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Sean F.

Sean F.

Joined on 11/04/08

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 4
Most Favorable Review

Very good case

NORCO RPC-250 Black 2U Rackmount Server Chassis
NORCO RPC-250 Black 2U Rackmount Server Chassis

Pros: Well-thought out

Cons: Nothing

Overall Review: I've built many machines with 2U cases, this is the best. The fan power connectors have been daisy-chained so they work, the PSU/Drive backets screw in from the TOP, rather than having to try to thread a screw to the bottom of the case to mount. Yes, the case is tight, and yes, you'll cut your fingers on it. That goes with this class of case. But frankly, after putting together 2U servers in no less than a dozen different brands of cases, I think is the best. With respect to the chassis width, I've have many cases with this problem. As a work-around mount the rails INSIDE the cabinet posts, ie, instead of screwing the L-brackets into the front of the cab post, put them behind the post and screw them into the post that way (from behind). Then you can push them to the sidesa bit and as long as the case fits between the posts, you are golden.

Most Critical Review

I have to agree, these are poor

NORCO RL-26 Heavy-Duty Slide Ball Bearing Rail
NORCO RL-26 Heavy-Duty Slide Ball Bearing Rail

Pros: Rails clip into the cabinet like Supermicro or HP rails Sturdy

Cons: Take more than 1U of space for 1U server Very sharp metal! Two out of four sets were defective (ie., two LEFT rails in each package).

Overall Review: I ordered four pair. The first two pairs were all LEFT rails. Installed the third pair, and the rail that screws onto the server didn't align quite right. Finally got it on, but when I pushed the server into the cabinet, it was positioned too high, so it wouldn't slide in with a machine on top. I have purchased 14 NORCO 1U servers and using 0U shelves with them, but the shelves take up a scootch of space so that every three servers, you have to skip a hole in the rack. With 14 servers, I've lost more than 1U of space! So I e-mailed NORCO, asked them about the comments here, and they said not to worry, these rails would work with the 1U chassis. They don't. They ride too high. As others have mentioned, no docs!

Extremely unreliable

Athena Power AP-U1ATX30A 1U 300W Server Power Supply
Athena Power AP-U1ATX30A 1U 300W Server Power Supply

Pros: Inexpensive

Cons: Purchased 14 six months ago, so far 4 out of the eight I have deployed have died, including two that were DOA.

ASUS support is terrible!

ASUS Z9PE-D8 WS Dual LGA 2011 Intel C602 USB 3.0 SSI EEB Intel Motherboard
ASUS Z9PE-D8 WS Dual LGA 2011 Intel C602 USB 3.0 SSI EEB Intel Motherboard

Pros: Boards have great specs

Cons: Any failure and you may as well throw the board away

Overall Review: I used to buy ASUS motherboards because of the specs. Ran across a board that was supposed to support 16G of RAM but would not post with more than 12G. Did the advanced RMA thing, drove to our colo center and the replacement was DOA. I called and asked if they could overnight me a working board because I was at a colo center 5 hours from my house. I was told by their unhelpful support that I would have to send at least 1 board back and wait a week. These people really don't care about their customers. I guess they figure if you are dumb enough to buy their products, you will put up with anything. Would never buy an ASUS product again.

11/15/2012