TLDR: If you were building a NAS for 8 HDDs and 1 SSD today, what case would you use?
I’m going to be rebuilding my system soon (currently using an old PowerEdge T610) using one of my other older (R5 1600) systems and I’ve basically hit a road block on picking a case.
I’ve got 8 HDDs that need to fit in the system after it’s rebuilt (plus at least one SSD) so I’m kinda limited in that regard.
The rest of the system is planned out (mostly because I’m reusing old parts) it’s just the case I’m stuck on.
I’m wanting to avoid rack mounting currently mostly due to space (and wanting to keep it under $200)
I was thinking maybe the Fractal Design Define R5, the Fractal Design Node 804, or the Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 but I’m open to suggestions.
Fractal Design, definitely. The model I’m using is no longer made but they have very good ones today too. Look into the Define and Meshify lines. They have models that can utilize the full height of the case for HDD/SSD slots with openings on both sides for maximum ease of cable routing.
The Define 7 or Meshify 2 is most likely what you want. They only come with 6 HDD brackets included but you can buy more and they have slots for up to 11.
The R5 is another good choice, I like those brackets more, but it’s not so flexible as the others I mentioned, and the 5.25" bays will most likely go unused and just take up space.
Don’t get the Node 804, it’s much larger than it seems (check out yt videos) and is cramped and hard to work in.
I’ve currently got the Meshify C (not the 2) for my main gaming rig and I’ve dug it the whole time I’ve had it; looking at the drive mounting for the Meshify 2 makes me really want it for sure as that looks really convenient
The more I looked at the Node 804 since I made this post the less I liked it
NGL I wish their North line of cases had more slots for HDDs
Yeah I expect acting as SSD bays could become popular in the future if SSD prices drop low enough. Although they might be M.2 bays by then.
I have a bunch of old 60 GB 2.5" SSDs around but they’re so small it’s not worth bothering to set up an array of them. Plus they’re more useful individually for stuff like upgrading an old laptop, portable USB storage or installing Windows the one time in three years I need it.
In the meantime I’ve liberated the 2x HDD cage from a Define C Mini’s shroud and mounted it on the floor in a fan slot.
I am using a normal desktop case with an external usb-c 8-bay JBOD drive enclosure from Mediasonic. I’m using mdadm to combine the drives with RAID-6. I know I’m not getting the performance that I could with native SATA, but it can still saturate my 1Gbps network, so it’s good enough for serving video, audio, and some other web-based apps.
Just because it’s a bit different to what you asked, and no one else has said it, I’ve found great results with the Terramaster D5-300 and D4-300. Make sure you get the USB 3.1 type Cs, but I’ve been fine with the plain rather than ones loaded with RAID.
For every USB 3.1 socket on the back I get 5 drives, I can increase capacity incrementally, and for spinning rust they are faster than they could transfer anyway.
I’ve replaced my machine with a Dell USFF box now and it all works great.
Completely understand if it’s not your thing but you can add a drive box to your existing system without replacing anything. I’m currently up to 16 drives.
For self hosting I’d recommend either one of the Meshify 2 or Define 7, depending on local price and your specific needs. I personally went with the Meshify 2 XL and was blown away by the quality of the case. It’s built well and allows for a variety of configurations. It also makes maintenance very easy as the filters and side panels can all be removed without any tool to handle dust build up.
I’m using a NetApp ds4246 to hold 24 drives, and it’s glorious - embrace the rack mount life. Although my computers themselves are all HP Prodesk minis, which are tiny and amazing, 1 u high and can fit two across on a shelf.
I have been looking to do this as well, I’m just not 100% sure how it all connects together. Do you have the disk shelf connect to a server with lots of sas cards?
I have both Fractal Design and SilverStone cases… love them… but the internal layout is not 100% of the consideration
Have a think about airflow and cabling… some of them have weird air flow designs and if you’re putting the machine inside something, or next to something, then that can make more impact on day-to-day use.
For example, I have a Node 304 (not enough drive space for you) because it fits nicely inside Ikea shelving. But the front air flow under the front bezel did mean I keep that machine near the front of the shelf, not pushed back.
And also consider hotswap drive bay caddies that fit smaller drives into large drive bays. Sometimes these have weird power connections, but if you don’t have them do you have enough PSU leads? So, are they absolutely essential? Possibly. Possibly not…
Maybe not the answer you were lookong for, but those are my main considerations now…
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Using a U-NAS NSC-810A. Not the cheapest, but I love having hot pluggable disks with my TrueNAS build.
https://www.u-nas.com/xcart/cart.php?target=product&product_id=17640
Fractal Design, definitely. The model I’m using is no longer made but they have very good ones today too. Look into the Define and Meshify lines. They have models that can utilize the full height of the case for HDD/SSD slots with openings on both sides for maximum ease of cable routing.
