Quiet NAS oriented case for oddball board?

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

Navy_BOFH

Active Member
Aug 2, 2013
179
74
28
Current hardware: I have a Supermicro X10SLH-LN6TF with Xeon E3-1241 v3, 32GB RAM, Perc H200 (to be flashed to IT mode), and Quadro P620 all going into this setup along with 5x 4TB drives (and will be buying 3 more minimum). Hardware needs to fit into the chassis since I do not want to buy MORE hardware than needed and got all this for the right price.

{EDIT}
The X10SLH is an ATX size board - but with it rotated 90 degrees from normal orientation. So assuming everything else is the same - it will need an EATX or larger chassis to hold it... that threw a damper on things!
 
Last edited:

nthu9280

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2016
1,628
498
83
San Antonio, TX
I've heard folks here recommending UNAS 810A. I don't have any experience. It will be a tight fit for MATX and you will need ribbon cables for PCIe.
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
I've heard folks here recommending UNAS 810A. I don't have any experience. It will be a tight fit for MATX and you will need ribbon cables for PCIe.
I really like the UNAS 810A. It is very compact, can run quiet (see below) and looks good enough to leave out in plain sight.

It does a GREAT job cooling the drive cage area, but other people have noted that the airflow around the MB area is poor. This is valid complaint, so running anything that gets hot is not practical. Also, if you do run any expansion cards you need to use a flex riser (UNAS sells one). The riser works well, but it tends to block what little airflow is available. And if you need BOTH available expansion cards it gets pretty challenging to fold-in two risers without completely blocking air across the MB. There is also very little to no room for any kind of tall aftermarket HSF options.

I happen use an X11SSH-TF motherboard with lower-power CPU (E3-1240L v5). Having 8 SATA and 10Gbe on-board means no need for any expansion cards. This setup works well for me and runs very cool. I have run it with higher-clock CPUs with no problem (E3-1270v6) but as a pretty pure NAS I never needed the extra compute.

Making it quiet does take a little bit of work. The large rear fans are OK, but I did swap them for Noctua PWM fans. The real noise culprit is the thin fan on the side. As shipped, this is a high speed 3-pin fan that runs pretty loud. Its non-PWM so slowing it takes a bit of work. You can either use a resistor mod (I used the connectors that came with the Noctua fans) or you can search for a PWM fan and slow it down from the MB controls - though finding a suitable PWM fan the right size can be challenging (70x15, IIRC, but I could be off - its been a long time).

Overall I really like and recommend this case. But you should look around at other reviews because there are folks that really don't like it too and they express some valid concerns.

I've considered upgrading to an E2200 based configuration (mainly to sell and reclaim value from the X11SSH/E3 while it still has solid resale value). But to date I have not found a suitable MB for this current generation with all the right boxes ticked - mATX or uITX, 8 onboard SATA, onboard 10Gbe and IPMI.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Navy_BOFH

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
Also, FWIW, there are a couple of pretty good teardown/buildlogs on the NSC810A in these forums. A quick search should easily get you something to review.
 

Navy_BOFH

Active Member
Aug 2, 2013
179
74
28
The U-NAS has been on my radar - but I cannot find it in stock for the life of me! The GPU and PERC need to find their way in there and are both single slot items - but cooling might be an issue. I was originally worried about drive cooling but now the secondary concern will be making sure the GPU doesn't start screeching away with its small fan - or stuff like the PERC or onboard 10GBe don't get too unhappy.

I thought about using the Supermicro drive cages and an ATX case - but didn't like having to dig for a case that still has enough 5.25" bays without having some ridiculous oversized item on a shelf. The "bonus" which I like the Node 804 or U-NAS for is that if I decide to rack it later - they'll sit on a standard shelf inside a rack. I cannot say the same for a lot of ATX cases without losing a TON of space.
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
The U-NAS has been on my radar - but I cannot find it in stock for the life of me! ...
AFAIK, they are only available from the manufacturer via their web site. I have not seen any distributors for them in the past. Here: U-NAS NSC-810A Server Chassis (Power Supply Not Included).

They do show out-of-stock, but they pretty much always show that :). Just e-mail them about lead times - they are pretty good about responding. Of course, 90% chance their response goes into your spam bin because their email host has poor reputation, so make sure you whitelist them!

To be honest, I really do not think you will enjoy this case with both a 10Gbe and GPU card as AIC. There just isn't enough airflow without some serious mods (like drilling holes yourself - doable, but beyond most casual system builders).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Navy_BOFH

Navy_BOFH

Active Member
Aug 2, 2013
179
74
28
To be honest, I really do not think you will enjoy this case with both a 10Gbe and GPU card as AIC. There just isn't enough airflow without some serious mods (like drilling holes yourself - doable, but beyond most casual system builders).
Luckily that has never stopped me! I don't mind drilling some holes to mount a Noctua fan in the top case over the motherboard or somewhere to keep air flowing - as long as I can throw a dust cover or grille over the fan to hide the Dremel work lol

Sadly that is why the Node 804 seems to keep calling me - even though the drives are not hot-swap the cooling seems to be pretty spectacular in them with some 120mm fans.
 

Marsh

Moderator
May 12, 2013
2,644
1,496
113
Apple and Orange comparison here.
I really want to like the UNAS 8 bay chassis, I was very skeptical about the 8 bay air flow.
Before buying the UNAS 8 bay chassis, I brought 2 x UNAS 4 bay chassis, the 4 bay chassis build was difficult.
The 4 bay UNAS chassis build quality was just average to justify the cost.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Navy_BOFH

Spartacus

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2019
788
328
63
Austin, TX
The UNAS is more work, but highly recommend it if nothing else for the hotswap bays over the node 804.
Fractal design makes great cases, but they're not convenient for drive replacement.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Navy_BOFH

zack$

Well-Known Member
Aug 16, 2018
701
315
63
I don't have one of these boards but the manual states it's form factor as "ATX form factor (9.6" x 12") (243.84 mm x 304.8 mm)".

I think the IO ports might even be on the opposite side of a customary ATX form factor.

If the above holds true, then I think you may need something bigger than a uATX chassis.
 

Navy_BOFH

Active Member
Aug 2, 2013
179
74
28
I don't have one of these boards but the manual states it's form factor as "ATX form factor (9.6" x 12") (243.84 mm x 304.8 mm)".

I think the IO ports might even be on the opposite side of a customary ATX form factor.

If the above holds true, then I think you may need something bigger than a uATX chassis.
You are right - I will need a full size server case at this point to make it work! It is ATX form factor but rotated 90 degrees from customary so I would need something that takes almost an EEB size board.

Now to see if maybe I can find a tower/pedestal case like a Supermicro 743/745 cheap enough... or get lucky with a "shallow" 2u to 4u case I can just lay on its side.
 

Navy_BOFH

Active Member
Aug 2, 2013
179
74
28
Update:

Looking at the Supermicro 835 case now. 3U height means it should be relatively quiet/tame, holds 8 drives, should hold the motherboard perfectly, and my SAS and GPU cards. Larger than I would have wanted but I guess I have the added benefit that if it is ever rackmounted later on... just buy the rails.