I don;t really do much with my server these days, but I really need a new case.   Don't need it super pricey, but I have drive attached storage devices.   Cabling is the biggest issue currently.  The top half of the front of mine is taken up by 5.25 bays which i don't use.

 

I'd like one with easy to manage storage drive areas.

 

Recommendations?

You might do well with something from Jonsbo, with accessible drive bays at the front of relatively compact cases. They have an assorted range.

Can anyone recommend a 24 bay hot swap case? I have been looking at used Supermicro 846 but they have become very pricey ($899 on eBay). Does anyone havee advice of a decent 24 bay? I am not sure I need a SAS 3 expander, as I have HBAs and so I can connect directly to a backplane, SAS 2 I am sure would be fine, as I am not using SSDs and the system is storing movies and tv shows for Emby.
Thoughts?

10 minutes ago, crowdx42 said:

Can anyone recommend a 24 bay hot swap case? I have been looking at used Supermicro 846 but they have become very pricey ($899 on eBay). Does anyone havee advice of a decent 24 bay? I am not sure I need a SAS 3 expander, as I have HBAs and so I can connect directly to a backplane, SAS 2 I am sure would be fine, as I am not using SSDs and the system is storing movies and tv shows for Emby.
Thoughts?

Check out the 847 or 848.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/176085831327

3 hours ago, wuudogg said:

Check out the 847 or 848.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/176085831327

I have looked at the 848 and it seems like it is built for server boards with no place for a regular motherboard to output from it's backplate.
The 847 I have seen have been 36 bay and so only half height cards would work, and I assume it would not allow 12mm fans to replace the supplied, also due to the drive cages underneath the motherboard location.

Edited December 16, 20241 yr by crowdx42
Mixed Model Numbers

On 12/15/2024 at 11:28 PM, crowdx42 said:

Can anyone recommend a 24 bay hot swap case? I have been looking at used Supermicro 846 but they have become very pricey ($899 on eBay). Does anyone havee advice of a decent 24 bay? I am not sure I need a SAS 3 expander, as I have HBAs and so I can connect directly to a backplane, SAS 2 I am sure would be fine, as I am not using SSDs and the system is storing movies and tv shows for Emby.
Thoughts?

 

EU? Anyway, you may find equivalent in your region with these models. Have a look at Intertech or Fantecs:
https://geizhals.de/?cat=geh19&xf=902_20

 

interesting UK shop:

https://www.servercase.co.uk/shop/server-cases/rackmount/4u-chassis/logic-case-lc-4680-16b-wh-4u-rackmount-storage-chassis---16x-35-sata-hot-swap---680mm-depth-lc-4680-16b-wh/

https://www.servercase.co.uk/shop/server-cases/rackmount/4u-chassis/logic-case-lc-4680-24b-wh-4u-rackmount-storage-chassis---24x-35-sata-hot-swap---680mm-depth-lc-4680-24b-wh/

Edited December 22, 20241 yr by gloeckle

I ended up and biting the bullet and bought an 846 chassis. Putting it together this weekend, hoping all goes well

Re 24x case. 

 

I DIY'd mine from a 6u rack on amazon with 2x 12bay sas chasis.

All in one motherboard & PSU sits on a shelf on the top 2u. 

2x giant 200mm nocua fans cut into rear for cooling. 

 

Very cool as its shallow depth case.

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 20241 yr by dopeytree

I am looking to upgrade the case for my unraid server. Been using Unraid now for a year and am happy with it and looking to grow the server.

 

I am currently using the Thermaltake Versa H25 Mid-Tower Classis Case which has been great as a starting point with unraid from the  hp proliant n40l microserver pre built nas i previously had.

 

I recently upgraded the motherboard/cpu to Asus Prime z890m wifi plus with Intel Core 5 Ultra 245k and Noctua D15 cpu cooler.

The space is now very tight and i cant access the drives docked in the top 5.25" section and i want to future proof so when i do need to upgrade the hard drives i dont need to take it all apart.

 

I saw in someones signature the

 

SilverStone CS380 Case Storage Series Black ATX Case  which looks perfect. Anyone with this recommend it or not?

 

My requirements is currently 5x 3.5" hdd and a couple of ssd. 8 Bays would give me room for future upgrades.

Thanks

(current setup with Thermaltake Versa)

Edited February 12, 20251 yr by Maximo101

@Hoopster You have the Silverstone CS380 in your signature, how is it for temperatures, room to install stuff.

What connections does it use to make the hot swappable section connect to the motherboard (is it just sata for each or a combined connection?)

I have seen some reviews which say the hdd get hot and the airflow isnt great and the model is now discontinued, i guess thats why the newer SC382 might address that a bit?

