I would like to be able to house my new TR 2950X build in the rack, but am having trouble finding a suitable 4U case. All the ones I have looked at have two 80mm fans at the back and one 140mm fan at the front, which does not seem like enough airflow to me.
Is anyone able to point me in the direction of a decent 4U case?
The alternative would be to use the new Fractal Design 7 XL once it becomes available locally, but I would really prefer to be able to throw it in the rack with everything else and keep my desk free.
In my humble, server cases aren’t really about huge airflow. They’re supposed to be equipped with loud high speed high pressure fans, and live in a climate controlled room.
Two 80s and a 140 sounds not too bad. My supermicro 4u tower has two 120 and a 92.
The Rosewill RSV-L4500/L4000/L4412 cases generally have a good amount of mounting fan mounts/fans, but I think they’ve been discontinued. Only finding the bitcoin mining variants, L4000C/L4000B, which if you don’t need basically any drive support, would be great for airflow as well.
Thank you for your replies. To be honest, most of the time the computer will be noodling along doing something close to nothing during the day when I am at work, during which time the bog-standard fan configuration mentioned in the OP would most likely be fine. I am just concerned about what will happen when I get home from work and start stressing the system a bit (cough gaming cough).
With regards to what I am looking for in a case, I require EATX support, and would like to be able to drop the 5-bay CSE-M35TQB Supermicro mobile rack I have into it. Ideally it will also be quiet, as the rack is in the office with me.
I was considering the 743TQ-1200B-SQ Supermicro SuperChassis on account of the fact it can be rack mounted and is “whisper quiet”. The only problem is that it is really set up for their own Intel-based motherboards on account of the large air shroud the chassis ships with. In addition, I believe that the power supply is non-standard, so you cannot replace it with a Seasonic unit down the track as it will not fit. Oh, the the case is rather expensive ($960 in the local currency, excluding the rack mount kit). This still may be the best option, but I will definitely see what else I can find.
Idk what region you are in tho, check Ebay there should be a ton of good options (guessing thats pretty universal) As nx2l said the rosewills are on amazon and pretty decent too
I know there’s new ones, that I presumed had replaced them, but I’ve been seeing that most of them don’t fit the 3.5" drives particularly well so didn’t feel comfortable recommending them
Whilst surfing around on the Supermicro website, I found what I think would be the ideal case for my build - its the 747TQ-R1620B. It comes in tower configuration by default, but is able to be rack mounted without too much bother. It also has plenty of fans, is able to take EATX motherboards (with up to 11 expansion slots) , plus it comes with 8 hot-swappable HDD bays. And weighs 26.7kg!
There is only one problem. Well, two actually.
Because of the fact it is a proper server / workstation case, it is hellishly expensive. I have just had a price from the local Supermicro agent, and they want $2,193 NZD for it, optional rack mounting kit excluded. And get this - because of Coronavirus, they are unable to provide a lead time. If their supplier has it in stock, it would be three weeks, otherwise it could be delayed indefinitely. Probably just as well, as I don’t really need (and cannot afford) a case like that. The only problem is now I know it exists I really want it!
The model numbers change, but that chassis is at least ten years old. It may take some time, but hold out for a used one on ebay somewhere in your region of the world.
I’ve got three of these chassis in surplus property storage at the office, they were maybe $500 USD each when new, only having a single power supply not the redundant module version.
IF you do go this route, a EPYC 4U passive heatsink is probably the way to go cooling your threadripper. I think the various TR4 tower coolers would be too tall to fit inside the base. The case should come with an customizable air shroud to route air across a passive heatsink and out the back.
Unfortunately the chance of picking up one of these chassis used locally is vanishingly small, and the shipping cost of pulling one in from eBay in the US would be prohibitively expensive.
I do like your suggestion of using a passive EPYC heat-sink, and will bear that in mind should I end up purchasing the case in the future. However, from the case parts list on the Supermicro product page, it is only the 747BTQ-R1K62B version of the case that comes with the mylar cooling shroud.
Of course, there would be nothing stopping me from 3D printing or vacuum forming my own to fit the TR motherboard if I really wanted.
europe is so stupidly expensive.