Budget 0-20k New to NAS, looking for a cabinet

guest_999

Adept
Apr 5, 2012
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I'm not sure if AliExpress still works here, or whether customs costs are applied, but they have many good, cheap HBA options available on their site.
Aliexpress has removed India from their countries list available for shipping.
 

guest_999

Adept
Apr 5, 2012
626
929
306
Blame our overconfident govt. who went made in india way without realizing we are crores of miles behind of china. And thus left indias public suffer. Life was much much easier when AE was there.
 

lambda

Recruit
Dec 21, 2023
7
7
7
1. How are you planning to connect these drives? Not sure how many drives are natively supported by that motherboard (2?)

2. Do you really need a normal PC case or are you ok with a rackmount case as well?
 

nileshsrox

Patron
Apr 22, 2024
13
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8
1. How are you planning to connect these drives? Not sure how many drives are natively supported by that motherboard (2?)

2. Do you really need a normal PC case or are you ok with a rackmount case as well?
it has 3 sata ports, and im using pcie to 4 x sata on a pcie slot
i need a case for safety though
 

lambda

Recruit
Dec 21, 2023
7
7
7
it has 3 sata ports, and im using pcie to 4 x sata on a pcie slot
i need a case for safety though
CM Master Force 500 seems like a decently cheap option, other option would be Cooler Master N400 if you can find it in stock.

Node 804 might work but it's a fair bit more expensive.

I'm using a shitty rackmount case off Amazon that was not worth the price honestly but it's space efficient.

------
I'm not sure about the motherboard and power supply though.

You can try to source a mATX motherboard + ATX if required.
 
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Black_Hawk

Skilled
Aug 8, 2009
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I'm using a shitty rackmount case off Amazon that was not worth the price honestly but it's space efficient.

Can you please provide a link for this Rackmount case?

I recently came across this one:

Extreme Machines 2U NAS Server Chassis Frame

^^ This one seems like a good option but it can hold maximum of 6 HDDs/ SSDs. Although I don't need a server chassis but itching to get one and trying it in another NAS build!
 

lambda

Recruit
Dec 21, 2023
7
7
7
Can you please provide a link for this Rackmount case?

I recently came across this one:

Extreme Machines 2U NAS Server Chassis Frame

^^ This one seems like a good option but it can hold maximum of 6 HDDs/ SSDs. Although I don't need a server chassis but itching to get one and trying it in another NAS build!
Lol, that's the one I have.

It's not good when it comes to build quality.

It made of thick steel and feels like some high school teenager's CAD rendition of a server case.

You would be better off trying to source used Rosewill cases off IndiaMart.

Speaking of Rosewill here's a seller that I was asked to contact -

Arista Automations
+91 80158 97755

Maybe give them a call and ask for options and pricing details. If he responds then share the details here as well.
 
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Black_Hawk

Skilled
Aug 8, 2009
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Lol, that's the one I have.

It's not good when it comes to build quality.

It made of thick steel and feels like some high school teenager's CAD rendition of a server case.

Can you kindly share a couple of actual photos of the case since you have a setup already in it? Will be really helpful.

I have a couple of questions for you:

- Was it well packed by the seller (Seller name is Shree Peripherals) and arrived without any damage?

- Lets say I don't want to put the case in a metal rack frame can I just place the case on a wooden table directly instead?
 

lambda

Recruit
Dec 21, 2023
7
7
7
Can you kindly share a couple of actual photos of the case since you have a setup already in it? Will be really helpful.

I have a couple of questions for you:

- Was it well packed by the seller (Seller name is Shree Peripherals) and arrived without any damage?

- Lets say I don't want to put the case in a metal rack frame can I just place the case on a wooden table directly instead?
I don't remember clicking any since I was quite disappointed with it.

Before I had placed the order, I had asked the seller to share IRL images of the product and he asked me to refer to this video -

- product was packaged well but it was visibility bent from the rear end. It's made of thick steel which was painted with common metal paint rather than aluminium with some sort of proper enamel or powder coating.

