I'm looking to upgrade my rig by combining my unraid server and my gaming server into an all-in-one does it all sorta set up. The plan is to just run a gaming focused VM in unraid and combine the storage of my unraid server with my gaming pc components, and watercooling it in a custom loop.

The FD D7 XL is what i've settled on to be able to handle all my hard drives in one chassis along with a full loop and my gaming pc components, but given that the loop as of right now has a standalone pump / res, I'm wondering what the most efficient setup this is in addition to having all my hard drives in this case as well. My main concern is where the pump / res will live with all of the hard drives in their cages on the frontside of the case. Is it possible to use a distro plate in this type of setup to make things more space efficient? It looks as tho there's a trade-off between having a lot of HDs in trays / cages vs keeping watercooling components spread out.

Would love to hear from anyone who has a D7 XL with a few hard drives as well as a watercooling loop.

Thanks!