AMD Athlon MP 2200+ Server Roundup - September 2002

Monarch Computer Systems Enterprise G - 4U

Monarch Computer Systems provided the only 4U system for this roundup, but it does provide a good contrast to the 1U and 2U setups we've just finished covering. The obvious benefits of a 4U system over 2U and 1U solutions, once again, relate to greater expansion options. A side benefit of most 4U systems is that you are able to use a standard ATX power supply, meaning that finding a replacement is worlds easier than getting a proprietary PSU for a 1U or 2U chassis. Note that not all 4U systems will use standard ATX power supplies but the Enterprise G from Monarch Computer Systems does just that.

Click to Enlarge (Monarch's system is on the bottom)

Much like Elite PC's 2U solution, the Enterprise G has a folding front cover that protects the power and reset switches from accidentally being hit while mounted in a rack. Also like Elite PC's solution, the Enterprise G has all of the LED indicators on the front panel as well.

Click to Enlarge

A single locking mechanism will allow the front panel to unfold revealing a total of nine 5.25" bays, a significant number more than any of the other solutions we've seen thus far. The only issue with having this many 5.25" drive bays is that, for the most part, you'll only need 3.5" bays and thus a lot of space is wasted with these 5.25" bays; you could theoretically fit more 3.5" bays in the same space.

Click to Enlarge

Of the nine 5.25" bays, three of them are mounted horizontally; two of those come populated with a CD-ROM drive and a temperature monitor. The temperature monitor gives you an estimate of the CPU and HDD temperatures, even when the system is off. The keyword here is estimate and we'll explain exactly why the figures are not entirely accurate when we dive into the case itself.

The remaining six drive bays are vertically mounted, with our test system having a total of three occupied initially. The two hard drives and floppy drive are all mounted in brackets to adapt them for use in the 5.25" bays. None of the drive bays are removable and the two bays occupied with hard drives had no faceplates, which is actually not out of the ordinary for these types of systems. Removable drive bays would have been nice but not having them helps to keep the cost of this 4U system down to levels competitive with 2U solutions.