A good VERY cheap server case or a desktop case made into a server case

TTACsniper1234

New Member
Hello, new member here. I was wondering what yall think a good cheap cheap server case would be (Under 50$) Or what if i convert a plane ol' pc case and build some brackets or rails and mount it in the rack would this work?
Thanks,
TTACsniper1234
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
What board and hard drives are you using for this server? If it's just a PC server any case will do really as long as the airflow is OK since you might be leaving it on for days.
 

TTACsniper1234

New Member
What board and hard drives are you using for this server? If it's just a PC server any case will do really as long as the airflow is OK since you might be leaving it on for days.
Its just going to be a file server and local host server for like games so i dont have to make a lan server on my pc all the time takes forever.
And yes it will be on 24/7 i will be cutting some slots for some fans in there (if i go with the plane pc case)
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Its just going to be a file server and local host server for like games so i dont have to make a lan server on my pc all the time takes forever.
And yes it will be on 24/7 i will be cutting some slots for some fans in there (if i go with the plane pc case)
If you're just going to use a regular ATX or mATX board and 3.5" SATA HDDs then something like this NZXT Source 210 for $40 will be fine: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075&ignorebbr=1

Or for $45 this Zalman Z3: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235058&ignorebbr=1

Or if you can spend $60 the Corsair 200R is nice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139018&cm_re=200R-_-11-139-018-_-Product

How many hard drives do you want to use? A lot of these cheaper cases tend not to have many hard drive bays which could be a limitation.

Since it's a server you probably don't want flashy looks for LEDs etc.
 

TTACsniper1234

New Member
Yea, Led dont really care for them just make it more exciting for the robber If someone breaks into my house :)
But yea I am probly get on ebay and get a cheap ol' desktop pc: http://www.ebay.com/itm/FAST-Dell-D...600723?hash=item3d09833c93:g:VZYAAOSwuAVWzVJQ

Like that take it all out and get a custom case for the rack and put it in there and add some more hard drives depending on how many sata's are in there if 2 then 1 x2 1TB or if 1 then 2TB drive on it and then get a little bigger ram maby
Dont want to spend to much on this!
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
Anything should work but I'd advise a case that has fans in each HDD tray.

What specific budget are you looking at?
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Yea, Led dont really care for them just make it more exciting for the robber If someone breaks into my house :)
But yea I am probly get on ebay and get a cheap ol' desktop pc: http://www.ebay.com/itm/FAST-Dell-D...600723?hash=item3d09833c93:g:VZYAAOSwuAVWzVJQ

Like that take it all out and get a custom case for the rack and put it in there and add some more hard drives depending on how many sata's are in there if 2 then 1 x2 1TB or if 1 then 2TB drive on it and then get a little bigger ram maby
Dont want to spend to much on this!
Make sure that Dell has a removable I/O shield so that you can install the board in another case correctly. A lot of these OEM cases don't have removable I/O shields so you can't install the boards properly in any other case (usually they're built into the case on some OEM cases).

It would be easier to look for a cheap second hand CPU/board/RAM combo on eBay than it would to try and dismantle an OEM system like this and put it in a new case. I'm sure if you wanted an old LGA 775 setup like that Dell you could find something like a Core 2 Duo or a Core 2 Quad with a board and RAM on eBay.
 
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