DIY NAS cases or PC Cases that hold 6 drives 3.5

[Enquiries]

I am looking for a case or better yet and older PC that has the power to run a OMV instance with up to 6 drives. Mostly for storage of backups and media files. I am very partial to Dell computers but I haven't found an older PC that can hold 6 drives. Any help is good help

[ed]

First, older Dell desktops will not get you there easily. Most OptiPlex and Precision towers only have room for two or three 3.5 inch drives, even in the larger models. They are great for CPU and memory at low cost, but the drive bays are the limitation. So you would spend time forcing drives into spaces never designed for them.

The better approach is to use any older Dell tower you like for the motherboard and power supply, and then add a cheap six bay external drive cage. A simple SATA backplane enclosure such as the RSHTECH or IcyBox six bay USB model works well with OMV and is inexpensive. That way you keep the Dell you prefer and still get the drive count you need.

If you want everything inside one case, look at older PC cases from Fractal or Cooler Master. The Fractal Define R5 and R6 are excellent and often sell cheaply second hand. Both give you room for six or more 3.5 inch drives with proper brackets. The Cooler Master N400 is another budget friendly option with space for eight drives. You can drop any Dell motherboard into these as long as it uses standard mounting.

So your options are.
Use an older Dell tower and add a six bay external cage.
Pick up a used Fractal R5 or R6 and move your Dell internals across.
Start with any ATX case that lists six or more 3.5 inch bays and pair it with a low cost board and CPU.