JonsboN1 Mini-ITX NAS Chassis, ITX Computer Case, 5+1 Disk Bays NAS Mini Aluminum with Steel Plate Case, Built-in 14cm Fan, Only SFX Power Bite, Support H 70mm CPU Cooler

Some may look at this case and think it's a bit of a novelty item, but I'm very surprised at how well it's built, and the thought that went into making things fit within such a tight envelope. I ended up building something that is getting a lot of bang for my buck, so to speak.I like this case even more than I thought I would after watching some YouTube build videos. Everything fits, but just--you have to make sure you get all of your cables tucked in properly so the outer shell can slide closed.Don't even think about not using right-angle SATA connectors on the backplane--there is no extra room for straight connectors. You'll also want to consider buying shorter SATA cables so that you don't have to bunch up the extra lengths. I'm using 18 inch SATA cables with right angle on one end, and straight on the other. I ordered 8 inch bright red cables, but haven't put them in yet. You may want to do the same, depending on your motherboard's SATA connector configuration.I have all 5 HDD slots populated with "renewed" enterprise-grade 12TB drives, and the single large cooling fan is good enough to keep these drives below about 40-47 degrees C when in operation. I tried plugging the fan into my motherboard and controlled it from the BIOS, but in the end I just plugged it back into its socket on the backplane (which is how it comes from the factory) so that the fan runs at full-speed 24/7. It's not too loud for me, but I definitely wouldn't put it next to my work desk or bedside unless you like the white noise. It sounds about like a small room fan at the other end of the room, set on low. No screaming or whining--just a gentle whoosh.I'm using mine vertically, and I didn't reverse the fan, as one or two people have reported. That's not a good idea, regardless of the physics of warm air. This fan wants to blow directly onto the HDD's and that keeps them happy. I've monitored temperatures of the HDD's as well as the CPU, and this single fan is doing its job well enough. If you want to run yours vertically as well, consider buying a right-angle HDMI adapter if you intend to keep a monitor plugged in. Jonsbo thoughtfully included a nice right-angle power cord adapter, so that's one less part you'll need to find.I'm using a Chinese N305 motherboard I bought on Amazon that has two 2.5 GB Intel 226 Ethernet ports and a 10 GB port--one of the deciding factors for me--and at a very decent price, considering that most commercial NAS's charge an extra $100-200 for a 10 GB upgrade card.The motherboard was $299 w/o the memory. I used a single stick of 32GB DDR5. My boot drive is a mirrored pair of 256GB NVME sticks on the mobo. I'm using TrueNAS software on it, and am getting great performance--this easily beats most other off-the-shelf NAS boxes that typically have lower-end, barely-adequate processors and tiny bits of slower memory. This thing will run circles around them for a similar price, which makes this build much more future-proof. It barely lopes along playing 4K videos with Plex or Jellyfin, and can easily transcode them down to 1080p with the built-in CPU in the N305.I know this review is supposed to be just about the case, but I included more detail to show what can be done with it. I must admit that I like this case way better than I thought I would. Opinions may vary on such a space-constrained model as this one, but I'm a fan!

Writing this cause I ran into a big issue that luckily has a very simple solution. If the sata ports on your motherboard are right angle, they are blocked by a metal side wall that separated the HDD bays from the motherboard. I used an m.2 card for the HDD bays but I wanted the other satas for ssds that I could shove near the psu. I wedged a right angle cable in there after a bunch of finagling but it turns out, they actually make very flush adapters that can convert two right angle satas to upward facing ones. Wish I saw those first. My only complaint is as with all cases, I wish cable management had like a few more inches. It's very difficult to connect the molex cables and sata cables to the HDD backplane. You have to flatten them really flush cause there's no extra space. Other shell has as sled on the bottom that slides over the HDD backplane completely flush. I used foil SATA cables without the thick wiring to have more room. They can probably break easier you just need to get them in place once. I got everything to fit on my first try and the top part slid on easily but I'd take one star off cause either it needed a slightly better cable layout or better instructions.

This case came recommended on many sites and build lists. I agree that it is well worth the money. It's got it all. Small form factor (relative to the drive bays). Nice layout and access to the drive bays. One screw and the cover slides open to 5 hot swap bays. You can stand it up or lay it down. It's got great air flow with the large included fan. There's really a lot to like and not much to complain about. If you are building a NAS this is the case for you.

I was on the fence to buy one of these until it was shipped by Amazon.Case review- Case ships as silver, but has a blue hue to it. Not annoying, but not silver either. The case is held together using screws, not rivets- a huge bonus. There were no sharp edges, no poorly threaded screws, no dings or scratches and no missing pieces. Everything fits will and doesn't need extra effort to put the outer casing on.My setup- Asrock H370m-itx, Intel 8700k, 32gb Corsair ram, 5 x 20gb Seagate Exos, 1- 4TB Samsung SSD, Corsair SF600 power supply and an Intel 10GB 540T2.Using it as a plex NAS. I HAVE MODDED MINE. I unscrewed and rotated the hard drive cage 180 degrees, so you can see the HDD labels and not the back of them. The system is run without the outer metal casing on. I run open air, it runs cooler. Having the fun push thru the hard drives from front to back works best for hard drive cooling. My 5 drives run in the 90's F. I have not tested the case closed, only open, so I can not vouch for the temps in that config. Unit sits about 5 feet from my location and is very quiet- no rattles, vibrations or unknown sounds coming from the case.I did not use the hard drive straps that are provided. The drives are fairly easy to remove if needed. I also did not use the factory HDD backplate- personal preference only. Backplate was well built and works fine.Case is well built and if I need to expand, will be ordering another one.

This thing has a great compact design for home-built NASs. I love the thick aluminum construction, and the design that looks as good standing as a tower or on its side like a more traditional NAS or mini PC.My only real complaint is related to noise. I have four high usage / high availability 7200RPM HDDs in the case. Of course a case with sufficient ventilation cannot suppress the inherent noise of that many rust spinners, but part of the issue is that the case seems to send those sound waves into whatever surface it's sitting on, whether it's on the rubberized side or on the four feet. I have it sitting on its side on a thick layer of foam padding just to not annoy neighbors downstairs (there were complaints). I imagine Jonsbo could have provided feet that do a better job of reducing those vibrations, and I really wish they had.