Best case with wheels and other requirements

[realmadmartian]

I need a case for an Intel D975XBX motherboard. Requirements are as follows:

1. Has wheels or rollers.
2. Opens on the standard side.
3. Does not have a door covering the external drive bays.
4. Hard drive bays are perpendicular to the case.
6. At least 6 hard drive bays.
7. Hard drive bays and external bays are metal, not plastic.
8. At least 3 5.25" external bays and at least one 3.5".

I was all set to buy a Lian Li 1200B until I realized it opens on the opposite side, which won't work since I am in a corner desk and that side is against the wall! I know I can add wheels by using stick-ons. drilling, etc, but I would rather use one designed with wheels.

 

[pengwin]

look in the lian Li's there should be something that fix those requirements. Lian Li's are the only ones which have wheels (that i know of)

 

[realmadmartian]

To my knowledge, all the wheeled cases from Lian Li are "upside down" and open to your right instead of your left.

 

[waylander]

I'm assuming that you are looking for a mid atx? Not full tower?

Why don't you just pick the case you want without wheels then add these

http://www.frozencpu.com/cpa-17.html

Otherwise try the Tai Chi

http://www.frozencpu.com/cst-308.html

And the doors for most cases are not a big issue as they can be removed very easily, I did that with my Armor.

 

[pengwin]

I'm assuming that you are looking for a mid atx? Not full tower?

Why don't you just pick the case you want without wheels then add these

http://www.frozencpu.com/cpa-17.html

Otherwise try the Tai Chi

http://www.frozencpu.com/cst-308.html

And the doors for most cases are not a big issue as they can be removed very easily, I did that with my Armor.

Silly little Waylander. the Tai Chi would cripple a desk in a few hours.

 

[waylander]

I'm assuming that you are looking for a mid atx? Not full tower?

Why don't you just pick the case you want without wheels then add these

http://www.frozencpu.com/cpa-17.html

Otherwise try the Tai Chi

http://www.frozencpu.com/cst-308.html

And the doors for most cases are not a big issue as they can be removed very easily, I did that with my Armor.

Silly little Waylander. the Tai Chi would cripple a desk in a few hours.

I don't know, maybe he has a steel desk, he didn't list a weight requirement so....

 

[pengwin]

I'm assuming that you are looking for a mid atx? Not full tower?

Why don't you just pick the case you want without wheels then add these

http://www.frozencpu.com/cpa-17.html

Otherwise try the Tai Chi

http://www.frozencpu.com/cst-308.html

And the doors for most cases are not a big issue as they can be removed very easily, I did that with my Armor.

Silly little Waylander. the Tai Chi would cripple a desk in a few hours.


I don't know, maybe he has a steel desk, he didn't list a weight requirement so....

lol

 

[yourmothersanastronaut]

I need a case for an Intel D975XBX motherboard. Requirements are as follows:

1. Has wheels or rollers.
2. Opens on the standard side.
3. Does not have a door covering the external drive bays.
4. Hard drive bays are perpendicular to the case.
6. At least 6 hard drive bays.
7. Hard drive bays and external bays are metal, not plastic.
8. At least 3 5.25" external bays and at least one 3.5".

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193&products_id=4480

Just have them add casters to it. Or buy one somewhere else, drill some holes in the bottom, and do it yourself.

 

[MCMONOPOLY]

look in the lian Li's there should be something that fix those requirements. Lian Li's are the only ones which have wheels (that i know of)

Zalman case: This one has wheels too but must weigh 10x what the Tai Chi weighs and also doesn't cover all the specs that this guy want but hey just some info i guess...

 

[realmadmartian]

While the case itself is overkill for someone who is not going to water cool, I love the hydraulic opening side doors on the Thai Chi!

One slight change to my specs - I only need 5 internal drive bays. That should add a few more options.

The only Lian Li cases that come with 5+ perpendicular internal drive bays are the ones that open the wrong way (1000, 1100, 1200, 2000, etc). I looked at every Lian Li case on their web site, so even finding a Lian Li without wheels and adding them isn't an option.

 

[waylander]

You still haven't said whether you want full tower or mid?

the best i can find is the Sonata II

There is space for 4 but you might be able to stick one in the very bottom somehow. Just add wheels to it and you're happy.

