Linux Server (NAS)

[oimi]

Either way, the hard drives will need some kind of cooling mechanism.. Usually a fan in front. LEDs use so little energy to be entirely negligible.

Fair enough! I have an external eSata IcyDock currently and it uses no fans because it is designed to act as a heatsink. The beauty of this device is that it is completely self contained so any heat generated by other compnents will not enter the IcyDock.

[oimi]

I really like the http://www.coolermaster.com/products...detail&id=2908! Does this not eliminate the need to buy the IcyDock?

[aidanjt]

If you're careful, then yeah, it should do the job, you'd still have to pop open the chassis to get at the disks.

[oimi]

If you're careful, then yeah, it should do the job, you'd still have to pop open the chassis to get at the disks.

Careful as in setting up AHCI so that it is plug and play?

Just ordered the SKU2384 Cooler Master Dominator CM 690 @ £20.00 + shipping (£7.80) + VAT (£4.17).

TOTAL: £31.97 from chillblast.com

[Singh400]

Sounds like an excellent solution, the IcyDock is installed inside three 5.2" drives in the front bay? My only concern is energy efficiency with additional fans and led's etc.

Heads up about the IcyDock. I was planning on doing the same thing. But because the IcyDock is fairly big (and the extra mini fan on the back). It didn't fit correctly into my mATX case (length wise). I could have just taken the mini fan off, but then warm air would be trapped around the hard drives.

Shame really because I could fit 4 x 3.5" HDD in the space of 3 x 5.25" bays. So I've settled for 5.25" --> 3.5" brackets.

[oimi]

I need the cheapest price for 1.5TB HDD's now...

[aidanjt]

Careful as in setting up AHCI so that it is plug and play?

Just ordered the SKU2384 Cooler Master Dominator CM 690 @ £20.00 + shipping (£7.80) + VAT (£4.17).

TOTAL: £31.97 from chillblast.com

Careful as in removing disks in proper order. If you yank out a disk in the wrong order things get nasty.
Nice buy on the case. And yeah, make sure the SATA controller is in AHCI mode.

[aidanjt]

Heads up about the IcyDock. I was planning on doing the same thing. But because the IcyDock is fairly big (and the extra mini fan on the back). It didn't fit correctly into my mATX case (length wise). I could have just taken the mini fan off, but then warm air would be trapped around the hard drives.

Shame really because I could fit 4 x 3.5" HDD in the space of 3 x 5.25" bays. So I've settled for 5.25" --> 3.5" brackets.

The CM 690 is a hefty case, no problem at that end of things.

[oimi]

The CM 690 is a hefty case, no problem at that end of things.

Excellent, but I shouldn't need the IcyDock now should I? Not unless I want at least 10 HDD's.

[aidanjt]

I need the cheapest price for 1.5TB HDD's now...

The cheapest froogle turned up: http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog...sk_Drives.html

Careful though, Seagate disks have known firmware issues, particularly with AHCI. So you might be better off with 2x WD or Samsung 1TB drives. They're certainly cheap enough.

[aidanjt]

Excellent, but I shouldn't need the IcyDock now should I? Not unless I want at least 10 HDD's.

You wouldn't *need* the IcyDock anyway, it just makes it less of a hassle to juggle disks in cases of failure or adding extra disks in the future for expansion.

[oimi]

The cheapest froogle turned up: http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog...sk_Drives.html

Careful though, Seagate disks have known firmware issues, particularly with AHCI. So you might be better off with 2x WD or Samsung 1TB drives. They're certainly cheap enough.

True, that was with drives released before Christmas wasn't it?

You wouldn't *need* the IcyDock anyway, it just makes it less of a hassle to juggle disks in cases of failure or adding extra disks in the future for expansion.

Fair enough. I'd be looking to run multiple drives in RAID 5 configuration, to utilise all the space, right?

[aidanjt]

True, that was with drives released before Christmas wasn't it?

Yeah, but I haven't heard if the problem has been rectified yet or not. And if so, whether it's filtered down the supply line.

Fair enough. I'd be looking to run multiple drives in RAID 5 configuration, to utilise all the space, right?

Yup.

[oimi]

What's the best deal on 3 x 1TB HDD's?

[aidanjt]

£81 per disk from: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...html?wd-10eads

I'm a bit of a WD man myself, Samsung are decent too, and may be slightly cheaper if you shop around.

[oimi]

What's the best deal on 3 x 1TB HDD's?

Best price I could find was £68.94 inc. VAT: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 SATA2 7200RPM 32MB cache