Server case suggestion

[Abula]

My Antec 1200 is starting to show some age, one of the door is starting to get rusty and out of use some of the paint has chipped, etc.

So im looking for a case to upgrade my server,

1) Norco 4224 or 4224
Im not a big fan on racks as this is a home server, but if you guys think its the best option, ill go with the rack. What worries me is some comments that i have read from some users latly,

Cons: As noted in previous reviews, the backplanes are wired incorrectly, specifically the molex connectors are inversed.

All of the little QC issues I could ignore except for the big one: One third of the drive bays DONT WORK. Pulling the SAS boards and you'll see that the craftsmanship is absolutely awful. Any engineering student with five minutes of instruction on how to use a fricking soldering iron could do a better job than these bozos.

1. 2 bad backplanes of 4 tested. Wasted time testing hds and other things before I found this out. Seen posts from others with the same problem. 1st and 3rd were bad so far. Have not tested 5 & 6.

Cons: As in the case of a previous reviewer, 4 of 6 backplanes are missing the R91 resistor, and the second drive does not appear as a consequence

Cons: Poor quality of drive trays, screws, and backplane connections. HDD LED's have never worked right for most of the drives.

Cons: very bad from the electronics perspective. I am on my second case (Replacement for the first that had 3 faulty backplane cards and NewEgg could not simply exchange the cards, whole case had to go back). Second case also had 3 faulty cards, fortunatly I cross shipped so was able to build one good case from the 2 bad ones, I will be shipping the remaining parts back in the next few days.

Cons: In my prior review I spoke about issues with 4 of the 6 SAS backplanes in the chassis. I was able to get them replaced and have noticed that the 2 remaining SAS backplanes have been wired incorrectly so that the power light and activity lights are reversed. The new backplanes have everything wired correctly and work like they are supposed to. This means all _6_ backplanes had some kind of issue.

2) Xigmatek Elysium
A big case, has 12x 5.25 hdds so that would net between 16 hdds to 20 hdds depending on the cages, and in the inside of the case if you mount the PSU on the upper section you can install another 12x hdds, im assuming it will be able to fit around 28 to 32 hdds.

3) Antec 1200v3
Or maybe just get another 1200, it has been great for more than 10 years, i would be simply passing all stuff over no need to invest much, just only 16 hdds.

4) Any case that you think would work out for under $500.

 

[Dangman]

Option 1. Do note that you can remove the handles on the side and stand up the case like a normal ATX case.

 

[ND40oz]

What are your requirements, how many 3.5" drives does it need to be able to hold, how many 2.5" drives?

 

[Drawmonster]

I've got a 4224. Love it.

 

[kac77]

You could always go for something like this. Holds 24 (slightly more actually).

 

[mikehunt114]

Try a Supermicro 4U case if you need that many drive slots, you can find a used one for under $500. IMO they are a better quality case than the Norco's, but I only have a Norco not a Supermicro.

 

[Abula]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions,

Option 1. Do note that you can remove the handles on the side and stand up the case like a normal ATX case.

This is still my choice, if i only could guarantee not getting a faulty one that would blow my hdds/motherboard, while i prefer towers i could see my self buidling a small wrack for one or two 4u cases, but really fear those comments on the reviews.

What are your requirements, how many 3.5" drives does it need to be able to hold, how many 2.5" drives?

Atm im using 16x 3.5 hdds and one 2.5 ssd. In the future idk, its going to depend a lot into how 4k content is released and how much space it uses, i would like to go into 24 in the future, but atm its not needed.

I've got a 4224. Love it.

Thanks for the feedback, i really hope if i go that route that i like it.

You could always go for something like this. Holds 24 (slightly more actually).

THanks i saw the lian li today and seems like an option.

Try a Supermicro 4U case if you need that many drive slots, you can find a used one for under $500. IMO they are a better quality case than the Norco's, but I only have a Norco not a Supermicro.

I was checking ebay and did saw something that caught my attention, New Supermicro 846TQ CSE-846TQ-R1200B Chassis 24 Bay SATA SAS 4U Server with Rai, but i think they use a propietary psu also.... idk, my server is just a storage server, in the future i would like to use a platinum PSU, something that its not that noisy and that its efficient, was thinking on LZP-850 or Seasonic X860.

 

[ND40oz]

Atm im using 16x 3.5 hdds and one 2.5 ssd. In the future idk, its going to depend a lot into how 4k content is released and how much space it uses, i would like to go into 24 in the future, but atm its not needed.

Ah, that's more 3.5" then I run, mostly doing 2.5" in mine. I was going to suggest the PC-V2120, but it'll only do 13 3.5" out of the box.

Take a look at the PC-D8000 instead, it holds 20 out of the box and then you can use some of the 6 5.25s if you need to stuff in more.

http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-d8000/

Under $300 right now on the egg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112390, that's a great price, I may buy one for the heck of it.

