recommendation for a case for a NAS

[path]

hello, I've recently moved to the USA and I'm looking for a recommendation for a popular value case for a NAS that will hold about 7 hard drives. There are a plethora of options and I'm quite confused. The P280 has been recommended to me (though that holds about 5 drives, so I'll need something to convert 5.25 inch bays to 3.5).

I used to own a gaming pc and a nas. I brought the hard drives from my nas and the components of my gaming pc (which are now quite dated. an i5 processor, 4 gigs of ram and a video card from 2009). I'm thinking of rebuilding the nas first and perhaps over time replacing some of the components with low power components. I'd also low some recommendations on that, but it looks like there is no one section of the forum where I can look for a recommendation on the entire thing ).

I need to get a case and a power supply, so I dont know if there is a specific combination that makes sense to get either.

 

[Zap]

How big are your HDDs? Does the system need to do anything besides serve up files? Would you be able to live with "only" six drives?

I ask this because there are some mini ITX cases (like Fractal Design Node) which holds only six drives, plus you can get a power efficient E350 motherboard with six SATA ports. HDDs are at 4TB, so if you have a bunch of small capacity drives you may be able to replace the smallest with a large capacity unit.

Well shucks, just checked Newegg and the six SATA port boards are not available right now. You can probably get a PCIe SATA card. I think it is because of the new chips coming out. The old ones are the E350 and E450. New ones are codenamed Kabini. Also, there are new Intel Atoms coming out, so right now I guess what is available are any leftovers until the new stuff hits.

Here are some ITX cases with lots of drive bays.

Fractal Design Node 304 6x 3.5" bays
Lian Li PC-Q08B 6x 3.5" bays, 1x 5.25" bay
Lian Li PC-Q25B 7x 3.5" bays

 

[path]

How big are your HDDs? Does the system need to do anything besides serve up files? Would you be able to live with "only" six drives?


I ask this because there are some mini ITX cases (like Fractal Design Node) which holds only six drives, plus you can get a power efficient E350 motherboard with six SATA ports. HDDs are at 4TB, so if you have a bunch of small capacity drives you may be able to replace the smallest with a large capacity unit.

ooh wow, that's a nice option. But unfortunately I'd have to rebuild everything for it. I have 7 drives that were part of a raid array running zfs with 2 drives of redundancy. These are standard 3.5" drives.

Well shucks, just checked Newegg and the six SATA port boards are not available right now. You can probably get a PCIe SATA card. I think it is because of the new chips coming out. The old ones are the E350 and E450. New ones are codenamed Kabini. Also, there are new Intel Atoms coming out, so right now I guess what is available are any leftovers until the new stuff hits.

Here are some ITX cases with lots of drive bays.

Fractal Design Node 304 6x 3.5" bays
Lian Li PC-Q08B 6x 3.5" bays, 1x 5.25" bay
Lian Li PC-Q25B 7x 3.5" bays

ooh I giuess the Lian Li Q25B does serve my purpose . I"m just planning to reuse my existing motherboard and cpu right now. I have the p55-ud3l which has 6 sata ports and 2 (gigabyte) sata ports, so that should work since this is a software raid. I guess the only thing for me to do now is buy a psu. I just have to figure out how big the power supply needs to be.

 

[aigomorla]

lol.... all i know is i got a bitfinix prodigy thinking it was a true itx case.

no... the bitfinix is a true itx case.. however it monsters in size compared to some matx case even.

the fractal node looks interesting...
Lian Li cases have a vibration issue.
They come with insulators for HDD, but ur pretty much stuck on rubber gromets to prevent your case from vibrating.
(the infamous WAAAAAAAANGGGGGG noise u hear people complain about..)

 

[path]

oh, I didnt know about the noise issue. I just realised the cases suggested were ITX, so here's a question.

I have an ATX motherboard, an i5 cpu, 4gigs of ram and a graphics card along with my hard drives. Is there any reason to buy an itx case, motherboard, cpu and possibly ram rather than just re-use my existing components for a NAS?

I see some fairly cheap cases here.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

 

[Cerb]

It depends on noise, really. The standard Fractal Design R4 will hold your drives, FI, and not be too loud due the case (some vibration noise, but less than most cases, with the cages full). If that noise isn't a problem, then the cheaper the better.

Frankly, you won't even need the video card, with an i5, though you might want more RAM, depending on your FS settings (dedupe, FI, would beg for more RAM).

 

[smitbret]

It depends on noise, really. The standard Fractal Design R4 will hold your drives, FI, and not be too loud due the case (some vibration noise, but less than most cases, with the cages full). If that noise isn't a problem, then the cheaper the better.

Frankly, you won't even need the video card, with an i5, though you might want more RAM, depending on your FS settings (dedupe, FI, would beg for more RAM).

I was thinking R4 but the conversation had gone the ITX route so I didn't bring it up. I am using a Define Mini and love it. Have 5 3.5" HDDs and it is nice, quiet and cool. If I did it again, I'd get the R4, though for the extra 2 spots.

 

[DavidT99]

I think the Fractal Design Define Mini and Arc Mini are great 6-9 HDD cases compatible with microATX motherboards of if ATX is your thing then the Define R3 or R4 or the Arc Midi cases are good, these should be good for 8-11 HDD's.

David

 

[Zap]

I have an ATX motherboard, an i5 cpu, 4gigs of ram and a graphics card along with my hard drives. Is there any reason to buy an itx case, motherboard, cpu and possibly ram rather than just re-use my existing components for a NAS?

My recommendation was because of what you said in the OP.

I'm thinking of rebuilding the nas first and perhaps over time replacing some of the components with low power components.

Here's how to make a NAS low power, in no particular order.

1) Use a low power CPU platform, such as an AMD E350/E450.

2) Use fewer, higher capacity drives.

3) Use an efficient and low wattage PSU. It needs to be enough but shouldn't be too high a wattage.

4) Use integrated GPU.

5) Don't have more fans than needed, since each fan can take a few watts. Components don't have to run icy cold. Only need just enough airflow to keep stuff from overheating.

 

[path]

I decided to finally get the nzxt source 210 case. It's for a nas sitting in a closet somewhere, so I realised it was better to just go for cheap value. thanks for the help guys.