Review: Enlight SR-1074 Case

[Cookies N' Milk]

Enlight SR-1074 1U Server Chassis

In this review I will be taking a good hard look at the Elight SR-1074 1U Server Chassis. This model of the case is the SATA hotswapable one. There is a SCSI variant and it is very similar to this model. Also, please note I have taken the time to link all pictures to a high res version, 3072x2304px for a better viewing experience ;)

Let's begin!

Some Basic Info on the Unit:

Form Factor: EEB/CEB/ATX
Dimensions: 43mm, 430mm, 677mm (HxWxD)
Hard Drive Types: SATA
Hotswapable Bays: Four
CD/DVD: 1x Slimline CD or DVD (Not included)
FDD: 1x Slimline Floppy (Not included)
LED Indicators: System LED, Lan1/2 LED, HDD LED, Power LED, 1 HDD LED on each hotswapable bay
Switches: Power and reset
Cooling: 11x 40mm fans
Power Supply: 500Watt, Dual CPU

Included Accessories:

Manual
Floppy and CD/DVD IDE cables
Slimline floppy adapter with cables
Screws
Mounting rails
Fan duct
Xeon Socket 771 mounts
PCI x64Bit Riser Card
Power cord

What Accessories are Missing (That you may need):

Slimline CD/DVD adapter

The Review:

Ok, now that all the little stuff is out of the way, let's start in on pulling this thing apart!

The first thing anyone would notice when looking at this case is how short this case is. Of course this is because of it being a 1Unit chassis.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/001b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/001.JPG)
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/002b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/002.JPG)
On the back there isn't much to see. There is a single expansion slot, the mainboard backplate holder, and a power supply.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/003b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/003.JPG)
The next thing I noticed was the four silver buttons on the front. What are they you ask? Hotswapable SATA bays! These are included with the case which is a nice feature since they can cost $30-40 each. The bays open with ease, just unlock them, slide the silver button to the right, pull on the handle, and then just pull the bay forward and the hard drive comes out.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/004b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/004.JPG)
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/005b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/005.JPG)
You will also notice that I have gone ahead and installed a slimline DVD. This is NOT included with the chassis.

Moving along to the right of the slimline CD/DVD and floppy drives, we come to the front ports, indicators, and switches.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/006b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/006.JPG)
From left to right, Two USB2.0 Ports, System LED, Lan2 LED, Lan1 LED, HDD LED, Power LED, Reset switch, and Power switch. Besides the HDD LED there is an activity light on each howswapable bay.

Opening the case is rather simple. There is a single screw on the top of the chassis that needs to be removed and then a button needs to be pushed while sliding the panel towards the back of the chassis.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/007b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/007.JPG)
Once the cover is off several things will catch your attention all at once. First being the massive cooling system. A total of 11 40mm fans are included with the case. 8 of these fans are doubled up for even more cooling power.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/008b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/008.JPG)
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/009b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/009.JPG)
By default only 4 of the doubled up fans are turned on. To turn on all 8 of them you will need to use the built in fan controller.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/010b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/010.JPG)
Be warned, the noise levels from the fan unit will cause small children to cry and the entire box may take off into space when all fans are running. With all 11 fans running there is so much air being moved and so much noise coming from them that it is hard to hear other people talk!

The fan unit can be removed for installing the mainboard by unscrewing this thumb screw.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/011b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/011.JPG)
The next picture shows the fan connectors. The five pin is for the single 40mm fan while the 8pin is for the dual 40mm fan.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/012b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/012.JPG)
The next thing that really stands out when you pop the lid on the chassis is the large control board at the back of the SATA bays. This board is to say the least, the best thing ever. Rather than running SATA power cords all over the place, the board is powered by two four pin molex plugs, and a floppy connector. From there the hard drive, floppy drive and fan units all plug into the control board. Instead of having a pile of power cables running about your case, there is only a few. One extra floppy power cable is included for powering the slimline CD/DVD.

Staying on the topic of connectors and wires... there is a rather interesting set of jumpers near the two molex connectors. They allow you to choose how the hard drive activity lights activate. Either activate from the hard drives, or the host. The host being your mainboard, raid card, or control card. I'm not sure why one owuld want to change it but it is there none the less.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/013b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/013.JPG)
Now the control board has one more set of connectors on it. The SATA cables from your mainboard plug into the connectors on the control board.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/014b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/014.JPG)
Enlight was kinda enough to provide a 1U 500Watt power supply with the case. This is a really good thing as finding 1U 500W PSUs can be a huge pain to find and when you do find them be ready to pay more than you would have expected. The 500Watt PSU has more than enough power to run a dual Xeon setup.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/015b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/015.JPG)
This is the PCI x64Bit Riser card that is provided with the case.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/016b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/016.JPG)
Now here is something you don't see every day. 7 front panel connectors for the mainboard.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/017b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/017.JPG)
Why so many front panel connectors? Since it is a server chassis they seem to think there is a need for more flashing lights...

There is one more panel that needs to be removed to gain access to the CD/DVD and floppy bay. To do this you need to unscrew two screws on each side, and 4 along the top front of the chassis.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/018b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/018.JPG)
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/019b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/019.JPG)
Once those are removed the panel just slides back and reveals the bays. There is not a lot to say about this area as it is empty when you buy the case.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/020b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/020.JPG)
If there is one thing that this chassis has that should be included with every single rackmount chassis it is rails. Unlike many units the rails are included. This can save you a large amount of money as rails can be very expensive depending on what you need.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/021b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/021.JPG)
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/022b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/022.JPG)

Conclusion on next post ;)

[Cookies N' Milk]

Conclusion:
This chassis has a lot included in the box. Hotswapable bays, riser card, rails, a decent power supply, and some other little things. It is very well built and supports a lot of different setups. With both a SATA and SCSI hotswapable version available it is very flexible with what you can put in it.

