Any ideas for a very compact case compatible with an ATX mobo and several HDDs?

[PianoPlayer88Key]

 So I recently upgraded my desktop platform, and would like to put my older platform in a case.  (I had been thinking of just running it open air like on a motherboard box or on a wood surface, but considering the klutz I am and my crowded space that might not be the best idea.)

My existing case is the Fractal Design Define R5, which now houses an ASRock B550 Taichi, Ryzen 9 5950X, Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360, 128GB RAM (XMP is 3600 but won't post there so I'm running at 3200), as well as a reused Corsair AX760, EVGA SC GTX 1060 3GB, 1TB SPCC P34A80 SSD and a few HDDs.

Anyway, my ASRock Z97 Extreme6, i7-4790K, Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, and 32GB DDR3-1600 is currently homeless.  That PC will likely be relegated to relatively light duty work - for example some kind of occasionally-powered-on backup server was an idea, except a gripe I have is that it doesn't support (or have) ECC RAM.  I'd just be using the iGPU, and probably not add any expansion cards (unless I were to add an extra SATA/SAS HBA or two), so I'd be fine with using that space by the expansion slots (and around the CPU cooler) for mounting the PSU and some HDDs.

 

Here's a pic of an example of what I envision by a "compact" setup.  Now I need a case to fi them like that.  (I'm thinking maybe something around 12.5" x 10" x 6.75" or so, or about 320mm x 255mm x 170mm, or a bit under 14 liters.)

 

 

BTW, I could probably take a couple HDDs out, to allow for a bit more airflow, and maybe a bit easier cable management.

 

 

I haven't found any cases that are that compact like what I'm looking for, though.

 

 

 

Also speaking of airflow ... I might need to replace the fan on that Hyper 212 Evo .... unless there's a way to resurrect it?  Or maybe I should put the stock heatsink on - the 4790K came with one, or just run it passive and underclocked?  (But I was thinking of using the fan, as well as the PSU fan, for airflow....)

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/azh2JCMH1gN8ArXn8

 

(I wonder if I killed it though while trying to blow dust out...)

Spoiler

 

[Gork]

I'm i'm pressed with your tetresing skills!. are using this thing to back up the hard drives? or as a NAS?  

[PianoPlayer88Key]

18 hours ago, Gork said:

I'm i'm pressed with your tetresing skills!. are using this thing to back up the hard drives? or as a NAS?  

What do you mean by "tetresing"?  (Or you referring to tetris?)

And it would be used to back up the HDDs, I'm not sure if I'd want to use it as a NAS.  (Sure it might be nice to be able to access my desktop files from my laptop or my phone, but I get better performance reading & writing from HDDs that are directly connected to the motherboard, and I'm a bit wary of possible security pitfalls of people getting into the network from outside.)

[thrasher_565]

im 99% that there,s no case like that. pulse that would be hdd or pc suicide. why so many hdd? big hdd are a thing...

 

if your willing to go bigger case then there some that have about 10ish drivs in it and can cost up to $300+

 

thow a longer case you can buy a hdd mount for cheaper and just mount it at the front.

Edited November 26, 2021 by thrasher_565

[Bookmann]

So i know a guy with an old modded (for silence) yy0221that will take a ton of drives, not as tiny as your layout, but still just a 14x14x18"-ish "cube".  Can hold 10x 3.5 and 6x 5.25 OOTB.

 

Edit: brainfarted: you could also look into the various aluminum extrusions (makerbeam, microrax, 80/20, etc) and slapping together a custom box.  If you have access to a laser or machining/fab equipment it can even be pretty nice.  And then physical reality/cable management are your only real limitations.  

 

I'm not super familiar with the 212, but it looks like a standard fan, should just be able to swap it out...?

[fonzz1e]

afaik the only "compact" case that can fit all those hdd is define 7 or meshify 2 in storage mode

[PianoPlayer88Key]

On 11/25/2021 at 10:35 PM, thrasher_565 said:

im 99% that there,s no case like that. pulse that would be hdd or pc suicide. why so many hdd? big hdd are a thing...

 

Ah ... well, I guess some of my HDDs are kind-of small...

 

 

On 11/25/2021 at 10:35 PM, thrasher_565 said:

if your willing to go bigger case then there some that have about 10ish drivs in it and can cost up to $300+

I'd actually prefer a lot smaller, and I don't want the unused space by the expansion slots, on either side of the CPU cooler, etc, to go to waste.  I won't be using a GPU or watercooling, and I already have a motherboard (ATX - ASRock Z97 Extreme6) and would prefer not to get another one, unless I was building an entire backup server from scratch.
If I was doing that, then $300 or so (maybe a bit less) would be my budget for the entire build, not including the storage drives, also ECC RAM would probably be a requirement.  (If I went with UnRAID, the license would be included in the budget.)  Also if I was rolling a backup server, I already have an i3-6100 laying around, as well as, I think, an orphaned 8GB stick of SO-DIMM DDR4-2133 non-ECC RAM.

