I was quite happy with the previous Inter-Tech case I got, so I decided to get another. This time I got a rack mountable storage case, with 16 hot swap bays, for my file server Zeta. More thoughts and photos!
Table of contents
YouTube review of a similar case: https://youtu.be/swWgav-p2Nw
Specifications
- Size
- 4U, 688mm deep
- Form factor
- Mini ITX, μATX, ATX, eATX, SSI EEB
- Manufacturer
- Inter-Tech
- Drive bays (mounting options)
- 2 × 5.25" external
- 16 × 2.5" or 3.5" external (hot swap)
- 2 × 3.5" internal
- 8 × 2.5" internal
- Fan mounting options
- 3 × 120 mm, internal
- 2 × 80 mm, back
Review
What I like
- Lots of space
- 3×120 mm and 2×80 mm fans included
- Internal fans are hot swappable and can be PWM controlled
- Two 4×2.5" disk trays
- Was able to replace the stock fans with Noctua
What I don’t like
- Stock fans are loud (but move a lot of air)
- The 5.25 rail mechanism feels a bit cheap and flimsy
- Had a hard time attaching 2×80 mm Noctua fans. Had to grind off a screw thread on the case and modify one of the Noctua fans
- Break-away expansion slot cover plates
- The backplane felt slightly misaligned on the right side, disk did not go in as smooth as I would have liked
- I was able to fix this by loosening the backplane screws, and re-tightening them while the drives were installed
- Screws for mounting drives in the trays are really short
- Found a loose part in one of the drive trays?!
Fans
I replaced all stock fans with Noctua.
Internal fans
120 mm Noctua fans fit perfectly in the hot swap brackets. But they will need a 4-pin header to be able to fasten it.
Internal fans PWM control
I’ve written a dedicated post about the mysterious 6-pin fan header.
Back fans
The two 80 mm Noctua fans in the back was a tight fit, I had to grind off a screw thread and make a groove in the right Noctua fan.
More photos
Last commit 2024-11-11, with message: Add lots of tags to posts.
