Norco 4220/4224 or Azza 910?


drawmonster

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I'm extremely torn about which case to get for my planned server build.  I'm planning on starting the server storage out small, 6Tb, and growing it as I need to.  Right now I'm looking at two cases.

 

Azza Helios 910

This is a highly recommended server case.  With 5 x 3 hot swap bays, it's capable of 15 hot swap drives.  The issue is the overall cost.  The case is $79.  The hot swap bays that I want are $99 a piece.  I'd start of with one, which would make the initial cost for the case $179.  But as I upgraded and had to buy more 3 x 5 bays, it would eventually be a $379 case that will fit 15 drives max.  Here's the Azza set up as a server.  This guy only used 3x4 bays, I plan on using 3x5.

 

Norco 4220

Also very highly recommended.  20 hot swap bays.  Bays connect via the 8087 connection, so cable management would be very neat and clean.  This costs $360ish shipped, and maxes out at 20 hot swap bays.  It's also supposed to be loud, but fans can be changed to something much more quiet.  I have not experience with this type of rackmount case, but it appears to be a very good solution.  The up front cost would be higher, but it would allow easy upgrades to the server storage with no additional future purchases.  There is also a step up from this case that allows 24 drives.  It's about $70 more.  So that's kind of in the running also. 

 

I've added and removed these two from my cart 20 times.  So should I save money now with incremental purchases added on later with the Azza case, or spend more on the server case now with no further purchases needed?  I do plan on having a massive server eventually, but it may be a few years before I get there.  Can not make up my mind....  What would you guys choose?

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I went with the 4220 and never looked back.  Yes the fans are a little loud, but it and the rest of the "noisy" network equipment will be in a dedicated room, so that is not a issue.  The cable management is wonderful, 1 cable for 4 drives.

 

Thats my suggestion :)

 

Myk

 

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You should consider a few things..

 

Would you rather spend a large chunk up front or over time?

both have cons and pro's..

the biggest two are

1).. you can buy a better mainboard, cpu, ram or extra drives  if your budget is tight upfront when you go with the Azza.

2). if you build up your norco with all of the internals upfront, never having to open the case again is a nice feeling. just put a new drive in an empty cage and shove it in. (yes the azza would be like this if you bought all the parts from day one.. )

 

Look at where you are going to put the server. what case would fit better?

The Azza is  no bigger then a desktop and can fit nicely in a home office or bedroom.

the Norco is huge. it is long and wide and can be hard to fit in a tight space or smaller room.

 

I have small 4-5 drive microservers, I have 15 bay desktop to server conversions and i have rack-mounted servers.

 

I sort of like the desktop servers.

the rack server is cool and all.. but since I work on them all day at work, the novelty has worn off.

the microservers are awesome, but they are very limited in space.

 

 

you over looked another option.. a temporary case.. more then once in the past i have picked up a cheap low end case ($30-$40ish) for 2-6 months. one that can hold 6ish drives with decent cooling while i save up for a better case/server parts.

[A good example of this is Goliath, Most people know it as a Norco 4224. It started out a WHSv1 box in a throwaway $40 case (that has been the start up case for 4 server and 2 desktop projects now). You can see its birth here.]

Even better, Use a recycled case.. I know I have some old cases in my junk pile.

 

 

in the end it is all about the number of drives you plan to buy in the end.. not really about looks.

[Who are we kidding? we like them to be sexy]

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You should consider a few things..

 

Would you rather spend a large chunk up front or over time?

both have cons and pro's..

the biggest two are

1).. you can buy a better mainboard, cpu, ram or extra drives  if your budget is tight upfront when you go with the Azza.

2). if you build up your norco with all of the internals upfront, never having to open the case again is a nice feeling. just put a new drive in an empty cage and shove it in. (yes the azza would be like this if you bought all the parts from day one.. )

 

Look at where you are going to put the server. what case would fit better?

The Azza is  no bigger then a desktop and can fit nicely in a home office or bedroom.

the Norco is huge. it is long and wide and can be hard to fit in a tight space or smaller room.

 

I have small 4-5 drive microservers, I have 15 bay desktop to server conversions and i have rack-mounted servers.

 

I sort of like the desktop servers.

the rack server is cool and all.. but since I work on them all day at work, the novelty has worn off.

the microservers are awesome, but they are very limited in space.

 

 

you over looked another option.. a temporary case.. more then once in the past i have picked up a cheap low end case ($30-$40ish) for 2-6 months. one that can hold 6ish drives with decent cooling while i save up for a better case/server parts.