 

[Abula]

Ah, that's more 3.5" then I run, mostly doing 2.5" in mine. I was going to suggest the PC-V2120, but it'll only do 13 3.5" out of the box.

Take a look at the PC-D8000 instead, it holds 20 out of the box and then you can use some of the 6 5.25s if you need to stuff in more.

http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-d8000/

Under $300 right now on the egg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112390, that's a great price, I may buy one for the heck of it.

Thanks a lot for showing me the case, really impressive, i just saw a couple of videos on youtube and man for $320 shipped seems like a good deal, so much possibilities on it, 20 hdds stock, with some modding i believe could fit 30+, cooling seems pretty good also with so many fans on so many places. The only bad about it is that newegg doesnt take my international credit cards, ill have to talk to a friend that can buy on newegg.

 

[m4rm]

I just ordered Aerocool VS-9 + 2x CSE-M35TQB. You could add third, making it 15 HDD slots. But you need more I guess... Case was only $50 and you could always get an external enclosure.

 

[Mastaba]

There's also the xcase RM424 that have better quality control. (But more expensive, and shipping from UK)

 

[Britgeezer]

You didn't mention the size of your HD's, I saved a lot of heat and trouble ($) when I went to to 3TB drives, now they have 4TB.

 

[Britgeezer]

Forget that, just saw your HD spec, thats a lot of storage.

 

[Silhouette]

Once you start getting into the 20+ HDD territory having hotswap support with easily replaceable HDDs goes from being a nice feature to saving you time and trouble.

I have one of those lian li cube cases, it feels annoyingly small. You can put a lof of hdds into it as long as you have a short PSU, short HDD controller, short graphics card and don't mind paying $$$ for the drive bays...

I cut a hole in the back and made some custom hack job to allow my PSU to extend out the back of the case. It doesn't look pretty but at least it allow me to fill it up with HDDs.

I own 5 Norco cases (3x4020, 2x4224). Their quality control isn't great, I have issues with dim lights and various minor issues on a couple of them. I know one guy who had backplane issues, he got it replaced without too much fuss. Mine all work and I have used most of them for several years now. I wouldn't use them at work but for storage at home I'm happy enough with them to keep buying their cases. Take the time to test all bays properly when you get it. If you want to reduce the risk of getting backplane issues look into supermicro cases or the improved xcase versions.

 

[ND40oz]

I have one of those lian li cube cases, it feels annoyingly small. You can put a lof of hdds into it as long as you have a short PSU, short HDD controller, short graphics card and don't mind paying $$$ for the drive bays...

Maybe on the old PC-343B which was only ATX size in depth, but the newer PC-D8000 corrects all of that and is E-ATX and HPTX compatible which makes it 4.5 inches deeper. You also don't need to buy drive bays since it has 20 3.5" mounts out of the box.

 

[Silhouette]

Maybe on the old PC-343B which was only ATX size in depth, but the newer PC-D8000 corrects all of that and is E-ATX and HPTX compatible which makes it 4.5 inches deeper. You also don't need to buy drive bays since it has 20 3.5" mounts out of the box.

Well that makes it a lot better choice than the PC-343B. I'd still want to put some other drive bays in it, but for people who don't need that it should be a decent choice.

 

[rdmustang1]

This guy sells some really nice servers for about the same as a Norco case.

Link

I have a case like this and a Norco 4224 and I like them both but the Supermicro is MUCH higher quality.

 

[kac77]

Well that makes it a lot better choice than the PC-343B. I'd still want to put some other drive bays in it, but for people who don't need that it should be a decent choice.

It's kind of a trade off. The PC343 isn't as deep but it does give you hot swap. The PC-D8000 loses the hotswap but it is a cheaper build and can handle larger boards.

 

[ND40oz]

It's kind of a trade off. The PC343 isn't as deep but it does give you hot swap. The PC-D8000 loses the hotswap but it is a cheaper build and can handle larger boards.

You can add hotswap if you want to, but you do have to buy the backplanes.

http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/bp3sata/

 

[Abula]

Thanks a lot for all the replies n suggestions,

I finally decided toward the lian li PC 8000
1) stands on it own, no need for rack.
2) price, among the cheapest on all that i was considering, paid $288 shipped.
3) incredible big, i might be able to mod it some and grow with it, i believe i might be able to fit 35-40 hdd inside in time.
4) Quality of lian li, imo among the best manufacturers, and while aluminium is delicate in the painting you don't deal with rust as i had with my antec 1200.

The only thing i think im missing its the true hotwswapping on the server cases, but i think im going to be alright with PC8000.

Thanks again for all who participated on the thread, the only thing left to move the server is going to be a PSU, atm im using Antec CP 850 that is a BTX so wont fit, also is dual rail so if i go into more drives i might have to balance it.... so im going to go with single rail PSU, but im opening a new thread on the PSU section, in case any of you want to share your opinion or suggestion, here is the thread,

Need PSU suggestions for 40 hdd server