Silverstone CS380 Compact Mid-Tower 8x4TB Hot Swap

[dmacias]

OS: unRAID 6.4.0-rc10b Pro License

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1240 v3 $152 used eBay

Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SLL-F uATX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 $109 used eBay

RAM (24GB): Crucial 16GB ECC (2 x 8GB) and HYNIX 8GB (4GB x 2) UNBUFFERED ECC SERVER  240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 (PC3L 12800E) $176 from old build & $41 used eBay

Case: Silverstone Case Storage Series CS380 $125

Drive Cage(s): Ultra Quadruple 4 X 2.5″ to 5.25″ SATA SSD Hot Swap Drive Bay Enclosure $20

Power Supply: Corsair SF600 $109 + Cable Mod extension cables $30

SATA Expansion Card: LSI LOGIC SAS 9207-8i Storage Controller LSI00301 $65 new eBay

Cables: 2 x Monoprice 0.5m 30AWG Internal Mini SAS 36pin (SFF-8087) Male w/ Latch to SATA 7pin Female (x4) Forward Breakout Cable $9/ea

Fans: 2 x Noctua NF-F12 120mm PWM $20/ea 2 x ENERMAX T.B. Silence UCTB12P 120mm PWM $15/ea

UPS: Tripp Lite 1200VA Smart UPS Battery Back Up, 700W Rack-Mount, AVR, 2U (SMART1200LCD)  $177

Parity Drive: 2 x 4TB Toshiba MD04ACA400

Data Drives: 2 x 4TB Western Digital WD40EZRX, 4TB Seagate ST4000DM000, 4TB Seagate ST4000VN008, 2 TB Western Digital WD20EZRX

Cache Drive: 2 x Corsair Force 120GB SSD $70/ea

Total Array Capacity: 18TB

 

Total cost w/o drives or UPS= $915

 

Primary Use: Media Storage and  backup

Power Consumption: will update when done

 

This isn't really a new build but a consolidation and upgrade. I'm combining my main server and my backup server with a few new parts.  My 2nd ASRock C2750-D4I was starting have problems with sensors missing in the BIOS and IPMI e.g. 3v, 5v, 12v and MB temp. So I plan to RMA then sell it. Then use the Supermicro board. Since the SM is a uATX, I needed a new case. I also needed a SATA card and a new processor since the G3220 wouldn't be adequate.

 

 

Idle Power: 41 watts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 22, 2018 by dmacias

[dmacias]

Silverstone CS380

 

I was looking at getting a 4U rack mount case for a future rack. But most reviews for the sub $200 4U cases listed cons I wasn't willing to accept. Size, airflow, available parts, quality etc. Since I was already familiar with the DS380 and it's easily solvable airflow issues, I decided to get the CS380 for $125. It seemed to have a better design with the fans directly on the drive cage. However the reviews still complain about high drive temps. It's my belief that most don't control the fans properly or try control the fans in the bios. It doesn't make sense to try and cool hard drives with smart fan settings in the bios. It will never work unless your system temp is high enough all the time.

 

First off I should say I like the case and would buy it again. But it seems like they took another case and threw in the hot swap cage from the DS380 and added a locking door. And Silverstone seems to think the laws of physics don't apply inside their cases. The DS380 had the whole length of the case open between the drive cage and the side fans. At Silverstone air is not supposed to flow through the path of least resistance. It is magically supposed to flow through the drive cage. Also it's supposed to flow through solid plastic too. The CS380 has the same solid plastic cutout for large graphics cards but it's upside down in the wrong spot for a graphics card.

These pictures are with my ASRock C2750. Still waiting on parts so I can use the Supermicro board. Besides the big gaping hole, there's a 1" lip underneath the fans along the backplane side. I used duct tape to seal the backplane so air goes through and doesn't just blow out. I also drilled holes into the plastic piece behind the upper drive cage fan. I'll have to get some better pictures with the fans off. The cage fans and the side panel are offset. Some have suggested making a fan shroud to extend to the intake. I don't think that will be necessary. I ran a parity check for an hour and only the Toshiba parity drive #2 in the 2nd hot swap from the top reached 37C.  The rest were 33C and below. I will swap Toshiba parity #1 in top tray and try again to see if its the drive or the bay or drive. This was running my IPMI fan control plugin with a high threshold of 40C and a low of 25C.

