I just got a build inside a Fractal Node 804 running. The 804 is a remarkably nice case for a modest server or NAS. Salient points I noticed in putting it together:
- It's inexpensive. I paid US$70 for mine, on sale.
- It mounts a lot of disks neatly and cools them well.
The stock configuration is 8 disks in two 4x clusters, all on vinyl/absorptive isolation washers. Each x4 rack slides out for cabling, then slides in and is held with thumbscrews. There is space for two more 3.5" drives in the bottom of the motherboard compartment if you like.
- The motherboard compartment is roomy and easy to work in.
- The cable routing is pretty good.
A modular power supply would have made this a breeze. As it was, the normal cables were normally crowded.
- It has the potential for GREAT cooling.
There are spaces for pushme-pullyou fans over the cluster of disk drives, two fans for the motherboard compartment, and this is in addition to the power supply's fan being able to exhaust to the back AND down. It has removable, cleanable dust filters on all the intakes. There are spots for an additional four fans exhausting UP through the perforated top of the case. So for the 8 nominal disks, there is space provided for four fans, three exhaust and one pressurizing, right on the disk drives. That's in addition to whatever the power supply fans add, as they suck out of the disk side too.
- It's small. The case is about 12"high, and 14+" wide and deep; about 1.5 cubic feet, and largely cubic.
- In spite of the size, access to the internals is GREAT as both sides and the top remove with thumbscrews and slides. You can not only see what you're doing in there, you can reach it.
- It's quiet. The three provided fans are quiet and just barely audible from 3 feet. If it were maxed out on internal heat, you could go to noisier and better-cooling fans, but it's pretty good as is.
The plan for this build was a seven disk RAIDZ3 array of 3TB files, giving 12TB of three-disk-tolerant storage. Obviously, you'd use 4TB for a similar design without the special background of this one for 16TB. If you were willing to live with RAIDZ2, you could do a 10-disk array for 8x4TB in Z2 using the two spots in the motherboard side.
The cons to this enclosure are that:
- The motherboard must be micro-ATX or mini-ITX. Regular ATX will not fit.
- There is a clear window on the side panel. I hate clear side panels. I'll probably spray paint it crinkle finish black.
There are obvious limits to the expansion in this thing, but if you can live within the limits it shows, it's a remarkably good enclosure. I can get a few more disks (11 or 12, maybe 13) and about the same number of fans into an Antec P18x series, but it's much bigger and a lot heavier. The disks would not be as well cooled.
I'm very happy with it. It's the new house-net data furnace.
- It's inexpensive. I paid US$70 for mine, on sale.
- It mounts a lot of disks neatly and cools them well.
The stock configuration is 8 disks in two 4x clusters, all on vinyl/absorptive isolation washers. Each x4 rack slides out for cabling, then slides in and is held with thumbscrews. There is space for two more 3.5" drives in the bottom of the motherboard compartment if you like.
- The motherboard compartment is roomy and easy to work in.
- The cable routing is pretty good.
A modular power supply would have made this a breeze. As it was, the normal cables were normally crowded.
- It has the potential for GREAT cooling.
There are spaces for pushme-pullyou fans over the cluster of disk drives, two fans for the motherboard compartment, and this is in addition to the power supply's fan being able to exhaust to the back AND down. It has removable, cleanable dust filters on all the intakes. There are spots for an additional four fans exhausting UP through the perforated top of the case. So for the 8 nominal disks, there is space provided for four fans, three exhaust and one pressurizing, right on the disk drives. That's in addition to whatever the power supply fans add, as they suck out of the disk side too.
- It's small. The case is about 12"high, and 14+" wide and deep; about 1.5 cubic feet, and largely cubic.
- In spite of the size, access to the internals is GREAT as both sides and the top remove with thumbscrews and slides. You can not only see what you're doing in there, you can reach it.
- It's quiet. The three provided fans are quiet and just barely audible from 3 feet. If it were maxed out on internal heat, you could go to noisier and better-cooling fans, but it's pretty good as is.
The plan for this build was a seven disk RAIDZ3 array of 3TB files, giving 12TB of three-disk-tolerant storage. Obviously, you'd use 4TB for a similar design without the special background of this one for 16TB. If you were willing to live with RAIDZ2, you could do a 10-disk array for 8x4TB in Z2 using the two spots in the motherboard side.
The cons to this enclosure are that:
- The motherboard must be micro-ATX or mini-ITX. Regular ATX will not fit.
- There is a clear window on the side panel. I hate clear side panels. I'll probably spray paint it crinkle finish black.
There are obvious limits to the expansion in this thing, but if you can live within the limits it shows, it's a remarkably good enclosure. I can get a few more disks (11 or 12, maybe 13) and about the same number of fans into an Antec P18x series, but it's much bigger and a lot heavier. The disks would not be as well cooled.
I'm very happy with it. It's the new house-net data furnace.