Hi all,

so little questions. I've been considering going down the unraid path, but I have still some questions.

I stopped building computers 15 years ago and went the lazy way (ie, Mac), so I'm not very aware of what's up nowadays.

I would like to have a 5 or 6-disk nas that would play perfectly with my Macs, a WD TV live (and maybe the soon to be sold LG TV with Plex). I was considering Synology at first but the 1010+ costs a leg!!!! I need it to be silent and low powered. What would you advise for? (and in a mac world, is it as feature-rich as a synology nas?)

Thanks

I've read some very good things about the Fractal Designs R2 case which has been recently updated with the R3.  For that 6-8 drive range you might consider it for its mac-like design and quiet performance (or at least the complete flexibility to become near silent).

 

I believe that AFP support is coming in version 5 so if you don't have a problem using SMB until then you can dive right in.  Look to Raj's recommended build thread here for more info:  http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7998.0

After reading a little bit, I saw 2 cases that seem good, but I've also read mixed reviews... The Fractal Design Array R2 as you said (the only R3 I saw was a bigger case) and the Lian-Li Q08. Did someone compare them for an unraid build? And are there other cases of these types?

I've just finished installing my first drive in my old PC case and overall it's really smooth.... I'm beginning to be an unraid fan (is there a special name for this? ;-) ... an unraider maybe ;-) ;-).....).

 

I like unRaider.

 

Sorry can't help with the case though, running a Norco 4224.

 

Josh

After reading a little bit, I saw 2 cases that seem good, but I've also read mixed reviews... The Fractal Design Array R2 as you said (the only R3 I saw was a bigger case) and the Lian-Li Q08. Did someone compare them for an unraid build? And are there other cases of these types?

I've just finished installing my first drive in my old PC case and overall it's really smooth.... I'm beginning to be an unraid fan (is there a special name for this? ;-) ... an unraider maybe ;-) ;-).....).

 

 

Search the pimp your rig thread for "Fractal Design"

 

Fractal Design examples

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=2031.msg79573#msg79573

 

 

The Fractal Designs cases are very nice, as are the Lian Li cases.  However, in my opinion they aren't worth it because they force you to use internally installed drives.  I'm a huge proponent of hot swap bays (which is why all my 'budget' designs in the link above use hot swap).  Hence, I recommend something like my 6 drive miniTower design.  If you want something a bit more attractive, just substitute a nicer case in for the cheap Gigabyte one I used.  Just look for a case with four consecutive 5.25" bays.

 

My 5 Drive miniBox is also cheap, easy, and a bit easier to build 'pretty' as cases with 3 consecutive 5.25" bays are much more common.

I think the important thing to remember when considering any case is how important is it to you to obtain the highest level of quietness possible (realizing up front that it will cost you!)?

 

These higher end cases mentioned above have the initial "foundation" of serving as an ultraquiet case.  For example if quietness is important to you I wouldn't consider anything that didn't have rubber grommets for the drive mounts to absorb vibration etc.  120mm fan mounts are an absolute must.

 

It all depends on how important "quiet" is to you and what your definition of it is.  I've built dozens and dozens of systems over the past 2 decades and I've found there's a sweet spot (for me) of price and quietness.  I've gone nearly the whole gamit and found that a solid case (like the Sonata or Antec P180/P182) and some quality fans and quiet PS are typically enough for my liking without resorting to fan controllers, water or other alternatives.

 

 

Hi Unraiders ;-)

Thanks a lot. Talmania, to answer you, I need quiet because it will be on top of a cupboard in my entrance hall next to my internet box, so at least at night it has to be dead quiet otherwise my wife will kill me ;-).

Raj, I would also way prefer hot swap bays (that's why at first I was interested by Drobo, but..... no comment.... ;-) ), but I really need a small cube like form-factor (WAF quite important here ;-) ), hence those 2 cases (btw which one would you prefer?). But if you know of a small cube-like case with 6 hot-swap drive, I'll take it (even better if it's cheap).

Anyway, thanks for all the comments guys.

 

The 6 disk is the part that's confounding me--if it were 4 I'd look to the chenbro ES34069 (I own one and LOVE it). To get 6 and to keep WAF acceptance high (which can only be answered by knowing how big is too big??) I'd say the R2 or R3.  If the case Raj and you mention isn't too large then by all means go that direction and save some $$$ 

 

6 hotswap bays in the form factor of the Fractal or Chenbro would be severely high on my personal cool tech level. 

6 Hot Swap disks is a pickle.  However, for a 5 disk build Queeg found the perfect case with maximum WAF specs:

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7446.msg71273

 

Note that the 4th bay isn't usable for a 3.5" drive, as the motherboard needs to sit there.  Pair it with a nice 5-in-3.  Pretty much all the other parts could be the same as are in my 6 drive miniTower build above (miniITX mobo, etc.).  I don't know if the SATA expansion card will fit or not, you might have to take some virtual measurements.  It is a tiny card, but that is also a tiny case...