SilverStone CS382 - 8 bay mATX NAS chassis

Google enough for NAS stuff and you start getting targeted ads…

This actually looks pretty nice.

Still concerned that top drive bay may be a drive broiler.

CS382 - 8-bay SAS-12G / SATA-6G hot-swappable high performance Micro-ATX NAS chassis

https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/computer-chassis/cs382/

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So far I’m not terribly happy with my similar sized case (although it looks really cute) and ended up putting a box fan in front of it… But I’ve also been migrating ~30TB of data non-stop

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Would probably be worth starting a Jonsbro N3 thread to discuss that case

Has a 5.25” front bay, which means you could add a 4 bay 2.5” module.

Also the slim optical drive bay. Would be good for an Automated Ripping Machine

And a quick capsule review

I definitely like the direct fan placement on the back of the HDD cage, and the extra 120mm fans… Probably a much better choice of case than what I picked

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I have a very bad experience of the DS-380, and of Silverstone cases in general: Tiny screws, way too many of them, poor cooling design, and generally design quirks or oversights which make you feel that the case was designed to look nice in presentation material but that no engineer ever tried to actually use the prototype and build a system in it.

This one may not be as bad as the drive cooker DS-380, but I recognise the flimsy plastic trays, and two 92 mm fans behind a backplane will need to scream to move enough air. Oh, and these would then suck air from the front, to be exhausted… from the top?

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There is a large exhaust fan behind the CPU cooler, air flow is pretty much from the HDs across the CPU and out the back.

The top vents would only really be needed if you were sticking giant GPUs in there. Which is a possibility I guess.

This is a technique I used to improve the cooling in my Norco RPC-4224 case

I made dummy drive tray fillers out of foam, to force the air to cool the actual drives… and then I blocked all the holes in the fan wall with foam.

7.5 years later, I still use those dummy foam fillers.

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My disk temp is always between 38 and 42C, never goes any lower or higher. Don’t even know if that is good or bad :slightly_smiling_face:

That’s on the warmer side. Generally, you want your drives between 18°C and 38°C.

IMHO
°C HDD IS…
≤ 17 …COLD
18 to 23 …CHILLY
24 to 36 …COZY
37 to 38 …WARM
39 to 44 …HOT
≥ 45 …BURNING
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On the warmer side, but probably within the operating temperature range as specified by the manufacturer (= warranty still valid). If so, and temps “never go any higher”, live with it.

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It’s tough to get disk temperatures to 18 deg C unless your system is in a data center that is being kept at 15*C or less.

My aim is to keep the drive temperature within 5*C of the room it sits in. I achieve that with high airflow and generous spacing between drives in my Lian Li A76. It could be even better if Lian-Li had a better caddy tower design. Oh well.

Fairly normal for 7200rpm air drives in
my opinion.

Thing is, warranties are supposed to result in no statistically excessive returns during the warranty lifetime. That speaks nothing to the post-warranty expected lifetime, however. I don’t use my drives for just a year or two, or perhaps three as warrantied by the OEM. My oldest drives in active use are pushing 45,000 hours.

I try to keep them cool and happy. Ideally below 30 deg C at all times.

On any of my next builds I might start using RTV silicone on all inside corners and case seams :nerd_face: :call_me_hand:

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Very funny, Mr. Bond.

But seriously, do look into ensuring the air gets where you want it to. In my Lian-Li A76, there are some obvious leak paths past the HDD stack in the front, for example. I taped them shut with some black gaffers tape and created “wipers” to seal between the HDD tower inside and the case cover.

Similarly, on the other side of the HDD stack there were long open slots that I also covered in tape. That way, all the air from the three 120mm fans in the front of the machine go over the 12 interior drive slots. There are other fans in the machine to exhaust air and also to direct air at specific hot components like the HBA chip, the SLOG, and the CPU.

The CPU got an extra-weirdo treatment by replacing the OEM HX with a copper one (Jag), plus fan on top. Then I fitted a 120mm Notcua industrial fan with a printed funnel to bring outside air to within 1cm of the CPU fan. Hence, the CPU, even under heavy load, doesn’t break 40*C often.

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Pics or it didn’t happen :wink:

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Your wish is my command, sire.


External view, showing off the two rear exhausts and one rear intake. Note: I connect and disconnect the intake fan externally as that’s easier than doing it from the inside.


The 3D printed funnel is designed to reduce intake noise on the outside and to funnel outside air to just above the CPU Cooler. This air also helps cool the two SATADOMS just below the CPU.


The Flex-ATX board has a Cu CPU heat sink, with a dedicated blower on the heat sink as well as the HBA. The latter was hard to source. A 120mm blower at an angle bathes these active heat exchangers and the passive SLOG


Further forward, you can see the flexible lip I fashioned from duct tape to ensure there is minimal leakage past the HDD trays / tower and the side cover (see red arrows). It is somewhat flexible and doesn’t stick to the side cover.


Lastly, more duct tape between the case and the HDD tower to force all air through the tower as opposed to past it (green arrows). A matching set on the other side keeps air from leaking past that side also. Three 120mm Noctua Industrial fans up front make for nice air flow.

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Impressive.

I don’t think there is enough posting of Ghetto but Awesome builds anymore :wink:

I think this helps to illustrate the type of work required to make a quiet but cool system.

Is yours quiet? I note all your fans on the outside are noctua

How did you mount the HBA fan?

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