Rackmount PC case - anyone using them?

Anyone using a rack cased PC?

I'm thinking of putting mine in one of these type things...



...as I have little floor space, but plenty of rack space.

Any big advantages or disadvantages?

One thing I'm worried about is interference. As an electric guitar player, I currently have noise issues when recording within three feet of my PC. If I put it in a rack, will it also create similar problems with my FX units / interface?

ORIGINAL: Mod Bod

I have been using a rack mount case for many years. There are four disadvantages. 1) It takes up quite a few rack spaces that you wish you had back when you buy new outboard gear. 2) The cheaper ones are heavy. 3) You have to go behind the rack and unplug everything whenever I need to pull it out and make an internal change. The advantage to this is that it keeps you from making changes for reasons that are less than necessary. 4) The cheaper ones have fans inside them that simulate a Boeing 747 waiting for takeoff.

I haven't noticed noise issues from interference.

This is good info. Thanks Dave.

I was just about to post a new thread regarding interference issues from rackmounted PCs in relation to outboard stuff. I wonder if anyone has any issues to note?

I'm just about to get a rack myself. I was going to get a one of these Samson 21U ones but have now decided to opt for a this flightcase instead. Mainly due to flightcase offering more sturdiness and dust protection when not in use. The samson one would have meant having to make a dust cover of some sort for when not in use. I guess the flight case also stops unwelcome hands fom meddling with the dials when I'm not around too.

Whatever the choice, I was definitely going for one with castors though as it allows me to take the daw to another room where I can monitor, tweak and play at the same time.


Regards

Zipps

Thanks for the answers everyone.

Space is not a problem and I don't tend to mess around at the back of the PC much, nor do I need to move it. My current setup needs quieting as it is, so it's something I need to look at either way.

The Antec solution looks good, but they don't seem to do one without a PSU (which I already have)?

I've got a Take 4 myself. As Jeff said, they're deep; I was lucky enough to find a used Anvil 12 space on wheels that was deep enough for it.
They're also heavy; I pulled mine out of the rack for the first time in two years yesterday to clean out any dust in the fans. I'd forgotten how much the little sucker weighs...

ew

FWIW, You *can* get 4U rackmount cases that are shallow.
We use one particular unit that's just under 17" deep.

Can I ask if 5U cases are any deeper than the 4U ones? Or is case depth not an issue with the spacial needs of i7, their coolers and stuff etc?

20-22" is pretty common depth for rackmount cases.
You have to get the specific dimensions on each individual case.
Note that some of the LARGE i7 heatsinks won't fit in 4U rackmount case... (they're too tall)

ORIGINAL: Doc_Hollingsworth

...I'm getting side rails for it for issue number 3 that Dave mentioned...

Just be careful that the rest of the rack is heavy, or else the whole thing may tip forward when you slide the PC out.

As a novice in sound, but a professional IT admin, I would say if you're looking to put together a rackmount DAW, (I built my DAW into a mobile recording rig), you can find plenty of brand new server chassis on ebay for dirt cheap. If you're going to go mobile with it, I'd recommend either finding a chassis with a front hot-swap HD bay, or you can buy one that will fit in a 5.25" bay for fairly cheap. This will make it easy to remove your OS/Project HD(s) prior to transport. I keep mine in a nifty little hardshell case I got from CaseLogic.

As for the noise, most of these chassis are built for datacenter performance, and sound is not an issue. However, most chassis will have standard components that can be swapped out, again, for cheaper than buying a "ultra-quiet" chassis. Most places that market such things charge a premium for things that anyone with thumbs and a credit card can do for half the price. The chassis I bought for my rig included 2 rear 80mm and two fron 120mm fans. Both of these fans are carried in the PC modding section of your local Fry's. If you don't have a Fry's nearby, check out coolerguys.com or frozencpu.com (the former has better prices usually). All of these places will usually list the fan noise level. You can usually find a reasonably priced fan that will do under 18dB. That should be remarkably more quiet than probably a lot of your other rackmount gear.

As for CPU fans, check the sites above for the socket you're going with. They will usually have a low-profile CPU fan/sink that is, again, measured for noise output. Unless you're a sucker like me, who opted for quad Xeons instead of i7, there should be an abundant choice of fans to suit your needs. (My socket set really has only one quiet heatsink to choose from, and they're $100 for the 2 I'll need for my DAW. However, the machine runs pretty quiet on the low-fan setting in BIOS, even on the stick Intel fans. - Might be worth checking out if your BIOS has a CPU fanspeed controller setting, and if it will hold a reasonable temperature at low speed).

I would also recommend spending the whopping $50-$100 on a power conditioner. The technology is cheap, and it will eliminate some of the cross talk, at least from the power side.