I currently have a Synology 220+ and a couple of VPS’s, and I’m looking to consolidate, while getting out of Synology’s walled garden. I’ve already got a couple of 3.5’s in the Synology, and 4 2.5’s lying around and I’m planning on running a number of docker containers and a couple of vms.
That said, I’ve never built anything before, and basically just went to PCPartPicker, started with the case, and checked 5-stars on each component and went from there. So… how absurd is my build?
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor | $135.00 @ Amazon |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360L Core ARGB Liquid CPU Cooler | $90.71 @ Amazon |
| Motherboard | MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard | $165.99 @ B&H |
| Memory | TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | $26.99 @ Amazon |
| Storage | Seagate IronWolf NAS 8 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive | Purchased For $179.00 |
| Storage | Seagate IronWolf NAS 8 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive | Purchased For $179.00 |
| Storage | Seagate IronWolf NAS 8 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive | $159.99 @ Adorama |
| Case | Fractal Design Meshify 2 ATX Mid Tower Case | $173.89 @ Newegg |
| Power Supply | Corsair RM650 (2023) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $89.99 @ Corsair |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | $1200.56 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-05-23 19:32 EDT-0400 |
Depending on your future storage needs, you might check out Fractal’s Define series of cases. I have the Define 6 and have room for around 12 3.5" drives + 4 2.5" drives in a midtower format. It’s super silent too with four fans and the nine 3.5" drives I had in it previously (consolidated down to six larger capacity drives now).
Fractal makes great stuff and has a great customer support and RMA team if something goes wrong.
Ooh, that’s good to know. I believe the Meshify only has two 2.5" which means I’d need to figure out a solution for the other two I have. The “mesh” and airflow is what drew me to that case. How’s the Define?
Also the Node 804 is worth looking into with an entire separate chamber for HDDs in order to keep them cool without exposing them to GPU and cpu heat, plus it is a lot shorter instead, sometimes easier to fit places (mATX motherboard only)
I don’t have a ton of experience with other cases but I have been blown away by the quality and customizability of the Define 6. It’s super solid with good hardware and the ability to convert it around to different formats. You will need to purchase extra drive caddies as mine only came with 4 I think but I’ve bought extras over the years to the point that I have an extra set that I didn’t realize I had. The whole front is drive space from floor to ceiling and It has two mounts in the back for 2.5" drives along with two in the front that can be used to mount a GPU vertically or for two additional 2.5" drives. You will need to buy two extra 2.5 mounts to use all four spots though. Apart from that it’s silent like I mentioned with foam in the top panel to deaden noise. It also has removable screens in the base and front for the air intake to make it easy to clean the dust out. Both side panels are removable with lots of cable management built in and a built-in fan hub.
I’m not super familiar with the 7th gen Define and it’s XL counterpart so you may do some research to ensure it has the same capacity if these are all you can find now. The Define 6 is only slightly larger than my old Antec midtower case.
I have a first gen Define XL that’s probably closing in on 15 years old. Still going strong as my primary desktop case. The only problem I’ve had is little cheap plastic connectors to attach the feet to the case broke. I know they’ve fixed the design for recent versions but I can’t justify the cost when the rest still works fine.