I recently picked up an HL15 and love the build, but I’m trying to avoid spending $100+ on the official sliding rails from 45HomeLab. Not trying to cheap out—just hoping there’s a solid, compatible option out there that doesn’t cost as much as a decent motherboard.
Has anyone here successfully mounted their HL15 with third-party rails that don’t break the bank? Ideally, looking for something that works with a standard 4-post 18U rack (StarTech in my case). Fixed or sliding is fine, but I’d prefer something sturdy and easy to install.
Open to modding a bit if needed—want to avoid starting from scratch.
Glad to hear you are enjoying the new product. For the rails, I am not too sure about 3rd party ones that would work. But have you thought about taking a look at rack shelves? You may find some that are cheap or used.
You kind-of are. The Supermicro rails as sold by the 45HL store–especially considering the price includes S/H–seem competitively priced. It seems weird that you would spend $900 on a case or $2000+ on a full build and be concerned about the price of rails to put it in a rack. I assume it’s a traditional metal rack and not some 2x4s from Home Depot you nailed together.
As Colby said, you can often get used rack gear (including the official rails SKU) second hand off of Amazon, eBay or a local marketplace. If you don’t need it to slide, you can get universal L brackets. Here is a 19-inch sliding shelf example that might work;