File Storage: What Case?

[Synthetickiller]

Welcome!

I've decided to build a second server, but I am not entirely too sure what case to get.

I own everything besides the case. Since I have a mATX board, I can go smaller with the build which is ideal.

I originally wanted to buy an HTPC, but figured that won't fit under my desk too well.

The Lian Li V-354 caught my eye. It's about 1/2" too wide for where I want to put it, but I can deal with that since it looks so nice holds 7 drives.

I don't need that many drives. 3 - 4 drives would work. I'm up for a different perspective on a storage solution case that's tiny, so I came here. All ideas are appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

 

[wonSR4]

Hmm a small case that can hold a mATX motherboard and 3-4 hard drives and the V-354 interests you.

I would say maybe a Lian Li V352? It has 3 3.5" internal hard drive bays and 1 3.5" external hard drive bay (use one 5.25 inch to 3.5 inch converter) and it holds a regular ATX P/S2 power supply. It's 15.70" x 11.00" x 10.80" compared to 16.56" x 13.82" x 12.07" for the V354. The thing is the V354 is only $20 more on Newegg but you said you wanted something smaller.

 

[tvih]

For 3-4 drives there are a lot of options when you factor in 1x5.25"->2x3.5" drive mount adapters!

 

[Synthetickiller]

Alright, sorry, I'll clear a few things up.

I'm not interested in bay converters. I want stock 3.5" storage bays.

The 354 interests me over the 352 as its just better use of space and only a little larger. I only need 2 to 3 storage drives (and an OS drive of course), but if I do need to expand, I won't have to buy all new drives. 7 is a LOT!

If there's a case much smaller that holds 3 to 4 drives, matx and isn't a tower over 12.5" inches tall by 13" wide, sign me up.

I also need something quiet and this set up have lots of air flow without using high speed, noisy fans.

Like I said, any other cases out there? The V352/351 doesn't really buy me anything as it's not significantly smaller.

 

[wonSR4]

Thing is it's harder to go smaller with a mATX motherboard, 3-4 hard drives, and not over 12.5" tall and 13" wide. If it was mITX and 3-4 hard drives, it would be a lot easier but that's besides the point.

Antec NSK1380 Black/ Silver Steel MicroATX Cube Computer Case 350W Power Supply This case's dimensions are 13.20" x 10.60" x 7.90" and it has 3 internal hard drive bays. It also comes with a 350W PSU. Its price currently is $119.99 on Newegg with $14.99 shipping.

RAIDMAX ICECUBE ATX-015B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Computer Case. This case's dimensions are 17.00" x 12.25" x 9.75" and it has four internal hard drive bays. It's price currently is $69.99 on Newegg with $17.58 shipping.

 

[Synthetickiller]

Thanks guys,

I can't really find any better options for the space than the v354. I'll probably end up buying that.

 

[bastage]

the v354 is probably your best shot. Plus its just an overall excellent case.

 

[morgwon]

wonder why Lian Li doesn't make a mATX version of the pc-q08. That is what I am going to end up using since I am going to have a spare mITX combo shortly.

 

[bastage]

wonder why Lian Li doesn't make a mATX version of the pc-q08. That is what I am going to end up using since I am going to have a spare mITX combo shortly.

WTF?? the v354 is a mATX version of the q08

 

[wonSR4]

WTF?? the v354 is a mATX version of the q08

haha bastage is correct and my PC-Q08B is for sale! :X

 

[bastage]

haha bastage is correct and my PC-Q08B is for sale! :X

How much?
Posted via [H] Mobile Device

 

[wonSR4]

How much?
Posted via [H] Mobile Device

Used - $85 + buyer pays half shipping or $85 local pick up. I'm waiting for this seller on eBay to receive shipment of the Q11. It's unreal. I've gone from a Black Pearl to A05NB to Q08B to eventually a Q11 in about 3-4 months. I blame it partially on being a member of this website :X

 

[morgwon]

so it looks like it is. I thought the v35x kept with the original interior of the v300 and v350. Didn't realize they changed it.

 

[sheltem]

The Lian Li V-354 caught my eye. It's about 1/2" too wide for where I want to put it, but I can deal with that since it looks so nice holds 7 drives.

I was in the same boat as you, but I ended up going with the PC-Q08. The PC-Q08 is noticeably more compact and can still holds 6 drives. Here are their respective dimensions:

Lian Li PC-V354: 9.65" x 12.6" x 16.54"
Lian Li PC-Q08: 8.94" x 10.71" x 13.58"

And here's a great motherboard to pair up with the PC-Q08. And if you use this PATA adapter. you can have a total of 6 sata slots! Best of all, you'll still have that PCI slot free. I know that board has a lot of legacy ports and only VGA, but it is very difficult to find a good itx board with 4 sata slots, let alone 6!

Also take into consideration that you're paying $40 more for the PC-V354. I would pocket that difference and put it towards a MITX board!

 

[morgwon]

that pata adapter turns pata into SATA not the other way around. You are going to need some sort of controller or a supermicro d510 atom board.

 

[wonSR4]

Before I bought the H55N-USB3, the ZOTAC H55ITX-A-E was my choice but given the price difference between the two and the fact that I didn't really need the WIFI made me lean towards the Gigabyte MB. But since I'm moving to a Q11B, those extra sata ports don't mean much and I don't use an ODD. Plus I felt more comfortable with Gigabyte's support than Zotac's support.

 

[sheltem]

that pata adapter turns pata into SATA not the other way around. You are going to need some sort of controller or a supermicro d510 atom board.

