I was looking for a turnkey solution and was really happy when Tom came out with the MD-1500. The problem was that he gave me two chassis to choose from . I am not space or weight constrained (favors the Lian-Li PC-A16B) nor will I be rack mounting (favors the Aopen H800) my UnRaid box so it came down to thermal performance. I will be sticking my UnRaid box in a closet so acoustical noise is not a significant factor for me.
I did some on line research on the two chassis and wanted to share what I found about their thermal differences. Not discused below is any thermal effects from the power supply fan nor the 80mm fan on the AMS 5-in3 drive holders. Even though they are the same components whether you get the AOpen or the Lian-Li chassis, they will have different effects on the overall thermal performance of the chassis. And without having the chassis in hand, I can’t tell you what those differences would be.
AOpen H800
Manufacturer’s Web Page: http://global.aopen.com/products_detail.aspx?Auno=717
I could only find one review (http://www.2cpu.com/articles/17_1.html) on the chassis. It seems to have been on the market since 2002 (maybe earlier). From the thermal standpoint it comes with a single 80mm fan mounted on the back of the chassis. There is a mounting position for a second 80mm fan that you can add just below it. The “manual” (1 page pdf) states that you can add this second 80mm fan or “support one 12cm fan” I’m not clear from the statement whether this means that you can have an 80mm AND a 120mm fan in the chassis or whether you can have two 80mm fans OR one 120mm fan. Maybe someone who has one of these chassis can clarify. I couldn’t tell what type of fan bearings they used.
From the pictures, the exhaust hole patterns for these fans seem restrictive. I am sure that you could improve it with a dremel tool followed with an off-the-shelf wire fan finger guard. The Aopen H800 has an air filter that sits in the front bezel across the face of the drive slots. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Dust will build up inside a chassis and will provide an insulating blanket on components that will slow down the dissipation of heat. It can also gum up fans if the bearings aren’t seal. Dust would be a disaster if it got into drives but I believe that most drives are sealed up well these days. For all of the above reasons, having a filter is a good thing. But if you don’t clean it regularly, it can create an increasing pressure drop that the fans have to fight against with a resulting reduction in cooling air flowing through the chassis. If you won’t keep it clean, you should take it out. But having a filter option is a plus for me. Air flows in the front and out the back. There do not appear to be any vent openings on the top, bottom, or sides. There is a small rectangular vent pattern in the back for natural convection. Of course the power supply also vents out the back from its internal fan.
Lian-Li PC-A16B
Manufacturer’s Web Page: http://www.lian-li.com/product/product05.php?pr_index=22&cl_index=1&sc_index=1&ss_index=4
I found a number of reviews (see the bottom) but this one http://www.boxgods.com/dept/hardware/index.php?Action=Article&ID=227&Page=1#Introduction had the best information. This chassis seems to have come out in the last year. It comes with two 120mm fans. One is located conventionally on the back just below the power supply. The second 120mm fan is mounted so that it sits over what would be the PCI slots on the motherboard. Its purpose is to pull heat off of high wattage devices like graphics cards. It is an axial fan like the other one but it is in a sheet metal box whose side edge is mounted to some vent holes on the rear panel of the chassis. The intent here is that it sucks the air in the direction of the axis of the fan and then throws the air at 90 degreee angle out the side of the fan. This is what a radial or centrifugal fan would do but that type of fan has a blade designed specifically to do that. I don’t know how effective using an axial fan to turn air 90 degrees is. Someone who has one of these chassis could let us know by sticking their hand in front of the retangular vent pattern at the bottom of the rear of the chassis and seeing if they can feel any air flow. I looked at the spec they had for this fan. It had a good CFM (53 CFM) but its static pressure (0.06 “ H20) is kind of low.
Other reviews on the Lian-Li PC-A16B:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/LianLi/PC-A16B
http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=42023
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/77909585/m/108007984831
Conclusion: With my emphasis on thermal performance and just from an Internet search of information, I am leaning toward the Lian-Li PC-A16B. If I find that the PCI Slot axial fan that they have doesn’t do much, then I would replace it with a radial fan. That would require some sheet metal work.
Dudley