This article will look at what is the best NAS case.
When you’re looking to build a DIY NAS, you really have to try and understand what your goals are first. NAS cases can have special features like hot-swappable bays, small form factors (mATX or ITX), or even tons of hard drive bays. While all of these features are helpful to some people, you really need to assess exactly what you’ll be using, as well as what features will be beneficial to you.
This article will look at what is the best NAS case, but I urge you to determine your personal goals, then pick the best NAS case that fits them.
Please keep in mind that while the cases below may support many hard drives, your motherboard must have enough SATA ports to actually use that many hard drives. Please consider purchasing a PCIe SATA/SAS Controller Card if you need additional SATA ports.
Please check out our article on the best NAS hard drives after you purchase your case!
The links below are Amazon affiliate links which means that I earn a percentage of each sale at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.
What is the Best NAS Case?
The cases below all have different features and requirements, so please confirm motherboard compatibility before purchasing one!
Fractal Design Node 804: Best mATX Case
The Fractal Design Node 804 is one of the most suggested NAS cases you can purchase and is the best Micro-ATX NAS case. It has a cube case form factor that has a ton of great functionality.
Features:
- Best Micro-ATX NAS Case
- 3 x 120MM Fractal Design Silent Series R2 Fans Included
- Two Hard Drive Mouting Options:
- 8 x 3.5″ HDD & 4 x 2.5″ SSD
- 10 x 3.5″ HDD & 2 x 2.5″ SSD
- Micro-ATX (mATX) or Mini-ITX (mITX) Motherboard Compatability
CONCLUSION: The Fractal Design Node 804 is an amazing NAS case that you can purchase if you’re looking for a case that has tons of expandability. It does require a Micro-ATX or Mini-ITX motherboard, but it’s quite possibly the best case in this list.
Fractal Design Node 304: Best mITX Case
Similar to the Node 804 above, the Fractal Design Node 304 is a cube case that has an extremely small form factor. For this reason, you can only use Mini-ITX motherboards, so you’re somewhat limited on motherboard selections. If you have or want a Micro-ATX motherboard, check out the Node 804 above.
Features:
- Best Mini-ITX NAS Case
- 2 x 92MM Silent R2 Fans / 1 x 140MM Silent R2 Fan Included
- 6 x 3.5″/2.5″ HDD Mounting Options
- Mini-ITX Motherboard Compatability
CONCLUSION: The Fractal Design Node 304 is the smaller version of the Node 804, though it has a strict requirement of Mini-ITX motherboards only. If you’re planning on using a Mini-ITX motherboard and want a small cube case with a bunch of hard drive bays (for a Mini-ITX case), the Node 304 is a great option.
Fractal Design Define 7 XL: Best eATX/ATX Case
The Fractal Design Define 7 XL is the best E-ATX/ATX NAS case that you can purchase. Unlike the Node 804 or Node 304, it’s a full-tower case, but it comes with 18 x 3.5″ HDD mounting locations. If form factor isn’t a concern (and you don’t mind having a full tower case), the Define 7 XL is an awesome case.
Features:
- Best E-ATX/ATX NAS Case
- 3 x 140MM Dynamic X2 GP-14 Case Fans Included
- 18 x 3.5″/2.5″ HDD Mounting Options
- 2 x 2.5″ Dedicated Drive Brackets
- E-ATX/ATX/mATX/mITX/EE-ATX Motherboard Compatability
CONCLUSION: The Fractal Design 7 XL is a beast of a case. I don’t want to steer you wrong, so I want to be clear that it’s a LARGE case but it also has an insane amount of drive bay mounting options. If you’re looking for something slightly smaller, you can go with the Fractal Design Define 7 which has 14 x 3.5″/2.5″ HDD mounting options (and is the case I use for my NAS).
Rosewill RISE Glow: Best Budget Case
The Rosewill RISE Glow is a great budget NAS case. It has enough drive bays to satisfy most users needs, and is a much better budget option than any of the Fractal Design cases above.
Features:
- Best Budget NAS Case
- 3 x 120MM / 1 x 140MM Case Fans Included
- 6 x 3.5″/2 x 2.5″ HDD Mounting Options
- E-ATX/ATX/mATX Motherboard Compatability
CONCLUSION: The Rosewill RISE Glow is a great budget NAS case. Six total 3.5″ HDD drive bays should give you more than enough expandability, and it’s an overall great case as a budget option. I want to be clear that I prefer any of the Fractal Design cases above, but those aren’t nearly as budget-friendly as this Rosewill RISE Glow is.
Conclusion: What is the Best NAS Case?
This article tried to answer the question “what is the best NAS case”. Please check out our article on the best NAS hard drives after you purchase your case! It’s no coincidence that Fractal Design holds three of the four slots above. They make great cases that have a ton of expandability that a lot of other case manufacturers don’t offer.
Thanks so much for checking out the article on what is the best NAS case. If you have any questions on what is the best NAS case, please leave them in the comments!