 

I installed the LSI 9207-8i and inverted the drives so the two parity drives are on the bottom and the drives go in order 1 - 5 upwards after that. I ran a complete parity check and the one Toshiba drive reached 40C. The rest were under 37C. I was using the IPMI fan control with a high threshold of 40C and a low of 25C. Having now swapped the Toshiba 2nd parity drive from the 2nd from the top tray to the 2nd from the bottom tray there is no difference in temp. The drive just runs hotter than the others.

 

 

At the left side of the fans you can see where the duct tape is filling the holes. Across the middle of the upper fan is the removable plastic graphics card piece discussed earlier. And if you look closely you can see the holes I drilled across it just above the drive tray guide.

 

 

On the bottom of the case there is a removable dust screen. There are holes for two 120mm fans. The power supply covers one fan location. This isn't bad since I positioned the power supply fan-down. It's able to pull air from outside the case. Two of the holes of the other 120mm fan location are covered by part of the drive cage. It's a thin piece of metal that serves no purpose. I plan to cut it off and install a fan to pull in air from beneath the case. It should fit fine and still allow access to the bottom sata port on the backplane.

 

 

I removed the drive cage then cut about an inch of the top part in picture.  I then folded it over so it will sit under the cage when installed.

 

 

Here it is with the cage installed but no fan and no lip covering the holes.

 

 

I also installed in the LSI 9207-8i and forward breakout cables. This is with the fan installed. There's just enough room to snap in the bottom sata cable. I now have an intake fan on the bottom of the case.

 

 

The side of the case has a mesh dust filter but it's held in by four push pins. So you have to take off the side panel then remove the pins which is tedious.  I removed the mesh and used the magnets from a failed 2.5" drive and some electrical tape to make a removable filter. This could be moved inside the panel if the looks aren't appealing but I don't care, it's in a closet. Also while you could possibly install two 120mm fans on the side panel itself, they would be right on top of the hard drive cage fans.

 

 

The sides come out bit which allows for all the cables to be fed under the motherboard. Here's a look at the right side of the case to show some possibilities for cable management. I know it looks like the drive cage is flush with the side but there an inch or two gap where the air from the fans on the other side can flow out. I routed all the front cables to circumvent the drive cage. I ran the Noctua's with the included extension cables above the cage and up under the motherboard. I was able to run the main power cable all the way under.  I have the 4-pin extra power tied off for now. The ASRock doesn't need it but the SM will.

 

 

The front has usb ports but you can't close the door with a nub in it.  There is room between the back of the door and the front.  So I took my dremel to the inside of the door to allow me to close it with my unRAID usb stick in it. Also you can see the front power disable switch there. Its a nice feature.  You can lock the power button on the outside so you have to unlock it to power it on or off. Great for kids or animals. That bright blue light is very attractive.

 

 

I added a fan to the LSI 9207-8i. I used the rubber pieces from a Noctua and wedged them into the heat sink. Its a high rpm 50mm fan. I modded a 3-pin to 4-pin molex connector to use 5v instead of 12v. So its quiet now.

 

 

A few other thought's. The drive trays for the CS380 are the same as the trays for the DS380. However they have three screw holes on the side instead of just two. They are plastic but are durable. I had no problems with the DS380. You do have to push them in all the way and make sure the tabs on each side snap in. The CS380 is the same 8" width as the DS380 but its about 5" taller and 5" deeper.  Another nice feature is both sides come with thumb screws that don't have to be completely unscrewed to remove the panels. They screw into the panel and will stay put (loosely) when the panel is removed. Meaning you won't drop them on the ground or behind something.

 

Edited November 19, 2017 by dmacias

[tdallen]

I'm quite interested in your opinion of and mods on the CS380!

[dmacias]

I updated the 2nd post with all the mods and review of the Silverstone CS380 case. I'm still waiting for the E3-1240 v3 so I can remove the ASRock C2750 and RMA it. I can then install the Supermicro board. Also waiting on the Icy Dock 4 x 2.5" into 5.25" hot swap and plan to add a dvd burner in the top 5.25" bay.

[tdallen]

Thanks, this is a great review and detailed set of mods!  Aside from room for an mATX motherboard, is there anything else you preferred about the CS380 over the DS380?  The drive cage mod to allow a fan to be mounted on the bottom seems annoying, but important.

[veezer]

Curious what your idle power is showing at the wall (with hard drives in standby and no high-cpu processes running like transcode)?

