Advice needed on ITX NAS case

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rozia
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:49 am
Location: Poland

Advice needed on ITX NAS case

Post by rozia » Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:24 am

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a small NAS case to host AsRock Q1900DC-ITX mobo, 2x 3.5" HDD and 1x 2.5" SSD.

All the cases I found so far are either too small (no room for all the storage) or too large (with space for ATX PSU I don't need).
I am using Lian-Li PC-Q08 right now, it's nice but at least twice too large. Would gladly put the NAS in a smaller case and repurpose the PC-Q08 as my regular PC.

Any pointers / advice would be really appreciated.

Pappnaas
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Location: Germany

Re: Advice needed on ITX NAS case

Post by Pappnaas » Sat Jan 31, 2015 9:59 am

The problem with a small Nas case is drive noise. The smaller they come, the more likely you will have a hard time with vibration and stuff.

Depending on the HDDs used, this could pose a problem. A bigger case might give you room to suspend those drives.

Abula
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Location: Guatemala

Re: Advice needed on ITX NAS case

Post by Abula » Sat Jan 31, 2015 10:27 am

rozia wrote:I am looking for a small NAS case to host AsRock Q1900DC-ITX mobo, 2x 3.5" HDD and 1x 2.5" SSD.
Have you consider prebuilds? given that are a little more expnesive might end up smaller, and work pretty well, i like a lot stuff that Synology and Qnap offers.
rozia wrote:All the cases I found so far are either too small (no room for all the storage) or too large (with space for ATX PSU I don't need).
I am using Lian-Li PC-Q08 right now, it's nice but at least twice too large. Would gladly put the NAS in a smaller case and repurpose the PC-Q08 as my regular PC.
If you like the Q08, maybe something like Q11, not super small but it can hold at the bottom a couple of 3.5 hdds and you can attach the ssd with velco anywhere, i used the 3.5 slot to mount a 2.5 there with an adapter.

Now if i was to build a small server, i would consider Silverstone Tek Premium Mini-ITX DTX Small Form Factor NAS Computer Cases, Black (DS380B), it was reviewed by SPCR SilverStone DS380 8-Bay Server/NAS Chassis, and although it didnt get any awards, it really comes down into what you are looking.

Another option could be something like Steacom FC5 OD Fanless Chassis, according to the product page, "Hard Drive Bays: 1 x 3.5″ Drive + 2 x 2.5″ + 1 Shared 3.5″ or 2.5″ (Shared 3.5″ only with mITX)".

There is also the old APEX MI-008, reviewed by SPCR Apex MI-008: A Cheap Quiet mini-ITX Case?, and yes it comes with PSU that you can chose not to use, you could mod the case to add a fan from the top, etc, its a decently cheap small enclosure, you could even try to suspend some hdds.

Another case to consider is the Cooler Master Elite 110 - Cube Style Mini-IT, its small, it can fit big PSU with the extension but you can chose not to use it like that, and according to the descriptions "Store up to 3 HDDs/4 SSDs (HDD x3 or HDD x2 + SSD x2 or HDD x1 + SSD x3 or SSD x4)"

rozia
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:49 am
Location: Poland

Re: Advice needed on ITX NAS case

Post by rozia » Mon Feb 02, 2015 12:48 pm

Thank you for extended reply, a lot of good hints.

Dedicated server cases would probably be an overkill here, Apex MI-008 (slightly modded) looks like best option for me.

mehimu
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Re: Advice needed on ITX NAS case

Post by mehimu » Tue Feb 24, 2015 7:42 pm

So many nice and informative topics included here. Thanks.

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