I’m replacing an SFF PC (HP ProDesk 600 G5 SFF) I’m using as a server with a larger one that’ll function as a server and a NAS, and all I want is a case that would have been commonplace 10-15 years ago:

  • Fits an ATX motherboard.
  • Fits at least 4-5 hard drives.
  • Is okay sitting on its side instead of upright (or even better, is built to be horizontal) since it’ll be sitting on a wire shelving unit (replacing the SFF PC here: https://upvote.au/post/11946)
  • No glass side panel, since it’ll be sitting horizontally.
  • Ideally space for a fan on the left panel

It seems like cases like this are hard to find these days. The two I see recommended are the Fractal Design Define R5 and the Cooler Master N400, both of which are quite old. The Streacom F12C was really nice but it’s long gone now, having been discontinued many years ago.

Unfortunately I don’t have enough depth for a full-depth rackmount server; I’ve got a very shallow rack just for networking equipment.

Does anyone have recommendations for any cases that fit these requirements?

My desktop PC has a Fractal Design Define R4 that I bought close to 10 years ago… I’m tempted to just buy a new case for it and repurpose the Define R4 for the server.

  • JustEnoughDucksEnglish
    1•1 year ago

    Two good cases for this are the fractal node series. Not ATX, but great.

    Node 304 can do 6 HDDs, ITX board, SFX-L supply.

    Node 804 is twice as big (still smaller than tower cases) but can do mATX board, 8HDDs, and an ATX power supply.

    Watch out for ITX builds because they only have 4 SATA ports, so you need to get an M.2 expansion card or PCIe expander if you aren’t using a video card.

    mATX can usually expand via the extra PCIe connector.

    • @dan@upvote.auOPEnglish
      2•1 year ago

      I’m leaning towards the Node 804 now, and just getting an mATX board instead of an ATX one. The Node 804 can also fit a larger (160mm) CPU cooler, so my preferred cooler (Noctua NH-D15) should be able to fit if I replace the 140mm fans with 120mm ones - with the smaller fans, it needs exactly 160mm clearance.

      I love Fractal Design and they seem to be one of the only manufacturers still producing older cases that can fit a lot of HDDs.

      • SayCyberOnceMoreEnglish
        1•1 year ago

        If you change your mind on mobo again, +1 for the Node304. It even fits Ikea Kallax shelving 🙂

        I have a 6 drive NAS in one, with an ASRockRack mobo… cool & quiet.

          • SayCyberOnceMoreEnglish
            1•1 year ago

            I’m using the ASRock Rack C2550D4I - good piece of hardware (for what it’s doing…)

            And yep, ECC… I had read about needing lots of it for ZFS, but TBH after watching several videos about testing RAM, I’m not sure 64GB of ECC RAM was worth the cost…

            Plus, I went with BTRFS instead 😉