LIAN LI PC-TU200B Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case

 

$136 shipped after promo LLMay2012, ends 5/23

 

Excellent portable miniITX case with handle!  I've been watching this one for a while, waiting for the price to come down.  I just bought one, I'll finally build the portable unRAID server I've been dreaming about!  I'm thinking about one of these for the 5.25" bay...

 

It is a shame that there's no way to mount the internal 3.5" HDDs externally (at least not without major case modification), but it appears that the internal backplane system and easy-to-release side panel still allow for simple drive maintenance.  It isn't perfect, but for this form factor I haven't seen anything better.

That's a pretty cool portable case. Reminds me of a small amp.

This would make a pretty nifty offsite backup server.

 

Backup your important stuff up. take it to work and leave it under your desk for a month. then bring it back for a day to rsync it (or do it over a VPN).

 

I looked at one these a while back for a lanparty type gaming PC. I was a bit concerned with airflow for a high end vid card.

 

This is tempting... but i think i'll pass..

 

 

Love the concept, but want to have 10-15 drives in one of these.  Presently using

 

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154094

 

and I can put 9 drives in this one.  Really light weight, but only 2 - 5.25 so much wasted drive space.  If only it had 3 exposed 5.25, then we could convert that to 5 - 3.5 drives.  The Thermaltake V5 looks like an option, but haven't picked on of these up yet.  It would require 3 of the 3 to 5 converters, and since I will be moving this around, I'm not certain those hot swap easy removables is the best idea.  I like the idea of drives screwed into place to eliminate ghostly frustrating issues with drive connectivity to the backplane.

 

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?S=1308&ID=1947#Tab1

I haven't used the V5, but I do have the V6.  It is a pretty nice case for the price.  Some cheap plastic, but nothing I can't look past.  I'm looking forward to the all-metal construction of the Lian Li though.  I think it is going to be a lot more durable in the long run.