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Home server/Case guide

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Revision as of 08:58, 20 December 2020 by DataHoarderAnon (talk | contribs) (added more cases)
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A short list of cases to stuff your drives in. If you have any good recommendations post them in the /hsg/ thread or create an account and add it to the list you lazy fuck. Rackmount cases are also welcome. If you own, or have owned one of these cases feel free to write a short review about what you like and dislike about the case. I will try to add as much detail to the pros and cons list as possible, especially anything that would help people avoid unfortunate surprises.


Consumer cases

6 or Less Drives⠀

Image Name Number of 3.5in drive bays Number of 2.5 in drives bays Supported Form Factors Pro Con
placeholder BitFenix Phenom Mini ITX 5+1 (use included adapter for 5.25 bay). 0 ITX
  • Compact.
  • Surprisingly large storage capacity for size.
  • Decent cable management for the size
  • Supports large expansion cards/gpus and cpu coolers
  • Harder to find (might be discontinued?).
  • Limited to ITX only.
  • Pricey (over 200USD on newegg at time of writing) Try to find used.
  • Limited expandability, only two expansion slots.
placeholder Cooler Master Elite 110 3 1 ITX
  • Compact.
  • Good airflow from the large intake fan.
  • Good price (50USD).
  • Good build quality for the price.
  • Limited storage.
  • Limited expandability, only two expansion slots.
  • Limited to ITX only.
  • Cramped, wiring might be a pain.
  • Limitations on expansion card length.
  • PSU sticks out the back, might be annoying for some.
placeholder Fractal Design Core 500 3 3 ITX, DTX
  • Good price (50USD).
  • Shape allows for longer expansion cards than other SFF cases.
  • Mini ITX, Mini DTX motherboard compatibility
  • Limited storage.
  • Limited expandability, only two expansion slots.
  • Motherboards with SATA ports that are angled 90 degrees may conflict with installation.
  • As large as the node 304, but supports less 3.5in drives
  • Wiring can be a bit difficult if you put an optical drive in the included 5.25in bay
placeholder Fractal Design Node 304 6 0 ITX, Thin Mini ITX, DTX
  • Surprisingly large storage capacity for size, up to 6 3.5in drives.
  • Shape allows for longer expansion cards than other SFF cases.
  • Supports Three SFF form factors, ITX, thin ITX, DTX
  • Limited expandability, only two expansion slots.
  • Limited to small form factor motherboards.
  • Larger than most other ITX cases
placeholder Cooler Master N200 3 4 mATX, ITX
  • Good price (40-50USD).
  • Reasonable wiring options
  • Limited storage.
  • Very large compared to other options in this category


6-10 Drives⠀

Image Name Number of 3.5in drive bays Number of 2.5 in drives bays Supported Form Factors Pro Con
placeholder Fractal Design Node 804 8 (10 if bottom 2 mounting points are used) 2 (4 if bottom 2 mounting points are used) mATX, ITX
  • Lots of storage options. 2 2.5in mounts (inside front panel), and 2 mounts for drives of either size (attached directly to bottom of case).
  • Separated design allows for dedicated airflow over drives.
  • Reasonably expandable, 5 Full Height Expansion slots.
  • No tie downs making wire management a bit difficult.
  • Drive caddies require an adapter for drives which lack the middle mount hole, you can get these from Fractal Design via their support portal, buy them when they are in stock, or you can 3D Print your own.
  • Cube shape might not work for some narrower spaces.
  • Cable clearance on the second cage is questionable. Use angled sata cables if possible and be careful with SAS to sata cables if using SAS drives.
placeholder Lian Li Q26 10 1 ITX
  • Compact.
  • Lots of storage capacity for the size.
  • Due to the form factor limitation, you will need an HBA.
  • Cramped, wiring will be a pain.
  • Heavy restrictions on expansion card and cpu cooler size.
  • Limited expandability, only 2 expansion slots.
  • Harder to find due to being discontinued.
  • Limited to ITX only.
placeholder Fractal Design Define R6 11 (if all tray slots are used) 2 ATX, mATX, ITX
  • Plenty of expansion options.
  • Good wire management options.
  • Highly customizable storage layout
  • You need to purchase extra trays because it only comes with 6.
  • You might need an HBA to support >8 drives.
  • Pricy.
  • Large.
placeholder Antec P101 Silent 8 2 EATX, ATX, mATX, ITX
  • Plenty of airflow over the drives with three intake fans.
  • Relatively cheap, (~100USD).
  • Supports a wide range of motherboards including E-ATX.
  • Good wire management options.
  • Plenty of expansion options.
placeholder Cooler Master N400 7+1 external 2 ATX, mATX, ITX
  • Cheap. Can be found for ~60USD or less used.
  • Plenty of expansion options.
  • Recessed motherboard mounting position might have issues with motherboards that have 90° sata ports or USB headers.
  • PCI covers are break-off and can't be re-attached.
  • Iffy cable management.


More Than 10 drives⠀

  • A note on large storage arrays with 10+ drives. Most motherboards have less than 10 Sata ports. Once you start getting above 10 drives you will likely need to buy an HBA to support more drives than your motherboard is capable of handling. The recommended approach is to use a SAS HBA with SAS to Sata breakout cables. You can learn more about these on the Home server page.
Image Name Number of 3.5in drive bays Number of 2.5 in drives bays Supported Form Factors Pro Con
placeholder Fractal Design Define 7 14 (if all tray slots are used) 4 E-ATX(285 mm), ATX, mATX, ITX
  • Huge storage capacity
  • Highly customizable storage layout
  • Good wire management options.
  • Supports a wide range of motherboard form factors.
  • Doesn’t come with all of the HDD mounting brackets so you have to buy more to get the full capacity. (Comes with 6x3.5 type B trays, packs of 2 are ~$15).
  • Large.
  • Somewhat pricey. (sometimes goes on sale for < 100USD)
  • Lots of drives use a lot of electricity
placeholder Fractal Design Define 7 XL 18 (if all tray slots are used) 5 SSI CEB, SSI EEB, EE-ATX, E-ATX, ATX, mATX, ITX
  • Huge storage capacity
  • Tons of Expandability options.
  • Highly customizable storage layout
  • Good wire management options.
  • Supports a wide range of motherboard form factors.
  • Doesn’t come with all of the HDD mounting brackets so you have to buy more to get the full capacity. (Comes with 6x3.5 type B trays, packs of 2 are ~$15).
  • Large.
  • Pricy, especially when factoring in extra brackets.
  • Lots of drives use a lot of electricity
placeholder Corsair 750D 6 (12 with extra drive cages, 24 modded ) 4 XL ATX, E-ATX, ATX, mATX, ITX
  • Huge potential storage capacity
  • Supports a wide range of motherboards.
  • Plenty of wire management options.
  • Tons of Expandability options. 9 Full-Height Expansion Slots.
  • Front three optical drive bays can be converted with an adapter for even more storage.
  • You need to buy more cages to do so as it only comes with two.
  • You will probably run into heat issues if going the modded route.
  • More drive cages restricts motherboard and GPU size.
  • Large.
  • Lots of drives use a lot of electricity
placeholder Cooler Master CM Stacker 810 (or any CM stacker case) 0 (up to 20 if modded, using 5.25 to 3.5 adapters) 0 XL ATX, E-ATX, ATX, mATX, ITX
  • Huge storage potential
  • Old as fuck so likely to be cheap.
  • Crazy amount of 5.25 bays can be converted to 3.5in Hot Swap bays using adapters.
  • Good adapters can be somewhat pricey.
  • Harder to find.
  • Lots of drives use a lot of electricity

Rack cases

Other

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