July 13, 200817 yr I am currently using my old Shuttle SB61G2 as my unRAID server with 3 drives. I am looking to change to a more power efficient system. I love the size of my Shuttle though, so I am looking for a case in similar size that has 2 5.25" bays that can accommodate a 3 in 2 hot-swap sata drive cage like the Chenbro SK32303. I've looked for a while and haven't found too many cases comparable to the size of my Shuttle. Maybe I should break down and find a good price on the Chenbro ES34069. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
July 13, 200817 yr One alternative is the QPack, an example is here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144109. Takes an ordinary MicroATX motherboard.
July 14, 200817 yr One alternative is the QPack, an example is here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144109. Takes an ordinary MicroATX motherboard. I have this case, It's very nice, If you have a 3in2 drive adapter, it can also take 2 internal drives, +1 if you want to put it in the floppy spot. Maybe I should break down and find a good price on the Chenbro ES34069. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I have 2, It's not a cheap solution, but it sure is nifty, compact and well made. Here's my rig -> http://www.cotrone.com/rob/archives/2008/05/chenbro_es34069.html Another choice of a tiny, is the norco DS-520G http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16859320001R I have one of these, It's pretty spiffy too. Not a speed deamon, but good enough. Has an internal slot for a 2.5" drive (can be used as a cache drive) Also as a spot for a compact flash (as a boot drive).
July 14, 200817 yr Author My Gosh WeeboTech, you got one of everything. After I have a chance to look over a few things, I may pester you with questions if that is alright with you. The Norco looks nice, but pricey. I'm gonna go read up on it. Are you booting up with a CF card internally or a USB device plugged in the back?
July 14, 200817 yr Author Okay I am a bit confused about the Chenbro case. The card reader looks as if it is built in, but your blog talks about having to buy one and install it. The specs even list the card reader and not as an options. What's up with that?
July 14, 200817 yr On the Chenbro, I had to buy it separately, as with the PCI riser card. It's not a cheap way to go. But I wanted a duo core 2 mobile with 3g of ram. The norco is functional enough. Celeron processor. It has hyperthreading, so when unRAID supports SMP, it will be able to do extra work. THe Bus is PCI-X so you get decent throughput. I measiured 950MB/s network throughput (without harddrives) on the duo core 2 mobile in the chenbro and 750MB/s on the norco (which isn;t to shabby either). For $500 the norco is a decent deal as all you have to do is add ram and drives. I have the CF drive in the unit, but I boot off
July 14, 200817 yr Author I have the CF drive in the unit, but I boot off ....yeah...you got my interest peaked now! You boot off a ......?
July 14, 200817 yr I have the CF drive in the unit, but I boot off ....yeah...you got my interest peaked now! You boot off a ......? oOOPSS I boot off USB via SD card in a Card Reader (so I can swap it into the card reader in the chenbro). I use a couple of these. http://cgi.ebay.com/TOPRAM-150X-4GB-SD-CARD-SECURE-DIGITAL-for-iMATE-JASJAR_W0QQitemZ220254760516QQihZ012QQcategoryZ20336QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting I also like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134548 Actually I swapped the cards and readers, I use the top ram card reader with the 2GB Kingston. I use the Kingston card reader for travel because it handles all three sd media types.
July 14, 200817 yr Author Well those are quite nifty. Thanks for all the info. After leaning toward the Chenbro case I did some looking at Mini ITX boards. I was hoping to find some with 3 or 4 SATA ports onboard to forgo having to get a PCI card. I only found one Jetway which was rather expensive. I read that the Norco is not very quiet, unless moded somehow. The prices are adding up and forcing me more toward the cases like the Qpack. They are a somewhat larger than my Shuttle, but the prices are much better and the mobo prices are better as well. I just wish there was a shuttle with 2 5.25" external bays for the 3 in 2 drive bay. That would be sweet. Thanks for the info WeeboTech.
July 14, 200817 yr I just wish there was a shuttle with 2 5.25" external bays for the 3 in 2 drive bay. That would be sweet. As mentioned, this is about the same form factor as a shuttle case. I like it alot, but it was slightly larger then I wanted. I put in a 2in3 tray less SATA module and it worked out really well. This still left me with 3 3.5" places for 3 more drives. Plus it had a standard form factor 500 WATT power supply and 120MM fan. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144109
July 14, 200817 yr Author Yeah, I checked the measurements against my Shuttle (8" W X 7" H X 11.5" D). The Qpack as well as others are a couple inches wider taller and longer. That is probably as close as I will get. I do like the 120mm exhaust fan.It appears I will need multiple molex to SATA power adapters if I use their provided PSU though. One reviewer mentions it only has one SATA power connector. Which 3 in 2 bay did you go with? The depth of the bays with fans worries me that they may not fit in a smaller case. The power supplies are usually up high behind the 5.25" bays, which only leaves so much room. EDIT: It looks like the QPACK2 has the 500w power supply with 2 SATA connectors. Is that the one you have? I am liking this Bgears Envi case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811295002.
July 14, 200817 yr That case is nice and it has card reader built in. However you will need a power supply. The Qpack has a 500W power supply with 120MM fan. Here is the 2in3 Trayless SATA I am using http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817998036 has 2 40MM fans and a special set of cables so you can use the MOLEX cables.
July 14, 200817 yr Author Wow. That one is expensive. I was looking at this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817990003
July 14, 200817 yr It's the same thing actually. I was looking for the kingwin version, but could not find it. So you can go with this one then. I did have to nibble the top part of the chassis slightly, but depth wise, everything just made it in.
July 14, 200817 yr Author Cool. I just got back an email from Bgears stating that the 3 in 2 bay would fit in their case as well. I just need to make sure the PSU is ~ 6" deep.
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