Rackchoice 1U Compact Server/Desktop mini-ITX Chassis - 9.84" Depth,Supports Mini-ITX Motherboard, Type-C & USB3.0, Black

This case is serving as a PBS server. I made some executive decision for drive lay out and it paid off. The PSU has shorted cable but still has a hard time keep the case flush; because of the extra wires. Be warned, 1u's do not fit standard I/o shield and this one comes with a mesh grate to cut to fit; I left it open for better air flow.

It's basically all stamped sheetmetal, but at least it's solid. Also everything rackmount is overpriced and this was the cheapest shallow depth case I could find. Points added for the included rack screw converter plates, but deducted because the included blank card cover is silver instead of black (when the rest of the outside is black, not that anyone really sees the back but that's not the point.) Also the cover for the back panel (if no motherboard is installed) is amazingly flimsy, and there is none included for if no power supply is installed (which seems like less of a use case though so that's understandable.) Front ports aren't USB-3 (or USB-C at this point) either. Would buy again for the one specific application that I need it for, but not if the price went up.

the small form is nice, the case feels solid and comes with a fair bit of hardware. i would replace the fans with something quieter. the placement of the fans isnt exactly great. on the mini itx board i installed the main connection is right where the fans are blocking air flow front to rear. if the connector was in a different spot my ram would be blocking it, so not the best place for the fans, i was able to mount a 3.5 inch drive no problem.

Overall it's just meh, there are a lot of issues. This seems to be the only low depth 1u case on the market in the US, it seems N100 mini PCs killed this product segment. If I did it over again I'd just get an n100 mini pc or go for a larger chasis. Pros: *The front panel LED lights are not bright and can be used in a public room at night. Issues: *The USB C cable is very stiff and large, it takes up a lot of space and you'd need a 90 degree angle to plug it into the motherboard, I just removed it though. Seems kinda useless on a server. *Same issue with the USB 3.0 cable, but a little bit more flexible. I had to use a 90 degree angle adapter. I'd prefer USB 2.0 so the cable is much thinner and I can connect it to the motherboard easier. *3.5 Inch hard drive mount only supports more central screws on the bottom, a lot of enterprise drives have incompatible screw layout on the bottom where only 2 screws can actually be used. *A pcie card cannot be used when a 3.5 inch hard drive is mounted. *No 5.25 bay. I have an older 1u same depth chasis with a 5.25 bay where I can put in an icy dock adapter and have two SSDs and one hard drive, while still allowing a small pcie card to be used.

Exceptional value for the money. Lots of little features and well-thought-out layout that isn't exactly obvious in the pics or desc. For example, mine came with hardware to mount multiple height PCI cards.

it is a cheap chassis with very good quality, with build in 2x4cm cooling fan , but little noise, I am happy to got a good rackmount chassis, the front panel and ear are aluminum,which are smooth beautiful,easy to install my mother board, and the 1U flex Power supply,HDD.

Full disclosure, I received this unit free of charge, but this is my un-biased review. I recently removed two older 1U units from my home rack. I wanted to replace them both with one newer, more powerful system. I had a Mini-ITX AM4 board already, so I gave this chassis a try. First a not on 1U units if you've never populated one before: Most 1U servers are purpose-built with components made for the form factor. You and I, we need to carefully pick components so that A) they'll fit and B) they won't just die from heat, My build consists of a Asrock B450 Mini-ITX boards, lower profile RAM (This is important! If your RAM has heat spreaders that completely enclose the stick, they are probably too tall), an Evercool EC-HPS-810CP low-profile cooler, and a SilverStone FX350-G power supply. Luckily, my motherboard _just_ fits height-wise. It has a tall-ish WiFi and audio riser, but they're just shy of scraping the lid. Just be aware that your IO shield probably will not fit unless it is specifically made for 1U chassis, so you'll most likely have to go without. Otherwise, it was a quick, uneventful build and fired up right away. The hardest part, honestly, was just cable managing everything to fit so the lid closes. A few cable ties and some judicious bundling solved that. The fans seem OK. Not nearly as loud as I expected, which is a bonus, although I'll probably replace them with Noctuas eventually. Keep in mind that airflow in a 1U chassis is a trade-off between noise and burning up your RAM and CPU.... don't go overclocking anything or you're asking for disaster. All-in-all, if you have the right parts, this is a really economical path to a 1U self-built server. I'm honestly tempted to get another, but this does what I need right now.

