AOpen H800A
Published on 2002-02-17 18:37:43 By: Jim_
Choosing a
proper case can really be an endurance trial. This hasn't always
been the case, of course (pun intended). Any of you who've been
in the scene for several years know that 'back in the day', a
computer case was neither trendy or a featured component in boxen
bliss. Now adays it can be the hardest choice young geeks have
to make. What processor to buy? Easy. Video card? Depending on
what you're doing, it's pretty simple too. Damn that case for
making our lives difficult. The beast
that graces our test bench today is a different animal, though.
We're talking about a server chassis here. As such the criteria
for choosing one are quite different than those involved in picking
out the workstation case of the month. What
kind of hardware are we dealing with? Do we want to toss this in a rack
or not? If so, shall we try to conserve rack space and go with something
slim and trim like a 1U or 2U? Are we going to be packing this chassis
with disk drives or using an external enclosure? How many PCI devices
are we going to be dealing with here? (not so much of an issue unless
we're talking 1U or 2U) I could go on and on (heh, you all know that),
but I'll stop short. This is just a sampling of several of the questions
that might run through your mind if you're throwing together a server
and you've reached the point where you need to pick a chassis. The
Specs...
- ATX/5U Rack mount support/Full AT/SSI M.B.
- High expansion capacity with 7 slots and 10 drive bays.
- Bend-in edges ensure safe assembly and installation.
- High quality 1mm thick steel.
- Equipped with 400/350/300W ATX 12V or 350/337 redundant high efficiency switching power supply.
- Dust filter support.
- One key lock all parts.
- Gross Weight: 33.5 lbs.
How does the H800A from AOpen stack up? Well, it gives you a mix. It's classified as 5U and provides the owner both the ability to rackmount this sucker (providing you purchase the rackmount kit, which is an option) or have it stand upright as the picture above clearly shows. If you need a server chalk full of devices like RAID controllers, Ethernet cards, Weasel cards, et al a bigger case like this is definitely going to be preferred. With a 1U or 2U design, your PCI riser is probably going to afford you only one or two useable PCI slots.
Initial Concerns
Ever since I encountered Antec's Performance line of cases (SX) I must say I've felt a little on the pampered side of things. Wonderful design, with cooling in mind. This never really used to be a concern but oh how times have changed in the SMP world. Now -you- have to worry about the possibility of having TWO flaming athlons in your server or workstation. This complicates matters, and cooling is a valid concern. Why am I bringing this up now? Well, AOpen cases haven't generally received the praise of webmasters for being 'cool by default'.
The grills on the H800A are a step in the right direction for AOpen. Comparing the ones present on the H800A to say... an HX08 will show a marginal improvement. You will be able to move some air in and out of this case, just don't expect the kind of airflow you can achieve on an Antec SX-series case (at least without some minor h4x0ring).
You know what? I'm tired of yapping, let's continue on and take a good close look at the H800A and then we'll continue in our assessment of what this case could possibly do for you.
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