 

[realmadmartian]

I've decided to use teflon feet instead, so I am removing the wheels requirement. Update:

1. Opens on the standard side (your left).
2. At least 5 internal hard drive bays.
3. Hard drive bays are perpendicular to the case.
4. Hard drive bays and external bays are metal, not plastic.
5. Does not have a door covering the external drive bays.
6. At least 3 5.25" external bays and at least one 3.5".
7. Toll-less installation for all drive bays. Mounting to clips or drawers with screws is ok.
8. Motherboard tray is desired but not required.
9. Either mid-tower (preferred) or full tower (still ok)

Thanks,

-Mike

 

[waylander]

OK, well I can't find what you need BUT here is an ASUS server case that has hot swappable single hdd mounts that you can pull in and out of the front of the case.

http://www.asus.com/products1.aspx?l1=9&share=icon/1

A lot of the Antec server cases have what you are asking for, some of them you may have to remove the front door (easy to do).

http://www.asus.com/products2.aspx?l1=7&l2=37

 

[realmadmartian]

Those bays are not perpendicular. Perpendicular internal bays (like in the Sonata II) are important.

Thanks,

-Mke

 

[yourmothersanastronaut]

Why does it matter whether the drives are perpendicular or not? Enlighten me.

 

[realmadmartian]

1. Perp bays make it much easier to insert and remove drives.
2. Perp bays make it much easier to hookup and disconnect drives.
3. It allows for neater cable routing (without everything hanging over the motherboard).
4. I don't like pulling drives out of their bay over the motherboard, risking dropping a drive on the motherboard (if flat) or on a card (if standing). That would be bad.
5. Depending on the case layout and cards, with the old style bays you may have to remove cards in order to remove drives! Or you may have to pull out the whole bay cage to insert or remove a drive.

I move drives around a lot and it just makes that task so much easier and less error prone. Once I had a case with perpendicular bays I never wanted to go back to the old fashioned bays. I worked on a friend's Dell recently and killed a lot of time having to remove cages in order to move drives. A pain. Not for me. I use perpendicular bays in all my cases!

 

[LordChaos]

I'm not sure what you mean by "perpendicular" drive mounting, but the Zalman TNN500AF case meets most of your needs, and is also silent. I had five hard disks in mine at one point, along with the optical drive. It's very well made, weighs a ton, comes with wheels, is easy to work on (drives mount on shelves, which slip onto bolt heads that you loosen from the outside). It does have a door on the front, but that's no big deal. It has a push-to-open latch on it. What I really like about this case is that everything fits perfectly. You don't have to push things around to get the latches to line up. And that it's silent. Makes it a very good desk neighbor. It's expensive, but when the time comes to upgrade you just put in a new motherboard.

 

[realmadmartian]

$1100 is way too expensive for my blood. I can go up to $300 for an awesome case.

Perpendicular = drives insert sideways to the case. Look at the case photo above of the Sonata II and you will see.

 

[clue69less]

3. It allows for neater cable routing (without everything hanging over the motherboard).

I just buy SATA cables of the right length and they end up ultra neat. You can buy them in 2" increments. You can find round IDE cables in many different lengths too.

If moving HDs often is a big issue, then I'd get something that has lockable front-access hot swappable SATA bays. No door issue, no way to drop onto the mobo, etc. Lia Li sells them as options and I've seen them at CompUSA and on many sites.

 

[realmadmartian]

I got talked out of the wheels, but you're not going to talk me out of the perpendicular drive bays. There are many good reasons you find them in higher-end cases. I listed a few. I have a couple external SATA trays. I still need 5 internal bays. For one thing, each external tray adds another small fan.

 

[waylander]

HOLY @(#*^$ i might have found one that actually has 5 interior perpendicular hdd bays.

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Chassis/fulltower/eureka/vc8000swa.asp#

Just screw on some wheels, take the front door off and you're set.

Drive Bays
- Front accessible 5 x 5.25", 2 x 3.5"
- Internal 12 5 x 3.5"

 

[clue69less]

I got talked out of the wheels, but you're not going to talk me out of the perpendicular drive bays. There are many good reasons you find them in higher-end cases. I listed a few. I have a couple external SATA trays. I still need 5 internal bays. For one thing, each external tray adds another small fan.

I'm not talking about external trays. I'm talking about this kind of thing. But don't worry, I would never try to talk you out of your beloved perpendicular bays, even though the one I just linked is FAR more convenient...

 

[realmadmartian]

Yes, I know. I use two of those already. Sure I could populate a whole tower with those, one of those towers where all the bays can be either external or internal, but that would only alleviate 1 of my issues, ignoring all the others, and it would add 5 small noisy fans to the system. It would also add $200. I don't move drives around THAT often.

There are a lot of systems that meet my other requirements but have a door in front of the external drives, so I may just have to get one of those and remove the door, even though it looks lame that way.

 

[yourmothersanastronaut]

Picky, picky, picky. Get a Lian Li full tower and be happy.

 

[realmadmartian]

My research so far on those meeting all requirements except maybe the door:

Silverstone - TJ07
Thermaltake - Eureka & Shark
Ultra - Aluminus

Antec - none
CoolerMaster - none
Lian Li - none

Other brands I should look at?