Hey Guys,

 

Been trawling through the forums but can't make up my mind. I'm wanting to get a tower case for my unRAID server (at the moment it's sitting in an HTPC case). I have 6 drives at the moment, will want to expand that at some point. I want to do it properly, with drive bays at the front so I don't have to open the case to swap or add hard drives. I'll want the ability to expand up to say..  12 drives.

 

If the case doesn't come with that ability, what cages do you recommend?

 

I like the look of this case, but getting parts in NZ is a bit difficult. http://www.sharkoon.com/?q=en/node/1126

 

Any recommendations?

 

Cheers

http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=367

 

The Zalman MS1000 looks good actually. It's cheap-ish in NZ ($270 NZD), and comes with two 3 in 3 hot swap cages. Or, should I go for a cheaper Coolmaster case with 4 in 3 cages?

 

Any experience with these?

 

Cheers

I really have no idea what you can and can't get in NZ, but here's some parts to look out for:

 

Cooler Master Centurion 590 (ideal unRAID case)

 

Norco SS-500 (my favorite 5-in-3 cages)

 

There's some more cases here that are good too.

 

I haven't used it personally, but the Zalman case looks nice too.

 

Doesn't look like you can get any Norco gear into New Zealand. Can get the case though

We have much the same problem with availability here in Philippines.  In terms of SATA interface cards, I have found that Adaptec have a distribution channel here, although I've not seen Adaptec products in any shop - indeed, when I've enquired about any SATA interface, the answer has always been a resounding 'NO'.  So, I'm making enquiries directly with Adaptec.

 

I had a similar problem with obtaining a decent psu - in the end I discovered that Seasonic have a distributor in Manila, but no retail outlets in the provinces.  However, the main distributor was happy to make a retail sale and even provided 'free' 24 hour courier delivery.

 

I have not found any distribution of disk drive backplanes here, but, IPC Direct appear to offer international shipping (including Philippines and New Zealand), so I will try ordering an SS-500 from them.

A good method of buying anything from the USA and shipping to Australia, then forwarding to NZ or Phillipines (or anywhere) is...

 

www.priceusa.com.au ... they seem very reliable (good reputation on Australia's biggest tech forum, whirlpool.net.au) and pretty cheap (they add 5% to the total price, and you have options for shipping methods (speed vs. cost basically)).

 

Good luck.

http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=367

 

The Zalman MS1000 looks good actually. It's cheap-ish in NZ ($270 NZD), and comes with two 3 in 3 hot swap cages. Or, should I go for a cheaper Coolmaster case with 4 in 3 cages?

 

Any experience with these?

 

Cheers

 

Yes that's what I have. I bought a third cage giving me 9 drive capacity. It's not the highest drive density by any means but the upside of that is that there is plenty of air circulation around the drives. Some say it's not a cheap case but I think it's good value when you take into account the hot swap cages.

Cheers - I'm leaning towards the Zalman..  Mainly because I can purchase locally. The only dock worth buying in NZ is the Icy Dock, and that's $250 a pop!!

 

Can you scratch the logos off easily enough? It'd looks pretty sweet if it was all Matte Black 

Cheers - I'm leaning towards the Zalman..  Mainly because I can purchase locally. The only dock worth buying in NZ is the Icy Dock, and that's $250 a pop!!

 

How loud is that case? Can you scratch the logos off easily enough? It'd look pretty sweet if it was all Matte Black 

This might be an old thread buy I too bought the Zalman with the additional cage, please see my build here http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=12678.msg120354#msg120354 for pics and feedback.