Antec enclosure safe for large scale deployment, extended warranty?

[CougTek]

I want to attack the business market with a serious offering in a not too distant future. I've had vey good luck with In win enclosures and the reliability of their power supplies. Unfortunately, their reliable power supply is also only ATX 1.3 : it doesn't have a 6 pins graphic card 12V connector or an 8 pins EPS connector. It is too archaic for a modern system and it is inefficient (~72%-75% efficiency). The 12cm system fan isn't particularly silent either. It doesn't make a very appealing solution on paper for my potential customers and marketing guys from other companies can easily destroy it in favor of their stuff.

Then there's the Antec NSK4482 with its 80+ Bronze power supply. It has both the 6 pins graphic card connector and the 8 pins EPS connector (usefull for P55-based motherbords). The enclosure is just as good to exhaust the hot air as the In Win, but it does it more quietly. I just haven't sold enough already to determine if it is sufficiently reliable for large scale deployment. I would also like to offer business machines at a premium and sell them with a three years warranty. I don't know if the EA-380D power supply bundled with the Antec NSK4482 will last that long with a sufficiently low defect rate. I don't want my customers to curse me if the computers I sell them go belly up in high numbers.

I know Mercutio has used the NSK3480 in several tens of computers. Would you do it again? Have they been trouble-free for the most part?

On a side note, I'm about to buy a well-established local computer shop. The income is low (so is the price they are asking for the business) and I'm looking for ideas to raise the revenues. Hence the business market targetting. It will be my third company, but I'm about to shut down the oldest one. I no longer have the time to take care of it.

 

[ddrueding]

I've done a hundred or so systems in the NSK3480; it is my default case unless they upgrade to the P180. I can't recall any power supply failures. As a hedge, you might sell UPS at cost with systems, just to protect the stuff you are guaranteeing.

Congrats on growing your business!

 

[Mercutio]

I'm really, really, REALLY pissed at Antec right now because I can't find suitable replacement power supplies for the NSK3800 and they've basically said I'm SOL.

I have 40 of the stupid things and right now I'm looking at cutting up the backs of three cases somehow because I can't find a PSU that matches the holes Antec gave me, and for that matter I can't find a uATX PSU with the same level of heft as the SU-300s. Whatever I replace the original units with is going to look like crap and be lower quality besides.

Thanks a lot, Antec.

 

[CougTek]

The Seasonic SS-300FD doesn't fit?

 

[Mercutio]

That looks like the same unit. I'll have to try one.
Thanks!

 

[Mercutio]

OK, anyway, to get back to the original subject of the thread, Antec 3840s are what I use for small business builds. So far, I've had excellent luck with the full-size Antec PSUs. I haven't had to replace any of the 150 or so I've deployed. They're very quiet and aesthetically neutral. My only complaint is that it's a bit of a PITA to stick two hard drives in one, which is how I prefer to deploy business systems.

A standard "business" computer for me is an Intel or Gigabyte G31-based system with 2GB RAM, two 250GB hard drives and an E5300 CPU. I usually charge $850 for that machine, including some form of MS Office (often Office Basic, which doesn't include Access or Powerpoint). I like to do SOMETHING for a local system backup on each workstation, but what that is depends on the specifics of the project.

The Intel/Gigabyte issue comes down to the continuing need some people have for parallel ports. I'd like to be all-Intel because service and returns are much easier, but CAD programs with dongles and laser printers too good to die seem to conspire against me.

Does the idea of having a "shop" mean that you'll be doing retail? Because one of the first things I'd try to do is get well away from paying rent on a storefront (no offense to Tannin).

The screwdriver shops in my area seem to come and go pretty regularly, and I have to say that the thing that works best for me is just having a good set of contacts who pay on time. I don't sweat the small stuff (two minute call to walk through a printer set-up, logging in to their service to check their backups) as long as I'm getting paid when I do real work.

Things I've been doing a lot lately seem to involve small VPN setups so users can work remotely. I've done three projects this year that started out after someone in an office started using Gotomypc.com.

Google Apps conversions are another easy, popular sell, as is setting up minimal-paper workflow with fancy All-in-one copiers and proper tools to deal with PDFs.

I primarily work for small businesses, so most of the places I'm dealing with have 5 - 25 employees, and in that setting a file server or NAS + central backups is a high-demand item.

If I wanted a safe, pure-techie option, I'd probably look in to what it takes to become an authorized Dell/HP/Acer repair center, because that's an option that can lead to work from the company without much effort on your part. Or so I've been told.

Of course, I say that without knowing what it takes to become a Dell service center.

 

[CougTek]

Yes, I'll be doing retail and have a store front. In fact, I've been doing jobs for the business I'm buying for the past three years and a half. It's going ok, but it could be better. I plan to have one local technician (one I know well) and work myself on expending the business.

Once the current owners sell the building, I'll have to move the store to another location. Of course, this means renting. But I don't need something big, at least in the beginning. Commercial rent can be a killer if I see too big.

Thanks for the advices.

 

[Handruin]

Glad to hear CougTek! I wish you the best of luck with it, I hope things work out well for you.

 

[CougTek]

I can't find suitable replacement power supplies for the NSK3800...

I've found another one, higher power rating and 80 Plus Bronze certified : Silverstone ST45SF.

It's almost ridiculous the amount of power that unit can deliver in such a small form factor. You can put this inside the SG05 and build a very high-end system occupying one third of the size of a typical enclosure.

It's too bad they don't make mini-ITX motherboards with an LGA1366.

 

[ddrueding]

I saw this small and fast system and thought of Coug...