You know that might work.... I still have a few Proliant 5000 units. At least they are Compaq beige. They would fit right in at 7U in height, and once stripped are an incredible vastness of space.

The second link for the mac mini rackmount looks very good as well. That might be an option too!

I still like the option of the company dropping like 8 grand on my project though.

I'll let you all know what direction this goes when the decision is finally made above me.