Pimp Your Rig

[SSD]

Joe - this is an amazing job!  Craftsmanship is outstanding (much better than a hack lke me).  Having done the dremeling job on several cases, I know what a job it is to do.  Cutting out perfect circles is near impossible!!

 

Love the way you were able to incorporate the home-made drive rack into the case.  Much more functional than mine - which requires removal of the entire rack to replace a drive.

 

Although you may have only spent $27.99 on the case, there must be hundreds of dollars of sweat equity invested!

 

Sorry I am late responding - just seeing this today.  Thanks for sharing!

 

Best,

 

Brian

 

Time for a few pictures of my second unRAID server.

 

I started with this bargain case: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ET-RM5101-WH&cat=CAS

It was $27.99, with free shipping since I ordered some other things at the same time.

 

I took my Dremil tool to the front of it, and completely cut away the center support.  I then used aluminum angle to make a pair of drive mounting rails.  the holes are spaced so there is about 1/8th of an inch between the drives if I fully populate the case.  (it has room on the mounting rail for 14 drives)

I am just seeing this post (not sure how I missed it).

 

 

The rails were spaced so the whole front of the enclosure would become an air plenum for cooling.  The drives can very easily be added or removed by opening the front door and unscrewing the two screws.

 

The new drive mounting rails look like this:

 

The power and data connectors are across the top of the server, also very easy to access.  Here is a view from the inside, with a few old drives installed to verify spacing.

 

For now I've only have 6 drives connected and configured.  The one on the far left is still one of the old scrap drives.  

I have 3 120mm fans attached to the front door.  When it is closed they force air into the cabinet and past the disk drives.

 

I must have gone through about 20 of the small cutting disks with my Dremil tool, but I managed to cut three very nice holes in the front door of the enclosure.  It is made of fairly thick steel.  (The web-site said 1.2mm steel.  That is roughly 18 Gauge)   It took a few hours.  (And I wore a full face shield, as the thin cutting disks have a tendency to fly apart if you catch them in the steel)

 

I still need to add a holder for an air filter in front of the fans and build a pwm controller adapter to control their speed from the MB connectors. (They are three wire fans, the C2SEE MB I'm using has 4-pin PWM connectors)  then, I can make the wiring inside a lot neater by making a custom power harness.

 

The front now looks like this:

 

I still need to get longer SATA cables for the disks, because the case is so deep, the normal 15" ones don't make for a neat cabling job.  The same for the power connectors.  Even though the power supply has very long cable harnesses, they are not long enough for the SATA connectors closest to the supply to reach the front of the case.   I'll probably eventually add a second set of drive support rails for additional drives behind the first.  I've easily got the depth in the case.   Those first connectors can reach them.  That will then let me easily mount another 10 or so drives if I wish.  (It will then be my very own budget 24 drive case)

 

Not too bad for a $27.99 case, shipping included.

 

It has been online for about a week now.  I've got 3 2TB Hitachi 7200 RPM drives, and 3 1.5TB Seagate 7200 RPM drives installed.  The  first few days were spend exercising the disks with my preclear_disk script.  Then multiple parity calc/parity check runs followed before I added any data.

 

I used "rsync" to copy my entire original unRAID server's data to the new server.  The copy with parity enabled, to /mnt/user averaged between 30 and 33 MB/s on larger files. (the copy duplicated my user-shares)  right now, it is tower2.  Soon, I'll switch their names and my older original server will get a rebuild with the bargain PCI-X based motherboard I picked up recently from geeks.com for $57.  (It came with 1Gig of Error-Correcting RAM, Dual Intel Xeon CPUs, heat-sinks, and hardware)

 

I love a bargain.

 

Joe L.

[jmos1277]

Here's my build:

 

 

I did it all myself! 

 

 

Ok ... first post here.  I just finished my first unraid build (I'll post pictures soon) ... currently pre-clearing my disks.

 

I was reading through this thread and thought I should point out that anti-static bags are conductive!!!  Please don't power on your components while they are sitting on an anti-static bag!!!

