TLDR: If you were building a NAS for 8 HDDs and 1 SSD today, what case would you use?
I’m going to be rebuilding my system soon (currently using an old PowerEdge T610) using one of my other older (R5 1600) systems and I’ve basically hit a road block on picking a case.
I’ve got 8 HDDs that need to fit in the system after it’s rebuilt (plus at least one SSD) so I’m kinda limited in that regard.
The rest of the system is planned out (mostly because I’m reusing old parts) it’s just the case I’m stuck on.
I’m wanting to avoid rack mounting currently mostly due to space (and wanting to keep it under $200)
I was thinking maybe the Fractal Design Define R5, the Fractal Design Node 804, or the Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 but I’m open to suggestions.
Just because it’s a bit different to what you asked, and no one else has said it, I’ve found great results with the Terramaster D5-300 and D4-300. Make sure you get the USB 3.1 type Cs, but I’ve been fine with the plain rather than ones loaded with RAID.
For every USB 3.1 socket on the back I get 5 drives, I can increase capacity incrementally, and for spinning rust they are faster than they could transfer anyway.
I’ve replaced my machine with a Dell USFF box now and it all works great.
Completely understand if it’s not your thing but you can add a drive box to your existing system without replacing anything. I’m currently up to 16 drives.