The Define 7 or Meshify 2 is most likely what you want. They only come with 6 HDD brackets included but you can buy more and they have slots for up to 11.
The R5 is another good choice, I like those brackets more, but it’s not so flexible as the others I mentioned, and the 5.25" bays will most likely go unused and just take up space.
Don’t get the Node 804, it’s much larger than it seems (check out yt videos) and is cramped and hard to work in.
I’ve currently got the Meshify C (not the 2) for my main gaming rig and I’ve dug it the whole time I’ve had it; looking at the drive mounting for the Meshify 2 makes me really want it for sure as that looks really convenient
The more I looked at the Node 804 since I made this post the less I liked it
NGL I wish their North line of cases had more slots for HDDs
I have the Meshify 2 and I highly recommend it.
The R5 is amazing, though yeah the 5.25" bays are kinda a waste.
I found a thingy though that fits into the bay and houses 6 2.5" SSDs, it’s pretty cool!
Yeah I expect acting as SSD bays could become popular in the future if SSD prices drop low enough. Although they might be M.2 bays by then.
I have a bunch of old 60 GB 2.5" SSDs around but they’re so small it’s not worth bothering to set up an array of them. Plus they’re more useful individually for stuff like upgrading an old laptop, portable USB storage or installing Windows the one time in three years I need it.
In the meantime I’ve liberated the 2x HDD cage from a Define C Mini’s shroud and mounted it on the floor in a fan slot.
I second the R5 case. I have one for my NAS and it’s been a dream to work in.
I am using a normal desktop case with an external usb-c 8-bay JBOD drive enclosure from Mediasonic. I’m using mdadm to combine the drives with RAID-6. I know I’m not getting the performance that I could with native SATA, but it can still saturate my 1Gbps network, so it’s good enough for serving video, audio, and some other web-based apps.
Jonsbo N3 sounds like a good fit
If only there was an ATX or mATX version
Looks hella nice though
Just because it’s a bit different to what you asked, and no one else has said it, I’ve found great results with the Terramaster D5-300 and D4-300. Make sure you get the USB 3.1 type Cs, but I’ve been fine with the plain rather than ones loaded with RAID.
For every USB 3.1 socket on the back I get 5 drives, I can increase capacity incrementally, and for spinning rust they are faster than they could transfer anyway.
I’ve replaced my machine with a Dell USFF box now and it all works great.
Completely understand if it’s not your thing but you can add a drive box to your existing system without replacing anything. I’m currently up to 16 drives.
I’m using an old HP z420 box. It supports up to 128gigs of ecc ram (which I have), has tons of drive and SATA options.
It could be possible to repurpose the chassis for custom builds too.
Highly recommend cases by Fractal.
For self hosting I’d recommend either one of the Meshify 2 or Define 7, depending on local price and your specific needs. I personally went with the Meshify 2 XL and was blown away by the quality of the case. It’s built well and allows for a variety of configurations. It also makes maintenance very easy as the filters and side panels can all be removed without any tool to handle dust build up.
+1 for Fractal Define R5 - Absolute Beast
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
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I’m using a NetApp ds4246 to hold 24 drives, and it’s glorious - embrace the rack mount life. Although my computers themselves are all HP Prodesk minis, which are tiny and amazing, 1 u high and can fit two across on a shelf.
I have been looking to do this as well, I’m just not 100% sure how it all connects together. Do you have the disk shelf connect to a server with lots of sas cards?
You just need one it mode hba sas controller with an external out, and probably a conversion cable from 8088 to netapp’s 8436.
You can daisy chain shelves if needed, and I think you can use a second sas card for active failover but I haven’t tried it.
Oh, i thought a single sas port could only do 8 sata drives. Interesting
I can vouch for the node 804, although I haven’t used the others so I can’t say which is the best.
Fractal seems far superior at least in the budget range. Personally just bought a R5 second-hand for roughly 40euros. Totally worth it imo 😁
I used a Fractal Design case for a home server in the past. Pretty happy with them.
I use a fractal design node 304. It’s pretty cool, but has all the limitations and problems you would expect from a case that size.
I have both Fractal Design and SilverStone cases… love them… but the internal layout is not 100% of the consideration
Have a think about airflow and cabling… some of them have weird air flow designs and if you’re putting the machine inside something, or next to something, then that can make more impact on day-to-day use.
For example, I have a Node 304 (not enough drive space for you) because it fits nicely inside Ikea shelving. But the front air flow under the front bezel did mean I keep that machine near the front of the shelf, not pushed back.
And also consider hotswap drive bay caddies that fit smaller drives into large drive bays. Sometimes these have weird power connections, but if you don’t have them do you have enough PSU leads? So, are they absolutely essential? Possibly. Possibly not…
Maybe not the answer you were lookong for, but those are my main considerations now…