[dmacias]

Curious what your idle power is showing at the wall (with hard drives in standby and no high-cpu processes running like transcode)?

With the ASRock C2750 its about 45 watts if I remember. And the LSI 9207 adds 10-15 watts. I'll update with the Supermicro and E3-1240 when I get it installed.

[dmacias]

 

 

 

Thanks, this is a great review and detailed set of mods!  Aside from room for an mATX motherboard, is there anything else you preferred about the CS380 over the DS380?  The drive cage mod to allow a fan to be mounted on the bottom seems annoying, but important.

 

I like the extra room. You can add 2.5" drives on both cases to the drive trays. But I especially like being able to add the 4 bay 2.5" into one of the 5.25" bays. You could even use a 6 bay 2.5". On the DS380 the 2.5" cage was always a pain to change out drives. The cables were real tight and you have to completely remove it. Also I can add a DVD burner.

 

I think the C380 has overall potential for better cooling. But all require mods. Another idea I had was to drill out 120mm x 240mm fan grill pattern on the right side panel of the case and move the drive cage fans to that side. Then add two additional intake 120mm fans mounted on the left side panel. Or you could leave the drive cage fans alone and just vent them out the other side. With the mini-itx you could add a 120mm fan between the power supply and board blowing out the slotted dummy pci brackets too.

 

You can put a full sized ATX if you want.

 

The door has magnets to hold it closed and the key is an actual key, not that plastic thing that the DS380 has.

 

The CS380 has clear plastic guides along the drive trays to reflect the activity light from the backplane. You can even see it with the door closed.

 

That's all I can think of for now.

 

[dmacias]

I decided to ditch the ICY DOCK 4 X 2.5" into 5.25" bay for the Silverstone FS204. The reviews for the ICY DOCK say the fan can last only weeks. So I was planning to just order a Noctua 40mm. That would bring the price closer $60. While there aren't many reviews for the FS204, I find the Silverstone fans to be better than average and it comes with 2. I would rather the $70 price be lower but it also comes with individual locks for each tray.

 

 

 

[dmacias]

Curious what your idle power is showing at the wall (with hard drives in standby and no high-cpu processes running like transcode)?

My idle power with the Supermicro X10SLL-F and E3-1240 v3 with all drives spun down is about 41-43 watts. This picture is from the UPS page but with a switch and cable amplifier that add about 10 watts.

[Hoopster]

@dmacias I just bought the same case and have the Corsair SFX power supply as well.  I see you had to get cable extenders as the PSU cables that come with these SFX PSUs are very short.  Was the SATA cable long enough to reach the drives in the upper 5.25" bays? 

 

The manual for the CS380 recommends that two different PSU cables be used to connect power to the hot-swap drive cages.  If I recall correctly, the PSU does not have enough  PSU-side connectrors for a SATA cable and two 4-pin peripheral cables.  Do you power the drives cages with two connectors on one cable or did you find a way to connect two separate cables to the drive cage?  I can't even find a 4-pin peripheral cable for the PSU without buying a full set.

 

I will be moving components from a much more compact Lian-Li PC-Q25 case in which cable lengths are not an issue to the CS380.  Thanks for the detail you provided in this post.  Even though I will still be using my current Mini-ITX MB, I need the flexibility to move to other MB form factors for future upgrades and the CS380 is still a relatively small case that provides a lot of flexibility and expandability options.

Edited October 21, 2018 by Hoopster

[dmacias]

On 10/20/2018 at 10:38 AM, Hoopster said:

[mention=11874]dmacias[/mention] I just bought the same case and have the Corsair SFX power supply as well.  I see you had to get cable extenders as the PSU cables that come with these SFX PSUs are very short.  Was the SATA cable long enough to reach the drives in the upper 5.25" bays?   

The manual for the CS380 recommends that two different PSU cables be used to connect power to the hot-swap drive cages.  If I recall correctly, the PSU does not have enough  PSU-side connectrors for a SATA cable and two 4-pin peripheral cables.  Do you power the drives cages with two connectors on one cable or did you find a way to connect two separate cables to the drive cage?  I can't even find a 4-pin peripheral cable for the PSU without buying a full set.

