Discussion Looking for a 4x 3.5" case

[Jorgensen]

Hi,
You guys are my last resort finding a small case which is capable of 4x 3.5" HDDs. Additional consideratioms, I'm planing to use a Asrock J5040 board and hot-plug HDD bays is not a requirement. No GPU is needed. And the case must be available in EU.

So far, I've found these cases, but each of them has an issue:
Costum_mod NAS FX, which was never produced
Helios64 is a nice case, but it is ARM based.
Chenbro ES34169 is impossible to find on the second hand market.
U-NAS4 is impossible to find in EU, and it is ugly...
Right now, the best solution is to buy a prebuild HPE Microserver Gen10+.

Are you aware of any 4x 3.5" cases that suits my requirements? If I lowered my requirement to 3x 3.5" HDDs, what are my options then?

Finally, I do not consider the Fractal Design Node 304 SFF.

Thanks,
Jorgensen

 

[tasen]

What about the Supermicro SC721TQ-250B:

SC721TQ-250B | Mini-tower | Chassis | Products | Super Micro Computer, Inc.

721TQ-250B

www.supermicro.com

Ok, it's hot-plug capable, but availabe in a few stores in the eu

Supermicro SC721 TQ-250B Tower Mini-ITX 250 Watt FlexATX CSE-721TQ-250B

Supermicro SC721 TQ-250B Tower Mini-ITX 250 Watt FlexATX, CSE-721TQ-250B, EAN 0672042163762 günstig - ab 0 € portofrei kaufen

www.jacob.de

 

[Jorgensen]

What about the Supermicro SC721TQ-250B:

SC721TQ-250B | Mini-tower | Chassis | Products | Super Micro Computer, Inc.

721TQ-250B

www.supermicro.com

Ok, it's hot-plug capable, but availabe in a few stores in the eu

Supermicro SC721 TQ-250B Tower Mini-ITX 250 Watt FlexATX CSE-721TQ-250B

Supermicro SC721 TQ-250B Tower Mini-ITX 250 Watt FlexATX, CSE-721TQ-250B, EAN 0672042163762 günstig - ab 0 € portofrei kaufen

www.jacob.de

Thanks for the suggestion. Hot-plug capable is not a bad thing, how ever it typically means a larger volume. And I value low volume more. The volume of this case is almost x2 compared to HPE Microserver and the Chenbro case.

 

[alk630]

I previously had a Chenbro ES34169 case before upgrading to a U-NAS NSC-401. The U-NAS case aesthetics might be down to personal choice, but it has managed to keep an i7-7700T with 4 x 8Tb 3.5" HDDs running quietly 24/7 for the last couple of years. The Chenbro's build quality didn't seem to be anywhere near to the U-NAS cases. The Supermicro cases mentioned above are also good quality - I think iXsystems base their FreeNAS Mini E around this case: https://www.ixsystems.com/blog/breaking-down-the-freenas-mini-e/

 

[alk630]

I ordered the U-NAS case directly from the U-NAS site store: https://www.u-nas.com/

 

[Diamorif]

this is the smallest on i could find https://www.ebay.com/itm/1646232171...KJi8CJGhOaDH0Lyr7tbXr0xQL4gxe-cgaAiN8EALw_wcB

 

[tasen]

this is the smallest on i could find https://www.ebay.com/itm/1646232171...KJi8CJGhOaDH0Lyr7tbXr0xQL4gxe-cgaAiN8EALw_wcB

I own this case and the build quality is not so good.
There is only one 40mm hole in the front right corner of case for ventilation for the mainboard. Main purpose for the 80mm fan at the back is cooling the drive bays.
Tried to install an itx board with a noctua NH-L9i and there is just 2 or 3 mm left for the fan to pull air. If your cpu socket is in the middle of the mainboard then your cpu fan is completly covered with only a few millimeters to breathe

This is why I switched to the Supermicro Case. Much better build quality, better cooling options but also much bigger

 

[Jorgensen]

I ordered the U-NAS case directly from the U-NAS site store: https://www.u-nas.com/

I had a look at their website, and if you are outside US you should mail them for ordering a case. And almost everything is out of stock. But it is worth a try. Thanks.

 

[Jorgensen]

I own this case and the build quality is not so good.
There is only one 40mm hole in the front right corner of case for ventilation for the mainboard. Main purpose for the 80mm fan at the back is cooling the drive bays.
Tried to install an itx board with a noctua NH-L9i and there is just 2 or 3 mm left for the fan to pull air. If your cpu socket is in the middle of the mainboard then your cpu fan is completly covered with only a few millimeters to breathe

This is why I switched to the Supermicro Case. Much better build quality, better cooling options but also much bigger

It also seems the Norcotek is sold out here in EU. Thanks for the info on build quality and cooling options.