The Enclosure Thread

[madmin]

Thanks a lot for going in details 👍

 

I have seen the Node 804 mentioned quite often as a go-to case. I plan on using only 2...4 HDDs (You never know - But 8 would really be a bit much space reserve). Also, the current 2-Bay Synology is placed on a 30 cm deep board - Which is not sufficient to support a 40 cm deep case. And even if I changed that to a 40 cm deep shelf board (which would be a problem at this position), there would not be much clearence to the wall for airflow...

 

I have read some build reports claiming that the N2 (not the N1) is more tidy / less crowded that the Node 304. I have read a bit of criticism of the latter for bad airflow (not so much for the N2, but appearently I did not search well enough on reddit). I was also sceptical about the 304's closed front panel, with only small slots behind it for airflow. The Node 304 requires many disassembly steps for that - but granted, you do not need that all the time...

 

So my hope was, by shelling out the extra 60 bucks for an N2, in addition to easier access to HDDs in case of expansion/failure, I would actually get a better airflow. The N2 seems to have a separate compartment for HDDs, too, and the case fan seems to pull air right through this compartment (well, obstructed somewhat by the HDD-panel). But no-one actually went into depth there - That's why I ask for practical experiences (like the linked post you kindly provided, thanks!).

 

There is a build report that adds some modifications, one being to swap the stock fan out for a Noctua A12x25 (full thickness), mounted protruding a few mm's from the N2's back. Not sure how much that helps, but it sounds like a promising improvement.

 

But if the 60 bucks extra for the N2 comes actually with a worse airflow, I'd have to rethink the case choice...

[Lolight]

17 hours ago, madmin said:

The N2 seems to have a separate compartment for HDDs, too, and the case fan seems to pull air right through this compartment (well, obstructed somewhat by the HDD-panel). But no-one actually went into depth there - That's why I ask for practical experiences (like the linked post you kindly provided, thanks!).

Yeah, I'm not aware of any reports on the side-by-side HDDs temp tests that've been done between those cases, with same or similar sets of drives, under same conditions.

 

I'd argue the the N2's HDD backplane is the biggest air-flow restricting factor.
The 304 doesn't have any of that.

I've also heard of some users actually removing backplanes to open up their N2s in order to reduce HDD running temps.

There's also one more downside to backplanes - they're just another point of potential failure.

 

There are lots of the 304 users around this forum.

To get a better perspective you might want to create another thread and ask 304 owners about their experiences with airflow and drive temps.

You can also ask @trurl - he uses the 304.

Edited August 22, 2023 by Lolight

[madmin]

9 hours ago, Lolight said:

I'd argue the the N2's HDD backplane is the biggest air-flow restricting factor.
The 304 doesn't have any of that.

I've also heard of some users actually removing backplanes to open up their N2s in order to reduce HDD running temps.

I understand why it is likely to be true. I am not sure of the 304 is much better, though (but maybe that's a good question for a separate thread).

 

Actually, it looks like the N2 has some space between all hard drives, and the backplane PCB has some cut throughs, and the guide rails are lined with holes to draw air in. Granted, this is pretty indirect airflow, but the fan seems to pull air out right behind the PCB. It's a 15 mm thin version, though, due to 10 mm missing depth - which seems to be the N2's major design fault, according to this review (at 3:50...6:15). I linked a report to modifications in a post before that componsates that (or, I saw someone mention you can mount a Noctua 12x25 mm full thickness fan outside). Also, at least one of the double mesh filters should be taken out or substituted with a wire cage. The separate MoBo compartment seems not to have a separate cooling fan in the case, but it has holes in the top to draw in air with an active CPU cooler (which my preferred board has). Most case openings seem to be covered by mesh, but that could be taken out (not sure of this would be a new problem).

 

The Node 304 has only space in the middle of a set of two drives, with covers around each set and a full opening to the bottom. It also has a small slot on top and bottom to let air in (instead of an open front like the N2). It has two more fans pushing air there, so maybe the more active cooling is what makes this concept better - although many people suggest to exchange them all for more powerful aftermarket fans. But poor room for cable management and other stuff can make the case pretty crowded and obstruct airflow. This guy explains in a video that his 2.5 SSD builds overheated, so he made a massive effort in 3D-printing and grinding the case to include a 140 mm fan in the front (I do not know why he covers it with thin mesh, then - but it seems to work). The CPU seems to be in an area that is not affected much by airflow - but at least, the sides seem to have holes in that area for the CPU cooler to draw in air.

