Rajahal

If you break the posts, contact Norco and ask for a replacement fan grill. They sent me one for free without question. YMMV. I don't think drilling new screw holes would be worth the hassle. The 4-post mounting system does work, it is just a bit funky. If Norco gets enough requests for replacement fan grills, then maybe they'll change the design in V3 (I hope so!). I think the current Norco SS-500 V2 design plus the fan mounting system of the Supermicro cages would be the best of both worlds. In a pinch, I think double-sided tape or glue would probably work as well.

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Thank you! Glad you liked it. Pretty much any 80mm fan should work, just make sure it uses the standard style double-sided frame, as I mentioned in the review. The cages use a sort of funky system in which the fan slides onto four plastic posts, then you secure the fan with four small, non-standard screws. It works, but it is pretty different from most other fan mounting systems out there. As for fan speed, I couldn't find any information as to the CFMs or dBAs of the stock fans. That means that my recommendations for replacement fans are just educated guesses at this point. At some point in the future I hope to be able to do some hands-on testing with replacement fans and be able to suggest my favorites, but at the moment I have other hardware and software projects and are taking priority. I simply recommended the Coolink SWiF2-801 because I know that fan to work well in the V1, so it should be a safe bet for the V2 as well. By the way, QuietPC is a very reputable vendor, I wouldn't hesitate to order from them if you have the option. I've had nothing but good experiences with them. If you do want to shop around for different fans, I would suggest trying to closely match the specs of the Coolink fan, which are: 11.0 dBA / 23.4 CFM / 1500 RPM. Good luck!

Hmm, tough call. Sorry to hear that the Nighthawk and Norco SS-500s don't work together. The Antec 900 happens to be on sale right now, and it will certainly work: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=19288.0 I think returning the case might be easier than returning 3 drive cages, but that depends on where you purchased each.

Where are the Norco SS-500 V1 still for sale? Newegg is carrying the V2.

If you want quiet operation, then you'll need to replace the fan on either unit, so factor in the cost of the replacement fan as well. A 120mm fan isn't much more expensive than a 80mm fan, so the price difference still won't be drastic. I still prefer the Norco units over the Supermicro because of the drive tray design, but your point about the fan is certainly valid. If you plan to run all hot-running 7200 RPM drives, then I think the Supermicro is a better choice.

Awesome review. Too bad I already bought 2 3x4 stock cages for my case :'( Thank you! 4-in-3 cages are a whole 'nother ballgame - they typically have better cooling and don't require case modification, but they don't give you the same drive density either. I like Norco's SS-400 4-in-3 cages as well.

My Norco SS-500 (Version 2) review is finally up! Check it out here.

Yes, they changed the design of the Norco SS-500. I'm working on a review complete with heat tests right now, I will publish it to the Greenleaf Hardware and Software Blog in a day or two. In general I like the new design, but I didn't dislike the old design either...so they are both good. If you installed one of the new cages next to your old cages you would notice the purple color on the tab has changed to a blue sticker, but otherwise they would look pretty similar. The internals (drive trays, backplane, etc.) are pretty different. The biggest functional difference is the airflow, hence my heat tests.

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You can read about how to appropriate size a power supply to your server in the Power Supply Thread. Please relegate all questions and discussion of power supplies to that thread, and keep this one clean with just good deals. If you are in the market for a new power supply, subscribe to this thread. Once you find one, unsubscribe.

We are excited to offer International Shipping via FedEx capped at $450! This limited time offer expires March 31st, 2012 or sooner based on availability. If you've been considering an international order but held back because of high shipping fees, now's the time!

I've seen that PSU as low as $100, but that's once in a blue moon. I'll create a PSU good deals thread once another good deal on a PSU comes up!

Since the introduction of the UCD subforum, we have been inviting people to create their own thread for each server. This allows for much easier discussion and feedback on builds. See here for more details.

The bronze vs gold rating is certainly part of it. The X series PSUs also spin down their fan completely when under a 25% or smaller load.

That PSU has 70A on a single +12V rail. It is way more than you need for just 10 drives. Factor in 2A for each green drive and 3A for each 7200 RPM drive, then leave 3-5A for the motherboard and fans. That PSU can support up to 21 7200 RPM drives, or up to 32 green drives. Talk about overkill!

Wow, looks nice! Great to see that the door fits over the hot swap bays!

Norco makes 12 and 16 bay rackmount cases as well. You can browse their entire product line here.

You are quite welcome.

Looks like a winner to me! I would choose red...

4-in-3s you'll be able to install without case modification. For 5-in-3s you'll need to flatten or remove the tabs separating each 5.25" bay (in the photos it looks like they might be removable, I'm not sure if that's the case or not).

Technically not true. Most 4-in-3's have rail slots (so if your case has those support tabs in the 5.25 bays you don't have to bend them out of the way). All 5-in-3's I believe do not have slots (so if your case has support tabs, you Must bend them/cut them whatever to get the cage into 3 bays) That's true, and a good point I forgot to mention. 5-in-3 cages will fit in the same space as 4-in-3 cages only after flattening the separating tabs between each 5.25" bay. Some cases don't have these tabs, but most do.

Added!

With some cages a fan speed controller will work. Look at photos of the back of the cage. If the fan plug is exposed, then there's no reason why you couldn't put a controller between the cage's backplane and the fan. If the fan plug is not exposed, then chances are it won't work. I know the Icy Docks definitely would not work with those. I think the Norcos and Supermicros would. If you want quieter performance, most people just replace the stock fans. I recommend a few replacement fans in my Greenleaf Prototypes Blog. Just do a search for the drive cage you want (Supermicro, Norco, etc.) and you'll find my fan recommendations.

A 5-in-3 takes up the same space as a 4-in-3 (the drives are just closer together). It should fit.