XBox Can Now Be A Mini Rack Mount Server

An anonymous reader writes "The X-Tender Case Mod for Xbox is a complete kit that will allow you convert your Xbox into a mini rack mount server or media center with activity LEDs and expanded space for two internal hard drives. Molded to perfectly integrate with your Xbox, this kit comes with a custom front panel, a 3 activity LED, a custom made hard drive mounting plate to accommodate one or two additional drives, and a custom molded rear panel. Specially designed X-Tender rods are included to internally support the expansion, allowing you to securely reassemble the machine. Additional space on front panel will allow the support of one LCD display on each side of the system, or additional LEDs or cold cathode lights. You can switch between the newly added drives via the buttons at the front."

Comments

Re:Your point?

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's say you have $150 burning a hole in your pocket. You can go buy an Xbox for $149 and go on home, or you can try to order and build this mythical system you describe (No cheating and taking parts out of old dusty machines you have laying around). The 2GHz Celeron alone will be almost half that, roughly $70. If you can build a fully functional PC with more power than the Xbox for $149 or less, then knock yourself out. The world will beat a path to your door...

Re:Your point?

[Ianoo]

Okay then, perhaps not a Celeron. They perform terribly anyway. What about an AMD-based system? This is from newegg.com, who are usually pretty good, or so I've been told (I'm not actually in America, so I don't usually find bargains in dollars):

AMD Duron 1.8GHz: $53
PCCHIPS M825G V9.2A: $37
Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM: $48
V-DATA 184 Pin 128M DDR PC-2700: $22
SAMSUNG 16X DVD Drive: $25
Linkworld Case: $13

A grand total of about $200. This isn't much more. People who buy things just because they have money burning a hole in their pocket are fools, considering they could wait another month and buy something about 3 times as powerful.

Re:Seems like a bogus claim to me

[Computerguy5]

I wish I had mod points because I was thinking the exact same thing and no one else seems to get it. Goodness, all you have to do is say "rackmount" and the beowulf, toaster computer people come out humping.

I'll ask the parent's question again: how does this turn it into a *rackmount* device? Sure, it allows you to add storage, but that has nothing to do with rackmounting it.

On another note, did it say that it allows you to switch between the hard drives?

You can switch between the newly added drives via the buttons at the front.

This implies to me that only one of the drives can be active at any one time. Lame, and practically useless.

Re:A new twist

[karnal]

Up, Up, Down, Down....

Of course, that's a konami code -- not sure if there are any XBox games that utilize that. Would be neat to have a server (XBox) with a controller that would do something nifty (like warp time?) when that combination is pressed.....

Re:Your point?

[Carnildo]

I don't know that particular mainboard, but I expect the on-board graphics aren't 3D accelerated. You should probably add another $30-$50 for a GF4 MX or equivalent card.