A+GPB CA-812 Mini Server Case

[Justin_R]

I was browsing at newegg and I found this. The manufacturer's site isn't very informative*. The interesting things about it are: 1) unobstructed 120mm fan exhaust hole 2) 5.25" bays in bottom front for easy suspension mounting 3) top-mounted USB/1394/audio ports make it easy to keep on the floor, away from your ears. There's even a door covering the 5.25" bays, although I doubt it will do much to block noise.

You could probably throw a 120mm fan in the front of it, too, by popping off the drive covers, although I'm not sure what you'd secure the fan to.

I'm not sure if the shiny metal things in the pictures are drive rails or PCI card stabilizers.

* Although it does contain this priceless quote on it's "Reviews" page:

P.S. Actually we already sent a lot of items to so many review sites for reviewing. However, some of them were out of business. Therefore, We will not put their logo on our web anymore.

[sthayashi]

It looks like it has potential, but it also looks like the front bezel could let through a lot of noise. Any idea whether that front is solid or not?

Oh yeah, it also looks huge, but when I check the measurements, it's not much bigger than a BQE.

Finally, the manufacturer's website looks like they're showing slightly different internals than what Newegg is selling. On the manufacturer's site, it looks like the bottom set of drives have been rotated 90 degrees, like on the Sonata or BQE.

[Justin_R]

It looks like it has potential, but it also looks like the front bezel could let through a lot of noise. Any idea whether that front is solid or not?

Looking at it again, I'd say no. I wonder how much difference having it open makes. But you could always pack some foam or rubber behind it. (Or you could cut out the side-by-side vents and replace them with one-piece smoked acrylic .)

Finally, the manufacturer's website looks like they're showing slightly different internals than what Newegg is selling. On the manufacturer's site, it looks like the bottom set of drives have been rotated 90 degrees, like on the Sonata or BQE.

The pics at newegg are the right ones. The pic at the manufacturer's site doesn't have the advertised 7 external 5.25 bays. Like most manufacturers, they probably use the same basic layout for all of their mid-tower cases. (And the production values of their website don't seem so stellar.)

It would also be nice if it was made of 1.0mm steel instead of 0.8mm.