I’m replacing an SFF PC (HP ProDesk 600 G5 SFF) I’m using as a server with a larger one that’ll function as a server and a NAS, and all I want is a case that would have been commonplace 10-15 years ago:
- Fits an ATX motherboard.
- Fits at least 4-5 hard drives.
- Is okay sitting on its side instead of upright (or even better, is built to be horizontal) since it’ll be sitting on a wire shelving unit (replacing the SFF PC here: https://upvote.au/post/11946)
- No glass side panel, since it’ll be sitting horizontally.
- Ideally space for a fan on the left panel
It seems like cases like this are hard to find these days. The two I see recommended are the Fractal Design Define R5 and the Cooler Master N400, both of which are quite old. The Streacom F12C was really nice but it’s long gone now, having been discontinued many years ago.
Unfortunately I don’t have enough depth for a full-depth rackmount server; I’ve got a very shallow rack just for networking equipment.
Does anyone have recommendations for any cases that fit these requirements?
My desktop PC has a Fractal Design Define R4 that I bought close to 10 years ago… I’m tempted to just buy a new case for it and repurpose the Define R4 for the server.
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/LbJwrH,wNrG3C,TXCwrH,sjX2FT/
Yeah, those are the only ones I see that I’d be able to justify with your requirements. (and two of them are ones you mentioned)
For cases with a solid metal or acrylic side panel, you can always just make space for fans on them.
For cases with a solid metal or acrylic side panel, you can always just make space for fans on them.
My desktop PC uses a Fractal Design R4 case with an acrylic side panel. I could definitely reuse that case and drill some holes in it for a fan.
The Fractal Design R6 and R7 should work too. I have the R6 with 9 or 10 drives in it now. The Node may be an option too though I don’t recall what mobo form factor it accepts.
I have node 304 for desktop and would buy another one for server if it was cheaper. So i printed custom case. Not for everyone but I love it
Ah lol I forgot that 304 is not ATX hehe
the cases i’ve got here with 5+ drive bays were all acquired used or were given to me (except for one. a $10-15 sale over a decade ago). it’s a case, big deal if it’s ‘old’, the stuff going in it, isn’t (usually). as long as the switch works, the cover fits, and there’s sufficient airflow options. i’m good. i’m not paying new prices of $150-200+ for a fancy name brand box made out of sheet metal just to hold a system nobody’s gonna see but me.
so, check the local used market for cases, or even older cheap systems with a suitable case.
I own a silverstone case and can recommend it
https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/computer-chassis/GD07/
Update: I’m giving up on ATX and will get a micro ATX motherboard and case instead. Likely the Fractal Design Node 804.
I think you want to be searching for 4u rackmount server cases like these https://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer-hardware/cases/4u-rackmount-server-cases
I use an Antec P101. It can fit 8 3.5" drives with a couple 2.5" drives on the back of the MOBO tray.
Fair warning, this thing is fucking huge. Didn’t realize how big it was when I bought it, but I needed the extra drive bays, so its kinda necessary.
Two good cases for this are the fractal node series. Not ATX, but great.
Node 304 can do 6 HDDs, ITX board, SFX-L supply.
Node 804 is twice as big (still smaller than tower cases) but can do mATX board, 8HDDs, and an ATX power supply.
Watch out for ITX builds because they only have 4 SATA ports, so you need to get an M.2 expansion card or PCIe expander if you aren’t using a video card.
mATX can usually expand via the extra PCIe connector.
I’m leaning towards the Node 804 now, and just getting an mATX board instead of an ATX one. The Node 804 can also fit a larger (160mm) CPU cooler, so my preferred cooler (Noctua NH-D15) should be able to fit if I replace the 140mm fans with 120mm ones - with the smaller fans, it needs exactly 160mm clearance.
I love Fractal Design and they seem to be one of the only manufacturers still producing older cases that can fit a lot of HDDs.
If you change your mind on mobo again, +1 for the Node304. It even fits Ikea Kallax shelving 🙂
I have a 6 drive NAS in one, with an ASRockRack mobo… cool & quiet.
Which motherboard? And do you use ECC RAM?
I’m using the ASRock Rack C2550D4I - good piece of hardware (for what it’s doing…)
And yep, ECC… I had read about needing lots of it for ZFS, but TBH after watching several videos about testing RAM, I’m not sure 64GB of ECC RAM was worth the cost…
Plus, I went with BTRFS instead 😉
Compucase used to have loads of models like that, in example LX6A21. Maybe search those on ebay/craigslist/whatever you happen to have around? I have couple of those laying around, but I assume shipping from Finland would be stupidly high for a 10+ year old case. Or, as you said, pretty much any older tower would be a good option. But as they’re just sheet metal and plastic used ones are just fine. You might not get USB3 on the front panel, but as it’s a server does it really matter?
Not ATX as requested, but I’ve had my eye on the Jonsbo N1 ITX for a NAS build. Sounds like you’re space constrained, so worth a look ?
The Jonsbo looks great! I wasn’t sure about thermals in a relatively compact case though.
I’ll definitely have to consider using a non-ATX motherboard. That’s probably what I’ll end up doing. Maybe a micro rather than mini motherboard though. I want two PCIe ports, which isn’t possible on mini ITX :(
Interesting… Looks like Jonsbo have a brand new case coming out: The N3. Similar to the N1 and N2 but is a little bit larger and supports 8 HDDs instead of 5.
Fractal meshify 2 fits a bunch, I have the 2 xl which can do either 18 or 20 hdd from memory
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters NAS Network-Attached Storage PCIe Peripheral Component Interconnect Express SATA Serial AT Attachment interface for mass storage
3 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 9 acronyms.
[Thread #53 for this sub, first seen 16th Aug 2023, 12:25] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
I love you bot, but… PCIe is just “PCI express”, NAS nowadays means more “home server” than network-attached storage, and no one even ever knew what SATA is supposed to expand to.
There are acronyms that are shortened versions of meaningful names and then there are acronyms that are actual meaningful names for which some meaningless (and quickly forgotten) expansion happens to exist.
PCIe is just “PCI express”
I side with the bot here. You can’t expand an acronym to something that still contains an acronym 😛
On the other hand, the bot does that when it expands “SATA” to “Serial AT Attachment” lol. Should be “Serial Advanced Technology Attachment”, or “Serial ATA” if we go with your approach :)
Well… if one must believe their own logo, (see https://sata-io.org/) “SATA” shoud actually be expanded to “Serial ATA” :)
Acronyms of acronyms may not be super-common, but they do exist: eg. Cisco has a network protocol they call “PVST”, which means “Per-VLAN Spanning Tree”, where “VLAN” is “Virtual Local Area Network” (or “Virtual LAN”; LAN is another of those acronyms that is mostly regarded as being its own word).
In open source, there’s a long tradition of recursive acronyms: eg. “Linux” means “Linux is not Unix”, which you can’t be expanded (in finite time) according to your rule :)
Interesting comment. Thanks!
