January 31, 201610 yr Are there any new cases around that are fairly compact such as the norco itx-s4 or the istarusa s-35? I'm looking for something that can hold 4x3.5" drives and optionally 1x2.5" There are quite a few mITX that are nice, but it seems extremely difficult to find any that hold 4x3.5" - many hold 2, some hold 3, but 4 seems rare.
January 31, 201610 yr The case I have and which has been used by many on this forum: Lian Li PC-Q25. 5 x 3.5 in hotswap backplane + 2 x 3.5 or 1 x 3.5 + 2 x 2.5 on the bottom rack. I actually have 5 x 3.5 in backplane + 2 x 3.5 on the bottom rack + 2 x 2.5 SSDs stuck to the bottom of the backplane cage, a total of 9 drives in this ITX case.
January 31, 201610 yr This one is pretty popular http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Mini-ITX-Computer-DS380B/dp/B00IAELTAI
January 31, 201610 yr There are three excellent mini-ITX cases you can choose from: (1) The Lian-Li PC-Q25B (2) The Fractal Design Node 304 (3) The Silverstone DS380 The Silverstone holds more drives (8 hot-swap bays), but my favorite is the Q25B ... it has 5 hot-swap bays and can hold 2 more 3.5" drives, or 1 3.5" and 2 2.5", or 3 2.5" drives on the bottom tray. [And the 2.5" drives can be stacked, so you could actually put 6 SSDs on the bottom tray as long as you put spacers between them to allow a bit of airflow.] They are all very nice cases.
January 31, 201610 yr (1) The Lian-Li PC-Q25B (2) The Fractal Design Node 304 (3) The Silverstone DS380 What power supply options (form factor, not wattage) are available? Any difference between these three? I have seen a few threads about difficulty finding or fitting power supplies in smaller cases. That might tip the scales when deciding.
January 31, 201610 yr ... What power supply options (form factor, not wattage) are available? Any difference between these three? The Silverstone is specifically designed for an SFX power supply. The Q25B will accept an ATX supply as long as it's not longer than 180mm, but it's a MUCH better choice to use an SFX unit, as it's a very tight build with an ATX PSU. The Fractal Node 304 will accept an ATX supply, and because of its "sideways in front" mounting it fits okay without any real interference with the build. I still think it's better to use an SFX unit, simply because of the additional ventilation area it provides; but if you have an ATX supply you want to use for a mini-ITX build this is the case to use.
January 31, 201610 yr ... One other note: If you want to use an ATX power supply with the Q25B, I really recommend you buy one of these brackets: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7798/cpa-252/Lian_Li_Power_Supply_Extension_Bracket_-_Black_PE-01.html This provides FAR more "working space" in the case itself; and also eliminates the 180mm restriction on the length of the supply. But as I noted above, it's much better to simply use an SFX power supply.
February 1, 201610 yr Author There are three excellent mini-ITX cases you can choose from: (1) The Lian-Li PC-Q25B (2) The Fractal Design Node 304 (3) The Silverstone DS380 The Silverstone holds more drives (8 hot-swap bays), but my favorite is the Q25B ... it has 5 hot-swap bays and can hold 2 more 3.5" drives, or 1 3.5" and 2 2.5", or 3 2.5" drives on the bottom tray. [And the 2.5" drives can be stacked, so you could actually put 6 SSDs on the bottom tray as long as you put spacers between them to allow a bit of airflow.] They are all very nice cases. Thanks, the Node 304 looks perfect for my uses, I hadn't seen that one. I'm going to look more into it.
February 1, 201610 yr https://www.servercase.co.uk/shop/server-cases/tower-cases/ablecom-soho-nas-chassis-black--250w-psu-cs-m50/ Supermicro has a similar one.
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