Fractal Design XL 16 drive - low noise

[keyvan]

This is my 3rd unRaid build. The last one was a 20bay Norco build.

The FD XL build is for a friend who does not have a wiring closet to house a rack-mount unit. His layout is such that the server has to reside in a closet near his living room so noise is an issue. I settled on the Define XL as it would give 15/16 drives capacity with relatively low noise and if he ever wanted to go to the 20 disk system then 4 additional drives could be added using an external enclosure and a esata port multiplier. Although I have yet to test how that works with unraid.

 

OS at time of building: unRAID 4.7 Pro

CPU: Intel i3 540 3.0 Ghz

Motherboard: Super Micro X8SIL-F-O

RAM: 2x Kingston 2GB DDR3-1333 ECC CL9 THERMAL SENSOR - 4Gb total

Case: Fractal Designs Define XL http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2∏=54

Drive Cage(s): None so far - might use 2x 3in2 Icy Docks for 6 drives in 4x 5.25 drive

USB Memory drive: Kingston DataTraveller 102 2Gb

Power Supply: Corsair 650w Professional Series modular PSU

SATA Expansion Card(s): Super Micro SASLP-MV8

Cables: 6x SATA (supplied with M/B) 2x 30cm 8087 forward break-out cable

Fans: 2x 140mm front-1 supplied with case and a Corsair fan from an old case. 1x 140mm rear. 1x 180mm top of case -removed this fan.

 

Parity Drive: Hitachi Deskstar 2TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM

Data Drives:3x Hitachi 2TB 3.5" Deskstar Coolspin SATA-III 6GB/s 5900rpm 32MB  3x Seagate ST2000 DL003 5900rpm SATA III

Cache Drive: None

Total Drive Capacity: 30Tb capacity - 12Tb current size

 

Primary Use: Storage for DVD's and BD ISO's for MyMovies clients

Likes: Low noise, good looks, good value (compared to buying hot-plug caddies.)

Dislikes: Heavy, bulky

Add Ons Used: unMenu, PreClear

Future Plans:

 

Boot (peak):

Idle (avg):

Active (avg):

Light use (avg):

 

 

 

This is a build in progress, right now I have 3 disks pre clearing in my other unraid box and this one is running memtest - as the photo shows

will keep updating as the build progresses

 

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future edits

 

[defected07]

Hah, keyboard in the tower eh? Hope you don't leave the case open for too long.

 

That's a really cool looking case. Is it a modular case, meaning you can swap out the front fans with hot-swappable drive cages?

[keyvan]

Hah, keyboard in the tower eh? Hope you don't leave the case open for too long.

 

That's a really cool looking case. Is it a modular case, meaning you can swap out the front fans with hot-swappable drive cages?

I just noticed the keyboard!!! It was only there while memtest was running... It is now closed up with 4 drives (seagate & Hitachi 2tb 5900rpm) running preclear script.

Only the top 4x 5.25" bays can take drive cages. The middle has a 4x 3.5" drive bays (not showing in my photos as it is has been temporarily removed) this can be turned 90 degrees drives can face sideways or front facing.

I removed the top (180mm) fan -  it was in the way of the M/B power cable and I am not sure if it would be that useful in a case with no hot high end graphics cards.

I considered the Antec 900 or 1200 with Norco 5 in 3 drive cages, but went for the FD XL as it gives me 16 drives (1 more than the 900) and drive trays make adding / removing very easy. With 4 drives inside so far the box is virtually silent.  It is also a nice looking box with the door closed.

[my-htpc]

I use XL cases in my unRAID builds.  They are great cases, plenty of room and the large fans are really quiet.  I dont tend to use caddies so just 14 disks.  Even so they still weigh 90lbs fully loaded!