Commander X16

Looks more like 3u to me....

3 hours ago, ZeroByte said:

Looks more like 3u to me....

Does it?  Well you may be right.

Oh yes, you're right.  1U is 1.75"?  Yeah, you're right.  

Shows you how much I know.

 

A computer case made out of rolled steel? But think of the children!

52 minutes ago, Brad said:

A computer case made out of rolled steel? But think of the children!

Hence the mandatory verbal warning, "I am opening this computer case. This is an old fashioned case made of rolled steel, so children should clear the room!" ...

... which acts as a magnet for children to come around and see if anything interesting is going to happen.

That’s a nice enclosure. It’s too bad those were AT (or worse, proprietary) form factor and won’t work with the CX16. 

As I wrote in the announcement thread, I don't trust my brother, sister-in-law, or especially my eleven-year-old nephew with the soldiering iron needed to put chips on the motherboard and keep them there.  I'm going to have to commission a third party to assemble the board If I can't get it preassembled.  I'm probably going to go with this case, or this one, with the USB ports replaced by Super NES jacks by that third party.  (SilveStone doesn't seem to like people copy-pasting their photographic assets elsewhere.)

I'm honestly somewhat torn between what tower or desktop...

While I like the look of slim sleek cases, I am also "under the hood" all the time on every build I have ever done, I don't see the X16 being any different. So I like cases with lots of room inside for mods. Also, it has to fit in my workspace. I have a feeling I will be going with an ATX full or mid-tower of some sort. Maybe even a glass side panel so I can see the hardware! Unless I find a desktop I really like.

I have pretty much abandoned my original retro look idea, and will probably be going with something more modern where I can add "retro style" to it on my own.

The search is still on!

Edit: I was actually looking at a case I have built in before, and liked it. The Rosewill Zircon T: https://www.ebay.com/itm/293431402500?epid=3034551967

I want a plastic front panel with at least 1x 5.25 bay, and with enough room behind the front panel I can add my own connections, LEDs, and toggle switches, and other I/O, and that case fits the bill. The only downside is the HDD/SSD tray at the bottom is not removable, so I would have to grind down the rivets to get it out. Not a big deal, but I don't need or want the tray in there. Plus, it will easily fit in my workspace, right next to my desk where my server sits now.

Tom's comment is spot on, by the way.  Mini-ATX is officially 244 × 244 mm.

My vintage 'pizza box' has an internal open space that's about 330 x 240mm... which is narrow for a mini-ATX and might pose a problem.

But there's still hope.  The other side of the interior has the floppy drive cage and the power supply.  If I removed them, then I'd have the entire interior for a board -- 330 x 380mm.

Of course I'd have to de-rivet the drive enclosure.  Not fun.  But I could figure it out if necessary.

I might be grasping this slowly but is the right size a mini-atx or a micro-atx case? If I google for micro-atx cases they are mostly quite expensive and big with space for a large PSU. I would prefer the simplest and smallest solution possible with a small separate power supply. 

Now that the backplane has (seemingly) been finalized with the deletion of the on-board User Port, someone needs to do some feature (preferably on YouTube) involving cases supporting the Mini-ATX form factor with backplane spaces that fit the board (including the Super NES controller jacks) and four full-height expansion slots in a position that fits the orientation of board's slots.