Rack-mounted Power Mac

Question

Quite often, I go on the road with my music production hardware - think of it as a "roving studio." It's quite cumbersome and problematic to lug around a Power Mac Dual G5 tower. It would be so much nicer if there were a rack-mounted version of the Power Mac that I could install in my music equipment rack. I've checked out an Xserve (as it comes in the desired form factor), but it's unclear to me if a) I can use it as a non-server, and b) the AppleCare options. (After all, for me, it wouldn't be a server, so I don't (can't) pay for "server" support.) Does Apple offer a rack configuration for a Power Mac Dual G5 "workstation?" (Or could I buy an Xserve and use it as such - with appropriately-priced (i.e. "workstation") support?)
  Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

Answer 1

There are vertical rack mounted solutions, but of course this isn't the best use of space.
The G5 needed a bigger case to handle the larger cooling systems and all the expansion options, it's impossible to please everyone. It's not really designed to sit in a rack, but next to a desktop.
I wouldn't use a X-Serve as a desktop machine because your expansion options are limited, video cards may be hard to find for instance. Not much in the way of connectivity either.
There is a penalty for the 1U design.
Now since you roll your rack around from place to place, why not have someone build you a G5 case with wheels and a long handle that you can roll that around from place to place instead?
All you have to do is pay a visit to your local metal shop and find some sturdy fat wheelbarrow wheels at the local hardware store.
I say wheel barrow wheels because you can keep them under-inflated and they absorb shock better.
Heck at my hardware store there is angle iron (aluminum) for sale that with a few bolts and a little ingenuity (and a metal cut off wheel for my chop saw, metal drill bits) I could build a cart for my G5. Take it down to a welding shop and have them make it stronger with welds.
Necessity breeds invention.