Mini-ITX (or not?) storage chassis for SSDs

[JimPhreak]

I'm looking to build a home storage server consisting of only SSDs so I'm in the market for a chassis to house it in. Ideally it will be tiny and take up very little room. However it must be able to house a mini-ITX board and at least 4 SSDs. Ideally It would have a single 5.25" drive bay so I can use one of these in it but housing all the SSDs internally is a consideration as well.

Something like a slim bay NAS chassis would be great but I'm not finding any except for actual NAS enclosures such as Q-NAP.

 

[T_Minus]

Amazon.com: SilverStone Technology Premium Mini-ITX / DTX Small Form Factor NAS Computer Case, Black (DS380B): Computers & Accessories

Fits 4x sSD internally and has 8x 3.5" hotswap (which I'm sure you can probably convert to 2.5" too)

 

[JimPhreak]

Amazon.com: SilverStone Technology Premium Mini-ITX / DTX Small Form Factor NAS Computer Case, Black (DS380B): Computers & Accessories

Fits 4x sSD internally and has 8x 3.5" hotswap (which I'm sure you can probably convert to 2.5" too)

I've looked at that case in the past but it's bigger than what I'm looking for. I really just need to be able to fit 4 SSDs and a mini-itx case. This is going to be a very low powered server.

Something like this but for 2.5" drives (thus making it smaller) would be fantastic. Mainly at this point I'm looking at mini-itx cases with nothing in the front but a single 5.25" bay. But even most of these are larger than I'd like.

 

[Patrick]

I think I use one of these models with 6-in-1 adapters in the 5.25" bays: Lian-Li Global | PC-Q07 or Lian-Li Global | PC-Q27

 

[Evan]

4 or 12 SSDs ?
If only 4 then something cheap like the Silverstone ML05

If you want sexy, fanless, made in USA, expensive and with Xeon-D x10sdv prebuilt option even then check out this...
HeatSync NAS-8x 2.5 Series
HeatSync Slim-Server
Not cheap but will hold 9+ SSDs

 

[JimPhreak]

I think I use one of these models with 6-in-1 adapters in the 5.25" bays: Lian-Li Global | PC-Q07 or Lian-Li Global | PC-Q27

Thanks @Patrick. Those could work if I can't find something smaller. Looking at small HTPC cases ATM.

4 or 12 SSDs ?
If only 4 then something cheap like the Silverstone ML05

If you want sexy, fanless, made in USA, expensive and with Xeon-D x10sdv prebuilt option even then check out this...
HeatSync NAS-8x 2.5 Series
HeatSync Slim-Server
Not cheap but will hold 9+ SSDs

Those are pretty awesome looking but are out of my budget.

 

[Patrick]

4 or 12 SSDs ?
If only 4 then something cheap like the Silverstone ML05

If you want sexy, fanless, made in USA, expensive and with Xeon-D x10sdv prebuilt option even then check out this...
HeatSync NAS-8x 2.5 Series
HeatSync Slim-Server
Not cheap but will hold 9+ SSDs

Wow! I was drooling... then I saw the price.

 

[Evan]

I am trying to convince myself it's a sound purchasing decision to buy one as a storage server / AIO ...

Watching this thread as all my storage is 2.5" but the spinning disks are all 15mm WD sata 2tb and almost now case supports 15mm 2.5"
Less fans is also good...

 

[JimPhreak]

I think I've found my case. iStarUSA S-35EX

With either 2 of these ICY DOCK Express Cage 4 x 2.5" or 1 of these ICY DOCK ToughArmor MB998SP-B


Wish I could still find something smaller but I don't see any better options.

 

[PigLover]

Wow! I was drooling... then I saw the price.

Just consider the price of the X10SDV and 9x 3.2TB SSDs you want to put in it and the cost of the case doesn't seem too bad...

Then again, a 27TB NAS with dual 10Gbe and 100% SSD, dead silent no fans, running under 50W balls-out might just be worth $15 grand (to somebody).

 

[Patrick]

Just consider the price of the X10SDV and 9x 3.2TB SSDs you want to put in it and the cost of the case doesn't seem too bad...

Then again, a 27TB NAS with dual 10Gbe and 100% SSD, dead silent no fans, running under 50W balls-out might just be worth $15 grand (to somebody).

Not enough SATA ports on the Xeon D for that (yet).

I did, at one point, have an X10SDV-TLN4F with:

• 6x PM863 960GB
• 1x P3605 1.6TB
• 1x 950 Pro 512GB
• 128GB RAM
• All in one of those small Lian-Li cases

All of that did require fans to cool (the Xeon D needs airflow as do the NVMe drives) and it did run something like 80-90w if I remember correctly.

 

[JimPhreak]

Just found this too. Could work but unsure of how I'd mount the 5.25" bay.

 

[Patrick]

Just found this too. Could work but unsure of how I'd mount the 5.25" bay.

Also you would need to figure out a PSU option. 60w is fairly light power wise.

 

[JimPhreak]

Also you would need to figure out a PSU option. 60w is fairly light power wise.

Yea I could upgrade to a more powerful Pico PSU though. This is going to be a very low powered server.

 

[Deslok]

What about something like this Rosewill plus one of those 6/8 in 5.25 bays? Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK Mini ITX Tower/ Desktop Computer Case with 250W 20+4Pin & 1SATA Connectors Power Supply - Newegg.com

 

[JimPhreak]

What about something like this Rosewill plus one of those 6/8 in 5.25 bays? Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK Mini ITX Tower/ Desktop Computer Case with 250W 20+4Pin & 1SATA Connectors Power Supply - Newegg.com

I did see that one but I can't get over how cheap the plastic looks. I'm one of those people who will pay a little more for something that looks clean and well built.

 

[Deslok]

I did see that one but I can't get over how cheap the plastic looks. I'm one of those people who will pay a little more for something that looks clean and well built.

I hear that, I actually stumbled on this one shortly afterwards and was thinking about fitting 24 drives in it and what main board you'd need to pull that off
Amazon.com: iStarUSA S-35 Compact Stylish 3x 5.25-Inch Bay mini-ITX Tower: Computers & Accessories

 

[Biren78]

That's a nice price. What about this one? Amazon.com: Norco ITX-S4 Black Mini-ITX Form Computer Storage Case: Computers & Accessories

It has a 4- drive 3.5" built-in which would save some cash.

 

[JimPhreak]

I hear that, I actually stumbled on this one shortly afterwards and was thinking about fitting 24 drives in it and what main board you'd need to pull that off
Amazon.com: iStarUSA S-35 Compact Stylish 3x 5.25-Inch Bay mini-ITX Tower: Computers & Accessories

Yea I linked that earlier in the thread it's one I'm seriously considering. The pro is that I could potentially fit 24 SSDs one day (not that I'll ever need it). The con is that I only need SSD 4 slots at this time and that I will have a lot of wasted space.

 

[Deslok]

Yea I linked that earlier in the thread it's one I'm seriously considering. The pro is that I could potentially fit 24 SSDs one day (not that I'll ever need it). The con is that I only need SSD 4 slots at this time and that I will have a lot of wasted space.

Ahh my bad I didn't follow all the links, but if more than one person suggests the same case it must be a good choice, you could always go with 4ssd plus 4 mechanical for primary/backup and make use of 2/3 bays now with one left available for the future which leaves you with plenty of expansion without outright replacement going forward.