 

 

On 11/26/2021 at 8:36 AM, Bookmann said:

So i know a guy with an old modded (for silence) yy0221that will take a ton of drives, not as tiny as your layout, but still just a 14x14x18"-ish "cube".  Can hold 10x 3.5 and 6x 5.25 OOTB.

 

5 hours ago, fonzz1e said:

afaik the only "compact" case that can fit all those hdd is define 7 or meshify 2 in storage mode

Hmm ... those are as big as or bigger than my Define R5 though ... I was hoping to find something that was quite a bit smaller in cubic volume, like maybe 1/3 to 1/2 the size.  Also I don't think either the Define 7 or Meshify 2 support mounting HDDs over the motherboard (instead of, say, a GPU or other things, even in storage mode.

 

 

 

On 11/25/2021 at 10:35 PM, thrasher_565 said:

thow a longer case you can buy a hdd mount for cheaper and just mount it at the front.

Interesting, I didn't know that thing existed ... but I'd prefer to not order from overseas for now.  (USA preferred, Canada would probably also be okay, idk about Mexico even though I'm like maybe a 30 minute drive from the border.)  (Another option I had considered was a moddiy 5-in-3 cage - fits 5.25" drives in the space of 3x 5.25" bays, although I might use it externally.)

 

 

 

On 11/26/2021 at 8:36 AM, Bookmann said:

Edit: brainfarted: you could also look into the various aluminum extrusions (makerbeam, microrax, 80/20, etc) and slapping together a custom box.  If you have access to a laser or machining/fab equipment it can even be pretty nice.  And then physical reality/cable management are your only real limitations.  

Ah, I'm not too familiar with those options ... and I don't have access to that kind of equipment.  (Also my attempt to google 80/20 failed...)

 

On 11/26/2021 at 8:36 AM, Bookmann said:

I'm not super familiar with the 212, but it looks like a standard fan, should just be able to swap it out...?

Yeah, I think it's a standard 120mm fan so I could probably swap it.  (Or maybe I could underclock enough to just run passive, or put the stock heatsink on, although I *really* don't want to remove the cooler, it was a huge pain in the  to install.)

 

I'd like as high a density of components as possible, without going rackmount.  (I have no place to put a rack.)

Spoiler

Some examples:

 

 

 

 

[thrasher_565]

6 hours ago, PianoPlayer88Key said:

 

Ah ... well, I guess some of my HDDs are kind-of small...

 

 

I'd actually prefer a lot smaller, and I don't want the unused space by the expansion slots, on either side of the CPU cooler, etc, to go to waste.  I won't be using a GPU or watercooling, and I already have a motherboard (ATX - ASRock Z97 Extreme6) and would prefer not to get another one, unless I was building an entire backup server from scratch.
If I was doing that, then $300 or so (maybe a bit less) would be my budget for the entire build, not including the storage drives, also ECC RAM would probably be a requirement.  (If I went with UnRAID, the license would be included in the budget.)  Also if I was rolling a backup server, I already have an i3-6100 laying around, as well as, I think, an orphaned 8GB stick of SO-DIMM DDR4-2133 non-ECC RAM.

 

 

 

Hmm ... those are as big as or bigger than my Define R5 though ... I was hoping to find something that was quite a bit smaller in cubic volume, like maybe 1/3 to 1/2 the size.  Also I don't think either the Define 7 or Meshify 2 support mounting HDDs over the motherboard (instead of, say, a GPU or other things, even in storage mode.

 

 

 

Interesting, I didn't know that thing existed ... but I'd prefer to not order from overseas for now.  (USA preferred, Canada would probably also be okay, idk about Mexico even though I'm like maybe a 30 minute drive from the border.)  (Another option I had considered was a moddiy 5-in-3 cage - fits 5.25" drives in the space of 3x 5.25" bays, although I might use it externally.)

 

 

 

Ah, I'm not too familiar with those options ... and I don't have access to that kind of equipment.  (Also my attempt to google 80/20 failed...)

 

Yeah, I think it's a standard 120mm fan so I could probably swap it.  (Or maybe I could underclock enough to just run passive, or put the stock heatsink on, although I *really* don't want to remove the cooler, it was a huge pain in the  to install.)

 

I'd like as high a density of components as possible, without going rackmount.  (I have no place to put a rack.)

  Reveal hidden contents

Some examples:

 

 

 

 

hmm sounds like you want stuff for free and dont want to compromise... so gl.

[PianoPlayer88Key]

2 hours ago, thrasher_565 said:

hmm sounds like you want stuff for free and dont want to compromise... so gl.

LOL no  For buying just a case, I'd like to keep it under about $90-100 or so, preferably under $55-65 or so.  A while ago I had seen some cases that would have come close to meeting my needs & budget, but I wasn't really ready to buy then.

Some cases I've seen recently that would come close to (or maybe actually) meeting my needs in my budget, except for being way too big overall, include the Rosewill Challenger, Cooler Master N400 or Antec VSK4000E U3, although prices do fluctuate on an almost daily basis, it seems.

