Best storage cases - non-Enterprise

G

general

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 14, 2004
Messages
1,192
Can anyone suggest good cases for a storage server? I know Lian Li makes seriously expensive cases (by individual standards) that house up to 12 sata drives. Are there other better or cheaper options? As mentioned above, it's for personal use not enterprise, so please take that into consideration. Thanks.
 
Are you looking for hot-swap ready storage or not?

I would suggest getting a stacker and some 3in2 or 5in3 adapters
 
Good suggestion. Hot swap is nice but not necessary. Just don't want to spend $300 on a LL case if not needed. I"ll hunt around for one.
 
general said:
Tower
Click to expand...

Not sure if it is available in the USA, but I got an Alphacool "bay dream" ATX case for ~70 euros the other day and it has 10 5.25" slots open that you can fill with loads of drives. But maybe I am misunderstanding what you are looking for.
 
The CM Stacker seems to be pretty popular, though the uh, ST01? variant I think is the one which can house 11 5.25" bays (12 if you yank out the top one), which is like 15/20 drives assuming 5in3. I'm using an Antec SX1240 with 2x 4in3 and a Stacker 830 with 2x 4in3 for my drive needs.
 
I'd hit up the CM Stacker. 11 full-size bays and room for 2 PSU's. It usually comes with one 4-in-3 HDD adapter but you can always load up with a couple more. I'm currently planning on getting 2 more so I can expand my rig...

fileserver01.jpg
 
jmroberts70 ... nice cabling ... ;)

Does the CM Stacker support two power supplies natively? ... or did you have to do your own mod?
 
Dually said:
jmroberts70 ... nice cabling ... ;)

Does the CM Stacker support two power supplies natively? ... or did you have to do your own mod?
Click to expand...

[blush] OMG, I'm actually a bit embarrased about the wiring! I've got a LOT of ceanup to do but I'm not ready for it [/blush]

Yes, the CM Stacker (this one at least) is all ready for an additional PSU.
 
Does it come with an interconnect for the second power supply or did you have to fabricate/purchase that?
 
Dually said:
Does it come with an interconnect for the second power supply or did you have to fabricate/purchase that?
Click to expand...

Came with the interconnect. It isn't the nicest-looking piece of wiring I've ever seen but it works. I think you can see part of it in the pic above. Mobo power connector is part of the interconnect. You can see it route back to the actual connector for the main PSU. there's a small green pair that runs down to the bottom of the case and plugs into the secondary PSU there. It isn't pretty but it works just fine. I'll probably gut it and re-wire it by hand once the system is in the configuration I ultimately want.
 
Sorry wrong post. I think I might just bite the bullet and get the Lian Li case. The coolermaster is $150 and the cages are more. Thanks for everyone's input.
 
Mine that I will eventually build with. You can fit 3x 5-in-3, plus 2 hot swap bays. You can also see 2 internal drives in the back (not including the place where you can put another drive where the floppy would go).
 
Basically any case will hold 12 hard drives.
 
I built a machine with a mATX case yesterday and it won't hold 12 drives :p

I guess hot-swappable seems overkill to me as I'll end up shutting the machine down to change them anyways. Also, the 5 in 3's cost $150. The Lian Li's do 12 natively.
 
Another option is the Aerocool Masstige. Supports 10 drives in the front, plus two more above the power supply (theoretically). Only runs about $100 :)

I bought one and have 3 WD 500 GB drives (Raid 5), 1 WD Raptor 74 GB, and a Lite-On SATA DVD-RW. There is plenty of room to add more of course, but that will have to wait until I get the funds for more hard drives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top