July 17, 200817 yr I'm buying this one: http://www.norenproducts.com/Acoustilock/24td.html It will house my HTPC, unRAID server, a Onkyo 905 A/V receiver and a Buttkicker power amp. I'm using a big Lian Li PC-V2110 + 2x Deltaco 5-in-3 SNT-3051SAS for my unRAID server right now (15x Western Digital WD10EACS 1TB). Now I'm planning to buy one of the following configurations: -- 1 -------------------------------------- 4U rack case with 9x 5.25 bays http://www.servercase.com/miva/miva?/Merchant2/merchant.mv+Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SC&Product_Code=RA466&Category_Code=4UA + Another Deltaco 5-in-3 SNT-3051SAS (total 3 of them) -- 2 -------------------------------------- Lian Li PC-A17B http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6591 + Another Deltaco 5-in-3 SNT-3051SAS (total 3 of them) -- 3 -------------------------------------- Chenbro RM41416T2 16 bays http://www.digiconcepts.com/chenbro_cases_11.htm -- 4 -------------------------------------- Supermicro 846TQ-R900B 24 bays http://www.supermicro.com/products/chassis/4U/846/SC846TQ-R900.cfm #1 Would be great if I could find this case in Sweden. But it seems like I'm out of luck on this one. #2 Not sure it will fit (laying down on its side) in standard 19" rack width. #4 I think I will go with this one because this would allow me to add more drives when (if) Tom will raise the current limit. But I'm not sure the backplanes supports regular SATA connections. I've read trhough the manual and it seems like there is no such option. I also read that this one is really noisy. Not sure this is a problem as it will be mounted in a Noise reduction cabinet. Please give me input and other suggestions on cases I might have missed.
July 17, 200817 yr I would suggest contacting supermicro. I remember my friend needed specific fan out cables. I think it depends on the backplane. The cables are of high quality. I know with my machine it has one SAS cable to the motherboard and 4 fan out cables to each socket. There were two cables for 8 ports. I remember my friend using this case and he had special cables from supermicro that connected to a 3WARE SATA RAID Controller. Worked out really well.
July 18, 200817 yr AVS Forum: 48 Terabyte Media Server If you are interested in the Supermicro case, you might want to take a look at this guys server. He has the same case and took lots of pictures of his build. If you have specific questions regarding it you could also contact him, or you could just contact Supermicro directly as WeeboTech suggested.
July 18, 200817 yr I have the Apple accoustic dampened cabinet in my garage. Should be fitting it in the next couple of weeks. If interested i will post results.
July 19, 200817 yr Author Thanks for all tips. I've asked the guy with that massive 48TB build if the case will work with regular SATA controllers. To NAS: Yes, please post results!
August 4, 200817 yr Hi, What about this case: Norco 4020 (http://www.norcotek.com/) - cheaper then the Supermicro case. Also the guy that has the "AVS Forum: 48 Terabyte Media Server" writes: "Case: I no longer recommend the Supermicro 24-bay case, because it's noisy (power supply fans and internalfans) and at the $1000 price point it's no longer competetive with the Norco 4020 that came out July 2008, with it's amazing $289 pricepoint for 20 x 3.5" hot swap bays. The ability to add a quiet power supply also means being able to run it much quieter than a Supermicro 24 bay case." Norcotek do not have any distributor in Europe, but they don't mind shipping to Denmark. The price with Norco Tek online shop are a bit higher then newegg.com, but newegg don't ship to Denmark. I have been looking at this case but have not yet decided if this is the one for me. Cheers, Søren
August 4, 200817 yr I have that exact case. Nice! What do you think about it? Do you recommend it? It’s cheaper then buying a tower case + three 5-in-3 SATA cases. Do you have any pics of your setup? Cheers, Søren
August 4, 200817 yr Heat is a problem. Build quality is excellent for the price. Fans could be better. Latches on lid need removed as they can jam it shut. Power buttin is dimple type and problematic. In all other ways it is excellent.