Style and Appearance:
This chassis has a lot of bare metal which would normally take marks away from its appearance. However, keep in mind that this is a server chassis that is meant to be mounted in a rack. This means you will almost never see the top, sides and back of the case. Since you will only see the front of the case normally, I figured it would only be far to rate its style and apperance on what you will see, which is the front of it.

For being only 43mm high and 430mm wide there really is not a lot of room to make the case look pretty. Given the lack of space to do anything fancy appearance wise, Enlight made a very nice, streamlined looking chassis. I give it an 8/10 for style and appearance.

Accessories:
This case has almost everything you could want on a server chassis. Riser card, rails, hotswapable bays, and a lot more all included in the box. The only thing I really wised they included was a slimline CD/DVD adapter. Other than that they missed nothing. 10/10 for accessories.

Cooling:
Wow, this thing moves so much air. The 11 40mm high speed fans push so much air that this thing would fly away if it had wings. It is doubtful that you will ever have cooling issues with any system you place in the chassis. Cooling gets a 10/10.

Noise Levels:
With all those high speed fans pushing more air than you would think possible for a 40mm fan to move, noise level are bound to be high. I know 40mm fans often make a fair amount of noise, but these guys make so much noise that it is hard to talk to someone while standing near the chassis. I give it a 5/10 for noise levels.

Quality:
Enlight really made a high quality unit. few 1U chassis come as solid as this one is. there is almost no plastic on the chassis other than the hotswapable bays. No sharp edges, no flimsy bit of metal, just a soild metal chassis. I would have liked to see a cross bar or something to add a bit more support around the mainboard area but it really doesn't need it. Being such a well built chassis I give it a 9/10 in quality.

Price:
1U Chassis are not very expensive often. Most are about $150-$200. The Enlight SR-1074 however is a lot more than that. It costs me just over $330. Although this seems extremely high, it really isn't. It has a far better cooling system than most 1U chassis, and unlike almost every other server chassis, rails and hotswapable bays are included. Not only that, it holds four hard drives. A lot of the 1U chassis I have used over the last year held only two hard drives. Given how well built the chassis is and the included accessories it gets an 8/10 for price.

Overall: 8.3/10

In closing, this is one of the best 1U server chassis I have ever used in a very long time. If you are in the market for a server chassis be sure to take a good look at the Enlight SR-1074. There are cheaper cases on the market but few are so well built. I was unable to find anything I did not like about this chassis other than the noise levels. That being said, it is hardly far to not buy this unit based on it being loud. This case is ment to perform and keep your high quality server cool. And it does that flawlessly.



Now this is not the end of the review. I am done reviewing the case... for now at least, but there are several more things that still need to be reviewed.
http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/023b.jpg
(http://projectascension.com/reviews/enlightsr1074/pics/023.JPG)
As you can see, there are two Quad Core Xeons (E5420 2.5GHz), 8GBs of Kingston server ram, four WD Raptor 74GB SATA Hard drives (Only 3 in the picture cause I misplaced the fourth), and the Tyan Tempest I5100X CEB S771 Mainboard which is not here yet. When I get the mainboard I will review the rest of the parts. Also, expect the review to go from being a written review to a video review. I am picking up my Sony HD Camcorder this Friday (I Hope it is in) and will be doing the entire review in 1080i ;)

[Drum Thumper]

Very informative and well written review. I'm guessing you've got some major plans for this system!

[chaksq]

Very well done review, looking forward to the conclusion. I can tell it's hard to find a good server case and looks like you have found yourself a good one.

[Quakken]

what is the server going to be used for?
Download server for 1080i? heh heh

[Cookies N' Milk]

Very well done review, looking forward to the conclusion. I can tell it's hard to find a good server case and looks like you have found yourself a good one.
It is very hard to find a decent server chassis. I have had about 20+ 1/2Us sit on that desk in the past 6months or so and this one has to be the best one yet.


what is the server going to be used for?
Download server for 1080i? heh heh
LOL, I already got a dedicated server up for the download when I am done the whole review ;P This one is being shipped to Chicago and colocated for my game servers ^^

[champi0n]

Hi there, great post. I'm leaning quite heavily towards this particular 1U case. Although I'm having a bit of trouble finding out what motherboards and ram will fit.

As this will be my first rackmount, I'm a little confused as to what hardware will fit. Do I absolutely have to purchase a "1u" specific motherboard? or do regular ATX + 1u heatsink work? Am i also required to spend more on low profile ram? (It appears you have regular ram by the looks of things).

Thanks for any help.

[champi0n]

I would like to add that I have purchased 2 of these cases, and while the review stands solid for the case itself, I have to say the Power Supply that comes with these are complete garbage.

I'm running dual quad core xenons and 16gb of ram in both servers, each with 4 hard drives + raid card. The wattage idles around ~200.

I purchased 1 case about 2 years ago, and the other maybe 8 months ago. Both power supplies have already failed! I would advise against putting these power supplies into a production environment, or keep a spare on hand.