Introduction

The most common use for Linux is still servers. This is exemplified by the fact that 49.12% of all websites are served by Apache, where a vast majority of these servers are running Linux. In most server rooms around the world, the familiar gray boxes are left behind and servers are installed into rackmount cases.

Norco sent us the RPC-450 4U rackmount chassis. It features 11 3.5" drive bays, three 5.25" bays, dual 120mm front intake fans, and rails for installing drives. It supports motherboards from the small dimensions of mini-ITX boards, all the way up to EEB boards at 12"x13". This doesn't come without a price: massive weight, and massive size.

I'll be using the RPC-450 for an upcoming series of articles, and it's already been utilized for my reviews of the HighPoint RocketRAID 3510 and 3120. In this article, I'll be look at the case itself, and not only how well it performs, but how valuable of a case it is.

Packaging & Appearance

The box the RPC-450 shipped in was massive, and one can only hope that the case inside comes undamaged with so much outer protection. Suspended between two pieces of Styrofoam, the csae seemed just as massive as the packaging.

It seems like all the other goodies that ship with the case are inside, meaning I'll have to open the case. The top panel slides off, but I'll have to remove the screws on the side holding it down first.

Inside, I found all the necessities for this chassis: screws, drive rails, keys, and what appears to be heatsink mounts.

Using the keys I found inside, I was able to unlock the case's front door. Three 5.25" drive bays reside on the left, one on top of the other. The remainder of the case's front was filled with two 120mm intake fans used to cool the hard drive cages and rest of the PC.

The case itself measures in at 16.9" x 21.6" x 7", which is quite large. The inside is very spacious, and leaves more than enough room for the motherboard and plenty of cable management.

The hard drive cages fit up to five drives each, for a total of ten drives. The drives slide in on rails, thankfully. Also, the cages can be removed for maintenance purposes if necessary.

The rear of the case isn't much different from any other case, with the exception of fitting in two 80mm exhaust fans. The power supply sits above the motherboard.

There aren't many "enthusiast-level" options to be found in this case, as it isn't meant for quick upgrades or hardware changes. It's meant to have hardware installed, then put to use.

The case is definitely solidly built, as it doesn't even bend when I pick it up from the middle of its underside.