However, it was not until June 1998 that SuperMicro began making inroads into the computer case business. With extensive experience in the server market, SuperMicro knows precisely what is important in this market segment. Hence, they have designed cases specifically for servers, one of which is the SC-750A. Take a look at the rather impressive features of the SC-750A :
At 30 inches tall, this case makes a huge impression. But what else would you expect from a case that is designed to house a reasonably sized server or a high-end workstation? While there are some other cases which also boast many drive bays and fan mounts, gaining access to the internals of the SC-750A is by far, much simpler and straightforward. Access is gained by pulling off the front bezel (which is made of solid, durable plastic that will not break or chip easily)and partially unscrewing the 3 screws on either side of the case. The side panels then swing out on "hinges" at the rear of the case. The top piece (which is held by two front and two rear screws) is also removable and gives you access to the external 3.5" bay and the internal 5.25" bay. Essentially, SuperMicro's design allows all the panels to be removed with minimal effort.
Since SuperMicro designed this case to house servers and high-end workstations (which typically include expensive components), security is quite a serious issue. You would not want anyone running away with your processor, RAM or video card, would you? For this reason, there is a mechanical locking mechanism on the lower front of the case, thereby preventing unauthorized entry into the system. The metal used in the locking mechanism is rather sturdy, and one would probably have to smash the front bezel to circumvent it. SuperMicro also offers an optional chasis intrusion sensor, which will send a signal to the motherboard's onboard hardware monitor and indicate that the case was opened upon bootup.
Moving on, the power button is located at the upper right corner, a convenient location if the case is sitting on the floor. As for LEDs, three LEDs provide power, hard disk, and turbo status. The turbo function had been phased out since Pentium motherboards, and the most that you will find on a motherboard is a connector for a turbo LED, hardly useful since it is permanently on. As such, the turbo LED can be used for any other function, such as indicating LAN activity, power saving modes, or (only on the ASUS P3B-F) whether you have messages waiting. One are in which the SC-750A shines is cooling. Basically, air flows either in or out of your case. Both air intake and output must be adequate to ensure that the maximum cooling effect is achieved. It is useless to draw in a huge amount of air when it cannot be released fast enough and vice versa. The SC-750A's front bezel features countless, densely packed ventilation holes which maximizes the intake airflow of the 3 80mm fans that you can mount at the lower front of the case. Situated behind the ventilation holes is a removable, washable air filter, an important feature that is often overlooked by manufacturers. Ever heard of garbage in, garbage out? Well, if you do not filter the air intake, the intake fans will spew dusty air into the case's interior. Dust is not good for electronic components.
After taking in the internals of the case, specifically the number of ventilation holes, fan mounts and its sheer volume, you will realize straightaway that this case has a lot of cooling potential. A total of ten fan locations are standard with the case. The SC-750A comes with three 80mm plastic mounts for the lower front of the case, one 92mm plastic holder allows the mounting of a 92mm fan directly above the power supply, and finally, it comes with one metal L-bracket, which allows one 90mm fan to blow air directly on the processor. At the rear of the case, there is a 40mm fan cutout above the included ATX I/O shield, which is directly behind the CPU. Incidentally, besides the ATX I/O shield, there are also 3 SCSI and parallel / serial port cutouts. The SC-750A's large size offers a big advantage : excellent expansion. The case comes with a total 10 drive bays; 6 external 5.25", 1 internal 5.25", 1 external 3.5" and 2 internal 3.5". The internal 5.25" drive, external 3.5" drive and all external 5.25" drives are directly mounted to the drive bays with screws. The two internal 3.5" bays are contained within a U-shaped metal bracket. The bracket can slide along the cross bar that runs along the middle of the case. Furthermore, you can mount the bracket on either the upper or lower cross bar, which enables the end user to further increase the expansion capabilities of the case. Working inside the case is extremely easy, as it offers a lot of empty space even with its behemoth expansion capability due to efficient utilization of space. From a construction point of view, the metal and sheet metal used to construct the case is thick, solid and robust. Sharp edges are virtually non-existent, even around the drive rails which are normally quite sharp. Also, as mentioned earlier, the front bezel is made of solid plastic that will not break or chip easily. Everything fits together perfectly. As a result, rattles were non-existent, even with the large number of fans installed.
In terms of power supply, SuperMicro offers two different power supplies; the "low-end" Leadman single fan 300W ATX PSU, and the best option available, the Leadman dual fan 400W ATX PSU. The SC-750A that BlueSmoke received came with the latter. One 80mm fan is external while the other is internal. Both these fans exhaust air out of the case and together produce a large airflow rate. While this is not quite as good as a true redundant power supply (2 power supplies in one), it offers some degree of security against power supply fan failures, which can cause the power supply to overheat and fail. [ Note : The SC-750A is pictured in this article with an IMD 300W power supply (ST-301HR) ] Lastly, the older revision of the SC-750A should not be confused with the newer revision, which is the revision that is reviewed here. SuperMicro has made a number of changes to the original SC-750A which are shown in the table below :
In conclusion, the SuperMicro SC-750A is an excellent case with solid construction, good expansion capabilities, easy access and good cooling at $160. If you need one of the best cases out there and do not mind its full tower form factor, the SC-750A is definitely worth the price of admission. I hereby give SuperMicro a big pat on the back, as well as our Excellence award!
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