I recently got a new rack mountable case from Inter-Tech — it was surprisingly cheap 😃 This is going to be the new server case for my hypervisor Alpha. Here are my thoughts, and some photos.

Table of contents

Specifications

Size
4U, 650mm deep
Form factor
Mini ITX, μATX, ATX, eATX, SSI EEB
Manufacturer
Inter-Tech
Drive bays (mounting options)
3 × 5.25" external
11 × 3.5" internal
4 × 2.5" internal
Fan mounting options
5 × 120 mm, front and internal
2 × 80 mm, back

Review

What I like

  • Cheap
  • Lots of space
  • 5×120 mm and 2×80 mm fans included
  • Internal fans are hot swappable and can be PWM controlled
  • Two 5×3.5" disk bays
  • Was able to replace the stock fans with Noctua

What I don’t like

  • Stock fans are loud (but move a lot of air)
  • The 5.25" rail mechanism feels a bit cheap and flimsy
  • Had a hard time attaching 2×80 mm Noctua fans. Had to grind off a screw thread on the case and modify one of the Noctua fans
  • One of the disk bays had some oil like substance on it
  • Break-away expansion slot cover plates

Fans

I replaced all stock fans with Noctua.

Front fans

No modifications required.

120 mm Noctua fan installed on fan grill for drive bay

Internal fans

Internal stock fans

120 mm Noctua fans fit perfectly in the hot swap brackets. But they will need a 4-pin header to be able to fasten it, mine had 3-pin but I was able to replace the fan header.

120mm internal fan replaced with Noctua
4-pin fan connector on hot swap bracket
120 mm internal fans replaced with Noctua

Internal fans PWM control

Inter-Tech 6-pin fan header
I’ve written a dedicated post about the mysterious 6-pin fan header.

Back fans

The two 80 mm Noctua fans in the back was a tight fit, I had to grind off a screw thread and make a groove in the right Noctua fan.

I had to grind down this screw thread to fit the 80mm Noctua fan
Had to grind a groove in the Noctua fan to make space for this screw
2×80 mm Noctua fans, back
2×80 mm Noctua fans, back

More photos

Shipment packaging
Rear, with stock fans
Stock internal fans
In front of the internal fans
Stock fan, in hot swap bracket
2×5.25" bays and tray for 4×2.5" internal
Front, with 5×3.5" bay pulled out
Break-away expansion slot cover plates, not a fan of these…
Motherboard installed
Motherboard and power supply installed
Two SSDs installed on tray, it has space for two more below
Tray for 4×2.5" internal disks
Some oily residue on one of the drive bays
3.5" and 2.5" disks installed
SATA power connectors for disks
Inside with components installed
Inside with components installed
Front, with dust cover down
Case closed
Computer installed in homelab rack
It does stick out a bit on my 600 mm deep server rack

Last commit 2024-01-23, with message: add video to inter-tech-4u-4129-n post, update new-video makefile function