Huh? The gigabyte board I linked to has 1 PATA slot. You can plug the Startech adapter to turn that PATA slot into 2 more sata slots.

Before I bought the H55N-USB3, the ZOTAC H55ITX-A-E was my choice but given the price difference between the two and the fact that I didn't really need the WIFI made me lean towards the Gigabyte MB. But since I'm moving to a Q11B, those extra sata ports don't mean much and I don't use an ODD. Plus I felt more comfortable with Gigabyte's support than Zotac's support.

Yeah Zotac has a decent MITX AM2 board with 4 sata slots for about $50. I was going to buy that but I hear bad things about Zotac.

 

[bastage]

If I were to do it I would use the Intel D510 Atom Board (completely Fanless) with a Lian Li PC-q08 & a Cheapo PCI SATA Controller & Run WHS.. If running something else for the OS You may have to get a decent SATA Raid card, But WHS doesn't really care.

Another option (and if your sure this is going to stay as storage only) would be the Fractal Design Array R2 mini-ITX case.. & Dont let the extra cost of that case over the q08 scare you. That one includes the PSU which has custom tailored cable lengths to the case included so it ends up being slightly cheaper then the q08 & a decent PSU.

If cost for the mobo/CPU isnt a big deal another option would be a mITX 1156 board with a i3 which often has a lower idle power usage then the atoms. & will give more power if you need it. In the end though the d510 is more then enough for most file storage applications.

edit: and that fractal case is available from 1 etailer in the us, but you cant post who it is here so you can search to get a direct link.

 

[morgwon]

Huh? The gigabyte board I linked to has 1 PATA slot. You can plug the Startech adapter to turn that PATA slot into 2 more sata slots.
.

Guess you are right. Wonder how that affects performance.

 

[Synthetickiller]

Ordered the V354 in red. I've always wanted a red case, so it's fiting.

I couldn't find a better alternative.

Mini ITX would be fun again, but I can't justify the cost of that set up (buying another board & memory) or (buying another board and cpu) vs what I ordered.

I think I made the right choice.

 

[bastage]

Ordered the V354 in red. I've always wanted a red case, so it's fiting.

I couldn't find a better alternative.

Mini ITX would be fun again, but I can't justify the cost of that set up (buying another board & memory) or (buying another board and cpu) vs what I ordered.

I think I made the right choice.

you defiantly didn't make the wrong choice.

 

[sheltem]

If I were to do it I would use the Intel D510 Atom Board (completely Fanless) with a Lian Li PC-q08 & a Cheapo PCI SATA Controller & Run WHS.. If running something else for the OS You may have to get a decent SATA Raid card, But WHS doesn't really care.

While the Intel's D510 Atom motherboard is pretty nice with it's passive heatsink setup, it only has 2 sata slots, which is killer. With the Gigabyte board and the Startech adapter, you can have 6 sata slots without using a single expansion slot.

Another option (and if your sure this is going to stay as storage only) would be the Fractal Design Array R2 mini-ITX case.. & Dont let the extra cost of that case over the q08 scare you. That one includes the PSU which has custom tailored cable lengths to the case included so it ends up being slightly cheaper then the q08 & a decent PSU.

The Fractal Design Array R2 is a nice case, but there are some design issues. Overall it isn't as solid as the Lian Li PC-Q08.

The dimensions (W x H x D) for both cases are pretty similar as well:

Lian Li PC-Q08: 8.94" x 10.71" x 13.58"

Fractal Design Array R2: 9.06" x 8.78" x 13.78"

Obviously the Array R2 is shorter because it doesn't have a 5.25" drive bay. Great effort from Fractal Design though. I will be keeping a close eye on their future products.

If cost for the mobo/CPU isnt a big deal another option would be a mITX 1156 board with a i3 which often has a lower idle power usage then the atoms. & will give more power if you need it. In the end though the d510 is more then enough for most file storage applications.

edit: and that fractal case is available from 1 etailer in the us, but you cant post who it is here so you can search to get a direct link.

I was thinking about going with a Core i3 setup but couldn't justify spending money on a dead end platform. Socket 1156 is going to be replaced with Socket 1155 (Sandy Bridge) very soon.

 

[bastage]

While the Intel's D510 Atom motherboard is pretty nice with it's passive heatsink setup, it only has 2 sata slots, which is killer. With the Gigabyte board and the Startech adapter, you can have 6 sata slots without using a single expansion slot.

Personally there is no way in hell I would trust my data on a pata to sata adapter & especially not one mady by startech. I Would gladly take the loss in expansion to know my data is less likely to get corrupted.

The Fractal Design Array R2 is a nice case, but there are some design issues. Overall it isn't as solid as the Lian Li PC-Q08.

The dimensions (W x H x D) for both cases are pretty similar as well:




Obviously the Array R2 is shorter because it doesn't have a 5.25" drive bay. Great effort from Fractal Design though. I will be keeping a close eye on their future products.

I Dont know if you know this, but the q08 doesnt float everyones boat & it has some design issues too.. There is no Case that doesnt.

I was thinking about going with a Core i3 setup but couldn't justify spending money on a dead end platform. Socket 1156 is going to be replaced with Socket 1155 (Sandy Bridge) very soon.

thats one of the wost arguments ever to use... EVERY cpu socket on the market has already been marked for end of life.. so saying that 1156 is no good because its replacement is on the way is garbage when 1366, am3 & the atom (whatever its socket is) are all on there way out.