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
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
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.