 

I will be moving components from a much more compact Lian-Li PC-Q25 case in which cable lengths are not an issue to the CS380.  Thanks for the detail you provided in this post.  Even though I will still be using my current Mini-ITX MB, I need the flexibility to move to other MB form factors for future upgrades and the CS380 is still a relatively small case that provides a lot of flexibility and expandability options.

 

I'm sorry I can't remember if I used the original cables or used some longer ones left over from other Corsair modular power supplies with the same type cable. I remember messing with left over cables. Plus looking at the pics I need to update. I used a different power supply extender and it might have come with some extensions too. I also flipped the hard drive fans and flipped the side panels. I now have this case mounted on rails in my network rack. So now the hard drive fans stuck air from the bottom of the rack if that makes sense. I'll try to look at it later today  

 

Edit I used Corsair type 3 cable which are the same as the type 4 for the peripheral connections.

You can see the 3 down at the bottom. Type 4 on all other.

Edited January 13, 2019 by dmacias

[Hoopster]

I'll try to look at it later today

No worries.  I did find a type 4 peripheral cable for the Corsair SFX PSU.  I have a Molex to two SATA adapter as well.  With those cables I can have two peripheral cables plugged into the PSU powering the hot-swap drive cage and off one of those run the two SATA I need for the Blu-ray/DVD reader/writer and the four SSD adapter in the 5.25" bays.

 

I have also done the same mods you did as far as cutting metal off the drive cage to accommodate an intake fan on the bottom, taping up the holes on the cage to force air through the drive cage and punching holes in the plastic piece so air can flow through. Those were some dumb design decisions by Silverstone.

 

Thanks again for the tips, I think I have it all sorted out now.

 

Edited October 23, 2018 by Hoopster

[JonathanM]

10 hours ago, dmacias said:

I'm sorry I can't remember if I used the original cables or used some longer ones left over from other modular power supplies.

That's fine IF you know how to use a voltmeter, and confirm pinout consistency.

 

I'm replying here just to warn off folks who might happen on this post and think all modular power supplies with the same connectors are compatible.

 

THEY ARE NOT! If you don't know how to check cables with a voltmeter or power supply tester, DON'T RISK IT. You can easily burn out parts if the harnesses aren't pinned identically.

[Hoopster]

2 hours ago, jonathanm said:

 
I'm replying here just to warn off folks who might happen on this post and think all modular power supplies with the same connectors are compatible.

That’s why I was specifically looking for a Corsair type 4 cable that is compatible with my PSU. Modular does not equal universal.
 

 

Edited October 24, 2018 by Hoopster

[dmacias]

That's fine IF you know how to use a voltmeter, and confirm pinout consistency.
 
I'm replying here just to warn off folks who might happen on this post and think all modular power supplies with the same connectors are compatible.
 
THEY ARE NOT! If you don't know how to check cables with a voltmeter or power supply tester, DON'T RISK IT. You can easily burn out parts if the harnesses aren't pinned identically.

Thanks for pointing that out. I changed my answer a bit but yes you're right. Someone could assume that from what I said.

[Hoopster]

I moved my system into the CS380 case a few days ago, but, I am really struggling to get drive temperatures down to an acceptable level and to contain the noise produced by the fans. 

 

Temps and noise in the previous case (Lian-Li PC-Q25) were good considering it only had one 140mm fan in the front and one 120mm on the top for exhaust.  The highest temperature I saw on parity check was 46 C with the data drives usually in the 39-42C range. Ambient is 22-23C.

 

My unRAID server used to be the quietest equipment in the room, now, it is the loudest of the three computers in my home office.

 

45 minutes into a parity check in the CS380 and the parity drive was already at 46C and disk 1 at 43C; the others were at 39C in the top slots.  I have Parity in the 2nd slot from the bottom and disk one in slot 4 with a blank slot in between.  I may have to move parity to the top as it appears there is better airflow there.  I stopped the parity check 20 minutes ago and the drive temps have not dropped which seem very odd.

 

Just like the OP, I bought a couple of Noctua NF-F12 static pressure fans for the drive cage and I have an Enermax on the bottom of the case.  I did the tape thing to cover the holes and openings and I drilled holes in the plastic insert.  This helped.

