I'm considering buying the Cooler Master Centurion 590, which seems to be the most popular unRAID case by a mile (free shipping with promo code AUGSAVING).  At least two people on the pimp my rig thread use several of these iStarUSA T-5-SA 1x5.25" Bay Trayless Anti-vibration SATA Mobile Racks with the 590, which are reasonably priced and seem to be decent quality.  Unfortuneately, they are currently out of stock at Newegg.  Would something like this KINGWIN KF-4000-BK 3.5" Internal hot swap rack raid-4 bay work instead?  Or should I just order the case now, and wait for the iStarUSA racks to come back in stock?

I have the I-STAR's and special fan arrangement.

 

I started out with the Kingwin's 2in3's.  They have tiny 40MM fans. I wasn't all that happy when I considered changing the fans in the future.

I was going to disconnect the fans but found the Fanless I-STAR units and used multiple 120MM fans in exhaust mode instead.

 

One point to consider, you will need to blow the dist out of the vents every month or so.

If dust builds up the air flow becomes restricted then your drives start getting hot.

 

I had the kingwin single tray trayless units too. The I-STAR's let in more air via the front.

 

It all depends on how many drives you want to jam into a case.

Thanks for the advice, WeeboTech, I really appreciate it.  I'm actually thinking of tinkering around with this set up for a while, then eventually selling this server, so I would like it to be as hands-off and tool-less as possible.  It seems that the 590's max capacity of externally mounted drives is 12 (3 x 4-in-3 cages).  How many of the iStar docks are you able to cram into your case?

 

I think I would like to aim for 8-12 drives, that seems reasonable.  Hopefully I would be able to find a motherboard with 8 onboard SATA slots, then maybe add a TX4 or that cheap Rosewill PCI-e card if I need any more.

 

Also, I don't mind switching out fans for bigger/better ones, but I would rather not have to mod anything if possible.  I don't think blowing the dust out of the vents will be a big deal. 

I'm considering buying the Cooler Master Centurion 590, which seems to be the most popular unRAID case by a mile (free shipping with promo code AUGSAVING).  At least two people on the pimp my rig thread use several of these iStarUSA T-5-SA 1x5.25" Bay Trayless Anti-vibration SATA Mobile Racks with the 590, which are reasonably priced and seem to be decent quality.  Unfortuneately, they are currently out of stock at Newegg.  Would something like this KINGWIN KF-4000-BK 3.5" Internal hot swap rack raid-4 bay work instead?  Or should I just order the case now, and wait for the iStarUSA racks to come back in stock?

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817993002&Tpk=coolermaster%204-in-3

COOLER MASTER STB-3T4-E3-GP 4-in-3 Device Module Hardisk Cage - Retail

 

i have 3 of them in my CM590.

 

 

Thanks for the advice, WeeboTech, I really appreciate it.  I'm actually thinking of tinkering around with this set up for a while, then eventually selling this server, so I would like it to be as hands-off and tool-less as possible.  It seems that the 590's max capacity of externally mounted drives is 12 (3 x 4-in-3 cages).  How many of the iStar docks are you able to cram into your case?

 

I think I would like to aim for 8-12 drives, that seems reasonable.  Hopefully I would be able to find a motherboard with 8 onboard SATA slots, then maybe add a TX4 or that cheap Rosewill PCI-e card if I need any more.

 

Also, I don't mind switching out fans for bigger/better ones, but I would rather not have to mod anything if possible.  I don't think blowing the dust out of the vents will be a big deal. 

 

I have 9 trayless SATA units in my CM590. I have an Abit AB9 Pro which has 9 ports plust 1 eSATA which seemed to be an excellent fit for this set up.

 

As for TX4 or Rosewill PCIe card, go for the PCIe. The cost will be the same.

 

As far as fans, There is only 1 case fan. You will need to buy at least 1 120MM fan.

Two top fans, 1 back fan. (1 fan can be taken from the 4in3 module that comes with the CM590).

 

Or you can go for all 4in3 modules, I think they are $25 each.

I was going to recommend the Sans Digital TRM-4 or TRM-8, but it seems you're asking about INTERNAL drive bays? I'm using a Thermaltake iCage (3 in 3) and two CoolerMaster 4 in 3 cages - one of which comes with the case. I'll soon upgrade that to three Coolermaster ones to give me a total of 12 drives. I also have the TRM-4 externally for another 4 drives. Once Tom has the 20 drive version of unRAID Pro working, I'll get a TRM-5 which has removable drive trays.

I'd have gone with a Norco 4220 if I'd known I was going to go unRAID crazy when I first built my server with a different case!

I was going to recommend the Sans Digital TRM-4 or TRM-8,

 

for anyone looking for external disk cage/rack and don't want to pay for RAID function since unRAID itself is a RAID server, i would suggest to get this Sans Digital 5-bay disk rack.

For this disk rack, just put disks in and connect a power supply to this rack then use I-to-L esata cables to attach disks to unRaid box through esata ports at your unRAID box.

You can find some add-on cards (for example RC-218) come with esata interface or you can convert some available internal sata ports to esata through esata PCI bracket.

 

SANS DIGITAL HDDRACK5 5-Bay IDE / SATA Hard Drive Organizing Rack

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816111045

 

Newegg usually sell it for $19 and you can find some from ebay for about $25

 

I-to-L esata cable

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10226&cs_id=1022603&p_id=3750&seq=1&format=2

 

esata PCI bracket

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.9281