So I found what I think are two rack mount computers the other day...

[stilly]

Apparently someone decided to upgrade and left two large flat computers out. One had a GB of ram + Intel dual core cpu + 1 cheetah 64GB 15k rpm HD + dvd drive and the thin cover said Windows Server 2003 with a key.
I have not looked at the other one just yet.

Are these things worth anything or just a PITA? I see it as a chassis for a future rack mount system in my room, cause that's how I roll (puttin garbage on the wall, on the wall! like a G-6!)...

Anything I should know or are they just like any other computer cept maybe smaller, flatter, thinner... ?

[Gutz]

They are garbage....

LoL @ 64GB drive and 1GB of memory....

Use them as targets.

[Peter.Steele]

If they're thin, it sounds like they're 1U cases. Good luck finding a video card that will fit in one of those on a standard motherboard ... you'll want at least a 3U, and maybe a 5U case, at a minimum.

[Gringo Bandito]

Reach out to a company by the name of Berkeley Communications. I know that they buy old legacy equipment but there is no guarantee they will buy your stuff.

[sbrad39]

put linux on it and use it as a media server.....or email server...whatever type of server you want

[njineermike]

2nd the Linux idea.

[Jason95357]

Pretty old stuff. Give it to some kid who wants to tinker. I've got 3-4 better just sitting powered off in the garage.

[bigbearbear]

They are pretty loud, I wouldn't recommend them for residential use unless your garage is very well sound proofed. Also, did they also leave the mounting rails or are those missing? If those are missing you'll have to buy them to mount in a rack. And, if you don't have the username/password of administrators to the server, you'll have to buy and reinstall the OS too.

For home use, it is usually better to get a powerful computer (think CPU with many cores/threads) housed in a big case (ATX Tower) that will allow you to use big fans, they rotate slower for same amount of air flow as smaller fans, making them nice and quiet. And what you'll want to do is load the sucker up with RAM and disk space, then run virtual machines on it.

That's how I do it for my home office, I work full time from home.

[stilly]

Kudos to you for being able to work full time from home bigbearbear.

I have not priced rackmounts and yes, only ONE has rails, and it is noticably longer. I HAD thought about making it a linux server of some sort since the hardware requirements are much less for the superior os... I was just like, 0o0o0 what do we have here? I think the video is built in. If I ended up replacing the mobo then I would look for one with built in video as well.

[stonith3901]

Yeah most likely a 1U to 4U rackmount computer that is end of life. Its good if you want to tinker with it, but not good to run it at home since 1U servers that have 7 small fans (because of the physical space) whirling and whining at 2000rpm isnt really quiet. There is a droning sound that you get used to. As well as a 15k rpm HD.

In datacenters sound isnt really of an issue. My rackmount i built uses 2 120cm ultra silent fans, solid state hard drives, as well as a seasonic fanless powersupply. For home, the lowest amount of decibels was important to me.

Source: i have worked in datacenters and i have several 42U cabinets at home.

[highcenter]

Fire 'em up. Likely useless for anything other than basic server (ie too slow for media streaming or file serving), maybe a low end web server. It's easy to setup a home cacheing DNS or mail server, and handy, if you're into that sort of thing.

Btw, rails can get pricy. I've found cheap rack mount shelves work just fine in lieu of rails. Quick google found these

[problemchild]

I have a boot-able cd that will crack/reset the password if you need it. But I would load Linux on it and make them do something useful like run a Tor exit node. Make sure you fortify your doors and windows after doing so.

[Cactus_Tim]

Lol, I have 4 pallets of that kind of stuff in the process of being surplussed/scrapped.
Old decommissioned Linux clusters.

[stilly]

Thank you folks.

I was looking last night and I thought it would be cool to have a rackmount setup at my house but I had a few issues.
1. 42U 19x23 tower on wheels or not. Can I get a half height one, I have seen them up in the walls, like 10U or something. I find it hard to buy this for ONE computer (which might be my new master system)
2. OMG these things are like BARBIE for computers! they have 19" plastic bins, vents, spacers, power distribution units, decible readers (to tell you how loud it is from across the room I guess), UPS, KVMs, pullout keyboards with screens and touchpads, and of course switches/routers... I wonder if I can put my gaming system into a rackmount form and then put it there as well. That would be cool...

Thank you for your offer Problemchild but if you are referring to the magical offline nt/xp/7 password reset cd I have several as well. I grabbed mine from an old skool looking website that was gray or blue...

In all honesty though These things might be better if I were to take out the mobos and parts and move them to a 4U or 2U or larger chassis then correct? Then I would be able to get larger fans and better PSUs for them? I think I saw my goal would be to get an eATX mobo 12"x13" for some of the 4U cases I was looking at last night, but if I could migrate these there instead that would be cool also.

I only want to tinker with these things until I find a spot where I can put them and actually use them. Like maybe in the garage or somewhere for a wall mounted rackmount comp. You know, something kinda weak like...

I just do not really have the space for a huge cabinet at the house just yet.

Tor exit node? hmmm...

[bigbearbear]

Yes, you can get smaller/portable ones, like this:

http://www.racksolutions.com/portable-server-rack.html#ref=home

Or wall mounted ones:


There are also Desktop ones if you want something very small