hello, im ordering a workstation next week but i have trouble deciding about the case is a good consumer-lvl case, like a full tower lian li case (ie: pcv-2100), good enough for this system? general specs are: 2 xeon cpu, 6 sata devices, hi-end gpu, hi-end sound interface, 1000watt psu, 24/7 the specifications/compatibility with psu, mobo etc, are fine i ve checked it already the problem is that professional cases have a lot stronger fans, more fans in number, and have better air-flow design so what do i do? the reason is the extremely high cost of professional cases and to be honest, taste i would appreciate answers coming from people who have already worked with ready servers/workstations thnx
Lian Li make some very nice cases, so if you don't mind paying a premium, they're solid picks. Newer mid-tower cases are coming with some decent airflow, like the CoolerMaster Centurion 5. However, mid-towers tend not to support E-ATX motherboard sizes as often as larger cases do. Something older that wouldn't be as expensive is the Antec 1040 and the generics floating around. I have the generic version of it's 1030B sibling, and it has two removeable 3.5" drive cages that can hold 3 drives each and 4 5.25" bays. The 1040 and its clones have at least 6 5.25" bays. Additionally, they have 4 spots for 80mm fans-2 in front and 2 in back. The cooling is excellent. The only problem is that newer cases may use 120mm fans, which can offer similar airflow with a slower RPM, and create a quieter working environment. Chenming 601-AECB/1030 clone Chenming 901-AD/1040 clone Both can accomodate 12" x 13" ATX-based motherboards, and that's something you'll want to have on hand.
Big B, many thnx for your reply your answer has a lot of info and im not sure but you gave me the impression that you thought i was describing lian li as expensive, which led you in writting about a different subject - its my fault of course i d like to buy a lian li case, because of taste, flexibility and because (even though it is expensive for a consumer lvl case) is much cheaper compared to a professional server case which would cost 2 or 3 times more than a lian li full tower so my dilemma isnt between lian li (expensive) - and other consumer lvl cases (cheap) but between a very good consumer lvl case like a lian li (cheap) - and professional server cases (expensive) and thats because server cases have different air cooling system - even if in the specs looks the same, its not, the fans are a lot stronger, making a lot of noise, just like an electric vacuum cleaner, the air flow design is different - and that's why i dont know what to choose i dont know if a professional server case is necessary or if i can use something like a lian li tower which would be a lot cheaper, which would give me much more flexibility because it is designed based on pc user standards and which is a lot more tasteful i really hope i wrote it better so you can update your opinion now, cause im interested for it but since you didnt understand it originally maybe you havent worked with servers before in order to see the difference in action but anyway thnx again
again thnx for your time, "Are you talking about rackmount cases versus Lian Li?" not only rackmount, but them too, to explain it better, i mean cases either rackmount or desktop or mini towers like the ones that come with ready-built servers like intel's, hp's, dell's, supermicro's and other manufacturers that built servers --- i still want your opinion so i ll tell you what my conclusions are till now: i think i may go with the lian li case - from what i ve seen the "professional" cases (well not all of them) aren't even aluminum inside, which is +1 for the lian li - they are very expensive and one reason for this is that they come with psu preinstalled, which is not useful since i ll buy a different one, again +1 for the lian li - the "cheap" ones dont even have the multiple stronger fans i talked about in my previous posts - their design is awful too, though i wont decide based on my eyes - they have a lot of holes while the lian li doesnt - they are designed to have a more straight line air flow: front fans -> motherboard -> rear fans and in combination with the many holes in the case the air flow is good last but not least, i remembered that apple builds mac pro with very similar hardware specifications, i remember this from the time i decided if i would buy apple or not so if a mac case is safe for this kind of hardware, then i could just compare it with the lian li, which is easier since more people have seen a mac than a server so from what i can see there is that difference again: the mac case just like the server cases is full of little holes front and back, but again the space is too little compared to a lian li tower and i dont see many fans either another thing is that a mac is silent but im only comparing these cases to find out if the lian li would be safe for this system or if i would need a server case which again wouldnt be silent, so noise isnt a factor here ie: Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! what's your opinion on this, a mac pro case is better than a properly equipped lian li tower? is there a big difference? what makes the difference? the space (lian li case) or the holes (mac/server case)? --- sorry for the long posts, but i need to be sure about the case cause on one hand the machine must be working fine and on the other i ve reached my budget limit and dont want to pay for an even more expensive case
