Fractal Design - 7XL for 12 disk server?

Gimpymoo said:
My Truenas server needs a new home.

Anything better than the 7XL?

Currently have 12 HDD's in my R5 (I think is an R5) and I want to had more disks.

Thanks.
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I was looking into something similar a while back. The only case I could find that tempted me over and above the 7XL was the Jonsbo T59X, but it ain't cheap. I was particularly keen on it because of all the 5.25" bays that could be converted to hotswap IcyDock bays or similar.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £357.98 (includes delivery: £7.99)​



​

Or the Anidees AI Raider XL, but I couldn't find a UK stockist:

 
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The 7XL will be fine. It can fit 16 drives (Or 14 if you have a massive PSU) However it can be a bit of a pain to cable unless you have some custom drive power cables. It does only come with 6 of the sleds/trays to fit the hdds and you can buy them for £13 per 2 pack (But if you end up buying one of these chassis i could almost certainly hook you up with as many as you need for postage and a couple of beers. :)
 
Actually just noticed you are in Nottingham so if you wanted to nip down to Derby and pick them up that would be fine. I work close to Sainsburys on pride park just off the A52 coming into derby. :)
 
ZXSpectrum said:
Actually just noticed you are in Nottingham so if you wanted to nip down to Derby and pick them up that would be fine. I work close to Sainsburys on pride park just off the A52 coming into derby. :)
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Presently have an R4 for my main rig and an R5 for the file server, I love their cases.

Modular PSU definitely helps with cabling but still awkward.

I had hoped some of the R4/R5 trays would fit in the 7XL but unfortunately not.

If I may ask, how come the abundant supply of sleds :D

I live off the Bardills roundabout (not literally), five minutes away so that could not be better.

That has probably made my decision easier, could probably sell the R5 for a couple of quid too.
 
Yeah thats not far from me at all straight down the A52 i actually came that way a couple of weeks ago when we went to pick up an AC unit from Screwfix in Long Eaton.

I have an abundance of these sleds/trays because i build a lot of systems at work in these cases and the spares just go in the metal recycling so i have saved some along with some screws and rubber grommits for you.
 
ZXSpectrum said:
Yeah thats not far from me at all straight down the A52 i actually came that way a couple of weeks ago when we went to pick up an AC unit from Screwfix in Long Eaton.

I have an abundance of these sleds/trays because i build a lot of systems at work in these cases and the spares just go in the metal recycling so i have saved some along with some screws and rubber grommits for you.
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You are a saint, very grateful :D

Any of the 120mm fan mount brackets been recycled too :eek:

Will let you know when I have the case. Cheers though, very grateful.
 
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They don't come with any removeable fan mount brackets. The areas at the front, top and back are all 120/140mm. The top panel does come off to fit the fans but its 120 or 140mm. If i have missed anything in the, probably 200+ systems i have built into this case, then please direct me to them in the manual.. :cry:
 
ZXSpectrum said:
They don't come with any removeable fan mount brackets. The areas at the front, top and back are all 120/140mm. The top panel does come off to fit the fans but its 120 or 140mm. If i have missed anything in the, probably 200+ systems i have built into this case, then please direct me to them in the manual.. :cry:
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No, you are right, they do not "come with" :D

www.fractal-design.com

Universal Multibracket - Type A (2-pack)

Convert a standard 120 mm fan slot to an HDD, SSD or pump mount to increase your case’s hardware capacity and expand your installation options.
www.fractal-design.com www.fractal-design.com

Allow you to do this though...

fXjPyhw.jpg


A lot of Linux distros nowadays, gotta catch em all.
 
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Ah the multibracket. I thought you meant a mount to convert from a 140mm fan to a 120mm fan rather than a 120mm fan to add a HDD/SSD. Unfortunately the chassis only come with 2 and i ship them with the systems. You will have to remove the 2 that is supplied with the case to fit all the trays, I will see if we have any spare but i dont believe we do. I am not even sure if you can buy them as a spare part.
 
ZXSpectrum said:
Ah the multibracket. I thought you meant a mount to convert from a 140mm fan to a 120mm fan rather than a 120mm fan to add a HDD/SSD. Unfortunately the chassis only come with 2 and i ship them with the systems. You will have to remove the 2 that is supplied with the case to fit all the trays, I will see if we have any spare but i dont believe we do. I am not even sure if you can buy them as a spare part.
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From your experience, are they as pleasant to work on as the other Fractal cases, I always love doing a build with them, almost no compromises, love it.
 
Yes its definitely a good case to build in. They do have some limitations which come into play for the systems i build which are some top end dual Epyc with 1-2Tb of memory and 4xGPUs but mainly Threadripper pro with Asus WRX80 motherboard. They are a huge heavy case and when fully populated can be a nightmare to lug about but they are very well build and serve our purposes. I would definitely recommend getting some Noctua fans though as the standard ones that come with are not great in terms of airflow for such a big case. Fractal do a PWM version of the 140mm fan that has much higher airflow but a little louder. The Arctic P14 PWM are also a good fan at a good price and i think they do a 5 pack as well.
 
ZXSpectrum said:
Yes its definitely a good case to build in. They do have some limitations which come into play for the systems i build which are some top end dual Epyc with 1-2Tb of memory and 4xGPUs but mainly Threadripper pro with Asus WRX80 motherboard. They are a huge heavy case and when fully populated can be a nightmare to lug about but they are very well build and serve our purposes. I would definitely recommend getting some Noctua fans though as the standard ones that come with are not great in terms of airflow for such a big case. Fractal do a PWM version of the 140mm fan that has much higher airflow but a little louder. The Arctic P14 PWM are also a good fan at a good price and i think they do a 5 pack as well.
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I have some Noctua 140's in my R5 I will be bringing over. Thing is, for a living room based "server", they are reasonably quiet all things considered but a bit of a furnace if not cooled appropriately.

Have you ever put castors on the case?
 
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TangoEchoAlpha said:
I was looking into something similar a while back. The only case I could find that tempted me over and above the 7XL was the Jonsbo T59X, but it ain't cheap. I was particularly keen on it because of all the 5.25" bays that could be converted to hotswap IcyDock bays or similar.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £357.98 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​
​
​

Or the Anidees AI Raider XL, but I couldn't find a UK stockist:

Click to expand...

That is a really nice case, would be a bit pricey once filled with Icy dock bays though.
 
The Antec 1200 is an option, albeit quite old now, picked one up off ebay and filled it with icydock bays as the standard 3x5.25 bays only take 3 drives. I don't really care for the looks but it works well for a 16 bay unraid server.
 
IanAG said:
The Antec 1200 is an option, albeit quite old now, picked one up off ebay and filled it with icydock bays as the standard 3x5.25 bays only take 3 drives. I don't really care for the looks but it works well for a 16 bay unraid server.
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Wish I’d not sold mine when I had a brief Mac transition about 10 years back… would be perfect for my UnRAID box now!
 
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