One Chassis, Two PCs: Phanteks Releases Enthoo Mini XL With Dual System

[JoeMomma]

Why would I need this? I would probably want 2 independent computers, but...
#1. One could build a 2 PC network render farm for 3D or video processing.
#2. Maybe a small business owner could have his server & his workstation in one box. A NAS + a everyday desktop PC to be the administrator.

If it were me I would only turn on the 2nd PC occasionally to render 3D and Video or to Live stream to YouTube while playing on the main PC.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I would agree. But in that situation it is too large and flashy really. Who needs a windowed case in an office?

All of our workstation / CAD builds are windowed ... we use windowed cases pretty much for all builds. Want our users to be able to see inside the PC to observe dust buildup, whether LEDs on the MoBo are lit, whether fans are spinning, etc. Makes it much easier to troubleshoot over the phone.

So the difference from the Enthoo Mini XL is this includes the ITX upgrade option, got it.

See the video in my 1st post. The original Mini XL also had the micro ATX + ITX capability, no change here.

 

[Gam3r01]

I would agree. But in that situation it is too large and flashy really. Who needs a windowed case in an office?

All of our workstation / CAD builds are windowed ... we use windowed cases pretty much for all builds. Want our users to be able to see inside the PC to observe dust buildup, whether LEDs on the MoBo are lit, whether fans are spinning, etc. Makes it much easier to troubleshoot over the phone.

That is actually a good point. I have to remember not everyone is comfortable with opening a case.

 

[cdabc123]

some people showed some uses for the two computers, but wouldn't it be easier and faster to run a hyperviser on top of a stronger platform and then dedicate your resources accordingly? some one above also talked about having 10-20 computers, yes their are uses for cluster computers like that but i don't believe you would be able to get a effective cluster out of two desktop motherboards running quad cores.

 

[Philippoque]

What I understood under the the head of the article is that it is one hardware system that runs two OSes separately simultaniously, but that's not the case, but is it not a better approach? I was already wondering what are the real limiting factors in making a motherboard with possibilities to connect two keyboards, two pointer devices, two video outputs and split them between two users who even utilising the same OS, but using different applications. I won't speculate further, the reason are purely capitalistic I guess, consumerism is not optimal if not individual. A PC per person.

 

[cdabc123]

What I understood under the the head of the article is that it is one hardware system that runs two OSes separately simultaniously, but that's not the case, but is it not a better approach? I was already wondering what are the real limiting factors in making a motherboard with possibilities to connect two keyboards, two pointer devices, two video outputs and split them between two users who even utilising the same OS, but using different applications. I won't speculate further, the reason are purely capitalistic I guess, consumerism is not optimal if not individual. A PC per person.

sure that isn't very difficult at all install a HV like proxmox or vm H-sphere and you will be able to run two of the same operating systems or different on the same computer. you can dedicate different usb ports to each os and the one more powerful computer will run both at the same time. you can even go as far as having a gpu dedicated to each os.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

What I understood under the the head of the article is that it is one hardware system that runs two OSes separately simultaniously, but that's not the case, but is it not a better approach? I .

Each MoBo has it's own CPU, GPU, storage and I/O ports (Mouse, KB, Monitor, USB) so there should be no problem using either independently, they merely share a case and PSU. I initially wondered how it managed to control the PSU when one system shut down and the other did not....see below

I think I figured out what the difference is between the old XL and the new.... if I understand correctly on eh new system, optional components (power splitter and iTX kit come preinstalled instead off options.)

http://phanteks.com/PH-PWSPR.html

Phanteks’ PH-PWSPR_1P2M with Patented Isolated Dual System Technology is a power splitter that will eliminate the need to use two power supplies for dual system configuration. With the Phanteks’ Power Splitter, users will be able to run two fully functional systems with only one power supply. Now you can have two individual system in one case independently of one another. The Power Splitter is cost efficient and doesn’t take up valuable space thanks to its small footprint.

Patented Isolated Dual System Technology
Using the Power Splitter, a dual system configuration can operate independently of one another. Powering ON/OFF on one system will not affect the other and vice versa. As long as one system is running the power supply will be fully operational until both systems are off.

Unfortunately the link here takes you to the manual for the enthoo primo case

 

[Lutfij]

Good to see Phanteks keeping their promise and rolling them out sooner than later next year. Good Job Phanteks!

 

[cub_fanatic]

While I would never need such a case, I am interested in what the PSU splitter board looks like. That is probably the most interesting part of this case and they did not include a pic of it. Also, looking at one of the pics they did include, where is the PSU? In that 2nd pic, I also notice that those motherboards are drawings so there is a chance that is not the direction where the cables actually go. I really doubt that the PSU sits in the front where all the HDDs would be. One more pic of the rear panel would probably have explained all of this for me.