Rackmount PC

Is there a way to get a rackmount PC without going over $1500? Would I just have to build one myself? Or is there a Tower version I could buy that could be modified and rackmounted lol?

Any tips would be appreciated.

[DavidKakon]

http://www.coyoterd.com

looks good

[dingo]

diy's the best way to go. Of course you could gut a mid or full tower and stuff it all in a rackmount chassis as long as it will fit the motherboard. Sourcing a good quality/inexpensive rackmount chassis was the most difficult part for those that I've done. Expect to pay more for a rackmount instead of a mid or full tower. Apologies.. running short on time here.. I'll get back to this tomorrow.

[cultureofgreed]

Build it yourself and buy a rackmounted case. A quick search found these http://www.directron.com/raccas.html

This one in particular is nice, and under $100 without a power supply. http://www.directron.com/30at.html

[sleepwalker]

I don't think it's worth it. I paid $200 for a rackmount computer case years back and it was a pain to maintain, etc. Unless it's part of a mobile rig(even then I'd go laptop), you might want to skip it.

Originally Posted by cultureofgreed

Build it yourself and buy a rackmounted case. A quick search found these http://www.directron.com/raccas.html

This one in particular is nice, and under $100 without a power supply. http://www.directron.com/30at.html

[Bones]

My personal opinion is that they are a waste of money as they serve the sole purpose of LOOKING cool.

Except for the corporate server room where it obviously keeps things neat and tidy.

My thoughts are that once in a studio rack (specifically where the "neat and tidyness" will be "noticed") ... this puts the offending fans and power supplies right there in the room with you.
Yes I know this is an area open to many opinions in itself, but my opinion is that a couple of hundred $'s that may well end up in an isolated room next door is a waste.

Even in a mobile rig, I would personally rather transport the PC as a tower type case as such .... racks/cases tend to get treated with a little less respect than the good old fashioned "extremely fragile" computer case and the last thing you want in a mobile situation is a failed drive or unseated memory module or whatever.

Hmmmm ... this is Gearslutz though after all and there is something COOOOOL about a rackmounted computer ........ how much did you say they cost??

[adzski]

Originally Posted by jordan19

Is there a way to get a rackmount PC without going over $1500? Would I just have to build one myself? Or is there a Tower version I could buy that could be modified and rackmounted lol?

Any tips would be appreciated.

Hey Jordan!

If youre familiar with self-building then that would be the way to go. You'll get plently of change out of the $1500 if you decide to go that way.

What application is it for? My rackmount (yes it does look cool thumbsup ), has got 4 removable drive bays on the front, so if you're on the road you can keep your drives safe and back 'em up quickly. Three of the drive bays are shockmounted too. Its sturdy as hell anyway.

Of course once you've got a decent case, you can stick with it through many an upgrade.

Cheers!

[rodhmos]

I am in love with my Carillon AC1. Silent and rock solid performance. Excellent support, too.

lol adzski whatsup buddy

Thanks for all the responses guys. Yeah it's for portability purposes mainly, but also an attempt to start organizing my very cluttered disorganized looking studio setup.

I had been looking at Sweetwater's racked PC - http://www.sweetwater.com/creation_station/rack.php

...but I just can't bring myself to spend that much yet.

Originally Posted by DavidKakon

http://www.coyoterd.com

looks good

Those do look good. I'll check em out.

And honestly guys, how hard ARE DIY kits?? I tried to inspire myself to do some DIY preamp kits awhile back, but decided I'd probably never get em done. So, I have zero experience, and know absolutely nothing about anything Would a DIY kit actually be practical for me?? I'd love to save the $$$ and do it myself if I could I guess I'm not the sluttiest of sluts around here...

[dingo]

Originally Posted by jordan19

And honestly guys, how hard ARE DIY kits?? I tried to inspire myself to do some DIY preamp kits awhile back, but decided I'd probably never get em done. So, I have zero experience, and know absolutely nothing about anything Would a DIY kit actually be practical for me?? I'd love to save the $$$ and do it myself if I could I guess I'm not the sluttiest of sluts around here...

Zero experience and you know nothing about anything... probably want to get someone else to put it all together for you and set it up so it's basically what you need, right out of the box. On the surface, there isn't anything very difficult about deciding which components to get, putting a box together, installing OS, drivers and software, configuring and tweaking. The difficulty is in figuring out why something's not working the way it should.

You have plenty of options, even if you don't put the box together or configure it yourself. If diy was out, I'd probably source all the components and pay a local CS major to make it all work ($150 and a case of beer).

[dingo]

Originally Posted by jordan19

I had been looking at Sweetwater's racked PC - http://www.sweetwater.com/creation_station/rack.php

Hey, I have that same chassis, except with slightly different black anodised doors and no cheesy sweetwater badge. It's a nice chassis, good design.

[bernieL0max]

For my mobile recording rig I used an Antec 4RU Case... at 560mm deep it's not going to suit everyone's needs, but it was perfect for my needs. Definately recomended.

Apart from the case itself everything else it exactly the same as a "normal" PC.

[bernieL0max]

DIY in PCs cannot be compared to electronics, there's no identifiying and sorting components, putting them in PCB's, soldering, trimming leads etc...

In a PC everything just screws, clips or pushes together... too easy. Honestly, a monkey could build a PC. A bit of common sense and a screwdriver is about all you need.


Make sure you get the correct components which will work properly together... eg. you cannot use DDR ram in a board that is meant for DDR2, you cannot put a socket 775 cpu in a socket 478 motherboard, you cant put an AGP video card in a PCIe slot... these are simple mistakes by many DIYers.

Just my 2c

[catfish11]

any of the big sequencer forums sonar, nuendo, cubase,
digidesign, will have speced out systems if you search
i built a rack mount 3 gig hz 64 athlon 2 gig corsair ram
gigayte mobo, samsung burner, wd main drive - 900.00
at newegg along w a emu 1820m 500.00 - 1400.00
total
this is intergrated with a protools hd accl rig,
i won't tell you the price difference

i use it to run kontakt, sonar, samplitude, which i mix into and as a vst instrument host and whatever else, could run
real time verbs and such if i wanted
one of the best decisions i ever made
fully upgradable rompler, sampler, mastering tool
internet browser, softwaree tester, whatever

the one thing about pc's is the huge amount of development, so there are great synths, vst effects ect. you don't see on macs

[macr0w]

I have one of these and an AMD 3500+ on an Asus A8V-Deluxe with a gb of ddr-400 and half a tb of sata storage for less than $1200.00. This box kicks a$$. It's got one of these in the front and one of these on the cpu. And two of these in the back. And with that many fans you'd think it would sound like a helecopter. But I also have one of these that helps alot.

[handojin]

had a steel rackmount.. upgraded to an aluminum one.. then i realized that rackmounts suck for transporting.. to heavy.. they are screwed in.. even if there screwed in a skb case you then gotta unscrew it when you get to your location to see if the cards are seated well before booting up... way more convienient to have a tower... even more convienient to have a sff or laptop just for moving around.. but i still like the rackmount.. not to loud for me either with upgraded fans ect..
www.lchres.com is where i got mine. pretty sure they sell to everyone, these are pretty cheap however and id bet that quality wise there not up there with the antecs but it might just be the fans ect.. mine has pci slot securing things that dont work at all too