 

The Noctua fans sound like jet engines in the CS380.  However, I put them on my water cooler radiator in my desktop and they are fairly quiet.  I tried the Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 fans I had in my desktop on the CS380 drive cage, they are a little quieter, but, still much noisier than on my desktop.  Same with the Cougar quiet fan I had in the Lian-Li.  It is just noisier on the CS380.  My conclusion is that airflow through the drive cages is so obstructed that it just creates more noise.  The ventilation holes in the drive cage are very small compared to both the Lian-Li and my desktop machine; both of which have much wider and longer ventilation holes in the drive cages. I may have to see what I can do to make them bigger without messing up the hot-swap bay.

 

My system is both noisier and hotter in this case which is not the desired result.  I like the case, but, not the results.

Edited October 26, 2018 by Hoopster

[dmacias]

I moved my system into the CS380 case a few days ago, but, I am really struggling to get drive temperatures down to an acceptable level and to contain the noise produced by the fans. 
 
Temps and noise in the previous case (Lian-Li PC-Q25) were good considering it only had one 140mm fan in the front and one 120mm on the top for exhaust.  The highest temperature I saw on parity check was 46 C with the data drives usually in the 39-42C range. Ambient is 22-23C.
 
My unRAID server used to be the quietest equipment in the room, now, it is the loudest of the three computers in my home office.
 
45 minutes into a parity check in the CS380 and the parity drive was already at 46C and disk 1 at 43C; the others were at 39C in the top slots.  I have Parity in the 2nd slot from the bottom and disk one in slot 4 with a blank slot in between.  I may have to move parity to the top as it appears there is better airflow there.  I stopped the parity check 20 minutes ago and the drive temps have not dropped which seem very odd.
 
Just like the OP, I bought a couple of Noctua NF-F12 static pressure fans for the drive cage and I have an Enermax on the bottom of the case.  I did the tape thing to cover the holes and openings and I drilled holes in the plastic insert.  This helped.
 
The Noctua fans sound like jet engines in the CS380.  However, I put them on my water cooler radiator in my desktop and they are fairly quiet.  I tried the Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 fans I had in my desktop on the CS380 drive cage, they are a little quieter, but, still much noisier than on my desktop.  Same with the Cougar quiet fan I had in the Lian-Li.  It is just noisier on the CS380.  My conclusion is that airflow through the drive cages is so obstructed that it just creates more noise.  The ventilation holes in the drive cage are very small compared to both the Lian-Li and my desktop machine; both of which have much wider and longer ventilation holes in the drive cages. I may have to see what I can do to make them bigger without messing up the hot-swap bay.
 
My system is both noisier and hotter in this case which is not the desired result.  I like the case, but, not the results.

You might try flipping the fans so they pull air through the drive cage and then flip the side panels. So if you're looking at the front of the case, the fans are blowing to the left and there is a solid side panel on the left. And the vented side panel is now on the right. And make sure all cables are under the motherboard and not blocking the drive cage. May eliminate some noise by enclosing the fans. Also during parity checks just the noctuas on the fan cage run at higher speeded based on hdd temp. I don't think the rest spin up as much. I never really paid attention to the noise since the server was in a network rack in a closet. I had the other Lian Li (not the q25) but similar with a 5.25 slot above the front fan. Can't remember number. Much better air flow. I'll run a parity check and see

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Hoopster]

12 minutes ago, dmacias said:

You might try flipping the fans so they pull air through the drive cage and then flip the side panels.

OK, I'll give that a try; appreciate the suggestion.  I have swapped drive location with parity and disk one in the top half of the drive cage and disks 2 and 3 in the bottom.  I am running another parity check now. Only 25 minutes in but parity is currently at 39C and the data drives are at 38-39C.

 

Fans are still much louder than I would like.  I guess I was just spoiled by how quiet things were in the Lian-Li and how relatively cool the drives stayed in my usually warm office.  That case definitely had much better airflow.

Edited October 26, 2018 by Hoopster

[Hoopster]

22 minutes ago, dmacias said:

And the vented side panel is now on the right

Actually, I wonder if a vented panel on both sides would help.  One for the fans to draw in air and another for it to flow out as it exits the drive cage.  I wonder if lots of hot air is remaining the case as the one 120mm exhaust fan in the rear is not keeping up?

Edited October 26, 2018 by Hoopster

[dmacias]

Actually, I wonder if a vented panel on both sides would help.  One for the fans to draw in air and another for it to flow out as it exits the drive cage.  I wonder if lots of hot air is remaining the case as the one 120mm exhaust fan in the rear is not keeping up?

