Scratch Build – In Progress Custom Rackmount Project

Ok so i bought a few computers off this bloke who was selling a few computers.
he had 6 i bought 4 @ $40 each here are the stats

Intel Pentium 4 2.4ghz
256mb DDR400mhz
Onboard Graphics
Tiny PowerSupply
40gb Seagate Hard Drive
and a flat style desktop case

i bought them hoping to resell them for extra. i have only sold 1 and i thought. hrmm i might go back to the guy and buy the rest. or 1 more to recover on those ones i sold.

im going to also buy a few sticks of 1gb ram so i can put in them.
They do not come with cd drives/dvd drives so i had to put my own in there.


Im hoping to convert my cupboard*which is built into the house* like a walk in robe but not quite that big.

into a large rackmount style cage ill do a sketchup / 3d model of it when i get home tonight.


Also i have a 19"LCD and 2 8port KVM switches that im going to wire up so i dont have all these monitors everywhere.

if you would like pictures of the cases just post here as i have not had time to take pictures..
i also am going to buy some paint and some sandpaper tomorrow to paint them because they are ugly beige.

going to go with red/green either way you can decide if you like.

excuse my spelling. i am in a hurry going to get pizza's in 5 minutes.



If anyone would like the dimensions of the cases/cupboard so that they could maybe design me one that would look the part i would be more than glad to give you them.

I work with steel at work, i build trailers for a living. so i will have plenty of time to work on the rackmount cage. etc.
I also like to work with electronics in my spare time. if you would like to see some of my work i will be more than glad to post some pictures of it.

The Cage material will be alluminium and steel, mainly alluminium for the front as i want it to look presentable so that im not looking at an ugly steel covered cage..
i am looking at installing diamond checkplate as the front if anyone has any ideas please share.

thanks
= Nuffenburger

 

are there any pics? you need progress pics for it to be a project log, otherwise all you have is an idea, which I must say sounds like a good idea.

 

There are no pics atm.. however i will clean out my cupboard*its big enough for the computers to be side by side whilst laying flat* i can stack about 8 high by 2 wide
which equates to 16 computers. which i dont have atm so ill have to invest in either more, or put a few other things in to fill the gaps. such as ... =O a ups for each system.

and i have no real budget for the steel supplies or alluminium. just mainly for the electrics... e.g. ups would cost roughly 150-200 each for a decent one or i could buy one that supports the computer for 80$ each.

i will make a quick 3d sketch now. see if you like it.
if not i shall create another one in 3dsmax or whatever.

i will gladly accept any ideas off anybody.



oh and btw=] you have 999 posts =]

 

Check audio supply places. A lot of the pro amps and what not are rack mounted. I used to have a set of rails that were made to be put in custom built wooded cabinets that had the standard rack screw hole pattern in them.


http://www.starcase.com/rack_rail.htm#Generic_rackrail

 

thanks a heap for that website.
i will not buy from there *not because of cost or postage or what not* but it would be cheaper to make at work. thanks for the idea=]
i have pictures of the actual cases.
im going to do a bit of modding to them first e.g color*from beige to black/red/maybe orange.
something to make them colorful=]
I am from Australia. so i might use the australian flag colors. for the case
maybe red on top white the sides and blue the front. ill see how it looks if it doesnt look good then ill just put something else on it.
pics up real soon just getting them onto the computer

=]

 

why you want so many machines? is this to be a render farm?

 

That's cool. It was mainly for ideas anyway. Now you know that stuff exists, so you should be able to source them somewhat closer to home.

 

I have this many computers because of websites/servers*game servers* and some are just going to be file hosting as i am getting 3x1tb hard drives for my birthday in 2 weeks *18th*
so im going to spread it over the 1 computer and put my other 500gb hard drive in it and maybe set it up for Raid. i don't know yet. we will see what happens.

 

Ok i have done some rough 3d designs today. here are the links




also i have found a touch screen to chuck up on the front of the cupboard
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productVie...d2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=

it will be that touch screen on the outside for quickly going through some things. and on the inside i will have a 19" LCD on the front of the cage.
there will also be a keyboard and a mouse on a seperate tray hidden somewhere above one of the computers in their slots.
i am thinking also of encasing it in a type of wood, so that it looks half decent however, when i move houses * i don't know when that will be* i will want to be able to pull the cage apart and put it back together somewhere in the new house*when i move* which could be years away. but never know.

I hope you enjoy the sketchups. they haven't got much effor in them and they arent to scale.

I am going to paint the cases tomorro as i had to work today.
i have decided on just a canary yellow for the front of the case, and i will clear coat it also.
stick around for the high resolution photos*=]* lol

please give me more ideas if you have them i am more than glad to put something into the cage that is from your imagination/thought/dream etc.

also for whoevers ideas i use i will put a metal plate on the side engraved with their bit-tech username, just because i love it here at bit-tech=]
thanks for watching this=]

 

There are some pictures of the cases. and the screen i will be using for the front of the cage.
I dont have the keyboard i will be using yet the one you can see is my brothers. just borrowing it.
the 7" LCD touch screen i posted in the last post will be used for something different.