Searching for a proper case right now. First decided on the Node 804, but considering it only supports m-itx and we probably want an atx mobo, that one didn't make it.

Now looking at the Fractal Design Define R5. Looks like it supports up to 10 3,5" drives in total. Already throwing in 5x4Tb, 2x6TB, 1x8TB, so only 2 spaces left...

Does someone have a better option? Preferably with support for a dual 120mm radiator, cause were going to use an H100i for the cpu cooling.

After reading this thread, I've seen a few possibilities for some towers but they would require 4-in-3 or 5-in-3 cages. That's not out of the question but I have to wonder if it's worth it from a cost point of view. I'm not concerned with aesthetics. Most of the 5-in-3 cages seem to run about $100. I did find one for $40 but I it doesn't appear to have built in cooling so I have to imagine heat could be an issue, even with 5400 rpm drives.

 

Holy Cow! modDIY.com is still selling those cages at the same $40!!

 

Has anyone used them? Any comments on quality, reliability of the site, etc?

Searching for a proper case right now. First decided on the Node 804, but considering it only supports m-itx and we probably want an atx mobo, that one didn't make it.

Now looking at the Fractal Design Define R5. Looks like it supports up to 10 3,5" drives in total. Already throwing in 5x4Tb, 2x6TB, 1x8TB, so only 2 spaces left...

Does someone have a better option? Preferably with support for a dual 120mm radiator, cause were going to use an H100i for the cpu cooling.

 

I just got this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146216&cm_re=h440_nzxt-_-11-146-216-_-Product and love it.. room for 11 3.5" HDD's and 2 2.5"

 

Would be interested to her your experience with the H440 mk2. With 11 HDDS you will find hard disk cooling may be challenging requiring either noisy fans or expensive fans I reckon. Do share your results. I've not seen anyone fill all bags and report temps etc. I considered it

 

 

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Would be interested to her your experience with the H440 mk2. With 11 HDDS you will find hard disk cooling may be challenging requiring either noisy fans or expensive fans I reckon. Do share your results. I've not seen anyone fill all bags and report temps etc. I considered it

 

I currently have 2 x 3TB WD Red's for parity and 3 x 3TB WD Red's for Data Drives and 2 x 1TB WD's for Cache.

Average HDD temp is 26 Celsius.

When running parity check average is 27.8C - Case temp is 34C - Ambient temp 20.5C

 

I did add 2 be quiet! Pure Wings 2 120mm 1500RPM 51.4CFM fan's to the top back (I could add one more) for exhaust. cost was 12 bucks each..

Can only hear the server if I'm very close to it..

Thanks! That's good on noise.. would love to know temps when you have all drive bays filled (ie 11) cos the drives double up (one facing up, one down) if memory serves. With 7 there are gaps for airflow.. with 11 the gaps are reduced and it might affect CPU temps as well as drive temps...    If you get to 11 drives please do share 

Thanks! That's good on noise.. would love to know temps when you have all drive bays filled (ie 11) cos the drives double up (one facing up, one down) if memory serves. With 7 there are gaps for airflow.. with 11 the gaps are reduced and it might affect CPU temps as well as drive temps...    If you get to 11 drives please do share 

 

Will do.. I doubt my CPU temp will be affected (motherboard only shows low/med/high) and I had it running at 100% cpu usage for 8 hours and it was still at low

 

So far I have 2 doubled up drives.. they seem to be about 1C higher in temp than the ones that are just by themselves in the bay..

 

I should have all bays filled by christmas

I can wait.. don't forget... Had my eye on H440 NE for some months...

I just finished my new UNRAID using this awesome case:

Fractal Design Node 804 http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/node-series/node-804

On 10/31/2016 at 6:03 AM, Destynx said:

Searching for a proper case right now. First decided on the Node 804, but considering it only supports m-itx and we probably want an atx mobo, that one didn't make it.

Now looking at the Fractal Design Define R5. Looks like it supports up to 10 3,5" drives in total. Already throwing in 5x4Tb, 2x6TB, 1x8TB, so only 2 spaces left...

Does someone have a better option? Preferably with support for a dual 120mm radiator, cause were going to use an H100i for the cpu cooling.

I actually have a 10 disk server built in an 804, it works great. I like that:

-I can store the SSDs up in the front panel of the case

-It has built in fan filters to help keep the insides dust free

-It supports large after market CPU coolers like the Cryorig H7

-as someone who's old server is built in a massive Antec 1200 v3 with 20 drives in it that thing is massive, heavy, and unwieldy to carry, even with two people. This thing spreads the weight out throughout the case and is nice and compact.

 

My one complaint is the second cage full of drives is right over the power supply and with a standard sized power supply I barely have enough clearance to get all the drives connected. I am in the market to find a "stout" power supply that will make it not quite so tight.

 

Edited March 5, 20179 yr by weirdcrap

On 10/31/2016 at 11:03 AM, Destynx said:

Searching for a proper case right now. First decided on the Node 804, but considering it only supports m-itx and we probably want an atx mobo, that one didn't make it.

Now looking at the Fractal Design Define R5. Looks like it supports up to 10 3,5" drives in total. Already throwing in 5x4Tb, 2x6TB, 1x8TB, so only 2 spaces left...

