Rackmount Time!

[Djentliman]

Hey all!

So a couple of questions.

I have been wanting to integrate a desktop computer into my rig. Have you guys had any experience with rackmount CPU cases? If so, which would you recommend?

Also, the same question but with moniters. Would it be cheaper to buy an actual rackmount monitor or buy a cheap but reliable monitor and convert it into rackmount? Ideas here are welcome!

Thanks in advance for all answers.

P.S. I know a laptop would probably be easier, but I'm just a desktop guy. Never really liked laptops.

 

[vansinn]

No direct experiences, but a few advices:

In general, heat and vibrations are your enemies. I've read several stories on the loopers-delight.com mailing list about PC's and laptops breaking down during a show.

Go for the Haswell series of Intel core i5. You'll have a hard time getting them to go above 45 watt, which eases up on the heat.

Use a solid state disk; the Samsung 840 series are real good general purpose performers, and not overpriced.
SSD's, apart from being noiseless, generate less heat, and use less power which again puts less strain on the power supply, translating to less heat and noise.

Build-in graphics these days are more than enough, so don't waste money and power on a separate graphics card.

You can find many examples on rack enclosures on places like amazon, also with reviews - do read the reviews.

While you can easily find 1U rack enclosures, the small fans are usually fairly noisy, which may not be an issue on stage, but in the studio.. well..
A 2U box takes 80 mm fans; still not noiseless, but better.
A 3U with two low noise 120mm fans is much better.

SKB also makes rack boxes with a top add-on bracket for a laptop.
If you decide on a lappie. check out how sturdy it's build and how the cooling system is made. You'll want a decent slap of copper in there and a nice big opening to the heatsink, else it'll start making noises and could overheat - depending on how har you intend to load it up with all sorts of plugins, of course

 

[jeb]

I build industrial computers at my job!

Last time I builded rack computers, I used 3u and 4u rack cases from istar usa with xeal power supply those thing are really quiet, I glue every power and sata connectors with a hot glue gun, we use ssd disk, those computers are installed in a truck so those are eating a lot of vibrations hehe everything is full stable.

But live with my band we use an old dell laptop with a core 2 duo to run 2 vsti and we never got any problem with it

 

[KAMI]

I'm planning the exact same thing!

Specs wise, I'll probably go with:

-Codegen 4u rack mount case
-OCZ ZT series 500W psu
-Intel core i5 4430
-Samsung 840 series 120GB SSD
-Gigabyte GA-H61A-HD2 motherboard
-Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1600C11 XMS3 8GB (2x4GB)
-Arctic cooling i30 CPU cooler

 

[Djentliman]

Thanks guys!

I'm thinking a touch screen would be the best for this, for ease of use? What do you think?

What would you say would be the best option for cooling? Fans are there, my brother (the computer guru) says water cooling is probably not the best because of weight, and a cpu cooler (saw the one on his and its HUGE)

I was hoping to have the computer run through my FX loop, what would be the easiest way to do this without sacrificing tone?