- the case does not use proper large screws and instead those small electrical screws for basic assembly. Does it work? Yes but it's a hassle and you'll certainly strip some threads. Other screws were placed in a makeshift bag and not separated properly.

- the case fans were set to exhaust and are molex powered (loud), no PWM.

- the drive trays were not screwed in well, not a major issue but it's just a L shaped bracket with holes in it. Don't expect much from it. The case should technically have 3 bays but only has 2 due to poor design choices by the manufacturer.

- PSU holes are weirdly placed and my Deepcool PK550D only aligned with 2 screw holes. This is supposedly a known issue as I saw a comment somewhere mentioning the same.

- yes, I don't have a rack either as I'll look for better options rather than buying their stuff. You can place it on a desk/table horizontally. It's kinda heavy for a rackmount anyway. Their rails are weirdly positioned as well (check the video above).

- the case is a pretty bad deal for the price and you'd be better off spending less on a cheaper case (CM, Ante etc.) or more on a Silverstone CS380 / CS280B

- If rackmount is your only option then look for used Rosewill cases (call that enterprise), should be around 10k but do ask and share.
 
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lambda

Recruit
Dec 21, 2023
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Here's the single image that I had shared with a friend, ignore the lighting. Bent visible around the IO shield area.
Screenshot_20240502_150640_WhatsApp.jpg
 

SirVer

Disciple
Aug 14, 2022
112
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Saw someone mentioned the CM K380, just wanted to say that that's what I used for my NAS and it's been mostly fine, though it does let dust in through its open back slots (which may be my fault, I may have punched them out by accident, don't remember). My primary concern was number of drives for as little money as possible, and it does well in that regard.

That said, the Force 500 someone else mentioned has one extra drive bay with the only apparent downside seeming to be that it doesn't have a transparent side panel, so that might be better.
 

mantheman

Disciple
Jun 7, 2023
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I recently came across this one:
What a great find. I am considering buying it with their rack. Thanks man.

To OP,
I do not know what Motherboard you are using but, I use this motherboard ECS H110M4-C2H and fit it inside a Coolermaster ELITE 130 m-itx case
I modded the case with this hdd rack from ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/224845724512 (Came in damaged and had to do lots of hammering and bending but it works i guess.)
Total HDD = 6
SSD = Can be placed at random spaces.

000330.jpg
 
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altair21

Disciple
Feb 27, 2023
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Believe it or not I actually like the way that compact Dell SFF case looks with the attached Drives on top. Looks like a very cool ghetto NAS rig!

That being said a couple of good options for a NAS build I can suggest are a Corsair Obsidian 750D or a Corsair 780t (hoping that you don't mind a heavy case with larger footprint). These cases are full towers and come with good number of drive bay options and also grant the user the flexibility to upgrade the number of drive cages and expand them if needed in future. Try and check if you can get the 750D in the used market for a good price.

Here's my NAS build inside a Corsair Obsidian 750D for reference:
can you give a price/product breakdown of your build? How many drives/cages? any GPU or is it purely a NAS? I was looking into servers for higher capacities but **** are their screwing us over, way too high prices and to add salt to the injury, decade old hardware
I always suggest Node 804 for this, but it's no longer available on the sites I kind of frequent...


And aside from the HH video @demikaun linked above, there's another kinda popular 3D model available:
Are there any shops here that will print it for you? I have never looked into the 3D printing scene in India
 

KAKAN

Disciple
Mar 22, 2023
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Are there any shops here that will print it for you? I have never looked into the 3D printing scene in India
I know that Robu provides 3D Printing services:


But I have never actually printed anything. I think using plastic should be a last resort since it may melt while trying to handle how hot our electronics can get here :p

Last time I had to use a 3D Printer, I used the one our uni had. But I can longer access it, sadly. Perhaps maybe some local uni student is willing to print for you given you pay them? That might be a consideration, but then again, I'd consider that for tinkering and nothing else.
 
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