NAS ATX case recommendation

Exodos_Pavilion · February 8

Hello everyone,

I was interested in building out a NAS that would double as a Plex server. I would like to have 4 or more 3.5 inch drives in it. Would like it if it can fit a GPU in it along with the hard drives for hardware transcoding. I would love for this thing to be an Mini-ITX build but considering what needs to go init I don't think thats possible so I'm looking for an ATX case.

Having good airflow would be a plus. Something released within the last 3 years is another plus. A big plus would be if it was under C$150 (115 USD).

Thank You

RevGAM · February 13

Bump

OhioYJ · February 13

I started out with the Fractal Define R5. It's a nice case, and will hold 8 - 3.5" drives. It's got insulation so it will be quiet, but still offers decent cooling. However if you want you can open it up and it will flow lots of air.

I modified the front door to really let the front fans breathe:

The only downside might the size depending on where you want to put it.

Since you mentioned mini-itx you might also want to look at the Jonsbo cases, they have lots of small cases with 3.5" drive bays.

I will say though, plan ahead. I ended up having to switch cases in short order as I upgraded to 16 drives. Which meant a new case.

tkitch · February 14

You can absolutely do this on mini-ITX

Buy an AM5 ITX Build, and the Ryzen 7 8700G
The onboard iGPU there is MORE than powerful enough to crush multiple plex transcodes at once.

This leaves your x16 ITX Slot for something better.

The 8700g is on par overall with a Ryzen 7 7700, and means you'll have plenty of CPU To spare to run Docker and other apps on top of your Plex.

For cases: Jonsbo N1 (5 Drives) or N3 (8 Drives) are both great cases.