I’m just curious to get other people’s thoughts on this since 45Drives just recently released their 15-bay rackmount case that’s supposed to be aimed toward the homelab community.

Some of the items being sold in the e-store don’t make sense to purchase, specifically the LSI 9600-16i HBA and the x540 10Gbe NIC.

Why would the top of the line LSI 9600-16i be offered (for $1.1k)? Wouldn’t the more reasonably priced 9400 series card make more sense? I guess this would be if you’re running NVME drives (which the 9400 can also do)? It just seems strange to offer the top of the line and not anything else. Especially when the HL15 is aimed at the homelab community.

Also, the intel x540 network adapter. We go from the most recent, top of the line LSI 9600-16i HBA to a network adapter that was released in 2012 (for which they’re still asking $400 for). Wouldn’t it make more sense to offer the x550, or better yet, the x710-T2L?

I also understand that companies need to make money but the profit margin on these add-ons and accessories seems extreme. For example, the Intel XL710-QDA2 40 gig NIC is being sold for $818 while at FS.com it’s being sold for $520. That’s a 57% markup for an already marked-up item.

Is the HL15 and accessories really geared toward homelabbers?

  • InvaderOfTech@alien.topBEnglish
    2·
    10 months ago

    Man, I saw 800 for the case and thought it was not bad, honestly, with the backplane. This is not from China. It’s from Canada and made in country. I’m not sure what people here expected. 400 dollars? 200 dollars? 800 for the Case, and the backplane is reasonable due to where it has been manufactured. Sure, you can get another case for 200 or 300 dollars or DIY your own, then do that. China is cheap. If I hadn’t built another NAS already for a truenas server, I would pull the trigger on this.

    Downvote away.

    • favorited@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Completely agree. I’m not sure why people expected the price to be competitive with retired enterprise gear from eBay. It’s a premium product, made by a small company in Canada, for an extremely niche audience.

      Personally, while I haven’t ordered one myself, I’m glad there are more options available that aren’t made out of riveted sheet metal and flimsy plastic.

  • bagofwisdom@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Seriously, they call it a homelab store and are easily charging 40% more than just going to other resellers. Like $90 for a Supermicro AOC-SLG3-2M2. You can buy them on Amazon for $55 all day long. It’s a dumb card, you have to enable bifurcation on the slot you install it in.

    I certainly didn’t build myself a homelab to pay double for everything.

    Sorry Marcus, I don’t feel that overburdened by money.

  • spyboy70@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I’m assuming it’s because they are in Canada, and prices tend to be higher there.

    They need to find a US warehouse to ship to US customers.

    I always buy used NICs and HBAs off eBay, way cheaper even if I had to replace it on my dime.

  • wwbubba0069@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I was mainly interested in the chassis, and put my gear in it. When I seen the price, I was less excited.

  • Normal-Yogurtcloset4@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I bought the full build, no sales tax/ shipping, just a 61.77 international fee. :). Definitely would not buy anything on the estore though because can just google and get it cheaper :).

  • R_X_R@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    We do not know if FS is taking a loss or what their profit margin is. FS.com also sells in a MUCH higher volume and similar companies like BJ’s we don’t know what items could be loss leaders.

  • boss2688@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Is there an easy way to buy the 45 bay chassis bare? i dont want to use the daughter boards, i really just want a case that can hold more than 28 drives. honestly i just want the metal chassis and front/back panels, but im sure they would charge $$$.

  • shadowtheimpure@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    They are recommending the 9600-16i because it is new and available. The 9400 series is older and no longer being manufactured. Anything available is either used or new-old stock.