Quiet, Smallish Home Server Case

C

Cheezor722

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Messages
82
I'm looking for a good case for a home media/development server I am setting up. I'm putting in an Athlon II x4 635 w/ a microATX mobo.

I need a case that can support 4-6 hard drives (6 is the maximum on the board, 4 is what I suspect I'll end up actually using). It'd be great if those were hot swap slots. I'm also a bit of a noise freak, so I'd love it if the case was quiet (I'm used to the P182 and SOLO). It'd also be nice if it could fit a large CPU heatsink for noise reasons as well.

I'm leaning toward the Antec Mini P180 for it's size, specs, and acoustics. Any suggestions?
 
The Mini P180 is really not that small but as an owner of one of these cases, it is extremely quiet when having a lot of harddrives mounted in the case.
 
The Mini P180 is a great case, it's as quiet as my P180 & P182 (maybe a bit quieter).

The Mini P180 will hold 5 HDD's internally plus you can always get some 5.25 to 3.5 adapters, to fit more.

I would personally recommend the full size P180/P182 since it isn't that much larger than the Mini P180 and you can pop in a 5 in 3 hot swap adapter.

3x 5.25 bays gives you 5x 3.5 hot swap bays - assuming the RAID card supports hot swap. Otherwise they just stay in, and you'll need to power down the system to change an HDD. Be sure if you go this route, you'll probably want to buy a lower RPM fan to go with the 5 in 3 adapter, since they tend to be loud and fast. The the other issue is the board layout, since the fan and adapter may protrude over the motherboard on the right side, the CPU and HSF cannot be within an inch or so of the right side of the motherboard. (I had this issue with an Intel based board.)

Though, I cannot stand a Mini ATX board in a case that fits full ATX boards... just a pet peeve of mine or idiosyncrasy if you will.

Anyway, after my 2 cents I think you may be better off with the Mini P180. :)

Either way, I'm sure you'll be happy going with another Antec.
 
lord_farfig said:
The Mini P180 is a great case, it's as quiet as my P180 & P182 (maybe a bit quieter).

The Mini P180 will hold 5 HDD's internally plus you can always get some 5.25 to 3.5 adapters, to fit more.

I would personally recommend the full size P180/P182 since it isn't that much larger than the Mini P180 and you can pop in a 5 in 3 hot swap adapter.

3x 5.25 bays gives you 5x 3.5 hot swap bays - assuming the RAID card supports hot swap. Otherwise they just stay in, and you'll need to power down the system to change an HDD. Be sure if you go this route, you'll probably want to buy a lower RPM fan to go with the 5 in 3 adapter, since they tend to be loud and fast. The the other issue is the board layout, since the fan and adapter may protrude over the motherboard on the right side, the CPU and HSF cannot be within an inch or so of the right side of the motherboard. (I had this issue with an Intel based board.)

Though, I cannot stand a Mini ATX board in a case that fits full ATX boards... just a pet peeve of mine or idiosyncrasy if you will.

Anyway, after my 2 cents I think you may be better off with the Mini P180. :)

Either way, I'm sure you'll be happy going with another Antec.
Click to expand...


So it sounds like the Mini P180 is the way to go. Do you have any recommendations on the 5 in 3 hot swap adapters? And a good Raid card?
 
Cheezor722 said:
So it sounds like the Mini P180 is the way to go. Do you have any recommendations on the 5 in 3 hot swap adapters? And a good Raid card?
Click to expand...

I believe this is the hot-swap I used (and changed the fan). It was a tight squeeze into the P180, but it looks and works great!

I honestly don't use a RAID card, I have my drives connected to the onboard SATA of my motherboard and I use a software RAID setup in Linux. (Ubuntu + MDADM)
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
I am looking into this case as well, and I'm pretty sure you are limited to 3 in 2 adapters, as you don't have 3 5.25 bays together. Also, I'm not sure how long the adapters are, but you could be running into your PSU using these on the mini.
 
I have been using a Thermaltake Matrix for my home server case. Didn't have enough internal 3.5 bays so I had to get 5.25 hot swap trays, but 2x 120mm fans and a custom cut mesh side panel give me enough room for all my drives + add in cards + full ATX board + Zalman CNPS9700cu cooler and keeps everything cool and quiet.

I might also suggest the Antec 300 or any of the Lian Li PC series cases. The P180/182 are also good. Basically any mid tower case will fit your needs, you just may have to swap out the fans with low noise ones.
 
lord_farfig said:
I believe this is the hot-swap I used (and changed the fan). It was a tight squeeze into the P180, but it looks and works great!

I honestly don't use a RAID card, I have my drives connected to the onboard SATA of my motherboard and I use a software RAID setup in Linux. (Ubuntu + MDADM)
Click to expand...

I'm thinking I'll go with the same setup as you (no hardware raid). Thanks a lot for the help.

Also, wow...I had no idea the hot swap adapters would be so expensive. Is there a lot of hardware built into that thing?
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Cheezor722 said:
I'm thinking I'll go with the same setup as you (no hardware raid). Thanks a lot for the help.

Also, wow...I had no idea the hot swap adapters would be so expensive. Is there a lot of hardware built into that thing?
Click to expand...

You're welcome. If you do decide to go that route, let me know and I can help give you some pointers.

Yeah, the adapters do cost a pretty penny, but they're worth it. Mine takes two 4-pin molex power in, and then 5 SATA ports to run to either your RAID card or onboard SATA headers. Anyway, there isn't a whole lot to it, but I'm guessing there is quite a bit of labor involved..?

Also I didn't have to run any LED wires (for the HDD activity) even though it came with them, as it picks up the activity from the SATA cable/stream. (Maybe not from a RAID card though)
 
Cheezor,

See here about the size of the 5 in 3 adapters are... in the P180 it will overlap the motherboard a tiny bit at the top, so you'll need to be careful if you decide to go this route.

(I'll be moving in a couple days, so when I have my server powered down I can pop the side off and take a picture and show you. :) Assuming I remember where my camera is... :p)
 
Just so I am clear, lord_farfig, you are referring to the older P180 that is an ATX mid tower, correct? Also, unless something changed, OP is referring to the mini P180, in which the 5 in 3 hotswap adapter will not work.
 
hiodie said:
Just so I am clear, lord_farfig, you are referring to the older P180 that is an ATX mid tower, correct? Also, unless something changed, OP is referring to the mini P180, in which the 5 in 3 hotswap adapter will not work.
Click to expand...

Correct.

I am pitching the P180 with a 5 in 3 hotswap adapter. NOT the Mini P180 with adapter... since it will not fit.

From the way I read Cheezor's replies, he was thinking of the P180 with a 5 in 3.

They're both great cases, and I recommended the regular P180/P182 with the 5 in 3 - since it'll fit and it's only (just over) a 4 inch height difference. Not that big of a deal since it's supposed to be a "mini" case. :confused:

Mini P180 height - 17.1"
P180/P182 height - 21.3"

(Heck the Antec 300 is 18" tall...)
 
i own and use a Mini p180 and it is a nice case.... its my main rig as my WHS is a norco 4020
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top