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Kris_24
Kris_24
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Portable Desktop - an oxymoron or is there hope?

Apr 23, 2012 6:53 AM

Tags: #hardware #premiere_pro #5.5 #premiere_cs5.5

Hi there,

 

I am considering building a desktop for editing this summer. However, as the title says, there is one consideration I am having a rather difficult time meeting - finding a case condusive to moving around. As I am nearing the end of my college career and not 100% sure where I will end up at any given point in time, I was hoping to make a desktop that is as portable as possible. Originally, I was envisioning something maybe along the lines of a Mac Pro, with solid handles and a decent metal build. I have not had any luck in tracking down anything like this.

 

Does anybody here know where I can find a decently made large case with a design considerate of transporting around and a professional look? (hopefully available for a price that isn't more expensive than the insides cost!)

 

Any suggestions welcome, including off the wall ones. At this point I'm almost wondering if I could just buy a simple case and slap on some handles myself. Or am I missing the forest for the trees and simply obsessing over handles too much? It's been a while since I wrestled with a full size case, but maybe it's not as all bad as I remember.

 

Thanks,

Kristofor

562 Views   5 Replies   Latest reply: Kris_24, May 5, 2012 4:43 PM
 
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  • Harm Millaard
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    1. Harm Millaard,
    Apr 23, 2012 7:18 AM   in reply to Kris_24
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    Google for LAN party and you will find lots of info.

     
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  • Kris_24
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    2. Kris_24,
    May 5, 2012 2:45 PM   in reply to Kris_24
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    The saga continues...

     

    I'm close to giving up on finding a professional-looking PC case with handles and good cooling/space management. So, instead of trying to find a case with a handle, I may just have to figure out a more clever solution for making the desktop more portable, like making a bubblewrap case with straps I can use during transport.

     

    I know the forum gets a ton of these, but people seem to be willing to help us newbies; so here's my current build list as of 5/5/12. If people could take a look at it and my concerns I would be grateful.

     

    CPU and Cooling

    i7-2600K LGA 95W

    Cooler Master Hyper 212 - (planning to OC CPU to 4.0 or so)

    Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

     

    Motherboard

    ASUS p8z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel z77 ATX motherboard

     

    Graphics

    MSI Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (448 CUDA cores)

     

    Power Supply and Case

    Cooler Master Silent Pro GOLD certified 800W ATX 12V power supply

    Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX Mid Tower case - (old pick...seems like this one will probably be too small)

     

    RAM

    G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333 RAM (x2 for a total of 16GB)

     

    HDDs - so expensive now! Any word on when they'll start coming back down?

    Crucial M4 64GB SATA III SSD - For OS and critical applications (Adobe Production Premium, Blender, possibly DAW and notation applications as well)

    x3 Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 500GB 7200 SATA 3.0Gb/s internal drives*

    1 drive - Media, Projects

    1 drive - Pagefile, Media Cache

    1 drive - Previews, Exports

     

    I would also like a 320 gig drive for non-critical applications (coretemp, backup software, other benchmarking/tweaking software, and, because I know I won't be able to resist, a couple games that currently don't run well on my laptop.) Good idea or waste of money?

     

    I also need a large sized (2Tb perhaps?) drive for backups. Recommendations for affordable options and good backup software welcome.

     

    *Naturally, I would prefer SATA II 6.0Gb/s drives, of course, but those seem to be hard to find in quality and price.

     

    Misc.

    LG DVD burner black SATA - OEM - (does this mean I'll need to purchase a SATA cable?)

    Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium
    I already have an uninterruptible power supply

    Also have x4 Cooler Master 120mm case fans available to put into the system. (up to 3 of the fans can be used on a temperature based fan controller that I already have.)

     

     

    With shipping this would come to around $1675. Add another $200-300 for the other hard-drives, a different case, and the other random bits of things that will cost money.

     

    I really was hoping to build this system for $1500 or less, so if there are ways I could trim this down I'm willing to listen (lose the SSD or a HDD? lesser graphics card?) Otherwise I might just have to be really good about finding sales and stretch the wallet a bit.

     

    Thanks so much for taking the time to read this,

    Kristofor

     
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  • John T Smith
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    3. John T Smith,
    May 5, 2012 3:02 PM   in reply to Kris_24
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    I have the Scout case, and it is a bit "tight" for cable routing... but is otherwise a good case with lots of spots to mount case fans to keep the insides cool

     
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  • JEShort01
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    4. JEShort01,
    May 5, 2012 3:23 PM   in reply to Kris_24
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    Kris,

     

    Check out Corsair's Carbide 400t case, or 500t and see what yout think. They are very classy and seem to be a good design for a pretty powerful and well cooled editing PC.

     

    Regarding a handle for the top, someone I worked with last year had to move his PC from office to office and he simply mounted a handle on the top; it looked OK and worked great.

     

    Regarding "webbing" to carry a PC, you can buy that too. As Harm said, Google "LAN party".

     

    Jim

     
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  • Kris_24
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    5. Kris_24,
    May 5, 2012 4:43 PM   in reply to JEShort01
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    Thanks for mentioning those cases Jim! They're a little more expensive than the Scout, but they do look like they have excellent designs indeed. Definitely worth looking at.

     

    Kristofor

     
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