NAS Rebuild - DS380 vs. Node 804

[dave_the_nerd]

Thread title sums it up. I'm just repackaging my NAS (mini ITX w/ PCI-E SATA card), don't want to screw with eSATA and port multipliers any more. (I think they're conspiring against me.)

I could go either way. I don't see a lot of downsides to either case - the DS380 would hold my existing six drives no problem.

DS380 Pros: ($150 on Amazon)
Hotswap bays and backplane
A good bit more compact.


Node 804 Pros: ($90 on newegg)
More bays for future expansion.
mATX support
$60 cheaper.

Anybody with either (or both) of these cases have any perspective? I know it'll be shockingly larger than the MI-008 or SG05 I already have.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I don't have either but I could offer you strong opinions anyway

I'm partial to the node 804.

The reviews I've seen of the DS380 indicate that there is no cable management whatsoever, that the drive cage is easily removed, but not very well damped, and that the combination of the lack of cable management and dubiously positioned fans leads to pretty poor airflow as well.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Bought the 804 last night. It's not as big in person as I feared.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Gratuitous hardware porn when finished?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Sorry, it's already together. Wasn't much to it. The hardware is unimpressive. (See sig.)

And it does look pretty nice; although my SG05 looks kind of silly sitting next to it. But the room's an embarrassing mess, so no pics.

Thanks again for the advice, though. I'm looking forward to the inevitable mATX server board upgrade.

 

[w0ng3r]

Skip the fractal, cheap case made with cheap steel =\

 

[Essence_of_War]

Sorry, it's already together. Wasn't much to it. The hardware is unimpressive. (See sig.)

Skip the fractal, cheap case made with cheap steel =\

Little late there, boss.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I just want to say that since I "upgraded" to this case (running all the HDDs off of internal SATA and a SATA card, rather than using an external enclosure with a port multiplier) my FreeNAS hasn't frozen itself up or crashed.

DEATH TO SATA PORT MULTIPLIERS!!!

Also, it's awesome.

 

[smitbret]

Skip the fractal, cheap case made with cheap steel =\

Dude, I think you can stop crapping all over any mention of Fractal Design cases. We get it, you sheared off some FD supplied thumb screws. Most anyone that followed that thread is of the opinion that you haven't even given us the whole story yet.

Even if it did go down as you claimed, there are enough FD users out there that it will be chalked up as an extreme case and isn't representative of the brand at all.

Bottom line, maybe you got a bad one but most likely you're just trying to justify a fraudulent warranty claim.

Link for anyone interested:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2403037