2 minutes ago, Maximo101 said:

how is it for temperatures

My HDD temps are very good after a few modifications.  During parity check or extended disk activity, the hottest temperature I have see on any drive is ~46C.  During "normal" use, I see HDD temps from mid 30s to low 40s (36-43C range)

 

See this forum discussion for some worthwhile modifications that increase cooling in the case.  I posted a lot in that thread. In addition to the modifications mentioned in the first few posts, here is a summary of what I put in the case.

 

I have been very happy with the case for about 6 1/2 years now.

 

7 minutes ago, Maximo101 said:

What connections does it use to make the hot swappable section connect to the motherboard

SATA cable to each drive in hot-swap cages connected either directly from motherboard and/or HBA (I have a Dell 310).

 

Power to the hot-swap cages is via Molex power cables from PSU.

 

There is a smaller Silverstone NAS case that had some well-documented cooling issues but the CS380 is not terrible; however, it can be improved with the mods mentioned above.

 

As far as room in the case, I currently have a Micro-ATX motherboard in the case but it can fit a full ATX motherboard.  I would not use a motherboard with SATA connectors aligned vertically on the edge of the board.  There is little room between the edge of the board and the hot-swap cages.  Use a motherboard with SATA ports on the board surface that face upwards.

37 minutes ago, Hoopster said:

See this forum discussion for some worthwhile modifications that increase cooling in the case.  I posted a lot in that thread. In addition to the modifications mentioned in the first few posts, here is a summary of what I put in the case.

Thank you. Plenty of great information just in your reply and i will read the linked posts.

I am amateur at pc hardware so appreciate the break down which is exactly what i was looking for.

 

My mb is Micro-ATX (mATX) size so thats perfect.

I have 2 sata on the edge (6gbps) (red circle) but i can use the empty ones i have in the

IO Crest 4 Port SATA III PCI-e 2.0 x1 Controller Card Marvell Non-Raid with Low Profile Bracket SI-PEX40064 (blue circle)

with the 4 flat sata (yellow circle). 8 sata is plenty as i will start to utilise the nvem / m.2 for cache drives.

The HBA sounds good and ill keep that in mind for future if needed.

When i put the server back in its normal location, i just keep the covers off for better airflow and its under the stairs so doesnt get much dust. I think the cs380 suits me without needing to look at the more expensive cs382.

17 minutes ago, Maximo101 said:

IO Crest 4 Port SATA III PCI-e 2.0 x1 Controller Card Marvell Non-Raid with Low Profile Bracket SI-PEX40064

Marvell controllers are not recommended.

 

@Maximo101 As Trurl has pointed out, Unraid often has issues with SATA cards based on Marvell controllers.  It is not just Unraid as it a general issues with Marvell drivers for Linux.  I have a 6-port IO Crest SATA card that worked great with earlier version of Unraid but as the kernel changes happened, issues started popping up.  That's when I replaced it with the Dell H310 HBA that I got very cheap on eBay.

4 minutes ago, trurl said:

Marvell controllers are not recommended.

 

I was using this for a year without issues (with the previous mb i had). but ill have a read thanks

Just now, Hoopster said:

@Maximo101 As Trurl has pointed out, Unraid often has issues with SATA cards based on Marvell controllers.  It is not just Unraid as it a general issues with Marvell drivers for Linux.  I have a 6-port IO Crest SATA card that worked great with earlier version of Unraid but as the kernel changes happened, issues started popping up.  That's when I replaced it with the Dell H310 HBA that I got very cheap on eBay.

ok thanks, appreciate the detailed explanation.

On 2/12/2025 at 12:34 AM, Maximo101 said:

I am currently using the Thermaltake Versa H25 Mid-Tower Classis Case which has been great as a starting point with unraid from the  hp proliant n40l microserver pre built nas i previously had.

 

I recently upgraded the motherboard/cpu to Asus Prime z890m wifi plus with Intel Core 5 Ultra 245k and Noctua D15 cpu cooler.

The space is now very tight and i cant access the drives docked in the top 5.25" section and i want to future proof so when i do need to upgrade the hard drives i dont need to take it all apart.

 

I use the Versa H21 as a server case.  I picked up an StarTech 4x3 hot swap rack that fits nicely in the case.  Gives me an extra 3.5" slot in the case as well as easy access from the front without needing to open the sever case.

On 8/23/2024 at 4:40 AM, faxxe71 said:

I have just moved my server from a Silverstone CS351 to a Sagittarius 8-bay enclosure.

The CS351 is pretty but a thermal time bomb for the hard disks. That's why I got the enclosure from Aliexpress, which is hardly available here in Europe.

