Best case for silent NAS / backup server.
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 10:19 am
Hi everyone,
I'm new here but I've been reading SPCR for a few years now. I've built several PC's but never one with a serious focus on acoustics, so I was hoping for some advice for my latest build. I'm building a NAS / home server with as much space for HDD's as possible. Because I'm a light sleeper and the computer will be in my room, it needs to be the right size and as quiet as possible (i.e. the case can't be too big).
I've had my eye on a Nanoxia DS1 as it has a decent bult-in fan controller, it ticks a lot of boxes appearance wise, it's quiet and could house upto 18 HDD's (with an mITX mobo+SATA card, 2x extra HDD cages and 3x 5.25" to 3.5" adaptors). I know it's a bit of an extreme example but I couldn't find another case of a similar size, that had the potential of getting anywhere close to housing that many HDD's without serious modding and not all of the HDD's will be plugged in... I'll be using the case to store them. So unless I've missed it, there is no other desktop (excluding behemoth, practically a condominium, mega cases) that could house that many HDD's.
That just leaves noise. My aim is the get the case somewhere below the mid 20's (dBA's). Is there anything out there that'd be quieter than the DS1 and suit my needs (below) better?
[EDIT] I'm also considering the Fractal Design XL R2. It's a bit bigger than I would have wanted but it would enable me to put a 120mm in the 5.25" bays so there's direct, uninteruppted and hopefully quieter airflow to the heatsink.
I'm new here but I've been reading SPCR for a few years now. I've built several PC's but never one with a serious focus on acoustics, so I was hoping for some advice for my latest build. I'm building a NAS / home server with as much space for HDD's as possible. Because I'm a light sleeper and the computer will be in my room, it needs to be the right size and as quiet as possible (i.e. the case can't be too big).
I've had my eye on a Nanoxia DS1 as it has a decent bult-in fan controller, it ticks a lot of boxes appearance wise, it's quiet and could house upto 18 HDD's (with an mITX mobo+SATA card, 2x extra HDD cages and 3x 5.25" to 3.5" adaptors). I know it's a bit of an extreme example but I couldn't find another case of a similar size, that had the potential of getting anywhere close to housing that many HDD's without serious modding and not all of the HDD's will be plugged in... I'll be using the case to store them. So unless I've missed it, there is no other desktop (excluding behemoth, practically a condominium, mega cases) that could house that many HDD's.
That just leaves noise. My aim is the get the case somewhere below the mid 20's (dBA's). Is there anything out there that'd be quieter than the DS1 and suit my needs (below) better?
- 1. The main requirement is a minimum of noise, this trumps all else (within reason),
2. Room for 10 or more HDD's without modifying the case, again this is essential but I'd make do with 9 HDD's if it meant a significantly quieter case,
3. Understated, minimalist design. Think Lian Li or the Corsair 900D.
[EDIT] I'm also considering the Fractal Design XL R2. It's a bit bigger than I would have wanted but it would enable me to put a 120mm in the 5.25" bays so there's direct, uninteruppted and hopefully quieter airflow to the heatsink.