Case recommendations for Supermicro H8QGL-6F+

[chrispy43]

Hello,

Looking for case recommendations for this server motherboard. It is enormous and will not fit into the case I purchased or any other 4U cases I had sitting around. Ideally, I'd like to try and avoid buying the $1400 "recommended" solutions from Servermicro themselves.

I was looking at the Corsair Obsidian Series 800D, but it appears to only support ATX, mATX, EATX form factors, whereas the motherboard is SWTX. I'm willing to spend decent money on the case, but would prefer to keep it $500 or less.

Thanks in advance.

 

[puttsy]

You have a few problems here. First is you have a Server board so this topic *should* be in the servers section.

Second, you can't always just buy a case to work as a server chassis. Often, server boards have certain requirements in a case the will NOT work in a standard case. The front control board, for example. Usually there's a whole IDE style connector in a case that leads to the board. Next, most server boards require 5-pin fan connectors so, once again, a server designated chassis is necessary. Your best bet is to look at the chassis' SuperMicro recommends for that specific board. But, if you're handy with a soldering iron and this isn't a production server, I can recommend Intel server chassis. Take a look for an Intel SC5400 chassis or SC5600 chassis. Those may have a compatible front panel connector and come with a PSU. But there may be some inconsistencies with the power connectors; another thing you'll need to check out. There are usually decent deals on late-model server chassis on eBay so head there and take a look at Intel's offerings. Oh, and there is nothing cheap about building a real reliable, enterprise-class server so keep that in mind as this will likely start to run-away on ya. Most DIY'er's who try and build a server don't realize the extra complexity involved and the avalanche or domino's start to tumble.

Let us know what you think.