Hi, i am going to create my own case for home server/NAS. It is server motheboard, so no GPU (maximum Ati 5450), 5x 3.5" HDD, xeon E3 with 20W TDP will have a cheapest passive tower cooler.
I hope, that case could be passive colled (stack effect), for sure I am thinking about 14cm extra low RPM fan.
PicoPSU will be outside case.

Is it better to have outtake or intake fan. Do you have some ideas, what make better? Thank you.

I would put the fan in the middle, above the hard drives. Perhaps mounting it on a cpu cooler.

Interesting idea and why in the middle? CPU will be cool enough with passive. Will I need really to use fan, or could it be fanless?

You are using one fan. I think that is a good idea.

The hard drives need very little air current. The fan will be buried inside the case. Going 100% passive on the cpu isn't such a good idea. Thecpu needs the aircurrent more than the hard drives

Putting it in the middle as opposed to either end would, in my estimation end up moving more air with less leakage around the grids. It won't make any more noise and that noise will be buried inside your case.

I see no benefit to putting the fan near either of the grids... and some potential benefit to putting it in the middle.

E3 processor has only 20W TDP, so I was thinking, that processor can be passive cooled too.
Should I use something like this http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Produ ... sp?Idx=450
Thank you, in this problem I am really newbie.

I would tend to agree with the fan in the middle approach. A fan at the top will maximize the airflow out of the case. But it would pull the air in from wherever is easiest. Which will mostly be from the open top of the case or the open bottom of the case where the hard drives aren't blocking it. Which is exactly where you want your airflow. A fan in the middle will have less airflow out of the case probably but will maximize that airflow over the "hot" parts. Which in the end is the important part. Only way the middle fan will be worse is if it can't get the hot air out of the case. With the low-heat parts and the open top and bottom, that shouldn't be a problem.

You get the maximum affect from fans by keeping them near the parts they are trying to cool. If you put your fan away from there, then you need to make sure you are directing the airflow over the parts. So if you wanted to put the fan on top, you would want a solid top, except for the hole for the fan and a solid bottom, except for a hole directly under the hard drives.

I agree with every word you said except for this. And maybe technically I even agree with these words... but not the implication of these words.

A fan at the top will draw in some of its air from the top and then send it right out the top. That air current will be useless and a waste of dBs.

A fan in the middle should be expected to draw the most air through the case, from one end to the other. Though with most situations relating to cooling and air currents, you really can't tell what is going to happen until you test it and see what actually happens.

First of all, thank you very much for your ideas. Do you know, if anybody's doing this type mATX PC case?

There is someone doing it. They have an ITX and a mini-ATX if I remember correctly. I don't remember who.... maybe it was silverstone?

Silverstone hase FT03 http://goo.gl/9L813, but it is way too big and looks like cheap waste basket.

I don't like the aesthetics of the form factor my self. But that appears to be what the OP wants. Some comments from users on newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811163176

Recently built 2 rigs with this case and overall am impressed for the form factor. Not for those that require multiple optical drives and more than a couple HDDs, but for a form factor that's a bit smaller and more unique looking than your typical mid-tower it's a great case.

Great case over all, I am very happy but understood what this case could do and could not do.
The people complaining about hard drive cooling, need to realize this is not a case for raptors, or a raid setup. It's for a larger storage drive (or two) and a solid state. I have a 120gig solid state and a 2tb green and have no heat issues at all.

Nice, compact mATX case

It's a compact case, so don't expect it to be roomy to work with. Being able to remove both sides and the front definitely helps, but it's still pretty tight. Cable management is a bit of challenge.

1. Looks. Sexy is an Understatement. Elegant, I would have no problem seeing this as the centerpiece to some one's dinner table.
2. Size. The thing is tiny but can house a serious system inside it.
3. Cooling. Keeps your system nice and cool, well ventilated. Allows for large CPU coolers.
4. Filters. Dust filters are easy to remove and do a great job while still allowing plenty of airflow.