[A good example of this is Goliath, Most people know it as a Norco 4224. It started out a WHSv1 box in a throwaway $40 case (that has been the start up case for 4 server and 2 desktop projects now). You can see its birth here.]

Even better, Use a recycled case.. I know I have some old cases in my junk pile.

 

 

in the end it is all about the number of drives you plan to buy in the end.. not really about looks.

[Who are we kidding? we like them to be sexy]

Ok, here's what I have in my cart and am fixing to buy:

 

Case:  Norco 4224

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230

Motherboard: Supermicro X9SCM-F-O

RAM: Kingston ValueRAM 8GB Kit (2x4GB) DDR3 1333 MHz DIMM Desktop Server Memory

PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance Power Supply

 

Gonna start with a couple 2Tb drives.  I'm all about being "future proof" and not having to rebuild later.  Hence the server grade hardware when I don't really need it.  I don't need any SATA cards or anything extra at this point, as my motherboard will support the amount of drives I have.  Thoughts?

 

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That RAM won't work, you need ECC UDIMM's - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139262

 

Consider grabbing the 120mm fan bracket for the 4224 as well if you're going to be using it in a home environment.  It's only $11 and that way you have the option of swapping out the 4x80mm fan wall with 3x120mm quieter fans (and the two super noisy 80mm on the back as well!)  Also consider stepping up to a 80+ gold certified PSU - worth it for lower/cleaner power consumption.

 

You could also save a few $$ by buying the motherboard and RAM from superbiiz.com, i.e.:

 

https://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-X9SCMF - $169 instead of $199 at Newegg

https://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=W8GE1333K - $61 instead of $69 at Newegg

 

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Consider grabbing the 120mm fan bracket for the 4224 as well if you're going to be using it in a home environment.  It's only $11 and that way you have the option of swapping out the 4x80mm fan wall with 3x120mm quieter fans (and the two super noisy 80mm on the back as well!)

 

Just place my order, which did included the 120mm fan bracket and 3 super quiet fans.  I wasn't aware that the other fans were loud too, but I will go ahead and order 2 replacement fans for them as well.  Thanks for the info.

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My apologies, indeed it is!  Amazon's description is just incorrect, it should state UDIMM and mention ECC (which it does in the specifications section.)

 

The part number is correct though:  KVR1333D3E9SK2

 

False alarm!

Whew!!  Thanks for double checking for me.  I very well could have screwed that up, lol. 

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Thats a nice server. You should be able to run pretty much anything you want on that as far as OS or applications.

 

I was going to say wrong RAM until I kept reading. strange that the description is so wrong.

Glad it is correct.

 

As far as the PSU. I am a little skeptical about that.  It is a good PSU, It is just might be underpowered for the "end build".

That 600W is really only good for about 20 green drives max if we set aside 60 watts for the system board/CPU/RAM and IPMI and that is pushing it.

 

One thing I recommend when building a server, go as big or bigger then you will ever need. troubleshooting power issues can be difficult at times.

It can also be annoying if you have to yank perfectly fine PSU  because you need a bigger that was only a few bucks more then the one you bought previously.

Also, in my experience, that harder you push a PSU to its MAX, it faster it burns out.

 

 

What fans did you end up going with?

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What fans did you end up going with?

 

I just looked for the highest/most reviewed "quiet" fans on Newegg.  I wound up with the following.

 

Scythe SY1225SL12L 120mm "Slipstream" Case Fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185057

 

ENERMAX UC-8EB 80mm

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999199&Tpk=Uc-8Eb

 

With all the fans replaced with much quieter models, I'm hoping the case is nearly silent.

 

Edit:  Just noticed you tried the same 80mm fans and they weren't very good.  Gonna get something else.

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You might be OK, I would watch your temps closely.

I think KYThrill went with the "M" version of that fan was happy with it.

 

the "M" has quite a bit more CFM though (and some added noise).

It can be hard to get air to move through the drive bays on a Norco.

 

The deciding factor will be your ambient temps is my guess.

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You might be OK, I would watch your temps closely.

I think KYThrill went with the "M" version of that fan was happy with it.

 

the "M" has quite a bit more CFM though (and some added noise).

It can be hard to get air to move through the drive bays on a Norco.

 

The deciding factor will be your ambient temps is my guess.

 

We keep our house pretty cool all year round.  68F-70F.  So hopefully those fans will do ok.  I'm going to wait a while, buy I plan on sticking my gaming rig in a Norco RPC-470 and then mounting both in a Norco R4-15U 4 post open rack.  Gonna be sweet.

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