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Thread: Just ordered a Corsair Crystal 570X RGB Case BUT I want to install 6 HDDs

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    Just ordered a Corsair Crystal 570X RGB Case BUT I want to install 6 HDDs

    Hi all,

    I've ordered this case
    http://www.corsair.com/en-us/crystal...mid-tower-case

    Since it is one of the nicest looking cases with all the conveniences that Corsair are known for.

    It's lacking HDD bays though, HOWEVER fear not, there is decent space at the front near the intake fans for watercooling stuff.

    I want to repurpose this space, to hold 6x HDDs, expandable to 12 3.5" HDDs if possible (these will be Raidz2 ZFS volumes in FreeNAS).

    Thoughts? Break out the dremel I suppose... I'd rather not though. I was thinking of some HDD drive cages + industrial strength velcro

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    Super Moderator Jonj1611's Avatar
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    Re: Just ordered a Corsair Crystal 570X RGB Case BUT I want to install 6 HDDs

    That looks a really nice case!

    Though on a practical side wouldn't a different case be a better idea? Just aesthetics alone, with that amount of hard drives in it, it will be come a sea of wires and odd mounting positions and its a completely see through case :/

    As it only holds 2 x 3.5" to start with I can see that being a really challenge adding 6 let alone 12.

    However been interested to see if you manage it? Maybe post it up as a project with pics
    Jon

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    Re: Just ordered a Corsair Crystal 570X RGB Case BUT I want to install 6 HDDs

    Quote Originally Posted by Jonj1611 View Post
    That looks a really nice case!

    Though on a practical side wouldn't a different case be a better idea? Just aesthetics alone, with that amount of hard drives in it, it will be come a sea of wires and odd mounting positions and its a completely see through case :/
    Fair point Jon.

    I also have a Corsair Air 540 and 740, so I have a couple options.



    The 570X is a really nice case for a workstation rig, with a couple SSDs and not much more than that, well may be a HDD. My Air 540 right now, houses my 6850K/X99 productivity/gaming rig.

    I should swap that into the 570X case, and install the Xeon FreeNAS bits into the Air 540 Cube. It's cube-style offers for more modding potential, and room to hold 6-12 drives (even though it doesn't stock, of course).

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    Super Moderator Jonj1611's Avatar
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    Re: Just ordered a Corsair Crystal 570X RGB Case BUT I want to install 6 HDDs

    I had the Air 540 myself, amazing case. I think it maybe a bit idea as you said to swap things over, that see through case is definitely a case to show off your gear. The cube does have a fair bit of room if you remove some cages etc you could probably easily shoehorn something in there.
    Jon

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    Re: Just ordered a Corsair Crystal 570X RGB Case BUT I want to install 6 HDDs

    Quote Originally Posted by Jonj1611 View Post
    The cube does have a fair bit of room if you remove some cages etc you could probably easily shoehorn something in there.
    Well, I found a really cheap solution.

    2x Lian Li EX-23N HDD Expansion Kit (Silver) [MFR # EX-23NA]
    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...nsion_kit.html

    They cost $20 each, wow! I should be able to velcro, ziptie mount them down.

    I was also looking at future expansion, since I'm going for a 6 drives x Raidz2 volume, which means the next volume needs to be another 6x drives.

    6 -> 12 > 18 > 24 // so that's a max of 24 drives at 3 more volumes added.

    This puppy would do quite nicely.

    iStarUSA 24-Bay Storage Server 4U Rackmount Case
    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...server_4u.html

    While I can order it now, I still have to order about $1000 worth of WD Red drives; that's on top of $2000 already spent on the Xeon/Mobo/ECC RDIMM 32GB Kit.

    While I can justify $3,000 at the moment, pushing it to $3,700+ for 'future proofing' alone doesn't seem entirely sensible (right now).

    For $40, I can repurpose the Corsair Air 540 and at least get the basic 6x 4TB WD Red FreeNAS box running first.

    What do you think?

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    Re: Just ordered a Corsair Crystal 570X RGB Case BUT I want to install 6 HDDs

    I would go with the lower cost option for now and then if you need to expand you know what your options are.
    Jon

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