PC Peripherals Case / Cabinet with many HDD support

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theGloaming

theGloaming

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I'm building a home server for the first time which would (initially) also have a FreeNAS setup running within.
I'm looking for a good case for this, and not getting too far with my research

Needs:
- As it's housing a server/FreeNAS, it needs to run 24x7. Thus reliability of the box and all parts within is important.
- Must support ATX motherboards.
- MUst support a lot of HDDs (ideally 8 3.5" HDDs and 2 2.5" HDDs)
- Would be nice if it is quiet and looks good (I don't need/like lights and side windows)
- Cheap! And easy to install (given I am doing this the first time)

Constraints:
- LIving in India rules out many brands which are not available here e.g. Be Quiet, Fractal Design (*sob* I love the R5).
- Given that there's a lot of heat and dust around here, it would also be good to have a case that keeps cool and one where the dust filters are easily reachable to clean regularly.

What I've seen available here, thus far:
  • NZXT H440 [Rs. 11161]
  • SilverStone Raven RV03 [Rs. 7199]
  • Antec P9 Window [Rs. 5633]
  • Antec Nineteen Hundred Red [Rs. 13769]
  • Cooler Master Storm Trooper [Rs. 14250]
My heart is drawn to the NZXT (and all reviews are great, but I have concerns about one of the side panels being too close to the MB tray). And that I can't find it in all black matte with no window.
My mind tells me to go with the cheapest one (Antec P9 or SilverStone Raven RV03).
The last 2 are much too expensive (at least for now).

Would any of these be good enough? Would it be better to go for another one?
And where are the better places to buy these?

For reference, my current config is looking as such:
  • Motherboard - Supermicro X9SRL-F-O
  • CPU - Intel Xeon E5-2670 / 2660
  • CPU Cooling - Noctua NH-U12DXi4 (height 158mm)
  • RAM - Samsung 16GB (x2) DDR3 1600 ECC Registered
  • SSDs - Samsung 850 EVO - 120GB (x2)
  • HDDs - to be decided (likely 2x4TB + 6x2TB NAS grade drives)
  • Power Supply - to be decided after the case
  • HBA - (likely) SAS9211-8I
 
Welcome to TE. I would actually suggest to go for a single 850EVO 250GB if I were you.

Aldo, If you're in Mumbai and looking for a case, I'm looking to get ride of my NZXT Phantom 410. Check out the For Sale section on forums for my thread
 
mach9 said:
Welcome to TE. I would actually suggest to go for a single 850EVO 250GB if I were you.

Aldo, If you're in Mumbai and looking for a case, I'm looking to get ride of my NZXT Phantom 410. Check out the For Sale section on forums for my thread
Click to expand...

Thanks for the welcome - it's been an enlightening 2 days here so far!

I've gone with 2 SSDs as I intend to run them in a mirror or RAID1 config (so in case I lose one, I can just switch over to the other). On these SSDs I essentially intend to store the server OS (and perhaps a few VM images); from everything I have read 120 GB is more than enough for this.
If I do need more down the line, I'll likely then get 2 250GB SSDs. (The main server storage is likely to be on 2xTB HDDs - also mirrored/RAID1).

Thanks for sharing the info on your Phantion 410 (I'm in Pune and can always drop down to Mumbai if needed). However, I'm looking for a case which allows 8 HDDs + 2 SSBs and, as far as I can see, the 410 can hold up to 6 HDDs.
 
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Actually, by using a 3x5 HDD case, you can add an additional 5 HDDs. This would be cheaper than buying a 8 + 2 case, which is fairly expensive.
 
vivek.krishnan said:
Actually, by using a 3x5 HDD case, you can add an additional 5 HDDs. This would be cheaper than buying a 8 + 2 case, which is fairly expensive.
Click to expand...

Is it easy to add a 3x5 HDD case into any cabinet? Is this by replacing the 5.25" bays? The little reading I have done on this is that it could affect the airflow and noise parameters of the cabinet, as it is not always designed for this.