This is a decent short depth case for the price. The stock fans are quite loud mainly due to being unbalanced. I replaced them with 40mm Noctua fans (running full speed) and it is significantly better. The motherboard standoffs are a little on the shorter side so if you have a motherboard that has a nvme slot on the back or a thick supporting backplate you may not be able to mount the board.

The case itself is pretty will built, can handle ITX boards with a Flex style PSU inside it, and has space for either 2.5/3.5 drives and/or PCIe single spot cards via riser cables. Have mine setup for a Pf Sense based Router on an old i5 4th gen Unrelated but dammit I just saw the newer version now has USBc port on front AND costs $40 less than what I paid 😭. Y'all are living the dream now. Easy 5-stars given the price point its at now, was about to give it 4-star since I assumed it was still 80+tax POINTS TO TAKE NOTE OF: 👉This case does not use those horrible blue indicator LED's ANYWHERE! Rare win for cheap cases. 👉THE STOCK FANS ARE BAD AND YOU SHOULDN'T USE THEM. They're very loud thanks to the semi-restrictive front panel intake and cheap fan design, and not efficient at all at moving air. Just do yourself a favor and turn off your brain, buy 1-3 Noctua 40mm fans, and don't think deeper into it. You'll thank me later 👉No dust filters! The front panel captures some amount of dust but other than that its straight through 👉With Noctua fans, it could totally work for those CPU coolers that servers use which rely on air moving over them rapidly. The front has enough opening to suck air in and rear has a lot of open grill to push it 👉If you need to take off front panel for any reason, such as replacing fans, take your time and be prepared to get annoyed by it. 👉Your cooler options are SUPER MICRO compared to other cases. There's basically the passive copper ones + the intale Noctuas blowing air as fast as they can , or certain models of SuperMicro coolers that have a low profile blower fan attached to them. There might be other options for newer CPU platforms. For reference, the tiny thin rinky dink intel stock cooler is too call to fit in this case, along with most other Low Profile coolers. 👉Using both the PCIe slot cutout as well as storage drives can get tight depending on what expansion card you plan to use so double check heights Overall happy with it even though mines the older gen and cost more. Fits into a rack, way cheaper than literally every other 1U alternative, half depth means its super versatile in terms of non-rack spots you can dump it onto, and someone with high amount of money and low amount of sanity could likely shove a RTX4070 and R7 7950x in here if they dont mind server-like fan noise, or super funky watercooling setup with those rare 1U radiators

It's not super-sturdy but it's "strong enough."

Nice looking, solid 1u case. Depending on your specific power supply, you may have only just enough room to accommodate the cables. Including the appropriate right-angle PCIe riser would have saved some additional guesswork, but the price still hard to beat.

Good price versus quality

The price is great, you get what you pay for. case has no blemishes or issues on the outside but on the inside it has tons of overspray all over the inside, which for my purposes is not an issue as the case is going inside of a server rack. front IO is barebones, two USB is adequate but I wish it came with more versatile front IO such as a front facing VGA connector or even a USB C connector. wishful thinking at this price point. case does not come with a PSU so it must be purchased separately the fans are OK, case comes with two and has space for a third. Also comes with an adapter to connect them to 4 pin molex. Hard drive bracket will support mounting 1 3.5 inch drive, or two 2.5 inch drives. case has 1 full size card slot which can be adapted for a low profile slot if necessary. the slot requires a ribbon adapter or 90 degree riser as it is parallel with the motherboard, cards installed WILL NOT FIT if you install a 3.5 inch drive. space is very limited. any cards installed are single slot only. motherboard tray has a plastic protection sheet and very very short standoffs, look for the lowest profile cooler that you can to make sure it fits, there are also very expensive AIO coolers that will fit a 1u space but I went with a cheap ali express low profile heatsink with fan. Surprisingly difficult to find at a decent price point. case can work with heavy modifications but your mileage will vary, buyer beware.