Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

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WARDOZER9
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Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by WARDOZER9 » Mon Apr 18, 2011 1:48 pm

Okay, Currently I'm using a Rosewill mAtx case with 1 optical and 2x HD's but I'm about to add a dedicated OS HD and will add an additional 2x HD's in the future when the current raid array is full.

I am looking to go no higher than around $125 shipped.

The case will be for the rig in my sig and I'm looking for the smallest case I can get to cram all of this stuff into.

I would much prefer to be able to actively cool my HD's so a front 120 or 2 would be awesome.

My current case dimensions are 16.25" D x 7.50" W x 14" H

I would like something not as tall as my current case if possible and an HTPC style case would be nice but I haven't seen one yet that can house 5 HD's and an optical in my price range.

Also, do not take my heatsink into consideration as I am more than willing to get a low profile heatsink if I can find the right case.
Last edited by WARDOZER9 on Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:38 am, edited 2 times in total.

quest_for_silence
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Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:51 am

Your requirements would seem to me somewhat self-contraddictory: it has to be small (and smaller than what you have, even if you have one of the shortest mini-tower available), but it has to have 6 bays (which your one doesn't have), then you would want a 120mm intake, typical of ATX case, but you're looking for a mATX enclosure, and such a case should be somehow silence-oriented (nothwithstanding the six dives and the compactness), so an high quality one, but eventually it has to be not expensive, under 125 USD "all-inclusive" (when some e-tailer ask even around 25 USD just to ship an enclosure).

I'm curious to see if such a solution currently exist.

At anyway, here to you three usual SPCR favourites, each one with its own drawbacks (and no, any of them doesn't fulfill every your requirements):
  • Antec Mini P180
  • Silverstone TJ-08
  • Silverstone GD-06

Have a good luck!

boost
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Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by boost » Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:41 am

Silverstone makes several HTPC cases that fit 5+ HDDs and are within your budget.
Thy are all a bit bigger at 425X425X170mm 16,7"X16,7"X6,7".
GD01, LC20 and LC17
I'm not sure a case with the dimensions you specify will hold all the components in your sig and the extra hard drives.
How about an external case for the extra drives, eSata, USB3 or NAS?

JamieG
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Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by JamieG » Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:44 am

How about the Fractal Design Define Mini?

Case size (WxHxD) is 210x395x490mm, so it is probably a bit bigger than you want in depth, but otherwise it seems to tick all required boxes - 6 x HDD, 2 x ODD, 2 x front 120mm fans.

Not sure how much it is in USD, but it looks to be a quality case that might be worth stretching your budget for.

fumino
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Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by fumino » Tue Apr 19, 2011 3:53 am

other than whats been mentioned, the lian li pc-a04 looks like it might be worth considering.

lian li also has a few htpc cases, but they're very very pricey.

quest_for_silence
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Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Apr 19, 2011 4:42 am

fumino wrote:other than whats been mentioned, the lian li pc-a04 looks like it might be worth considering.

Personally I would not consider a Lian Li at first, for a 5-drives system (see SPCR review about the V354).

quest_for_silence
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Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Apr 19, 2011 4:46 am

boost wrote:and are within your budget.
Indeed.

WARDOZER9
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Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by WARDOZER9 » Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:44 am

quest_for_silence wrote:
boost wrote:and are within your budget.
Indeed.
Hmm, the silverstone is nice and accepts full ATX boards. The dimensions of that case are actually more appealing than most of the mini towers I was looking at.

Iy is a bit pricier than I was looking at by almost $50 but I'll check around and see if it's cheaper anywhere else.

The Lian-Li is quite attractive as well but once again is about $50 more than I was hoping to spend :-/

If I can sell some of my leftover hardware then I can swing the Silverstone case and if I am going to spend that much I'd rather get the silverstone for when I upgrade the innards as I could get a better board and have a more HTPC orriented case.

The Lian-Li is nice but it seems a little chunky and akward compared to the Silverstone.

The Silverstone LC13B-E seems to be a cheaper version of the other case by about $35 making it roughly in my current price range.

This Lian-Li PC-C32B is only $25 out of my budget and has 120mm cooling vs the Silverstones 80mm's though it is a good 3.5" deeper than the Silverstone's. Actully, this Lian-Li is very attractive, anyone have any experience with it?

WARDOZER9
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Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by WARDOZER9 » Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:03 am

Ugh, nMEDIAPC seems to have shoddy quality or I'da have considered one of thier cases :-/

Teh Lurv
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Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by Teh Lurv » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:09 pm

If you're not in a rush to get a new case, Silverstone showed off at CES the TJ08-E matx case, which is due to be out sometime this year. It is supposed to support five hard disk drives and is being aimed at the <$100 market. You can see it being described here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOOZArCV3qI

dmo580
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Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by dmo580 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:10 pm

i have to say i really love the lian li v354b. it's a little just out of your range, but it's plenty big. mATX and 7 HDs!!! I have my NAS setup in there. As much as I'd like a small rig, I already hate working in cramped places. I've spent my life working on mid and full towers so this was a huge challenge for me. I need a major cable management rework, but this case is solid with terrific cooling.

boost
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Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by boost » Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:41 pm

WARDOZER9 wrote:
quest_for_silence wrote:
boost wrote:and are within your budget.
Indeed.
Sorry, I am in the EU and those cases cost around 90€ here + 15€ for shipping so I figured they might be within your budget.

WARDOZER9
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:41 am
Location: Rockford, IL ( USA )

Re: Case Rec.| mAtx with support for 5x HD's and 1 Optical

Post by WARDOZER9 » Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:50 pm

I'll be keeping an eye on eBay for an affordable lian li v354b as far as my budget goes as I really really really do like that case but it's about $60 - $80 out of my budget with shipping.

The TJ08-E looks quite promising but I don't know if I want to wait that long :-/ A front 140 is nice though and the width is about that of the lian li v354b.

I'll be making a decision within the next 2 weeks as my next paycheck nears so the TJ08-E probably won
't be out by then and I'm not intereted in the waiting game, it never pans out.

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