeezing random parts into a case u would probably want some room for error...[/edit]
 
I've been browsing used server cases on ebay of and on for a long while now and shipping is the major killer. If you can find a good second-hand mom and pop shops in your area that would be a good place to check too. There were some decent deals I found locally pawn shop, and at a second hand, but ended up passing due to extreme wear. I'm kicking myself in the balls (almost literally) because my college had a massive public garage sale last year. All kinds of old systems, cases, parts, etc. big azz old server cases for $10-20 with hardware inside. an old SGI monster plastic server case (almost as tall as I am and as wide as me) I'm guessing from the Engineering or VCT department for $75, it was pretty much empty but I would have loved hacking it up and re-arranging things.

I was thinking about hacking up an old stereo unit much like the one posted, but I have something wrong with me that says "you need the big hunk of steel and plastic." So we'll see where I end up.

As far as cheap PSU's, I have buddies who run pretty high-end servers off of PowMax Demon PSU's and they've worked without a hitch thus far.

Good luck on the case search, and I hope you find something you like! :)
 
brycejones said:
That has to be the most accurate name for a PSU ever. PowMax Demon, it will demonically eat your hardware.....

;)
Click to expand...

Yes words that never should fall in the same sentence Powmax and highend or even adequate or mediocre or sufficent or not to bad......
 
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