SilverStone TechnologyCS382 8-Bay SAS-12G / SATA-6G Hot-swappable High Performance Micro-ATX NAS Chassis, SST-CS382

This case is mostly easy to work with. If you want to replace the fans for the hard drives, it’s necessary to remove the two backplane PCBs. This was quite tricky without a powered screwdriver.My Micro-ATX motherboard fits well. Nice to see that it also supports Mini-DTX, Mini-ITX.There are several well-placed holes to route cables. There is sufficient space for a full ATX power supply its cables, which is nice.The build quality is pretty nice. The front door is plastic, as are the HDD caddies. It would be nice if it did not have plastic, but it will do for an at-home or small business setup. I still haven’t been able to figure out how to de-hinge the door to remove it, even after watching a video of it being removed.Functionally, this is a great case for a DIY NAS system. As others have said, for this price, it’s disappointing to see plastic being used. But it has decent value for money.As far as cooling, it would seem with the vented side, there wouldn’t be enough airflow from front to back, but I haven’t had any temperature issues on my system. That venting on the side panel might need to be duct-taped over if you’re using this with a setup that runs hot.

This case is definitely not what I'd consider a "small NAS case." It's somewhere between a compact NAS case and large tower. Check the dimensions carefully if you're planning on putting it on a shelf in closet or something like that.I have a Supermicro X12STL-F mATX motherboard with a Xeon E-2334 (80w TDP) and a Noctua NH-U9s heatsink in this case. CPU temps idle in the low 30C range and under about 50% load are in the high 30's/low 40's. Perfect, IMO. The fan for the bottom drive cage blows directly into where the PSU goes, which is a dead end, airflow-wise. Those bottom drives run about 4-5C hotter than the top cage does, but 100% drive usage temps are still really good for this type of case. I have 7200-rpm SATA drives and the top cage drives run mid-30s under load and top drives high 30's/low 40s. Again, really not bad.I had an Audheid K7 8-bay NAS case previously and the same drives would hit mid-50's under load, which really isn't great. Big improvement there.I have also swapped out the thin hard drive cage fans with Noctua NF-A9 92mm fans. You can see the fans are a tight fit, but they do fit. You will need to remove the two backplanes to access the fan screws.Inconvenient, but easily doable. Just need a long Philips screwdriver. I swapped out the rear 120mm fan for a Noctua Redux fan. System runs cool and quiet.Because of the very small interior space to work with, you do have to be creative with your cable routing, but the many backplate passthrough grommets make it pretty easy to do so. With a mATX motherboard, the first 2" or so of the board are covered by the drive cage when it's inserted. As such, you must remove the drive cage before installing the motherboard or you won't be able to reach the motherboard mounting holes in that area. You also won't be able to plug in any cables at the front of the board with the drive cage inserted.Building in this case isn't hard, just different. Especially if you're used to full size ATX cases or 4U server style cases. Take your time and things will go well.The front door is removable and you get better airflow with it off anyway. I already recycled mine. You also can't leave anything plugged into the front ports with the door closed, if that matters to you.This case can take a 120mm radiator up top, fits a full size CPU HSF, has an 8-bay HDD backplane, 5.25" bay, slim ODD bay and space for another 2 SSDs and another 3.5" HDD under the drive cage. It's pretty much the perfect NAS case. I am very happy I bought it.

This is a nice NAS case that is on the pricier side considering the materials (plastic and steel). The design is pretty good, but the stock 92mm fans for the hard drives are insanely loud. I even reduced the voltage on the fans and they are loud. I recommend replacing them, which is a pita because the screws are behind the harddrive sata backplane. Since this is a NAS case that will run 24/7 I do wish it came with better fan filters.

GENERALThis case is great. I'm not a fan of the inverted motherboard design but that's a matter of preference more than function. You cannot have so much as a USB dongle plugged in the front or the door will not close.FANS/NOISEThe HDD hot swap bay fans are crazy loud. They are Silverstone 92mm slim fans with PWM, which are fine. The problem is that the backplane doesn't support PWM so they run full tilt all the time and are louder than they should be. Being slim fans they cannot be well optimized for both airflow AND sound as easily as a larger fan.So, I replaced my fans with some normal width 92mm BeQuiet fans and added some wire guards just in case and, boy, what a difference. The unit is now nearly silent. especially by comparison to the stock setup.OPTICAL DRIVESYou cannot use a 240mm or 220mm radiator (or the forward most top fan mount) if you use the 5.25" bay for an optical drive. If you got some super short optical drive, maybe you could fit it but I've never seen one small enough.The case does not come with a Slim SATA Adapter you plan to use the 9.5mm Optical drive slot.HDD CADDIESMy case was missing one of the plastic locking pieces but I didn't like the way those felt anyway so I just used screws instead. Without a hard drive installed the caddies are a bit flimsy.TOP RADIATOR MOUNTINGWith the inverted motherboard design the wiring for Front Panel Buttons, Front Audio, and USB headers, can conflict with the radiator. I would not recommend and m-ATX motherboard if you want to do a AIO cooler.OVERALLIts a good case but an extra 1/2 inch of height and depth would've solved both the radiator/optical drive and Front Panel USB Header issues. But as its built you have to plan your entire build around a radiator if you plan on using one. Stock fans are way louder than they should be and they should've included wire guards for safety given the tight clearance behind the drive bays. So, 4 stars. Its good, but for $250 is should be great.