DIY NAS Build in Fractal Define R5!!! Still the Best Case

[@Robbaz]

Second guessed my purchase until I found this video, going to ram Exos into it and all that sound dampning makes perfect sense.

[@bhume7535]

Oh shit. Robert approved, I'm totally buying it now. also... where are the videos?

[@armykid0000]

a year later but, did that sound dampening make a difference for you?

[@kaya-sem]

👀​@@armykid0000

[@nadtz]

Just grabbed one of these cases (relatively) cheap locally and this is pretty much exactly what I'm going to be doing (truenas with 8x 3.5 inch drives + 2x 2.5 boot drives) to replace the loud 1u server I've been using. Even years later this is still one of the best cases for non rack mount DIY NAS build I could find that's actually available. Thanks for the vid!

[@Jmlmud]

Super video! I applauded for $2.00 👏

[@TechRoundUp]

🥳

[@babyneon]

R6 is pretty awesome

[@bobgreene2892]

Those needing five or more, 2.5-3.5-inch drive bays will find-- nearly 10 years after this video was published-- there are only a few manufacturers of such cases. CoolerMaster and Fractal Design remain among the better options. What drew me to Fractal Design was not only the 8-plus 3.5 HD capacity, but two full-size (5.25) bays. The feature which won my purchase is the orientation of the drive bays-- drive connectors accessed from the side-facing trays of the case. That feature makes connection and disconnection of each HD simple and more trouble-free.

[@Ken-xv4sb]

I've been debating between the Meshify 2 and R5 for a while for when I rebuild/upgrade my server in a few months. Finally settled on the R5 and ordered it this morning. Always loved Fractal Design quality, so I'm hoping this will be the last server/NAS case I ever buy.

[@TechRoundUp]

It’s been awesome, no complaints

[@noahneutral7557]

I have a synology nas that only has two bays and I'm thinking about doing this, I have so many spare parts too.

[@miata350]

I have the R4 which is almost the same but came in different colors. Mine is arctic white.

[@izzyhope58]

I just built my nas using an old deepcool teseract case. Its super louad and my harddrives are SUPER overheating (my smart test gave me a warning) so Im hoping this case will solve both those problems plus be just a way better (and newer) case over all. I also didn't have a front fan installed so that would probably help. lol

[@EJSmith-dk3yg]

Two things I would have done differently in the build ... Since you have 4 HDDs, I would have removed the 3-bay cage and slid the 5-bay cage down giving the top fan some extra open space for free air flow. And as you add more HDDs you can replace the cage. Secondly, I would change front panel door to open from the other (left) side. Other than that ... nice build !

[@gamingallday9225]

I'm using a qnap which I really like but their business model sucke. Their OS is supporting the hardware for some year and bam you need to but a new model. Was actually looking for a case so this might be it. Is FreeNas your recommendation? What others have your tried? I like to run VM and run s plex seven on the server. Which OS is best?

[@TechRoundUp]

I recently upgraded FreeNas to TrueNas (their newest release) and it is extremely nice with the user interface and features. Plex and VMs all possible and Plex Plug-in makes the install and setup super easy

[@gamingallday9225]

@@TechRoundUp Cool, thanks for feedback. Waiting for my pc parts to arrive end of next month :( Not easy to get high end cpu/gpu. Once i get them i will re-use my existing to build a NAS just like yours. I seen so many cases but the smaller ones are just not as easy to built in. R6 is also bigger so R5 case seems great. Which model of SAS/HBA card are you using?

[@andymok7945]

Hi. Best case, I can't agree. Batter case would have hot swap feature for the HDDs.

[@Ken-xv4sb]

I have hot swap now. Very over rated, IMO. spent a lot of money on my iStar case and it's loud, and not near as well made as the r5. If I really need hot swap, I'll throw a couple in the 5.25 bays

[@ShaferHart]

@@Ken-xv4sb it depends, when you don't have it then you wish you had it like me :D though my real problem is that my case is both compact and not hotswap, I have have very little room to do anything without messing my fickle cable management. I dread opening that case, it's not often needed but it weighs on me.

[@waspsoton]

did them rubber grommets come with the case?

[@TechRoundUp]

Yes

[@exotikification]

Thank you mister. I’ve bought this R5 case on september 2021. I had the R4 and was pretty happy with it. Design Quality, server lookalike and no regular fridge looking that we most have today. I had the chance to find a tampered glass side panel for the R5 : very hard and barely impossible to find today. By the way, i wonder if the front fans could cool down a gpu blower ?

[@pillowfighter86]

Is there a way to disable the LED on the power button?

[@TechRoundUp]

You can just not plug in those front panel connectors on your motherboard

[@sumdood2035]

Can that SAS card be used with SATA drives?

[@TechRoundUp]

That’s how I am using it going from 1x SAS connector to 4x sata

[@sumdood2035]

@@TechRoundUp Thank you. I'd read that a SAS controller is compatible with SATA but not the reverse.

[@tytan649]

Hey I have a question not sure if you can help me with this but, I'm looking for a new psu for my HP elitedesk 800 G1 Q87 motherboard because I'm going to put a GTX 980 in it but the current PSU couldn't handle it. Also I put it in a different case but will be using a gpu extensionfor the 980 anyway. Again any PSU suggestions for the Q87 that can run the GTX 980?

[@vb7guy]

which motherboard are you using and does it have enough SATA ports for NAS. Also, would you recommend getting a hardware raid controller for building freenas or would that not work. since FreeNAS uses software RAID

[@TechRoundUp]

The motherboard is stock from the HP Z400 and has 6sata Ports onboard. I am also using an HBA card to add 8 more data connections over SAS

[@chrisphillips4761]

You still like this over the Fractal Meshify 2? it's only slightly bigger and has EATX support as well as room for more drives.

[@Ken-xv4sb]

If you need EATX, yes. If you don't... the R5 (at least here in the US) is about 70-80 bucks cheaper. I don't you would go wrong with either though. I'm planning a complete server rebuild later this year and found an R5 brand new at a computer show for $100 about a few months ago... was glad to snatch that up. It will be fine in the closet till I need it.. :)

[@IrishNomad]

Just to add to this for anyone else trying to decide, the R5 also has the two 5.25 bays which are important to me for installing a Blu-ray burner to rip my media.

[@Alex4SiliconValley]

If I ever build a computer from scratch again I am going to use a Fractal design case. Just not sure which one R5, R6, R7 or other ? What do you think is the best case which provides support for most drives, easy to work in and easily upgradable. I don’t care about size I just want it to the most versatile for an full size ATX motherboard and hold lots of drives. No RGB and NO glass side panel. I just want it tough and all black.

[@michaelkertes3852]

What should I do if I needed more memory for my laptop?

[@TechRoundUp]

Buy more memory for your laptop

[@TechRoundUp]

And don’t use chrome

[@michaelkertes3852]

@@TechRoundUp I was hoping you would give me more memory for my laptop if I was able to obtain the krabby patty secret formula

[@Jmlmud]

@@TechRoundUp but everything is chrome in the future

[@VictorJson]

I have this chassi aswell. How did you plug in the Fractal Design fans? Since my motherboard only have one header for chassi fans I connected the back one to that. How should I connect the front fan? Good video btw!

[@TechRoundUp]

Probably have to use a fan splitter, like a one male to three female adapter

[@simdevils]

What are you wearing on your wrist

[@linkdorf376]

@@noahneutral7557 With no wire to ground?

[@TechRoundUp]

It’s just a fitness tracker …

[@noahneutral7557]

@@linkdorf376 I realized I was wrong after I posted my comment.