Lian-Li PC-Q26

[Ericloewe]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/lian-li-mini-itx-nas-pc-q26,27950.html
http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-q26/

Looks like a very interesting (and pricey, like most Lian-Li products) case for medium-sized servers.

Highlights:

• 10 x 3.5" bays - two with a preinstalled SATA backplane, more can be added later (looks like one of the backplanes they already sell for some other chassis)
• 3 x 120mm fans blowing directly on the drives, possibly with room for some extra-thick fans, plus a few more fan locations. Airflow seems a bit restricted, though, as the vents are small and to the sides of the fans, not in front.
  
• Takes miniITX motherboards, but looks like there's room for some longer boards based off miniITX
• Takes regular ATX PSUs, nominally up to 190mm (this length would seem to interfere with the lowest HDD bays)

 

[cyberjock]

If they could have squeezed 11 hard drive bays in there it would be golden. RAIDZ3 for everyone!

The price isn't great, BUT it is 10 drives, and it probably has sufficient cooling. If this chassis is a "one and done" setup, then it's an excellent option. Need to find out how to get my hands on one of these.

 

[DaNilePharaoh]

looks awesome, I'd trade my MDD with one of these :P

 

[mjws00]

I sure do like this. Especially if the extended boards fit without issue, and without cooling problems. Just wish they would fill out the backplane by default.

Here's hoping more vendors jump on board. I'd even be happy with a rev2 ds380, fix the cooling and give me 1/4 more height so the extended boards would fit with a std psu.

 

[Ericloewe]

I just realized this thing might fit:

http://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=E3C224D4I-14S#
E3C224D4I-14S

It's like a miniature X10SL7-F

Suddenly, the case looks even more like a very interesting platform for a prosumer NAS.

 

[mjws00]

Heh. That would be the extended board I was referencing. You can even squeeze it in a DS380 if you grab a Flex-ATX psu. She is a little bit pricier than the 'sl7'. But 8 front hotswap, plus 4 ssd, plus 32GB, plus full vt-d in a tiny tiny case kinda makes me smile.

 

[Ericloewe]

Confirmation that the ASRock Rack board fits:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/proposed-low-energy-nas.25048/page-2

Now we just need a guinea pig.

 

[Jailer]

Only thing I don't like about Lian Li is the hard drives don't lock down solid. They use a shouldered bolt to locate the drive in slots. Mine has locking tabs on the outer edge of the rail to keep them from sliding out but they are still a bit "loose" even when locked in. This case doesn't seem to have the locking tabs. You think the harmonics of having a large number of drives in a small case like that would be an issue over time? Am I over thinking this?

My case is an older v1000 BTW.

ETA: Disregard, looks like this uses thumb screws to secure the drives.

 

[charlie89]

That Lian Li has the PERFECT Space Management, from Top to Bottom just HDD-Slots.
But, hell yeah, it looks like it's the little brother of my 'Nanoxia Deep Silence 6'. :p:p:p

 

[billhickok]

I actually just ordered this case from Newegg. I agree that it is overly pricey, especially when you have to purchase 3 more backplanes to make all the bays hot-swappable. Came out to $189.99 + $13.99 shipping + tax, and 80 bucks for the backplanes...so a total of 300 dollars. It was the perfect choice for me though as I purchased 10 x WD Reds a few months ago and was just holding off until I could find a case (not a rackmount) that:
-has 10 hot-swap bays
-could fit the extended mini-ITX form factor of the ASRock E3C224D4I-14S
-maintain a small-ish form factor.

I actually think this is the only case in existence that ticks all of the above. Throw in Lian-Li build quality and I think it should be a match made in heaven.

Confirmation that the ASRock Rack board fits:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/proposed-low-energy-nas.25048/page-2

Now we just need a guinea pig.

Looks like it'll be me. You actually just responded to my post here: https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...mobo-support-11-drive-raid-off-the-bat.25143/

So yes i'm a rookie and this will be my first build, I hope it all goes well. I still need to do some extensive reading but there's a good chance i'll start a thread logging my build and pleading for help. I'll try to also include pictures.

BTW, here's a video rundown of the case for those who haven't seen it:

 

[mjws00]

Sounds like a very nice build @billhickok hope to see some pics. Only thing that bugs me is overall cost when you add the additional backplanes.

 

[billhickok]

The case arrived yesterday.

I knew the dimensions before ordering it, yet was still surprised at how compact it is, even compared to my relatively small PC-A05 tower. I guess i'm just not accustomed to Mini-ATX form factors.

The AsRock E3C224D4I-14S definitely fits in here. I went with a Silverstone SFX PSU (450W 80 Plus Gold) to provide as much breathing/working room as possible. I did a brief layout test to make sure everything fits. The stock 24-pin cable is just barely long enough to reach, though admittedly I only did a quick 'n' dirty measurement. I purchased the Silverstone flat flexible cable set as the power connector is a little bit longer and the flat cables are much easier to work with.

Unfortunately, I'll be away for the entire week and won't be able to work on the build until this weekend. This is just my initial impression but overall I think it's a winner. A very sharp looking, functional case and definitely feels like the direct sibling to the highly-regarded Q25 (in both style and spirit, but probably not price.)

 

[diedrichg]

I just found this thread and I'm super excited to see a "tower" case that includes hot-swap backplanes. I'd buy this in a heartbeat if it was uATX but alas it's not. Does anyone know of a consumer chassis with hot-swap backplanes that supports uATX?

 

[Ericloewe]

I just found this thread and I'm super excited to see a "tower" case that includes hot-swap backplanes. I'd buy this in a heartbeat if it was uATX but alas it's not. Does anyone know of a consumer chassis with hot-swap backplanes that supports uATX?

Well, if it helps, it'll take extended miniITX, including ASRock's voodoo-shrunk X10SL7-F.

MicroATX is harder. The closest thing you can get is what I did, with a chassis with tons of 5.25" bays and adding hot swap bays.

 

[andr3wyong]

So I’ve just completed a build in this case:

• Motherboard: Gigabyte MB10-DS3
• Memory: 2* Crucial 32GB DDR4-2400 ECC RDIMM (CT32G4RFD424A)
• Hard Drives: 8* Western Digital 6TB Green (WD60EZRX-00MVLB1), WDIDLE3 /D'ed
• HBA: Dell PERC H200 flashed to LSI SAS2008 IT mode
• PSU: Seasonic SS-660XP2

Just a few notes from my build:

• Front 120mm max thickness = 32mm (38mm is a very tight fit and can’t be replaced while the HDDs are mounted)
• All front 120mm fans should be fitted if positive pressure is desired, otherwise airflow will leak back into the front intake through unfitted fan holes
• Hard disks have a gap of <4mm between hard disks - high pressure and/or high RPM intake fans are recommended