 

But I suppose all that is theory.... So I am really unsure - It seems, the 304 is somewhat more closed and less organized in design, and comes with more and louder fans to compensate (which are recommended to be switched out). I do not want to grind around the frame and print a new front for a great, massive 140 fan). The N2 has the backplane PCB. And I agree, a PCB between MoBo and drives is an additional point of failure in the electronic leads. Actually, taking out the backplane and losing the hotswap capability is an additional option if things do not suffice.

 

And clearance wise, even the 304 is almost 37.5 cm deep - I agree, this is not much difference to 39 cm of the 804 (which is wider and higher, too, but that would not be my problem). The 22.4 cm of the N2 is significantly easier to fit in a shelf...

Edited August 22, 2023 by madmin

[AgentXXL]

FYI - the Jonsbo N3 is now available:

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-Jonsbo-n3.html

 

[madmin]

25 minutes ago, AgentXXL said:

FYI - the Jonsbo N3 is now available:

Wow - I will definitely look further into it, but it looks like they listened to and incorporated a lot of the points addressed in video reviews... 2 full thickness HDD fans (optional, for aftermarket choice?) behind an only partial backplabe PCB, extra mounts for MoBo fans, 8 HDD slots, extra side mounts points for SSD, Less restricting inlets...

And still a depth of ~26 cm... Awesome!

[Lolight]

9 hours ago, madmin said:

And still a depth of ~26 cm... Awesome!

Sounds like you've made your mind. 😉

Please post about your experience when you complete the system.

[kolepard]

This looks like a pretty exciting option for a 15 drive configuration.

 

https://45homelab.com/

 

I have two Q30s (and have posted on those before), but this looks like a really great option.  I've been unabashed in my apprecaition for these cases, and while this still isn't the cheapest option, they sure are great cases for cooling and working in.

 

Kevin

[BRiT]

5 hours ago, kolepard said:

This looks like a pretty exciting option for a 15 drive configuration.

 

https://45homelab.com/

 

I have two Q30s (and have posted on those before), but this looks like a really great option.  I've been unabashed in my apprecaition for these cases, and while this still isn't the cheapest option, they sure are great cases for cooling and working in.

 

Kevin

 

While trying to figure out any actual information about the case such as the motherboard section, is it large enough for SSI EEB motherboards (dual socket cpu boards like the AsRock EP2C602-4L/D16) I found their FAQ posted here:

 

https://forum.45homelab.com/t/faq-for-the-45homelab-hl15/84

[Mogo]

I think I've finally figure out the case I want.  A 4U, 24 bay hot swap rack case that uses an atx psu and has a sas3 expander backplane.  Does such a case exist?  I see stuff on Aliexpress but have no experience dealing with those companies.  Anyone come across a case like that?

[cobolstinks]

On 10/2/2023 at 12:18 AM, Mogo said:

I think I've finally figure out the case I want.  A 4U, 24 bay hot swap rack case that uses an atx psu and has a sas3 expander backplane.  Does such a case exist?  I see stuff on Aliexpress but have no experience dealing with those companies.  Anyone come across a case like that?

that sounds exactly like what I'm looking at.  I haven't come across something with those specs yet.  I just upgraded my mobo, cpu, ram, psu and found all the media automation apps that are available in docker.  Now I'm burning through disk space like never before.  I'm overflowing my Meshify 2 case.  I'm debating on going with the meshify 2 xl or just going rack mount 24 bay.

[jit-010101]

On 8/22/2023 at 12:40 PM, madmin said:

But I suppose all that is theory.... So I am really unsure - It seems, the 304 is somewhat more closed and less organized in design, and comes with more and louder fans to compensate (which are recommended to be switched out). I do not want to grind around the frame and print a new front for a great, massive 140 fan). The N2 has the backplane PCB. And I agree, a PCB between MoBo and drives is an additional point of failure in the electronic leads. Actually, taking out the backplane and losing the hotswap capability is an additional option if things do not suffice.

 

And clearance wise, even the 304 is almost 37.5 cm deep - I agree, this is not much difference to 39 cm of the 804 (which is wider and higher, too, but that would not be my problem). The 22.4 cm of the N2 is significantly easier to fit in a shelf...

I do use the Node 304 right now, and while a lot of points are true, the fans it comes with aren't that loud to be honest. However they also dont have the highest static pressure but I'm still using the front fans.

 

Just replaced the back one with a Noctuna PWM and thats more then sufficient for me ... front-fans run at lowest (or was it mid?) speed 100% of the time and I hear nothing ...

 

----

 

Ever since I switched to a PicoPSU 50% of the case feels like waste of space to be honest.

 

So I'm thinking about moving lots of SSDs in there. Drive and CPU temps however around ~32-35 °C, really almost never going over 40° even in the summer ... airflow is quite ok in that regard (albeit, not perfect).