The alternative I am thinking is to buy an external 6 or 8 bay HDD enclosure. One that is connected to the server by a HBA directly using a 8088 connector (not eSATA or such). Thus it would be the same connection as if the drives were installed internally. But I have not yet had luck finding this either!
 
theGloaming said:
Is it easy to add a 3x5 HDD case into any cabinet? Is this by replacing the 5.25" bays? The little reading I have done on this is that it could affect the airflow and noise parameters of the cabinet, as it is not always designed for this.

The alternative I am thinking is to buy an external 6 or 8 bay HDD enclosure. One that is connected to the server by a HBA directly using a 8088 connector (not eSATA or such). Thus it would be the same connection as if the drives were installed internally. But I have not yet had luck finding this either!
Click to expand...

Yes, it takes 3 of the CD ROM bays. It will affect the airflow, but barely, if the entire cabinet is well ventilated.

As for the 2nd option, it would be a hit and miss, because of SATA signalling issues over 1 metre. Rather, get a port multiplier instead.
 
vivek.krishnan said:
Yes, it takes 3 of the CD ROM bays. It will affect the airflow, but barely, if the entire cabinet is well ventilated.

As for the 2nd option, it would be a hit and miss, because of SATA signalling issues over 1 metre. Rather, get a port multiplier instead.
Click to expand...

I'll explore these options, and see where they lead to. Thanks!
 
The most important thing to consider for a NAS is cooling for the hard drives. I would guess a case with native support for large number of drives should support plenty of fans. The NZXT H440 doesnt seem to offer a good airflow according to this review. I have no idea if the 3x5 enclosures have integrated fans. If not, i would skip them.

My favourite cheap chassis is the Rosewill RSV-L4500, unfortunately it is not available in India.

I will be interested on any case recommendations which offer the most airflow.

@theGloaming Where are you getting the prices?
 
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rajil.s said:
The most important thing to consider for a NAS is cooling for the hard drives. I would guess a case with native support for large number of drives should support plenty of fans. The NZXT H440 doesnt seem to offer a good airflow according to this review. I have no idea if the 3x5 enclosures have integrated fans. If not, i would skip them.

My favourite cheap chassis is the Rosewill RSV-L4500, unfortunately it is not available in India.

I will be interested on any case recommendations which offer the most airflow.

@theGloaming Where are you getting the prices?
Click to expand...

The 3x5 cases do indeed have a fan to cool the HDDs.
 
rajil.s said:
The most important thing to consider for a NAS is cooling for the hard drives. I would guess a case with native support for large number of drives should support plenty of fans. The NZXT H440 doesnt seem to offer a good airflow according to this review. I have no idea if the 3x5 enclosures have integrated fans. If not, i would skip them.

My favourite cheap chassis is the Rosewill RSV-L4500, unfortunately it is not available in India.

I will be interested on any case recommendations which offer the most airflow.

@theGloaming Where are you getting the prices?
Click to expand...

From what I have read and seen about the NZXT H440, the internals stay nicely cool (and as @vivek.krishnan has mentioned, there are 3 fans in front of the HDDs. And a couple more can optionally be added on top). Personally I prefer the Fractal Design Define R5, but can't get it here at a proper price point.

The Rosewill RSV-L4500 does look nice,and not too expensive. I also liked the Rosewill RSV-L4412 - 4U very much (though it is much more expensive). I might consider such type of cabinets if I decide to get a standalone FreeNAS system.

I have mostly looked at the following sites (within India):
- amazon.in
- primeabgb.com
- theitdepot.com
- mdcomputers.in
(newegg also has an Indian site, or at least from where they deliver to India : https://www.newegg.com/global/in/)
 
rajil.s said:
Are the indian shops (primeabgb, theitdepot, mdcomputers) reliable/trustworthy? Are the web prices and stock status accurate?
Click to expand...

I have not yet ordered of these sites, so can't say how they are firsthand. I know though that I will give it a shot sometime.
 
I got this Intel case P4XX something for office, it can accommodate 3 of the 5x3 cases. Planning to get one for the house.
 
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