Ableton Forum

I need to buy a rackmount case for my PC. It will be used on stage.

Are a few things that I take into account:

- It can't weight too much due to the fact that it will be often carried around.
- not be too deep, it should fit to 45cm rack (~17 inches).
- 2U or 3U
- It should be not too loud (I will use it also on rehearsala)

The majority (if not all) rackmount cases are designed for servers, so I don't know to what extent they are resistant to work on stage (high vibrations, heat, humidity).

As for the part most vulnerable to the vibrations - hard drive - I'm going to invest in the SSD drive.

I have checked on internet many cases so far and the nearest my expectations seem to be this one:

http://www.dsh.pl/obudowy/gh_210.php (translated from polish by google transl.)

But, I do not know whether this would be a good choice.

I want to fill it with Asus P5W-DH, Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, 1 SSD drive, graphics card for vj-ing (I even don't know if this pci risers will work for it). I have external audio interface (RME fireface).

Will everything fit in that 2U case? (Especially CPU fan, maybe you have some recomendations?)

Any thoughts? suggestions? experience?

Oh, and sorry for my english :/

Check out http://www.acnodes.com/zebcategory_6.htm]Acnodes.
2.4 GHz Q6600 PC with 1.333 GHz FSB, 2GB RAM, SATA drive, DVD burner, and windows XP for about $1000.

ethios4 wrote:Check out http://www.acnodes.com/zebcategory_6.htm]Acnodes.

hmm... well.. I would radher fill it with my own stuff (I have specific needs, like ssd hard drive, also they don't have proccessor that i wish it have).

And what's worst - it seems they dont ship to Poland :/

Anyway can you express your opinion on the case i've linked in my orginal post?

They want 750 euro for the case alone???

Machinesworking wrote:They want 750 euro for the case alone???

heh, dump Google tranlate PLN (polish zloty) to EURO

It will be about 215 €

Instead of rack mount - what about a Shuttle bare bones system?

http://us.shuttle.com/

My previous expreience with these systems suggest they could be very good little machines for audio for live use. Their biggest weakness for studio use is they can get a litttle bit noisey when working hard compared to a typical studio optimised quiet pc/mac - not a problem on stage.

If you can live with limited card slots, then they can be excellent little audio workstations and certainly a great alternative to a laptop when you need something more powerful.

One that I used to use for audio (Its a 3.0Ghz P4 system with 1GB RAM bought about 5 years ago) has been powered on nearly continuously for all that time. These days its just a general house hold server running Win2003 server. Very reliable little machines.


The other headache for rack mount PC boxes - they can be a bit heavy for most rack frame intended for audio gear unless you can ount at front and back.

Khazul wrote:Instead of rack mount - what about a Shuttle bare bones system?

thanks for links, but I'm convinced it should be a rackmount PC. We travel and fly a lot.

yoyek wrote:The majority (if not all) rackmount cases are designed for servers, so I don't know to what extent they are resistant to work on stage (high vibrations, heat, humidity).

A server rackmount case is likely to be far better for the job than a standard case as they're built for that sort of thing - running constantly in a rack of servers.

jonny72 wrote:A server rackmount case is likely to be far better for the job than a standard case as they're built for that sort of thing - running constantly in a rack of servers.

Yup, but in most part its far more noisy.

Is there anybody touring with rackmounted pc? what do you use?

I've used these before. Built really well, not too heavy, but definately made to withstand a beating.

macase.com

Not sure about shipping to you...

Regards, Ken

You'd a have many better options if you just based your setup around a 4U case. Here is a great looking military grade case. It's 15" deep and made of steel.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... tresources

autodidactic wrote:You'd a have many better options if you just based your setup around a 4U case. Here is a great looking military grade case. It's 15" deep and made of steel.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... tresources

4U is little to big. They do not specify weight, but I assume it will be heavy. And what about the noise?

look for an Antec case.
i have a 4u antec case in my closet waiting to be filled.
all my research pointed at them and i found one used on CL for like 150 a while back

but i ended up getting a good deal from a friend on a 1u case loaded with a 3ghz p4 and that has been suiting me well

my plan was to fill the 4u with a q6600 based system for performance and then have the 1u as my recording machine when i wanted to record live.

i thought i was going to rack everything up roll it into the show plug a few things in and be all set.... that idea is dead now lol.

first problem with it is we dont own a van and buying a van is a good 1-2 years away.

I cant take that rig on a plane.

server cases are Longer then standard rack gear.
they dont fit into the rolling Rack cases i own.
so you would need a custom rack too.

also bring my computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse,power strip, table and setting it all up at a show is a big pain in the ass

after using ableton on an amd 1.5 ghz with 512 ram (lol)
then on my p4 3ghz with 1 gig ram (soon to be 3 gig ram)

i realized that a duo core mac book pro will be perfect for our needs on stage. so we are saving for one and should have one in 3 months.... oh god i can not wait....

being a computer geek from way back it took me 3 months of shows to understand that i dont need a system NASA would be proud of to perform lol.

Antec is too long (standard rack case depth is 17 inches / ~43 cm) and Antec have 20.5 inches / 52 cm

Well, laptop (especially mac) is not an option for me. This computer will be responsible for lot of things (like audio, vj-ing and few lights here and there, all centralized with custom pci cards)

Two more I found today:

- j3150 (3U, 16" deep, quiet, ~300$ with PS)
- RM-3110ALS (3U, 17" deep, it says "quiet version", ~230$ with PS)

Especcialy the first one seems interesting. Does anyone knows they ship to EU? also, does that power supply will work with 230V?

edit. crosspost