Case Upgrade - 4U or Full Tower?

[Yatti420]

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147164

I'm on the fence.. 4u or a potentially very expensive full tower desktop case?

I do like the idea of having alot of bays.. Just putting it \ mounting it could be an issue.. I don't have alot of room where I live..

Any recommendations on a full tower.. Atleast 12 drives..

 

[Mirfster]

Two of the case names I see tossed around here are Fractal Design and LIAN LI. However; I do not have personal experiences with either. All my stuff is mainly name brand rackmount (Dell C2100/FS12-TY 2U)...

Side note on the Rosewill RSV-L4500; seems like a 4U is a lot of real estate for just 15 drives... Guess that is for better air flow and/or cooling?

Edit:... Seems like in looking at both vendors, they don't get up to the 15 drive capacity for a full tower. /Imadork...

 

[ChriZ]

Fractal Design Define R5 can hold up to 15 drives + 2 SSDs
EDIT: It has 8 hdd trays. You can add this for extra 4 hdds mounted on the bottom and a 3x3.5" in 2x5,25" hdd cage like this
Of course the price goes higher than the rosewill, but IMHO you end up with a better, smaller and more silent case.

 

[Mirfster]

Okay, my attempt at redemption.. :)

In this thread they mention a few (and some Fractal Design) that can accommodate 15 (or more): Tower Storage Chassis

 

[gpsguy]

Just buy one from case labs!

Given the exchange rate it will cost you a fortune. ;-(






Sent from my phone

 

[AVB]

There are some CD/DVD/BR duplicator cases that have 13 full 5.25" bays in them. They would be able to take 4 Istar350BPU (5 drives into 3 bays) and have a slot leftover for a disc drive. I have 4 of those Istars (two 5 drive, a 4 drive and a 3 drive) in various cases, I like them. However, at about $100 a pop by the time you bought the tower, (~$140) the Istar units (~$400) and a power supply (~$75) you may be better off getting a 20 bay case from the usual suspects. I bought a used 16 bay server with an 800 W triple redundant power supply for $200 delivered off ebay. Only Sata 2 but that is fine for me.

 

[Yatti420]

I'm thinking about expansion and ease of future proofing down the road.. I don't mind cheaper chases.. If you saw what i have now you'd be disappointed case wise :) It's good anti-theft though lol!

I'm not in the mood to add to an R5 to make it work.. I did see a few 12 bay desktops.. I believe higher end antec nineteen hundred is the only straight up affordable (other then lian-li or something even more expensive) desktop option for atleast 12+ and some 2.5 slots etc? Not a horrid price either?

Exchange rates can seriously hurt if in USD.. My biggest fear is always duty fees on imports for whatever reason..