 

However your point about fitting it in a shelf is 100% spot on - its really long. To long for what it could optimize for - similiar to the N2. The N2 seems to have perfected that form factor - almost ... just barely, if it wouldn't be missing that 1 drive slot.

 

They could've saved another few centermeters simply with the front design or how they integrated the PSU - that is a also why I was opting to get a N2/N3 but budget wise I don't have the money to spend on right now and also form a practical side I don't really know if it makes that much sense, given that the Node 304 offers more potential space for additional SSDS ...

 

I wonder why Lian-Li is no longer release any good NAS cases - like the pc-m25, which could fit a mATX motherboard just fine ... there are lot of cases nowadays which a build for overclockers - thats for sure.

Edited November 16, 2023 by jit-010101

[madmin]

Thanks for all the Input!

 

Just a short update:

I ordered and received the N3 and all components, but ran into a show-stopper problem that I had not anticipated: The Jonsbo N3 only fits in a PSX PSU up to 105 mm depth. I had already ordered the Corsair RM 450 550x gold as my preferred PSU - which is an ATX PSU that is deeper (which I could have solved) - but it is also taller than a PSX and will not fit the N3 without case modification.

 

I opted to engage that project, which involved substituting a thin sheet metal strut of the case with a welded pipe frame, to support the heavy ATX PSU in an unusual free-hanging horizontal orientation - based on a suggestion by @mgutt who suggested to make this in 3D printed plastic. But I have no 3D printer, and I do not trust plastics for this, so I went heavy metal for this. It turned out to be a major project that I have had near to no time for, in the past weeks. However, I do have the pipe frame now, but it still requires some drilling, thread-cutting, painting, and a small bracket from the other side's strut to support support the free-hanging end.

 

I will update my build thread with the progress and images, when I have time.

Edited November 16, 2023 by madmin

[jit-010101]

59 minutes ago, madmin said:

Just a short update:

I ordered and received the N3 and all components, but ran into a show-stopper problem that I had not anticipated: The Jonsbo N3 only fits in a PSX PSU up to 105 mm depth. I had already ordered the Corsair RM 450 gold as my preferred PSU - which is an ATX PSU that is deeper (which I could have solved) - but it is also taller than a PSX and will not fit the N3 without case modification.

 

I remember reading about that issue with the exact same PSU somewhere - basically how he solved it was unscrewing the front-USB-platine and cutting off the half left which is by default unpopulated. I have seen pictures of it ... just can't remember where ... maybe it helps by first trying to remove it and see if the PSU fits before you try that ...

 

Edit: Hmn no, after I checked your build thread - seems like that was an SFX-L PSU not an full sized ATX ... I think i was refering to the SF450/750 SFX series from Corsair instead.

Edited November 16, 2023 by jit-010101

[AJCollis]

Just managed to order CS382, gonna be a fun build and zero hastle adding more drives

[skrumzy]

On 12/6/2023 at 5:52 PM, AJCollis said:

Just managed to order CS382, gonna be a fun build and zero hastle adding more drives

I got really excited to learn they launched a new nas case.  Looked at a review, got more excited and frustrated because I thought I had made up my mind with Phanteks Ethoo 719.  Then I went on amazon to look at the price.  Easy decision, not this one lol.  If it drops in price before I pull the trigger on a new build I'm definitely going to consider this.  Let me know how it works out for you and what the thermals are like.

[AJCollis]

On 12/10/2023 at 1:00 PM, skrumzy said:

I got really excited to learn they launched a new nas case.  Looked at a review, got more excited and frustrated because I thought I had made up my mind with Phanteks Ethoo 719.  Then I went on amazon to look at the price.  Easy decision, not this one lol.  If it drops in price before I pull the trigger on a new build I'm definitely going to consider this.  Let me know how it works out for you and what the thermals are like.

 

Just got it up and running, NVME's are around 40⁰ and HDD's (3 of them) average 30.7⁰, haven't added extra 140mm's on top yet though.

 

Case is brilliant even if the 24pin had be connected before I installed the MoBo due to how tight it is

[Driden]

Some of these cases look great. 
I was thinking of a second unraid after having helped some people stay away from Qnap this morning. 
Specifically I was wondering what cases / hardware is available that has the Qnap / premium Nas look to it? 
I know i can just use a qnap machine with unraid on it. but i was hoping to create some sort of decently high powered machine which is really expensive from Qnap. 
Are there any cases out there with good backplanes that have the shiny finished look of the something like the TVS range? 

 

I dont care so much about the screen as i do about the really good use of space and hotswap availability.