Looking for a PC case with lots of drive bays

[peteru]

As you may have noticed, there have not been any new firmware updates for a while. This is because one of my build machines needs an upgrade. I have purchased most of the components required, but due to Australia Post losing a package, I can't actually put it all together.

I'm on the lookout for a PC case with lots of drive bays. I need to accommodate eleven 3.5" HDDs (although having a spare slot would help) and they need to be fan cooled. Does anyone know where I can get an inexpensive PC case that will take 11 or more 3.5" HDDs? I don't have the physical space for rack mount equipment and will need to place a keyboard and monitor on top, so would prefer a case without anything fancy on the top surface. It does not have to be brand new, if anyone has an old PC that would fit the bill, I'm happy to accept a donation.

As an alternative, I could use a case that has three externally accessible 5.25" drive bays and six or more 3.5" HDDs. I have a HDD cage that would fit into the space of three 5.25" slots and give five 3.5" slots. However, that space must be just a plain opening so that the entire cage can slide in and it must be externally accessible so that the fan can cool the drives.

HDD cage

HTB1Zn0mgQPoK1RjSZKbq6x1IXXaB.jpg (52.53 KiB) Viewed 3166 times

So far Coolermaster K282 KKN1 came the closest, except for the HDD cooling. The front can only take one 120mm fan, which would only cool half the drive slots. I'm also unsure about the 5.25" drive bays - I think that there may be metal lugs in there that would interfere with the HDD cage. To top it off, I can't get it quickly - MSY in Sydney are out of stock and none of the other suppliers seem to be open.

Ideas?

[IanSav]

Hi PeterU,

Have you considered using a NAS and then NFS mounting the the NAS on your development PCs?

Regards,
Ian.

[peteru]

This machine is the NAS server, among many other tasks. I don't want a proprietary dedicated NAS box. Anything that would even approach the specs of this system would cost a fortune and be a lesser solution. I just need a case. Something simple in the $70-$120 range ought to do it. Or even a cheaper/free second hand case.

[Gully]

So far Coolermaster K282 KKN1 came the closest, except for the HDD cooling. The front can only take one 120mm fan, which would only cool half the drive slots. I'm also unsure about the 5.25" drive bays - I think that there may be metal lugs in there that would interfere with the HDD cage. To top it off, I can't get it quickly - MSY in Sydney are out of stock and none of the other suppliers seem to be open.

Checking MSY's website, that Coolermaster case might be available from Auburn, Kingsford, Mount Pritchard, and Online if you fancy checking with them.

As for alternative cases, how about the Antec P9W?

Definitely got plenty of drive bays and supports a few fans. MSY seem to be out of stock but there are a few other places around Sydney that sell them that might be worth trying.

[exitguy]

As for alternative cases, how about the Antec P9W?

Been discontinued @ PCCG, MSY, Mwave - think you'll have a hard time finding any !!!

[peteru]

It's weird. Decades ago you could get cases with 8 or more 5.25" slots. These days the market is flooded with cases that only have two 3.5" and two 2.5" slots! I guess these days people are not expected to have local storage, instead everything should be in the cloud - not with Australian Internet speeds.

As for immediate availability of Antec P9 or even Coolermaster K282 in Sydney, things are not looking good. I might place a few phone calls tomorrow, but I don't like my chances at this time of the year. I checked the MSY web site for Sydney stock and shows "Out of stock" for Ultimo, Auburn, Kingsford and Online, so I think it's pretty safe to say they don't have any.

My best bet may be a second hand case from someone who has a suitable case and is looking to upgrade to something else.

[Paul_oz53]

I just tried a search for Coolermaster K282 KKN1 on ebay and got a fair response including at least one in Sydney with local pickup.

I take your point on cases though - it does appear the trend is to smaller products.

[IanB]

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/products/ca ... t/#J=11,20

https://search.pccasegear.com/computer/12-Bay also 8-Bay and 10-Bay

Or a JBOD case (pricey)

Or bolt 2 regular 6 bay cases together, assuming removable left/right side panels.

[peteru]

IanB, all of that stuff seems to be way out of my price range.

Looks like Bitfenix Shinobi will do the job for around the $100 mark. Unfortunately it looks like I'll have to wait for delivery sometime in January.

[IanB]

Sort price, Limit $150.00, Min 6 Int 3.5 bays, Min 3 Ext 5.25 Bays
https://au.pcpartpicker.com/products/ca ... ,20&G=3,12

Then Static Ice for the best prices on the candidates.

[gibster]

Sounds like that Cooler Master Silencio 652S would fit the bill. With your cage you'd have 13 drive bays

7 in the drive cages, 1 on the bottom of the case and 5 in your cage. They get 9 by adding an adaptor for the odd slot for 1 drive.

gib

[peteru]

I ordered the Bitfenix Shinobi for $81 including delivery. (You can't always trust StaticIce to find the best price.) If I'm lucky it will arrive before the end of the week. Add another week for a system rebuild, drive burn-in and data migration and I should be one step closer to being able to build firmware images again.

[prl]

Good luck with the rebuild!