[Snugglebear]

I hate to say it but I've actually enjoyed working with some of the Dell Vostro 200s at the office (schematics here). Comments and snide remarks about Dell aside, are there any cases out there are similar to the thin form factor of this unit? It doesn't have to be flashy, no lights, no windows, just quiet, black, and thin.

The short version of the story is that I need to rebuild a personal server, and to do that my workstation, an Opteron 170 setup, needs to be cannibalized. Since Nehalems aren't out yet, the thought is to get a small E8400-based machine and use it as a stopgap, then as a utility box after Nehalem. These days Dell is actually using standard components, meaning true ATX pin outs on PSUs, regular screw hole alignments on mATX boards, and so on. In the worst scenario I buy a Dell, use its guts in a spare mid-tower ATX case for a while (to accommodate a real graphics card), then put it back into the smaller case and use integrated graphics as it transitions to utility work (OpenSolaris & FreeBSD). But I'd feel dirty buying a Dell for home use, so please help.

No particular budget on this item, it just has to work well. There will not be any overclocking involved with this project and the case just needs a single 5.25" bay and two 3.5" internal bays (RAID1). I'm a sucker for not throwing things out so I'm trying very hard not to just rebuild with a C2D as the server and put the Opteron out to pasture with Nehalem. If you're wondering, the server having issues is VP6-based, and my goal, which is hard to stomach some days, is to get rid of all my P3s by the end of the year.

[Brandontw]

Mabye you could find an Empty dell case on ebay or something.

[jaymz9350]

Are these what you are looking for? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...oATX+Slim+Case

[Snugglebear]

I've been checking ebay every couple weeks for a while and haven't seen empty cases pop up. Plenty of filled ones, though. The section from Newegg has also been a haunt of mine for a while and nothing really catches my eye. Ran into the Antecs at a store once and wasn't too impressed (with the thin cases, love the P182, though). Apex has some interesting models, but I've not heard of them or run into them anywhere in person.

Again, it's hard to discount the fact that there's a Vostro running right next to me on another desk, at load, and the only thing I hear is a slight whistle from the A/C and my own workstation (a rather loud Dell). Are the Intel coolers really that quiet, and the C2Ds really that cool?

[jaymz9350]

Originally Posted by Snugglebear

I've been checking ebay every couple weeks for a while and haven't seen empty cases pop up. Plenty of filled ones, though. The section from Newegg has also been a haunt of mine for a while and nothing really catches my eye. Ran into the Antecs at a store once and wasn't too impressed (with the thin cases, love the P182, though). Apex has some interesting models, but I've not heard of them or run into them anywhere in person.

Again, it's hard to discount the fact that there's a Vostro running right next to me on another desk, at load, and the only thing I hear is a slight whistle from the A/C and my own workstation (a rather loud Dell). Are the Intel coolers really that quiet, and the C2Ds really that cool?

Yeah I had been looking into making my vife a pc with a case like that and never really found anything i liked either.

And I would guess that those dells in that tiny case and being quiet are running pretty warm. Probably not dangerously hot but more like when we OC and over volt.

[Snugglebear]

Originally Posted by jaymz9350

Yeah I had been looking into making my vife a pc with a case like that and never really found anything i liked either.

And I would guess that those dells in that tiny case and being quiet are running pretty warm. Probably not dangerously hot but more like when we OC and over volt.

That's just it - there are three main vents on the Vostro 200 thin case: one is about 4"x4" on the side (or top) of the case, directly above the CPU and uses the processor fan to move air; the second is on the top (thin side) of the case and has what appears to be an 80mm fan, directly next to the CPU; the third is built into the I/O shield and is completely passive. I just put my hand next to the vents and felt the tiniest warm draft, not even close to what I have coming out of my P3 boxes, even. The only part that seems to get fairly warm is the PSU. For someone used to dual processor boxes, Opterons, and P4s, this is a real mystery.

[Warren G]

yes i run a few slim vostro 200 at work, with c2d e4xxx and e6xxx series processors. They all run very quiet. The only fan is the cpu fan 80mm (PWM i think)

[Snugglebear]

Originally Posted by Warren G

yes i run a few slim vostro 200 at work, with c2d e4xxx and e6xxx series processors. They all run very quiet. The only fan is the cpu fan 80mm (PWM i think)

There is a large fan on the heatsink, an 80mm case fan just to the side of that (on "top" of the case if used as a tower), and then another fan in the PSU, though I can't get to it to measure it. They're all dead silent and it's eerie.

[Snugglebear]

Thanks to someone at another forum that got me thinking outside the box, I started searching for desktop cases, which is what thin towers are often misclassified as. That search resulted in the In-Win BL640, which is the closest yet to what I'm after.