Question NAS / unRAID case

[TODDTH]

I'm planning a backup rig for my existing media server. Originally I was just going to use a hardware raid case with 4 drives and an eSATA connection. That direction was driven by size and portability. One of the criteria for a backup is the ability to pick it up and walk out of the house easily enough. However after some consideration I decided to just make a separate unRAID rig due to stability, flexibility, expandability.. all the reasons you look at an unRAID rig to begin with.

However, that does leave me with more of a challenge to balance, size, portability and of course airflow. I've always been able to keep drives < 40dC and would like to maintain that standard. The backup is to protect data and cooler drives are part of that stability. I'm more concerned with the balance of size/cooling than it being a little more of a challenging build. I know there is no perfect case out there (though I don't know why

most of us know where they fall short)

These are the options highest on the list for consideration:

https://www.amazon.com/N2-Aluminum-Support-Integrated-Removable/dp/B0BQJ6BCB7/?th=1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/134692492542 (this one is sold out on Amazon at the moment)

https://www.amazon.com/AUDHEID-Compatible-Mini-ITX-Attached-Enclosure/dp/B096FD8WVS/

I like the Fractile Design, Node 304, but I think its nearly 18" deep making the portability more of a thing.

Thanks in advance, other suggestions I may have missed are very welcome.

 

[thestryker]

Honestly for what you're trying to do I think the only good manufacturer is going to be Jonsbo given the size constraints. If you haven't seen their whole line here's their NAS case page (they have an N5 coming, but it's a larger enclosure meant for up to 12 drives): https://www.jonsbo.com/en/product/ComputerCase/NASMotherboardSeries.html

There are going to be tons of random options from no-name brands/random Chinese names and a lot of that sort of thing can be found on AliExpress if not Amazon/Newegg.