What is your rear fan? I have an Arctic something. I think that would be noticeable if cpu and mb temps were high or cpu fan is running too high. My thought process besides that I rack mounted the case was to pull cooler air over the hdds. With the vented panel on the left and fans blowing to the right there was more of a chance of cool air not going to the hdds and possibly hot air too. With the panel and fans reversed all the cool air from the vents goes directly to the hdds cage. And the intake fan by the power supply brings in cool air for the system. Right now at 25 min parity check. This is my readings FAN4 is rear fan. FANA is hdds. FAN1 is CPU and FAN2 is intake. Also I'm running my IPMI fan control with FANA set to hdds temps and a max threshold of 45°C

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

 

Edit. This is more accurate temps. I stopped the parity check and waited a bit till the webgui updated them. I don't think the webgui updates as frequently during parity checks. The IPMI values above are correct though except hdd temp. Also since I have my threshold set to 45, FAN won't reach max rpm until then

 

 

 

 

 

[Hoopster]

3 minutes ago, dmacias said:

What is your rear fan?

I have had the fan that came with the case, the 120mm Cougar exhaust fan I had in the Lian-Li and a Noctua on the rear exhaust.

 

I just stopped the 2nd parity check after 1 hour 10 minutes and the Parity got up to "only" 42C.  The data drives were at 41-44C with higher temps on the drives at the bottom.  This is after moving Parity to the upper half of the drive cage.  Previous check with it on the bottom it hit 46C after 45 minutes.  There is definitely better airflow on the top half of the cage than on the bottom.

 

I have had the drive cage fans connected to a MB fan controller with the Noctua Y cable - there is only one the MB fan header besides CPU fan - and to Molex-to-fan adapters (current configuration) with leads for 5v, 7v and 12v.  I have run the last two tests on 7v to see if it reduced noise (it did not).  I'll try the next test at 12v and fans/panels reversed.

 

I don't have IPMI on this board so, I assume I cannot use your plugin.

[dmacias]

 

 

 

I have had the fan that came with the case, the 120mm Cougar exhaust fan I had in the Lian-Li and a Noctua on the rear exhaust.

 

I just stopped the 2nd parity check after 1 hour 10 minutes and the Parity got up to "only" 42C.  The data drives were at 41-44C with higher temps on the drives at the bottom.  This is after moving Parity to the upper half of the drive cage.  Previous check with it on the bottom it hit 46C after 45 minutes.  There is definitely better airflow on the top half of the cage than on the bottom.

 

I have had the drive cage fans connected to a MB fan controller with the Noctua Y cable - there is only one the MB fan header besides CPU fan - and to Molex-to-fan adapters (current configuration) with leads for 5v, 7v and 12v.  I have run the last two tests on 7v to see if it reduced noise (it did not).  I'll try the next test at 12v and fans/panels reversed.

 

I don't have IPMI on this board so, I assume I cannot use your plugin.

 

Correct need IPMI for the plugin. I added newer pics in the OP to show how I have it now. I used Corsair type 3 (same as type 4) for the peripheral power and an extender kit for the main atx cable and for the motherboard/cpu power cable. I still think you might get even better cooling results from flipping like I did. That way power suppy, system and hdds are all drawing from their own external air.

 

Edit. I can remember for sure but I believe I have all drives sequentially from top to bottom in the case. With parity on the top

 

 

 

[Hoopster]

3 hours ago, dmacias said:

I still think you might get even better cooling results from flipping like I did.

I flipped the fans to pull and swapped side panels so vented panel was on the back side.  Same results more or less.  After 1 hour 15 minutes of parity check - parity drive was as 43C and data drives were at 40-41C.  This was with fans connected to 12v leads whereas tests with fans and panels in standard "push" configuration were running on 7v leads.  So, presumably higher fan speeds resulted in the same results in the "pull" configuration.

[dmacias]

I flipped the fans to pull and swapped side panels so vented panel was on the back side.  Same results more or less.  After 1 hour 15 minutes of parity check - parity drive was as 43C and data drives were at 40-41C.  This was with fans connected to 12v leads whereas tests with fans and panels in standard "push" configuration were running on 7v leads.  So, presumably higher fan speeds resulted in the same results in the "pull" configuration.

Same noise level? Maybe with some sort of fan control it would be tolerable for you under normal everyday use. Just loud during parity checks. Also did you have the filters on or off? When I had the DS380, I did a lot of testing with and without.