Suggestions: Rugged ATX Cases for Rugged Environments

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keyotek

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Aug 29, 2013
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I'm building a mobile CAD that must endure 100s of thousands of miles in the side-storage bin of a service truck. It will have about 4 grand in graphics cards in it, so it needs to be one heck of a resistant case.

Unfortunately all the cases I find are the gaming-pc type. I need something I can trust to keep dust and light splashing from mist from entering the case. I'd also like to find something I may rubber-mount to the bin, so that it doesn't fall over, but doesn't rattle my hard drives apart.

Any suggestions out there?
 
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AnUnusedUsername

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Sep 14, 2010
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To some extent a rugged case and one that can handle multiple GPUs are incompatible. You want good airflow for one, and a fully closed case for the other.

I take it you already have plans for a monitor, mouse, and keyboard.

For the case, it's really difficult to say. If you absolutely need durability, but only while you aren't using the thing, you could try using something like a ruggedized suitcase. Salvage some PCI slots from another case and drill some holes for the mobo, then open up the case and run it open-air when you are actually using it.

An old rackmount server case could work. They aren't exactly well ventilated, but they're meant to be mounted and are reasonably well built.

Water cooling is really the only way I see you getting away with no open fan ports to let in dust, as you can run piping out of the case to a radiator and close the rest of it off. But water cooling loops aren't exactly portable since they add weight and you need to mount the radiator to something. Not to mention maintenance.
 
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K

keyotek

Honorable
Aug 29, 2013
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0
10,510


I should have mentioned I plan on watercooling this system, maintenance won't be a problem, so long as nothing rattles around and breaks loose while heading down the road in a 35k lb service truck.. There's a few ways to get around keeping dust and moisture out of a traveling tower. I've purchased the bags K&N motorcycle air filters use to keep water out on rainy days, and those work well. Air can draw through them, but not water. It's a neat fabric. Either way, the build itself isn't important, I'm really looking for some cases that are rugged themselves. The contents inside could be a melting popsicle on top of a bowl of popcorn, it doesn't really matter- I can adapt that.

I'm just struggling to find any sort of case that resembles anything other than what looks cool on a desk, or under an entertainment system. Even a website that sells something like that to anyone other than enterprise level businesses looking to develop their own systems for mass production. No single-sale websites.

I've been in the technology business for a number of years now, with a side company that builds nice looking gaming rigs, and one that refurbishes laptops, but I've never been faced with having to build a bomb-proof computer that's going to be exposed to some interesting environments, including the risk of the computer being subject to an electric shock should a powerline touch the crane boom on it. New struggles..
 
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