August 5, 200817 yr Nice case - I may consider one. After checking out the additional photos of that case there appears to be a lot of airflow improvement that can be done. For example, one should consider blocking the large wiring holes under the fans, the side holes in the case between the fans and the drive cages, and the holes in the front panel over the drives. I would also consider simply pulling out the metal piece that holds the drive fans and build another one to hold three 120mm fans rather than the five 80mm fans - that gives about 25% higher CFM (per RPM and assuming fans are otherwise identical) with much less noise. Bill
August 5, 200817 yr That would make alot of sense although taking the fan plate out wouldnt be a 2 minute job. This things a beast and theres screws all over the shop. I reckon i will change the fasn for high end ones. Since this is going in a acoustically dampened cabinet i can afford some noise.
August 7, 200817 yr Heat is a problem. When you say heat, is it in generel or is it "just" the harddrives that are getting hot? What temps do you get? Cheers, Søren
August 7, 200817 yr Just HDDs and it depends on drives make and model and how many are spun up. If i spin up 15 drives after an hour my WD drives go to 50deg whist at same time my samsungs are 35deg. Position of drive makes a small difference but not enough.
August 17, 200817 yr FYI on the underside of the lid of this case there are two small (tiny) loops of metal that stop the latches being depressed to far. I have cut these loops off. This means if i press the lid detach latches too far i can break them which is bad but... and this is a BIG but... it means i can always get the lid off. On one occasion it took 2 people over an hour to get the lid off as the loops were not allowing the latches to press down far enough. This was likely caused by a small damage that anyone can easily do to the latches (tin metal). I would recommend everyone does this immediately as with the lid jammed you are looking at some serious hammer action to get it off.
August 20, 200817 yr Newegg now has the Norco 4020, for $290 plus $35 shipping! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811219021&Tpk=rpc-4020
February 24, 200917 yr FYI on the underside of the lid of this case there are two small (tiny) loops of metal that stop the latches being depressed to far. I have cut these loops off. This means if i press the lid detach latches too far i can break them which is bad but... and this is a BIG but... it means i can always get the lid off. On one occasion it took 2 people over an hour to get the lid off as the loops were not allowing the latches to press down far enough. This was likely caused by a small damage that anyone can easily do to the latches (tin metal). I would recommend everyone does this immediately as with the lid jammed you are looking at some serious hammer action to get it off. I just received my Norco 4020 case and I can not get the lid of. Has anybody, who knows this case, got an idea? Thanks Dominik
February 24, 200917 yr There are screws that hold the top down. You must remove those first before sliding the top off... Regards, Peter
February 24, 200917 yr There are screws that hold the top down. You must remove those first before sliding the top off... Regards, Peter lol yup I just received this case today as well... took a little bit longer then I would like to admit to see the screws lol.
February 25, 200917 yr There are screws that hold the top down. You must remove those first before sliding the top off... Thanks, that did it. Sometimes it is so easy
February 26, 200917 yr How loud is the Norco case (assume unpopulated with anything - just really talking about the fans that ship with it) out the box?
February 27, 200917 yr I found it to be too noisy for my tastes, but YMMV. I made a mod to the fan section as documented here: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=2935.msg26161#msg26161 Regards, Peter
February 27, 200917 yr I found it to be too noisy for my tastes, but YMMV. I made a mod to the fan section as documented here: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=2935.msg26161#msg26161 Regards, Peter Nicely done I think I'd stop at just swapping out the fans though - not much of a DIY'er! If you found them too loud I probably will as well - it will be going into a study, but won't be fully drive populated for a good while. I'm very tempted but being in the UK makes this difficult. I've found one retailer in the uk willing to sell me it - but at twice the cost of the US $ price. Importing it looks like a cheap option - but then I have to consider import duty, taxes and shipping customs charges on top of that. If I could get a precise quantification of how much they will be I could make a decision, but as ever with this type of thing theres no real firm answer. You chaps in the US get it so good!
February 27, 200917 yr I'm very tempted but being in the UK makes this difficult. I've found one retailer in the uk willing to sell me it - but at twice the cost of the US $ price. Hi, Just FYI: http://www.xcase.co.uk/p/445733/x-case-rm-420---20-drive-sata-ii-hotswap---inc-rails-optional-psusuks-lowest-priced-multidisk-4u-.html If this is the same retailer you've found in the UK, then ignore this msg. BR Søren
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