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.

Noctua fan in hot swap bracket
Noctua fan in hot swap bracket

Internal fans PWM control

Inter-Tech 6-pin fan header
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.

I had to grind down this screw thread to fit the 80mm Noctua fan
Had to grind a groove in the Noctua fan to make space for this screw
2×80 mm Noctua fans, back

More photos

Shipment packaging
Included accessories — 5.25" to 3.5" tray on the right
Front of the case
Internal fans and backplanes
Empty inside, stock fans
Some of the protective plastic was hard to remove
Front top, space for 2×5.25" or 8×2.5"
5.25" or 4×2.5" slot
Two 4×2.5" internal disk trays
2×hot swap trays
Two SSDs mounted on internal disk tray, it has space for two more below
Break-away expansion slot cover plates, not a fan of these…
Molex power connect on backplane
SAS connector on backplane
SATA/SAS connector in hot swap bay
Motherboard and power supply installed
Molex power connectors on backplanes
SAS connectors on backplane
SATA power and data to 2.5" SSD disk
8×hot swap trays
Inside with components installed
Screws for mounting disks in hot swap trays
Part of unknown origin, found in one of the drive trays
Disk mounted in hot swap tray
Computer installed in homelab rack
It does stick out a bit on my 600 mm deep server rack

Last commit 2021-06-15, with message: publish server case post