HELP - WANTED - pointers to a importer of tall ATX case needed

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mike
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M

Mike

I can't be the only one with this requirement....

Does anybody know of a manufacturer that makes a
large ATX case with LOTS of external drive bays?

I ned to mount:

3.5" floppy drive

Zip drive (this can sit in a 3.5 bay)

5.25" streamer tape
5.25 DLT tape (full height SCSI internal)
5.25" DAT tape (half height SCSI internal)
CDRW drive
DVD-RW drive
Jaz drive
Audio panel (Creative Live)
9-in-1 memory card reader (uses an internal USB port)
IDE drive tray

Internally I'd like to be able to mount four
3.5" hard drives.

As you can see, I need at least seven 5.25" external bays
if I put the DLT in the external case, or nne if I mount
it internally. Plus four internal bays plus a couple of
fans with outide air filters to keep all this stuff cool.

I'm one of those guys that runs three large fans at slow
speed rather than one large fan at a hurricane roar.

Every computer store within an hour of me has lots of cases
with four external drive bays, and two had a very flimsy
case with five bays and one had a $450 case with six - but
I didn't need redundant 500w power supplies and a built-in
UPS.

I've got a floor space next to my desk that is 20" deep and
12" wide to put it in, and I have 28" of vertical space so
a deep and wide case is not a problem.

I'd love it to have a USB / Firewire panel and a front
mounted power and reset button at the top.

I'm getting ready to make my own case by using a sawzall
on an old 4-bay ATX case (to get the card slot area sheet
metal) and build the rest out of masonite and 1" by 1"
square fiberglass stock.

On a related topic...
There used to be a case distributor in the San Gabriel area
of Los Angeles... anybody know who they were and if they
still exist?

Mike
 
Mike said:
I can't be the only one with this requirement....

Does anybody know of a manufacturer that makes a
large ATX case with LOTS of external drive bays?

I ned to mount:

3.5" floppy drive

Zip drive (this can sit in a 3.5 bay)

5.25" streamer tape
5.25 DLT tape (full height SCSI internal)
5.25" DAT tape (half height SCSI internal)
CDRW drive
DVD-RW drive
Jaz drive
Audio panel (Creative Live)
9-in-1 memory card reader (uses an internal USB port)
IDE drive tray

Internally I'd like to be able to mount four
3.5" hard drives.

As you can see, I need at least seven 5.25" external bays
if I put the DLT in the external case, or nne if I mount
it internally. Plus four internal bays plus a couple of
fans with outide air filters to keep all this stuff cool.

I'm one of those guys that runs three large fans at slow
speed rather than one large fan at a hurricane roar.

Every computer store within an hour of me has lots of cases
with four external drive bays, and two had a very flimsy
case with five bays and one had a $450 case with six - but
I didn't need redundant 500w power supplies and a built-in
UPS.

I've got a floor space next to my desk that is 20" deep and
12" wide to put it in, and I have 28" of vertical space so
a deep and wide case is not a problem.

I'd love it to have a USB / Firewire panel and a front
mounted power and reset button at the top.

I'm getting ready to make my own case by using a sawzall
on an old 4-bay ATX case (to get the card slot area sheet
metal) and build the rest out of masonite and 1" by 1"
square fiberglass stock.

On a related topic...
There used to be a case distributor in the San Gabriel area
of Los Angeles... anybody know who they were and if they
still exist?

Mike
Click to expand...

http://us.enlightcorp.com/
http://www.antec.com/us/pro_enclosures.html
Antec is your best bet, but 11 is not a good number. 10
seems to be what people sell for Tower/Server cases.
http://www.amtrade.com/computer/atx_full_tower_enclosures.htm

unless you want to spend serious money.
http://www.amtrade.com/computer/cases.htm#8
There's a $200 jump from 10 to 12 drive bays.
 
Every computer store within an hour of me has lots of cases
with four external drive bays, and two had a very flimsy
case with five bays and one had a $450 case with six - but
I didn't need redundant 500w power supplies and a built-in
UPS.
Click to expand...

Actually that's not a bad price for how many bays you need, and the power
for that many components.

Such cases generally don't have intake fans, but if you can fit your own
filter in you might look at something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-182-005&depa=1
 
I can't be the only one with this requirement....

Does anybody know of a manufacturer that makes a
large ATX case with LOTS of external drive bays?

I ned to mount:

3.5" floppy drive

Zip drive (this can sit in a 3.5 bay)

5.25" streamer tape
5.25 DLT tape (full height SCSI internal)
5.25" DAT tape (half height SCSI internal)
CDRW drive
DVD-RW drive
Jaz drive
Audio panel (Creative Live)
9-in-1 memory card reader (uses an internal USB port)
IDE drive tray
Click to expand...

Pan suggested Antec... also look to see if Lian-Li
(yes?) makes server cases. I know SuperMicro makes a
server case that is 2x wide (much like the Dell
Poweredge 4xxx cases).

Or perhaps it's time for you to split all of those
functions into two machines? Using a saner pair of
Antec p160 cases?
 
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