Easy Access PC Cases? 54
swight1701 asks: "I remember seeing the MAC G4 case open for the first time and it was like a ray of light dropped down from above, and the Case was good. This has to have been the easiest access case in history, to be able to flip down the motherboard without removing any card from your PCI slots, genius.
So why is it, like most of Apple's more frivilous case designs , and colors, was it not copied by other case manufacturers? If anyone HAS seen this, or know the reason why it wasn't, please tell us all!"
SaD (Score:1)
Nige.
Why hasn't it been copied? (Score:2, Troll)
Re:Why hasn't it been copied? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Why hasn't it been copied? (Score:2)
Re:Why hasn't it been copied? (Score:1)
There are plenty of examples.... (Score:2, Informative)
The HP Vectra was one of the most intuitive cases I ever saw. No screwdrivers were needed to dismantle the case, and take out every piece. Just a push of a button or flip of a lever.
The Dell Optiplex line was also similar in those regards, although a few items did need a screwdriver.
Unfortunately, the manufacturers only marketed these cases to the business IT people. The thinking was that only people who had hundreds of computers to set up would tinker inside the box all the time. Home users just let the box sit there and collect dust. To an extent that's true.
I'm happy just leaving my case off and all the screws out, all the time.
Re:There are plenty of examples.... (Score:2)
Re:There are plenty of examples.... (Score:2)
Check out Dell (Score:3, Informative)
Keep looking, I am sure you'll find one in the right color -- if not, these guys Directron [directron.com] do custom painting of cases and bezels for your drives to match....
Re:Check out Dell (Score:2)
ExoticPC Penguin (Score:2)
Priorities (Score:1)
Re:Priorities (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Priorities (Score:1)
Dell has a pretty good version of it... (Score:1)
I've worked with this one for my home clients and I like it a lot. I have not, however, seen anything like it on the OEM market. You're right though, I would buy one if in a second if I came across one...
Re:Dell has a pretty good version of it... (Score:2)
Re:Dell has a pretty good version of it... (Score:1)
Another thing... (Score:2, Flamebait)
The downside though is that when adding hard drives to a G4, you don't get the inadvertent blood sacrifice to make sure it works. All my PC cases seem designed to make sure you can't add a hard/cd/tape drive without bleeding on it, which ensures the black magic works.
Re:Another thing... (Score:1)
Re:Another thing... (Score:2)
Wrong, most Macs since 1998 are not SCSI unless you pay for an additional PCI card and drives.
And you can buy 24" ATA100 cables that are within spec, so I don't see the issue. In the Mac cases, the cable goes from edge of bobo, over tray, across hinge, to drive bays in bottom of case. (Or to top of case for CD/DVD.)
No biggie, and still under 24".
Re:Another thing... (Score:2)
Your best bet... (Score:2, Insightful)
It's been done... (Score:1)
Re:Your best bet... (Score:1)
beware of the penguins!!!
Lian Li (Score:4, Informative)
Its brushed aluminum, all thumbscrews. All of the interior edges have been de-burred, so there are no sharp edges. I have worked on a lot of crappy PC's in my life and this is by far the best case I have ever worked on.
Re:Lian Li (Score:1)
The only negative about the PC-60 USB is the price. It's about $150 without a power supply.
Here is a nice review with a bunch pictures:
http://www.linuxhardware.org/article.p
Lian Li restores my faith in Asian quality. (Score:1)
1030 (Score:2, Informative)
a handle pops the side off it can be locked with a provided key.
Re:1030 (Score:2)
YES. I have an Antec SX830, and it's truly a joy to work with. Roomy, but not so big that it's a hard time getting everything connected (like some Supermicro cases I've dealt with). Plenty of space for fans, lots of drive bays. It's easy to open up, too. There's a review with some decent picutes here [pchardware.ro].
The removable hard drive bays are sheer brilliance. They work perfectly. My dad uses a 1030, and it's just as nice (but a little bigger than I needed for just a little desktop box).
Enlight (Score:1)
Not really the same... (Score:2)
Of course, as these components are designed to be "hot-swap" they kinda have to be easy to remove!
While the V880 is in a radically different class from the G4 (server vs workstation), Sun kit in general is much nicer to work with. I remember one of the first things I did as a sysadmin was adding RAM to some SPARCstation 5s and my boss showing me how to remove/replace one of the hard drives. Of course, you pay for that ease of use.
The reason is cost (Score:1)
Apple case sold separately... (Score:1)
Apple //gs (Score:3, Interesting)
I've had the pleasure of hiring ex-apple industrial designers/mechanical engineers. It was a real pleasure working with such talented engineers.
Link for instructions .... (Score:3, Interesting)
The above URL is for instructions on how to make PC using a G4 case.
Antec (Score:1)
I can open it up, and change fans with no screws. The drive cages and external drive rails are awesome.
Too easy to open? (Score:2, Interesting)
Imagine a kid with his peanut butter and jelly sandwich opening the case just for the hell of it, to watch the CPU fan spin or whatever.
I remember some old XT cases that had a suitcase-type lid where you just pushed a couple of buttons on the side and could open the top of the case just like a suitcase (hinged on the back and everything). The problem with those cases is that, as I said, "everybody" would open them.
On the other side, the two absolute worst cases that I ever tried to open were both Packard Bell. I was trying to install a CD-ROM in one and discovered that the drive bay had a plate welded onto the front. I ended up using a hammer and chisel (literally) to beat it off. The other really awful Packard Bell case that I had to deal with is one that was a real Chinese puzzle to open. There were no visible screws and once I had actually found the screws then it took me literally a half-hour to figure out how to push-and-pull that case to get it to come apart.
*shudder*
There seems to be a happy medium between too easy to open and too difficult. Now once I've got it open, it's nice to have some room to work, indeed, but that's another issue.
Re:Too easy to open? (Score:2)
The laptops are even better, a tiny screw inbetween the F4 and F5 keys. Only a computer junkie could open one of these if they were locked.
Enermax FS-710B (Score:1)
I'm getting one this week to try it out.
not just a good idea (Score:1)
Actually, I had a 486 like that (Score:2)
Here's what you're looking for... (Score:1)