The enclosure is not expensive but worth the price. Since I only use 4 of the 8 bays (probably soon 5) there is enough cooling air. I control the 2 120mm Noctua fans with a dedicated controller from Aqua Computer.
There is another 120 mm fan in the mainboard area which is controlled by the mainboard.
The system is an i3-13100 with 64GB Ram and 2 NVME disks. An Intel x710 10 GB network card is also installed.

The case only has a front USB port and a power button. No LED or similar. The hard disks are inserted using rubber buffers and are therefore damped. The front of the hard disks can be removed without tools and disks can be changed during operation.

The delivery time was 4 weeks to Europe and the price €130.- including shipping.

 

The black adhesive strips in the area of the hard disks are aluminum butyl for damping the housing. They were glued on by me.

 

Aliexpress Sagittarius 8-bay nas

 

-faxxe

 

 

 

Has cooling with 4 or 5 drives turned out to be OK as you expected? Also can you provide a link to the aluminum butyl strips you used?

 

Thanks - Richard

CS380 case arrived,  I just need to find the time to swap my server components into it.

 

 

Edited March 8, 20251 yr by Maximo101

On 3/8/2025 at 1:31 AM, Richard Mixon said:

 

Has cooling with 4 or 5 drives turned out to be OK as you expected? Also can you provide a link to the aluminum butyl strips you used?

 

Thanks - Richard

Hello Richard, sorry for delay.....

 

With 4 disks, it is extremely airy, as one slot remains free between each disk. However, I now use 5 disks and the cooling is also completely sufficient here. However, due to the application, I very rarely run all 5 disks together. But then they stay very well within the 33-36 degree Celsius range.

Here is a search link in the German Amazon:
https://www.amazon.de/alubutyl/s?k=alubutyl

Best regards,

 

On 3/9/2025 at 8:37 AM, Maximo101 said:

CS380 case arrived,  I just need to find the time to swap my server components into it.

 

 

I finally found some time to change over from the old case

 

Silverstone CS380 , was a little tight with the D15 cpu fan, but the MB had enough space to use the 2x sata facing the hdd enclosure section, with the other 4x sata all in the drives i am using. the crest pcie sata ill change to a HBA if i need more drives, for now i just left it plugged in to the spare hdd slots.

 

i just bought an Asus TUF GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB GDDR7 OC Edition Graphics Card & Asus Prime 850W 80+ Gold PCIe Gen 5.0 ATX Fully Modular Power Supply, but the GPU doesnt fit in the CS380 case due to the hot swappable bays

I think when i was originally thinking of adding the gpu i had a rtc 3060 in mind, but then allowed a higher budget for more future proofing.

What are the recommended options for an external GPU holder/stand and extension cable to connect the gpu to my server which, can be next to it as long as its connected and safely seated. I keep the case open and on the floor in its secure location.

ill try a pcie 5 extension cable and vertical gpu bracket sitting next to the server.

I was lucky enough to get one of the last Apollo R v2 Cases from MCPRUE.

Unfortunately, they are no longer being manufactured... It's a shame, as they were really beautiful made from quality materials.

https://a.co/d/9hRZ5GJ

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4ZJM1GM?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_5

Generic ZhenLoong LF24-12G 4U 24 Bay Server Chassis Hard Drive Disk hot swappable SATA SAS Rackmount Case with 12G backplane SFF8643 Interface,USB 2.0.sea Shipping and Express delivery About 40 Days

Above is a case I have recently bought and have been talk with the manufacturer about improving on.

It has 24x 3.5 bays and so far has been really easy to build in. It has support ATX motherboards and an ATX power supply, but I would advise not using the fans.

The server fans it came with are for server motherboards, so it killed the fan headers on my test motherboard and a fan controller I was using. They are also loud like server fans, so I would just advise replacing them either way.

I will be replacing the fans with these ARTIC packs

https://a.co/d/gaxOWJ2

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5B2CT2M?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

ARCTIC S12038-8K (3 Pack)

https://a.co/d/izEAO3t
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VGW7L6Y?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

ARCTIC S8038-10K - Server Fan, 80x80x38 mm, 500–10000 RPM, PWM Regulated, 4-pin Connector, 12 V DC, Rack Cooling Fan - Black

I want to get an accelerometer to make sure that the case is under 0.2 G in force when fully filled and fired up.

I will update this post if I get around to that.

This case was a goldilocks case for me, and so far has been perfect.

And the manufacturer has been very communicative on suggestion on improving the case design and support with components.

Turn around from them has been about a month long each time since they are from China and I am from California, but for the price the case is, and the free steel parts they have shipped me, one month turn around is more than acceptable.

I want this manufacture's business to succeed, so I am sharing it here in case it might fit other's use cases as well.

Edited January 14Jan 14 by Gray J
Adding photos