Need a decent aluminum case no mod but 6+ hd bays

[you2]

I'm looking for a decent aluminum case that can hold a few hd. I think I'd prefer a full tower but it doesn't matter much as long as it has room for 6ish hd (I'm currently using 3 but if i switch from film to digital i'll probably add a raid 1 or raid 5 for the pictures.
--
Some cases that look interesting:
Akasa Eclipse 62 (can't be purchased in us)
Lian LI pc-201 (case is inverted require very long cables to drives - questionable cooling - expensive)
Silverstone tj09 (looks pretty good - rather expensive)
global-win YCC-61F1 - (similar to eclipse but older design and more expensive)
--
I think i prefer the slightly wider case of eclipse or ycc-61f1 - though both of them have some what limited number of hd bays. I don't think i would actually get the Lian pc-201 but the silverstone looks very interesting.

Anyways - any suggestions or comments on these ?

[Slartibartfast]

Yeong-Yang YY-0221:

http://www.yeongyang.com/yy-0221.htm

Although I do believe that all YY cases are steel...

[madmat]

NZXT Zero has more than enough HDD space for you.

[MrWicked1968]

Ultra Aluminus
$80 at TigerDirect (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1215772&CatId=1510)

although it only has 5 hard drive bays.

[SuperSix]

Ultra Aluminus
$80 at TigerDirect (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1215772&CatId=1510)

although it only has 5 hard drive bays.

I can't recommend the Ultra Aluminus (I have one), the aluminum is a thin, and the general quality is average. A nice attempt - but I can't overwhelmingly recommend it.

[you2]

Also it has a window. I rather not have a window - i sort of prefer the li-an simple exterior (such as the 7b) but really like the idea of the eclipse wider inside. Also I dislike wheels. The reason for aluminum - is that i find the cases easier to deal with. THe antec I have now is steal (1080 plus). I also have a kinwin 424 and lian pc-60 plus. The new case would replace the antec.

[Slartibartfast]

On most cases with wheels you can take the wheels off.

[Baron]

The Thermaltake Kandalf can take 7 HDD's, but you can increase that to 10 by buying another 3 bay hdd cage+fan.

[madmat]

Actually it'll take 8. The power switch bay will hold either a floppy or a HDD...

[Bbq]

Chieftec Dragon in aluminum. They look not half bad, they're nice and sturdy, and the mid tower one holds 6 drives by default (9 if you get another drive rack), and the full tower does 9 / 12.

[Baron]

Actually it'll take 8. The power switch bay will hold either a floppy or a HDD...


I only managed to account for 7................3 in the front hdd cage, 3 in the top hdd cage, and 1 in the floppy drive bay. Buy an extra front cage gives another 3 drives space makes 10..............in fact, do away with any opticals, and you could fit another front cage making 13 drives.....:)

[madmat]

There's also a 5.25" to 3.5" bay besides the button bay. I promptly pulled it and the one with the 120 and 3 hdds out of my Armor (same case different face) and tossed that shizznit in the closet.

Yes I'm hijacking bandwidth but it's from my dang review so there :P

http://www.techgage.com/reviews/thermaltake/armor/armor_5_thumb.jpg
Please note that the button bay is up top and the 3 drive bay is in the center. Two bays above the triple HDD bay is the other 5.25" bay to 3.5" bay converter.

[you2]

The Thermaltake Kandalf can take 7 HDD's, but you can increase that to 10 by buying another 3 bay hdd cage+fan.
--
That case is nearly as expensive as the silverstone j09. Does it have any advantage ?

[Baron]

Not having the Silverstone j09, I couldn't say.
For me, I would say the ventilation and airflow is good, and plenty of room for larger than normal PSU's...................no problem of long ones rammed up close to the front drive bays.
It will take 13 - 14 HDD's :D at a push, but with the max, there would be no room for a floppy or optical drive, but it will quite happily take 9 HDD's + floppy + a couple of opticals.
Each front HDD cage comes with a 120mm fan, so that helps cooling too.
I only have 4 drives, so I have 2 drives per cage, so there is plenty of cooling.

[haste]

+1 on the armor.
i have a 2x120 rad up front and still have 4 hard drives in it. if i removed my opticals and thermaltake 12v cigarette lighter, i could fit another three...
not too shabby.
the steel version is heavy though, thats for sure.
dunno about the aluminum.

[Rembrandt_1]

I have a Lian Li PC-201 case and love it very much. I have seen a couple of reviews that say that they did not like the air flow but it is fantastic. I even put a fan controller in it to slow the 4 fans down when I was not encoding HD material. I have 8 HD’s in it with 6 hooked up at any given time. Three of them are the Seagate Perp drives and they stay cool all of the time. I will keep this case for years to come. I only wish that rollers came with it.

[SonyDude]

Heya, figured its about time I got around to signing up here, having read OW's first review, and his sony sub / chrysler infinity speaker box mod...


Anywhoo, all the talk about needing good cases for mounting several HD's ...

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the CoolerMaster CM Stacker serries... (http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/ProductList.aspx?catID=614) My particular favorite is the STC-T01 (http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/Products.aspx?pid=633) model. Front panel is 90% honey-combed 5 1/4" drive-bay slot covers, and for cooling, you can stack a bunch of 120mm fans from top to bottom. The STC-T01 is both ATX/BTX convertable too, for good future proofing.

[you2]

The stacker doesn't meet the requirement or being alumnium. I.e., I've considered it but would like to find something a bit lighter.

[SonyDude]

Ah, okie. Wasn't sure if it was even considered or not. ;)

Thats the case I'm looking at right now, as my next case upgrade. I've still got an old archiac / relic of one peice U lid style case back from '98, its a full towercase size, quite roomy but has been really challenging my creativity for 'keeping cool' and this is on a barton 2500xp :P

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Heya, figured its about time I got around to signing up here, having read OW's first review, and his sony sub / chrysler infinity speaker box mod...

Greetings to the person who contributed the components I modded in that thread ;)

[psurge]

Hey you know about
these (http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Accessories/HDD_Kits.htm) right? That will give you 6+ HDDs on a lot of the smaller Lian-Li cases...like the A10B for instance :)