BTW I have about 10TB of data that I’m going to move onto this thing, so I’m planning on running 2x 14tb as a RAID1, and then see how luxurious I want to be re: additional SSDs.

Ok, I’ve requested a return from mini-box, and have ordered a Seasonic fanless px-500, and the first two hard drives (2x Seagate exos 14tb). I’m no longer concerned about any power issues, as this PSU is clearly very over-specced for the build, but it’ll be silent and small, so I’m fine with that. Here’s the current pcpartpicker list, although the price of the HDs via them is MUCH higher than what Newegg had them listed at: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/everyplace/saved/DTPgnQ

Well, I received my picoPSU today, and I think I’m going to return it tomorrow. I plugged it into the board, but haven’t even tried to power it on… the external power brick is SO BIG! I think I’m just going to get the silverstone I previously mentioned, as it will just use a power cord and no external brick, and still be silent, and SMALLER than this picoPSU. I know, I know, it’s not actually smaller, but in terms of how it would fit into a case, it might actually be. I’ll keep you updated…

Well, I decided to try it out. I ordered the 160 and their higher-amp wall plug, and will cross my fingers to see if it works. Worst case scenario: I’ll swap it out for the amazing (but large) Silverstone SST-NJ450-SXL it is more rhan 2x the total cost, and way bigger, but would definitely meet my requirements. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F6JZ9NQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_J0FHPTKMD5F52MBCZK52)

On the topic of DIY cases, I stumbled upon this today: https://www.cnx-software.com/2022/04/30/diy-sbc-cases-and-sbc-case-builder-tool-based-on-openscad/ It’s aesthetic isn’t exactly what I’d shoot for, but this seems like a great starting point!

I have to be honest: part of the reason I’m tempted to build my own case is I want the whole thing to be fanless. Between my other post about the picoPSU and the board itself, I think it’s possible. With this case, if I did go with 3x 2.5“ ssds and 2x 3.5” hdds, for maximum heat distribution I might put them in this order: 3.5, 2.5, , 2.5, 3.5. If you look closely at the case, there’s a secret _additional_ 2.5” slot above where the PSU normally goes, so I’d use it for the 5th bay, just to spread things out even moreso. But given my goal of ”no fans,” this case dedicates a lot of room to the fan at the end, room for a SFX-sized power supply, and a motherboard with a real heatsink. I think a custom case would be MUCH smaller to accommodate the same, but it’s really just a matter of time and priority. Anything I build will work, but …

i have a draft of a build I’m considering here: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/everyplace/saved/#view=DTPgnQ The case I found for this build is the Jonson N1: https://www.newegg.com/p/2AM-006A-00074 I have never heard of this manufacturer or used one of their cases before. The last machine I built was a mini-itx VR rig centered around the smallest case that could hold a full-sized GPU, but obviously the GPU requirement here is nonexistent, so this smaller case looks perfect. Before ordering the interceptor, I was toying with getting the Argon40 Eon, as my pi4 is in their ONE m.2 case, and it is awesome. But in the end I decided I wanted the flexibility of at least 4x 3.5 drives, so here I am! I also love that the interceptor uses the PCI bus, so I’m happy all around. I may not get this case, and instead use this as an excuse to use the laser cutter at work to build my own case. If so, I’ll post the plans and the build-out.