February 2, 201214 yr Well. I was going to go straight into the Norco 24 bay case and go all out.. but my new budget mentality kicked in.... so here is the current setup. Case: Antec Case File Server Case SX1030B Free (Hand Me Down) http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1157114,00.asp PSU: Corsair TX650 $89.00 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020&Tpk=Corsair%20TX650 Little worried after reading so many complains about fan noise issues (running 100%). But it’s quiet! Motherboard: Supermicro C2SBA+II $60 (Ebay / Refurbished) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182150 CPU : Intel Dual Core E5500 @ 2.8 Ghz FREE (I upgraded a family members pc and they gave me the old parts) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116367CVF CPU Fan: CoolerMaster Hyper 212 17$ (Sale) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 Ram: Kingston Value Ram 2GB $18 (Sale) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134636 * Will be upgrading to 4 as I run AirVideo and other addons. SATA CARD: Vantec 2 Port SATA II 300 w/ Raid (Silicon Img Chipset) $32 – Reg Price http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815287014 * I only need 8 ports right now and motherboard has 6. Drives: 129.99 / each ||| 2 x 2TB WD GREEN (EARX) ||| Yeah. Ouch. 89.99 / each ||| 4 x 2TB Seagate Barracuda LP ||| Pulled from my 4 Bay MediaSonic Pro-Raid Box so they were already paid for last year. 89.99 / each ||| 2 x 1 TB WD GREEN (EARS) ||| 3 Years old. Cooling: 2 Rear Fans (1 Antec and 1 Artic Cooling) Both Drive Cages Contain 92mm fans. You are asking yourself... you have 8 drives.. Case only holds 6. You bought a 3 into 5 cage right? No. I ran into the workshop and found these two things (joist joiner/mending plates. Pre-drilled) Surprisingly, the holes actually line up. I did no drilling. (PS. The drywall metal corner pieces ALSO have holes that line up. But could only squeeze 4 drives in to those) I took two 4 inch ones and placed them like so: only one side of the drives is being held by them and they lay on their side that does not have the plate inside the 5.25 area. I then wedged a 120mm fan (stolen from my main desktop seeing as I stopped gaming) in between the front of the case and the drives now sitting in the 5.25 drive bay area. (Will fit 4 Standard Size Drives and 1 Slim 500Gig Drive snug) Voila. Poor Mans Cage. I have even figured out a method to use EVERY open space (around PCI slots and under the bottom drive cage for more drives) using the Rear Slot Covers from the case. I could be able to squeeze another 6 at the bottom of the case and 1 hot-swap 5.25 to 3.5 tray at the top of the case. Brings the total possible drives to: 21 Yes. It is not super pretty. BUT... it works.. until I can budget in a Norco Case and the SAS SATA Cards Drive Temps: WD: Green hover between 26 and 29 degrees Seagate Barracudas range from 29 to 32 degrees CPU Temp Never deviates from 36 degrees. (which worries me a little as 0 deviation is kinda odd?). But it’s chugging along happily. Sound level: It’s not the quietest PC, though, you can’t hear it from 15 feet away (and it’s located near the electrical panel in a secluded part of the basement) She / He needs a name. Suggestions welcome!
February 3, 201214 yr Fixed for mathematical truth? You know, I considered the incorrect math syntax when I made the suggestion, but figured nobody else would be anal retentive enough to care.
February 3, 201214 yr You know, I considered the incorrect math syntax when I made the suggestion, but figured nobody else would be anal retentive enough to care. You should have known better, after all, this is the UCD sub-forum.
February 5, 201214 yr Nice find on the mending plates. who would have thunk? I think I still have one of those old antec (or a clone) boxes kicking around somewhere. for what it is and where you have it, It is perfectly fine example of you don't need the latest and greatest or a "super server" and matching case to get the job done.
March 5, 201214 yr I have this case, only in black. I went with the 5n3 as space was a premium on this case. I've had the same case for 10 years and it's a damn tank! Sad i'll be retiring her for a newerish 24bay monster.
July 23, 201411 yr Author Update: This server is still running. Have had 2 drive failures (Western Digital Green Drives). Recovered nicely from both incidents. UnRube currently runs version 5.0.5 of Unraid (with no real issues) It has 12 disks (Cache+Parity+Data). Total space now is 20TB The SATA card has been updated to AOC-SAT2-MV8. I just got another one on ebay for 36$! I don't want to get rid of this setup, but it's getting a little hot in there and the case is getting heavy to pick up. I am looking for a vintage floor radio. Will gut it and build in the Unraid into it. Will start a new thread when I get it going. Start thinking up new names...
August 6, 201411 yr I don't want to hijack this post but I was browsing through the new posts yesterday when I found this thread...I have to add my 2ct. My first build is based on the same enclosure like the unRUBE. In Europe the enclosure is called Chieftec CS-600. My main PC is in this type of enclosure and when a fried of mine retired his, I suddenly had a second one. It's a nice and rock solid case, easy to access for maintenance. With my little mod it can hold 15 hard disks. I have an idea how to push it to 17 drives... Now that I have gathered some experience with this case, I can tell about the cons: - it is pretty crowded - the two lower trays are cooled with a 80x80x10 fan hidden behind the front cover panel. But there is no room to fit one for the upper tray so those drives have no cooling. By default there is a clip that can hold a fan inside the tray but that will push the drives further into the case. Then it won't be possible to remove the tray without pulling the controller cards. - removing drives/trays is a PITA. Chances are high that something gets loose when doing so. - the 3in2 enclosures are too tight. Cooling at a reasonable noise level is a problem. While I could handle the temperature problems, maintainability is getting a bigger issue. I don't like the idea of ripping apart the whole rig to switch a drive. Chances are high to cause another disturbance and jeopardize the recovery procedure. At the moment I'm preparing a Rebel12 that could handle 22 drives. Unfortunately the quality of this enclosure is far, far away from the chieftec.
August 6, 201411 yr I have a rebel12 and 4 5in3s. I am not sure what you are saying from a quality perspective but I am more than satisfied. I get very good cooling, it is easy to get in and out of, has a small footprint, and meets my needs very well. Noise is not a concern for me as the server lives in an unfinished basement. But it is lot excessively noisy. I would recommend it, although warn you getting the topmost 5in3 installed takes some modding.
August 6, 201411 yr Yea, I probably read every thread about the Rebel12. I intend to use the CFP-52B caddies since they're available and affordable here. But they require some extra modding to fit and I'm still working on a solution. My quality concerns are about the material, stiffness and manufacture. But it's still better than nothing. Cooling should be no problem with that case. It has as many holes as a swiss cheese.
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.