(09-16-2018, 01:07 AM)romtorwator Wrote: This case lacks a display, for status indication,
The ODROID-XU4 has such a display - very convenient !
I would like us to have a similar display.
The case is marketed as a NAS enclosure. NAS boxes usually sit in some out-of-view location, sometimes a closet or a rack. All administration and management is accomplished from a web interface. For examples of this, check the Openmediavault documentation (or any of the off-the-shelf commercial NAS enclosures).
These days, NAS disk storage is usually connected to SATA or faster disk controllers, like the PCIe*4 adapter from Pine64. The Odroid Cloudshell doesn't really compare for NAS applications. One would assume that when they start selling the expected Odroid-N2, they might also come out with a new and improved enclosure.
The Rockpro64 case could obviously be improved. Serviceability is an issue. replacement or upgrade of disk drives should not be a time-consuming project. I am also concerned about airflow and heat, especially with two 3.5" drives mounted inside the black brick. If you configure with eMMC board, it might also be a project to remove the eMMC chip and write a new OS to the module. Just my humble opinion.
I am pretty disappointed with this enclosure. If it were just 1mm longer, it might be possible to fit the bundled SATA cables and still allow the fan to spin with 2 drives installed, but with the provided cables it just isn't possible without putting undue strain on them. The buck converters inline in the SATA power cables are also pretty sketchy; I wonder how much current they can reliably provide at 5V. The internal volume is very small with two 3.5" HDDs, so it definitely needs the fan.
Overall, the design is reminiscent of 1990's rack-mount server enclosures, particularly with the large number of tiny screws holding all the parts together and general lack of serviceability. I keep hoping someone will offer a powerful ARM board in a mini-ITX or microATX form factor, to enable much nicer ARM PC and NAS builds.
I'm on the fence now about whether to buy an external SATA enclosure to hold my disks or maybe just tap holes to mount the RockPro64 in a standard PC case.
It's not all bad; It's small and affordable and doesn't have sharp edges that will cut you, and I think anyone putting SSD's in it will do great with one of these. If you plan to use larger drives, you should also plan to get some right-angle SATA data cables.
09-28-2018, 11:52 PM (This post was last modified: 10-07-2018, 12:04 AM by romtorwator.)
I am satisfied, the only thing I was missing - a thermostat for the chassis fan,
a regular fan connector is used for the MCU fan on the heatsink,
but I made it myself on the basis of DS1821, programmed in thermostat mode, shutdown <= +32C, switching-on of >= +37C
Ground and +12v took from the SATA power adapter, from the wires near the connector to the board,
+5v took from the connector Pi2, the thermostat itself is glued to the chassis.
The temperature regime of the MCU is +36C... +43С, at an environment +25С.
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my SOHO NAS RockPro64 4GB v2.1 / eMMC 32GB / PCIe -> 4*SATA Marvell 88SE9235 / SD-card 64 GB / NAS Casing / image Debian Stretch Minimal / Kernel 4.4.xxx ayufan
my Multimedia desktops: ASUS H310T G5500, ODROIDs -XU4, -XU3, -C2, -C1;
my trash BananaPi; RPi B, B+; ODROID-W
11-05-2018, 03:52 AM (This post was last modified: 11-06-2018, 12:28 AM by ootoovak.)
Hello everyone! Well I finally bought all the things on the list and got this NAS case!
But now that I have it this hardware noob has a question (and may have more later I'm sure). In the attached picture shows what came with the heatsink from the Pine64 shop. I have not been able to find any information anywhere on the Pine64 site about how to use those included items. At least the packet says what it is so I could search for information about it but the grey pad took a bit longer (I gather now it is likely a thermal pad?). In any case I was hoping I could get some help here.
How do I install the heat sink so it works best with this case? Do I just use the thermal pad? Do I just use the thermal compound? Do I use both and if so in what order? (heatsink-pad-compound or heatsink-compound-pad) Any other things to be aware of when use these items? (I hear if this compound is conductive, no idea if this one is, then there is a risk of a short. How might one mitigate this?)
(11-05-2018, 03:52 AM)ootoovak Wrote: Hello everyone! Well I finally bought all the things on the list and got this NAS case!
But now that I have it this hardware noob has a question (and may have more later I'm sure). In the attached picture shows what came with the heatsink from the Pine64 shop. I have not been able to find any information anywhere on the Pine64 site about how to use those included items. At least the packet says what it is so I could search for information about it but the grey pad took a bit longer (I gather now it is likely a thermal pad?). In any case I was hoping I could get some help here.
How do I install the heat sink so it works best with this case? Do I just use the thermal pad? Do I just use the thermal compound? Do I use both and if so in what order? (heatsink-pad-compound or heatsink-compound-pad) Any other things to be aware of when use these items? (I hear if this compound is conductive, no idea if this one is, then there is a risk of a short. How might one mitigate this?)
Thanks in advance for ANY advice on this. Cheers!
I haven't used the thermal paste, so can't speak to that, but the pad is non-conductive so you can just place it over the SOC and RAM and install the heatsink over it. If you'd take the time to include the relevant step to the wiki page concerning the NAS case, I'd appreciate that.
(11-05-2018, 05:23 AM)Luke Wrote: I haven't used the thermal paste, so can't speak to that, but the pad is non-conductive so you can just place it over the SOC and RAM and install the heatsink over it. If you'd take the time to include the relevant step to the wiki page concerning the NAS case, I'd appreciate that.
Perfect, that seems to be much easier than the paste. I'll try to keep note of this stuff and update the Wiki as I go. Thanks!
(11-05-2018, 05:23 AM)Luke Wrote: I haven't used the thermal paste, so can't speak to that, but the pad is non-conductive so you can just place it over the SOC and RAM and install the heatsink over it. If you'd take the time to include the relevant step to the wiki page concerning the NAS case, I'd appreciate that.
Perfect, that seems to be much easier than the paste. I'll try to keep note of this stuff and update the Wiki as I go. Thanks!
Don't know what your plan is for the RPro64 (if its just a NAS then don't bother with the paste), but the paste is most certainly going to offer better thermal performance.
(11-05-2018, 03:54 PM)Luke Wrote: Don't know what your plan is for the RPro64 (if its just a NAS then don't bother with the paste), but the paste is most certainly going to offer better thermal performance.
My plan is to use it as a Docker host and NAS. So, I might try the pad and see how it goes and switch the the paste if it runs too hot. ?
I got one of these, and it does do the job, but there are a bunch of annoyances, which kind of add up. I may feel better about it when I'm completely done with setup and don't have to access it again, but in the meantime, I'm having to deal with these things:
1) The SATA cables that come with it have to be bent at extreme angles, which makes me uncomfortable.
2) The SD card is hard to access. There's probably nothing that can be done to the case to make it easier to push on the card to release it, but once it's released, there's not enough clearance to get a finger on top of it to grab the card.
3) The power and reset buttons are very hard to press.
4) It's very hard to see the LEDs behind the reset button. There was a little plastic thing that came with the case, which I thought might be a light pipe, since it fits perfectly in the hole above the reset button, but it doesn't seem to work for that purpose.
5) The case is just really cramped with two 3.5" drives. To access the Pi header, I had to remove the drive assembly.
6) There are 8 screws that have to be removed to take the cover off the case. Really?
But, like I said, it gets the job done. Once I have it all setup and don't have to open it again, it won't be so annoying.
