Cases

rying to figure out how you want to build a mining machine, there aren't many options to choose from concerning its skeleton. One option is to build or buy an open rig frame, another is to mockup some metal shelving and hang some gear from it with zip ties, and the last option is to purchase a professionally made, well-manufactured mining case. While Rosewill may not be that well known in the cryptocurrency space, they have made a name for themselves in the server market by manufacturing and designing quality components at a price point that most people can afford. With that kind of pedigree, Rosewill introduced the RSV-L4000B and, subsequently, the RSV-L4000BC; a 4U 6/8 GPU Rack-mountable Mining chassis.

For geeks like me, having a server rack in your basement is just about one of the coolest things you can have. In our last server build, we went the rackmount way, leaving the full towers far behind. This route just gave us more from the platform. With that though, having a rackmount server sitting on a table in the middle of the living room or basement isn't the best, nor the brightest idea. However, most server racks are just too big to be useful in a home and building one takes a lot of effort. Enter the Norco C-24U cabinet.

There had been a long period where I was looking at making everything small. NAS were the primary means of storage, and miniITX platforms had started to make themselves available throughout my home. Unfortunately, I started to realize that instead of a small number of small systems in and around my home, I had a large number of small systems. That includes NAS and storage devices as well as playback devices. With that, I instead started on a journey to build a single big storage platform. When SilverStone caught wind of this, they thought they had the perfect case for my big storage needs. Enter the RM420.

I get very excited when I get a new case in the lab for review. I get even more excited when the case comes from BitFenix. BitFenix has been quietly making some of the best computer cases out there. Their signature SofTouch Surface Treatment is simply amazing. Having gained popularity with their Colossus case, BitFenix has decided to bring all that style and pizzazz to the Mini ITX platform, and dubbed it the Colossus Mini-ITX.

If you are a case designer or manufacturer, you must be asking what can you do to differentiate yourself from the rest of the herd? After all, there are a ton of cases out there, but what will make yours stand out? Some may use fancy graphics, some will do it with price, and others will go right back to the drawing board. Computer cases have fundamentally stayed the same over the years. Outside of some minor changes like the PSU being moved from the top to the bottom, there isn't much to guess about. Well, SilverStone has some ideas that may be able to change the way you look at your computer case.

My days of large full tower cases are slowly coming to an end. Although I love the behemoths of yesteryear, I see myself starting to look upon Mini-ITX motherboards and cases with more enthusiasm every day. I can get everything I want and need in a compact platform without sacrificing CPU and video card power. This transition seems to have been born from the latest round of case reviews that have been featured here lately. We have featured SilverStone, Fractal Design, Lian-Li and iStarUSA cases on the site but one company wasn't feeling any love and promised me they could sway me from the others with their latest Mini-ITX case. I have to admit, the competition is rough, but Antec feels as though their ISK600 is the case that steals the thunder.

There is seldom a time when I get more excited than when someone ships me a case designed specifically for storage. SliverStone told me they would be producing something that would get my fingers twitching in anticipation, and for the last couple of months it sat in a dark corner waiting for the day when I could break it open. Lonely and afraid, the SilverStone DS380 SFF NAS chassis waited, waited for its chance to woo me.

If you have read our guide to building your own NAS or our more recent Lian Li PC-Q28 Review, you may be ready to get your own personal NAS project started. The cases featured in both of those articles were great enclosures for a NAS Solution, but didn't really make accessing your drives easy. iStarUSA thinks they have the perfect case for the job, the S-915. This compact mini-ITX tower style chassis may not be an enthusiasts first choice in brand name or feature a sleek all aluminum exterior, but it does have a company with 20 years of experience in industrial computers behind it. Is that enough to seat it atop your list for cases in your project?

When we thought that we had the perfect case for our NAS build, Lian Li came knocking on our door and promised to change our minds. Our current build features the Fractal Node 304 and it has been a great small server / NAS mini-itx chassis that has plenty of storage space. Unseating it will be quite the challenge. Lian Li confidently accepts the challenge.