Cheap, dual-PSU capable tower case

[RichL]

I'm looking for a cheap full tower with slots for 2 PSUs (I'd rather not take the hacksaw to one), and I cant find one for love nor money! All the dual PSU towers are marketed as Server cases and cost >£200.

You used to be able to get the Juno P6 from Overclockers UK for around £60, but they stopped selling them. I since found them at another supplier, but the design has changed and they no longer have the second cutout!

Anyone got any ideas where to find such a rarity?

[DGhost]

like you stated, all the dual PSU towers are marketed towards servers. what do you need the dual PSU's for?

if you need it for a redundant power supply units, there are several 300W or 400W redundant power supplys that will fit into a standard ATX case.

[Dilitante1]

you could always grab an older HP Netserver case and gut it for cheap $$$$$

[K6-III]

Antec SX1440 or SX1480...but not very cheap...

[RichL]

DGhost - A mate of mine bought a new PC with 100gb of IDE, and decided he doesnt want his old SCSI stuff anymore, so I now have about 100gb of Wide-Ultra SCSI storage spread across 6 disks.
As I intend to pair that little lot with an Athlon XP and a suitably hefty heatsink, I may need a little more than the 300-350w PSU that comes with most cases, and its cheaper to get a second 300w PSU (about £10) than it is to replace the existing PSU with a big fat 500w+ Antec or Enermax CPU.
At least it would be cheaper, if I could find a case that took 2 PSUs!

K6, I've been looking seriously at the Antec/Cheiftec cases, but none of them apart from the 14xx have holes for a second PSU. And the 14xx's are listed at $800 on the Antec website, which is about $700 than I really want to pay

[DGhost]

It would be cheaper just to get an upgraded power supply than to find a tower that can handle two power supplies (without modifications). you would probably be fine with a 350W or 400W Sparkle or PC Power & Cooling power supply.

I wouldn't recommend Enermax PSU's because they are notoriously flakey, and Antec PSU's have never really left the impression of a quality power supply.

[K6-III]

Seeing as those SCSI drives will be eating off the 12v line, just look for a PSU with a really beefy 12v.....

[mutz]

...I just bought a CWT 550 W ADP PSU for around 90 GBP, and since Switzerland is about 30% more expensive (cartels) than anywhere else, you can probably get it for around 60 GBP in the UK.

All the CWT PSUs are the same size, so you don't need more real estate. Unless you really want another case, I'd think the PSU is the better investment, for now and the future.

[xortam]

RichL ... do what I do ... put some of your SCSI devices in a separate box. I use a four bay SCSI box to house my shared devices (like burner) and I have the option to leave the box off or swap it to another SCSI based computer. I use a mid tower case for my main PC. Placing some of these devices outside of your main box will help with power requirements as well as space and heat issues.

[RichL]

I did that once before with 4x 2gb 2/3rds height DEC Scsi2 disks (back when 2gb was a big hdd for a desktop pc!) and wedged the lot in an old AT midi-tower case with the Scsi ribbon cable running between the two machines via expansion card slots

I was hoping for a slightly more elegant solution this time around

[mutz]

Hey Rich!

This is the way to go

http://www.2cooltek.com/case001.html

[xortam]

Originally posted by RichL
... wedged the lot in an old AT midi-tower case with the Scsi ribbon cable running between the two machines via expansion card slots

I was hoping for a slightly more elegant solution this time around

Yeah, that's pretty hack. The cost of a proper SCSI external box probably wouldn't cost you much more than a PS and you should always use external cabling (also makes it a snap to relocate).

[ZokesPro]

Originally posted by mutz
Hey Rich!

This is the way to go

http://www.2cooltek.com/case001.html

Here's a better case mod! Not that the one you suggested isn't fun though!

http://www.2cooltek.com/clear2.html

[mutz]

...yeah, saw that one. Would be really cool, except acrylic makes a squeak-creak noise I can't stand, and the static electricity will have it looking like a fur coat in a week... inside and out...

[RichL]

Thanks for the effort everyone, but this afternoon I bit the bullet and picked up a cheap (£50) full tower from my local electronics store (Maplins)
That gives me a reasonable budget to accquire another PSU, or indeed, hack the case around to fit a second cheap PSU.
Whilst in there I was gobsmacked to see them also selling Thermaltake Volcano 7+'s for £25 - about the same as the cheapest price I've seen online - Asaka crystal LED fans and Silver Mountain coolers, zalman flowers, cold cathode case lights and even watercooling stuff!