 

If I was getting a smaller form factor motherboard (like Micro ATX or Mini ITX), I'd also maybe consider ones like the Apex TX-606-U3, Fractal Design Node 304, Silverstone PS08/09B, Fractal Design Core 500 for example.  If I did a combo like that I'd want to keep it under about $120-150 or so, problem is I've been having a hard time finding inexpensive Mini ITX motherboards with 6 or more SATA ports, or Micro ATX motherboards with 8 or more SATA ports.  (I know of one Mini ITX motherboard compatible with my i3-6100 that supports ECC and has 8 SATA ports, but can't find any available right now and they're usually upwards of $200 or so.)

[thrasher_565]

6 hours ago, PianoPlayer88Key said:

LOL no  For buying just a case, I'd like to keep it under about $90-100 or so, preferably under $55-65 or so.  A while ago I had seen some cases that would have come close to meeting my needs & budget, but I wasn't really ready to buy then.

Some cases I've seen recently that would come close to (or maybe actually) meeting my needs in my budget, except for being way too big overall, include the Rosewill Challenger, Cooler Master N400 or Antec VSK4000E U3, although prices do fluctuate on an almost daily basis, it seems.

 

If I was getting a smaller form factor motherboard (like Micro ATX or Mini ITX), I'd also maybe consider ones like the Apex TX-606-U3, Fractal Design Node 304, Silverstone PS08/09B, Fractal Design Core 500 for example.  If I did a combo like that I'd want to keep it under about $120-150 or so, problem is I've been having a hard time finding inexpensive Mini ITX motherboards with 6 or more SATA ports, or Micro ATX motherboards with 8 or more SATA ports.  (I know of one Mini ITX motherboard compatible with my i3-6100 that supports ECC and has 8 SATA ports, but can't find any available right now and they're usually upwards of $200 or so.)

you cant buy cheap case that have lots of hdd mounts so like i said gl. if you want a bigger case there like $300+

 

i guess you can find a free case on the road or dumpster and zip tiy the hdds in stacks....

[Bookmann]

18 hours ago, PianoPlayer88Key said:

 

Ah ... well, I guess some of my HDDs are kind-of small...

 

 

I'd actually prefer a lot smaller, and I don't want the unused space by the expansion slots, on either side of the CPU cooler, etc, to go to waste.  I won't be using a GPU or watercooling, and I already have a motherboard (ATX - ASRock Z97 Extreme6) and would prefer not to get another one, unless I was building an entire backup server from scratch.
If I was doing that, then $300 or so (maybe a bit less) would be my budget for the entire build, not including the storage drives, also ECC RAM would probably be a requirement.  (If I went with UnRAID, the license would be included in the budget.)  Also if I was rolling a backup server, I already have an i3-6100 laying around, as well as, I think, an orphaned 8GB stick of SO-DIMM DDR4-2133 non-ECC RAM.

 

 

 

Hmm ... those are as big as or bigger than my Define R5 though ... I was hoping to find something that was quite a bit smaller in cubic volume, like maybe 1/3 to 1/2 the size.  Also I don't think either the Define 7 or Meshify 2 support mounting HDDs over the motherboard (instead of, say, a GPU or other things, even in storage mode.

 

 

 

Interesting, I didn't know that thing existed ... but I'd prefer to not order from overseas for now.  (USA preferred, Canada would probably also be okay, idk about Mexico even though I'm like maybe a 30 minute drive from the border.)  (Another option I had considered was a moddiy 5-in-3 cage - fits 5.25" drives in the space of 3x 5.25" bays, although I might use it externally.)

 

 

 

Ah, I'm not too familiar with those options ... and I don't have access to that kind of equipment.  (Also my attempt to google 80/20 failed...)

 

Yeah, I think it's a standard 120mm fan so I could probably swap it.  (Or maybe I could underclock enough to just run passive, or put the stock heatsink on, although I *really* don't want to remove the cooler, it was a huge pain in the  to install.)

 

I'd like as high a density of components as possible, without going rackmount.  (I have no place to put a rack.)

  Hide contents

Some examples:

 

 

 

 

Well, i had a reply with links and stuff, but it didn't post? Whatever.

 

8020.net - 20mm+ profiles and accessories, some ideas too.

 

Try "2020 aluminum extrusion" for alternatives/generics

 

Makerbeam.com - smaller 10mm and 15mm profiles, saw some sff guys (reddit?) do some neat stuff with these.

 

Mountainmods has/had hdd brackets for 120mm & 140mm fans, they are US based.  I've seen expansion slot drive bays, but were 2.5" iirc (amazon or ppcs). 

 

Performance PCs has been doing sales/deals on their hot-swap bays, i recently picked some up.  

 

Fab/laser/machine shop or woodworker (seen some clever stuff online) could probably do what you want, but probably not in your budget without barter or such.

 

Random bits, but hope they help.  Good luck!