Yesterday, I randomly ran across some references to AliExpress enclosures for NAS’ use and then went down a rabbithole or two. There are some pretty interesting designs for small factor NAS’ out there and the “Aries” and “Centaurus” 8-bay models sold on AliExpress are pretty intriguing.
- Up to mATX motherboard (half height only though)
- 8 x 3.5" drive slots, with proper backplanes (better than Lian Li, they include the decoupling capacitors and feature large holes for air flow)
- 6 x 2.5" slots
- SFX PSU
- 21 liter cubish case.
Access to drives is trivial (Aries has a magnetic cover for grommeted disk drives like the Lian Li, the ones in the Centaurus use a IMO worse mechanical ejector / cover that will also cover up the S/N on drives). On balance, I prefer the Aries approach because it makes identifying disks easier - my HGSTs show their S/N on the back edge of the drive.
I am not a fan of either enclosure requiring multiple machine screws to be removed in order to access the motherboard. But many folk would likely be OK with that once the system is set up? Also, the low deck hight for the motherboard compartment might be problematic if you have a “hot” CPU that needs a lot of airflow. Methinks this family of enclosures is designed around low-power file-server-only use.
Half-height is a limitation, cable management will be an potential issue. It’s not for me, but these enclosures are interesting for folk who want a small, non-rack form factor NAS enclosure with plenty of slots with ample room to airflow around HDDs and SDDs alike. The airflow for the CPU may be somewhat marginal, however.
There are plenty more cases over there. For example, the Saggitarius offers 8x 3.5" HDD slots, mATX motherboard, ATX PSU, very cramped conditions above CPU, awful maintenance nightmare, etc. But a breath of fresh air compared to all the gamer rigs we seem to be “blessed” with in the West, where decent, 6+ HDD-capable cases are a endangered species.