ProfQ

Excellent job. But have to ask, why the CPU upgrade? CD or actually needed it? Looks great.

I have been using a fully populated Norco SS-500 cage for a few years now, with a low noise 80mm fan in the Caribbean without ever experiencing temperature extremes in any of my drives. All things being equal-good case air flow, reasonable ambient temperatures, etc., you shouldn't have heat issues with a quality low noise fan in this cage.

Hi, You might want to consider the fans (with a fan speed controller most probably), and soundproofing. That's what I had to do with my Unraid server AND the Zalman media PC to have them in the living room. Eventually moved the server to another room, but for aesthetic reasons, not noise. Good luck!

Three pin fans are the way to go, and more so if you want to consider fan speed adjustability via a DLNA or similar fan speed controller. Besides they are cheaper. The Nexus silent fan range is considered a reference low noise (silent) fan. Hope this helps.

Hi henris Nice looking cages. About your fan question, please keep in mind that the link you posted is to a PWM Nexus fan. Norco 5in3s use standard fans. If your cages also use standard non-PWM fans, then you can't go wrong with the Nexus silent fans. Here's the link http://www.nxstek.com/NXS-nexus80mmrealsilentcasefan.htm Good luck ProfQ

You're welcome. Glad we could help!

Just took a close look at the interior of the Nexus Edge case-impressive. Seems quite simple to adapt for 5in3 use. It has large holes on the side of each bay. You could either use some of the Nexus tool-less parts as intended, or create metal tabs to pass screws through, and attach the Norco cages easily. Don't know about the upper 5 1/4 bay, though. You might want to take a close look in there, and see if that upper bay opens up fully in the front as the rest of the bays do, and the switches and cables give you enough room for an upper 5in3 cage. Overall, this case seems to be a good choice for a Tower build. I'd grab it! Good luck, Ramon

Excellent news! Hope your HDD temps stay acceptably low. ULNA cuts deeply the fan speed-thus making it virtually silent. You should consider replacing the Zalman case fans while you're at it and get rid of the brushed sound signature typical of the Zalman units. I'd suggest either Nexus (reference) silent fans, or the higher flow Noctua units. Either should be able to keep your case airflow at a safe 35CFM or so level, and virtually silent. Welcome to the silent PC (and tower) world.

Good idea. I got Noctuas in my media PC. Noctua fans are available in two basic variants, either designed for low (general use case fans) or high static pressure scenarios (can be used as CPU cooler fans). Only a high-pressure fan will work properly pulling air through five hard drives in a 5in3. Their NF-B9 model should work from factory in your install, and maybe with the LNA, but with the ULNA adapter (8db install) static pressure drops to 0.64 mm H2O and ~24CFM. That seems quite low to pass enough cooling air through five hard drives. About the noise level, remember the decibel scale is logarithmic, and anything at or below 18db is considered virtually inaudible in a real life setting. In a real life situation three 8db fans should stay under 12db. An 8db fan is considered 'silent' in real life, and three should prove as loud as your hard drives or similar. If you are looking for a silent PC level of operation you should consider using soundproofing in your case (like Accoustipack, available from Quietpc and others). Ramon

I believe by now it is evident with all the comments, that running your 5in3 without a fan could turn into a very risky move. Why exactly are you trying to do it? A silent fan option with more than average airflow might be the safe way to go. Something like a SilenX (40CFM+ and rated at 14db) will do the trick.

For this test run, I'd recommend to first make sure you have adequate airflow in your case. Let us know how it goes.

Glad the Coolink fans have worked out for everyone!!

Those drive temps should not be an issue. HDD temps tend to go up as drives spin up, and temps in the mid 20s are acceptable. You should keep an eye on how far temps drop where your server is located. Lower temps could be a concern.

Back side is power, and LAN gear This is the bottom half, the top has is all WAN gear. +1 Excellent techie porn! Thanks for posting!

+1 Aside from these, which I totally agree with, Drive temps and/or noise will also be a problem with a setup that has so many Enterprise drives in a home environment. You could save some money Now and in the future by going w green drives.