Does someone have a better option? Preferably with support for a dual 120mm radiator, cause were going to use an H100i for the cpu cooling.

 

1) Node 804 is micro ATX not mini ITX.. big difference.. 7cm worth

 

2) Define XL R2? I have one..  My Define R5 is now redundant as the XL has more space...

On 23-1-2012 at 8:58 PM, Rajahal said:

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).

Is there a how to, for bending or removing the tabs, bit lost here. How to do it.

1 hour ago, JeepeeMajoor said:

Is there a how to, for bending or removing the tabs, bit lost here. How to do it.

Use a deep C-clamp to bend the tabs flat. Do not try to remove them.

On ‎12‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 2:00 PM, tokra said:

I just finished my new UNRAID using this awesome case:

Fractal Design Node 804 http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/node-series/node-804

Same Case I am using. :-)  was very easy to work with and configure. currently only have 6 of my 10 HDDs in the racks. (Other 4 are still in use in an older ReadyNAs)

When I planned my server build out, I knew I wanted 8-10 HDDs and 2 SSDs in a not so large unobtrusive case, That is exactly what this holds. From reading other postings it seems like many people are using this very case.

On ‎3‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 2:23 AM, methanoid said:

 

1) Node 804 is micro ATX not mini ITX.. big difference.. 7cm worth

 

2) Define XL R2? I have one..  My Define R5 is now redundant as the XL has more space...

The Node 804 supports both Micro ATX and Mini ITX mother Boards

23 hours ago, shanelovell said:

The Node 804 supports both Micro ATX and Mini ITX mother Boards

 

LOL... I really never knew that EVERY case that supports a big size tends to support every size smaller than that....  

Recently bought a Sharkoon REX8 Value Edition case for  3 x RaidSonic ICY BOX IB-565SSK

 

Used a dremel to remove the usb hub thing from the frame, and put a power switch on the back of the case since the buttons on top of the case has to be removed to fit the top harddrive enclosure.

Simple, cheap and good looking case after some modifications 

 

Edited April 30, 20179 yr by Nilsen

Awesome Shark build! I have a Sharkoon Rebel 12 with 4x SuperMicro 5in3s. Only purchase ever from Amazon in Germany. Also took some dremeling to use the top slot. Very tight fit! I love these cases for unRaid. Great choice! 

1 hour ago, Nilsen said:

Recently bought a Sharkoon REX8 Value Edition case for  3 x RaidSonic ICY BOX IB-565SSK

 

Used a dremel to remove the usb hub thing from the frame, and put a power switch on the back of the case since the buttons on top of the case has to be removed to fit the top harddrive enclosure.

Simple, cheap and good looking case after some modifications 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice build

Edited April 30, 20179 yr by Benson

I just put together a build with the new Silverstone CS380. I considered the 804,but went for this instead: http://silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=709&area=en

 

It comes with 8 hotswap bays and another 2x 5.25" bays (for a potential 3in2), total capacity 11 3.5" and space for an SSD cache drive.

 

You get a backplane for the hotswaps that only needs 2x Molex for power. The SATA connections are locking, so it feels quite solid.

 

Fans over the drives are not that pushy, so drive temps are higher than I would like (up to 45 during parity check), but I can live with it. One side is not totally closed off yet, so temps may improve.

 

 

 

On 4/30/2017 at 0:23 PM, Nilsen said:

Recently bought a Sharkoon REX8 Value Edition case for  3 x RaidSonic ICY BOX IB-565SSK

 

Used a dremel to remove the usb hub thing from the frame, and put a power switch on the back of the case since the buttons on top of the case has to be removed to fit the top harddrive enclosure.

Simple, cheap and good looking case after some modifications 

 

 

after those months of using it, did you notice some problems?

what about the temperates of the disks?

is it noisy?

 

I'm thinking the same built, any suggestions are more than welcome.

 

thanks

 

@Nilsen Do you think you would fit an E-ATX motherboard in the Sharkoon REX8? I am struggling to find a reasonably priced E-ATX tower with 3 x 5.25 bays.

Edited July 21, 20178 yr by showstopper

Does anyone no if the Thermaltake Suppressor F31/F51 or Fractal Design series will fit 5.25 in drives top to bottom? Or will either of these cases accept 5 in 3 cages all the way up? Tx in advance

Thought I would share this case for anyone interested. Recently updated my build and noticed how hard it is to find a case these days that can hold a bunch of drives and also be of reasonable size to fit in my tv stand along with all my other AV equipment. Just looking at the picture briefly it looks like this chassis can hold around 15 hot swap drives and its only a little over 17 in deep which means it can pretty much fit where you want it. I've only seen pictures so I'm not sure how sturdy it is, but doing a quick look at the specs and options this seems to be an almost perfect case for a home server. Anyways, figured I would share and I hope to hear about any experiences from anyone who may own this case.

 

https://www.yycase.com/s/2/product-522361/4U-17-5”-Compact-Industrial-Computer-Chassis-YY-R445.html

Not sure how 15 hot swappable drives could fit in there - at least not 3.5" drives.

They don't state if the drives are hot swappable on the various configurations shown on their site, but from the pics you posted i see room for 10x3.5" drives plus maybe some 2.5" in the center .