 

 

[Senjo]

Finally got some proper CPU cooling for the unraid box and expanded to 6 drives. This CPU cooler shouldn't interfere with the airflow of the case as much as the stock cooler did. I picked up a couple SuperMicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 controller cards and a nice little Lexar flash drive. I like how it is almost flush with the front. On with the pictures!

 

 

 

[Rajahal]

That's a Norco 4220, right?  Did you mod the fanplate yourself?  Looks like 9x80mm fans - what are you drive temps like?  And how loud is it?

[Senjo]

Yeah it is a 4220. I have some pictures earlier in this thread with a picture of the fanplate I believe. I used the top from the stock plate and cut a piece of aluminum from an old case I had to make the current plate. They are pretty slim fans so it is very quiet. I only have 6 drives in right now and they are all 5,400 RPM green drives so the temps stay pretty low. I've seen 35 to 36 degrees highest temps during parity checks. It sits beside me in the same room and isn't noticeable at all. Just a very low hum from the 9 fans. Others expressed concern once the case was fully populated about a lack of static pressure on the intake but you can feel the airflow being pulled in on the front. If it ends up getting too warm once I've got 20 drives in it, I can always switch to slightly louder 80mm fans. During normal operation the drives stay around 32 to 33 degrees.

[squirrellydw]

My temps never go passed 33 with the stock fan board with 5 drives.  I just ordered the new 120mm fan board to make it quieter.

[Rajahal]

My temps never go passed 33 with the stock fan board with 5 drives.  I just ordered the new 120mm fan board to make it quieter.

 

Mine got into the 40s using the stock fanplate with 9 drives.  Ambient was probably around 26.

[Rajahal]

Finally finished documenting my latest prototype build, the 6 Drive miniTower

 

 

More pictures and a detailed review here.

[Blofeld]

So here's my first unRAID server build.

I live in Germany (where unRAID, for some strange reason, seems unknown - that must change!), so I'm not entirely sure if you can get the same components elsewhere. I paid about €600 for the following:

ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO 785G AM3 mATX mobo

AMD Athlon II X2 245 2.90GHz AM3 2MB 65W BOX

2x 2000GB Samsung HD203WI F3EG

ATX Enermax EPR425AWT II 425W Pro 82+

2x 2048MB Kingston Value DDR3-1333 CL9 Kit

ATX Midi Fractal Design Define R2-SI  case

4GB SanDisk Cruzer Micro USB 2.0

 

Note that this is the first time I've ever built a computer, so I was pretty proud when I saw the login screen…

I disabled Express Gate from the start, and it hasn't come up again (afaik you need to install it separately). I've downclocked the Athlon II from its stock 2.9GHz to about 2 GHz, as it's good for temperatures, power draw, and it's a little overpowered for my setup anyway.

At idle, it draws in the mid-fifties, writing to it with 3 spun up drives I get about 76 Watts of power draw.

I've added another Samsung 2TB for parity, and they're staying nice and cool at about 30-32'C. The older Seagate I've just added runs quite a bit warmer, at 40-42'C during pre-clear (which is happening as I write this). I chose this case because it looked ok (which isn't exactly evident on this picture though), but I'm wondering whether I shouldn't have gotten a roomier CM590 to begin with (I have it sitting in my living room though, I don't have the space to tuck it away in some distant room, so design was a consideration). As it is, I can fit 8 drives in the white snap carriers (it's a well-designed system I must say), and another two or three in the 5,25 slot above. I hope I'll be fine for a while, but then again, what's a Terabyte these days, eh? A TB here, a TB there, and pretty soon, you're talking real storage! The USB stick housing the beloved unRAID system is a little ghetto, what with it just hangin' there, but my aim was to have it on the inside, so no curious kid can pull it out during a parity check. I know, the cables are a bit of a mess, and I have to see what to do about that eventually. My main machine is an iMac, unRAID mounts fine over samba (apple-k > smb://tower/ or smb://unRAIDtowerIP/ (I had to edit the hosts file for it to resolve to tower). I'm getting good transfer speeds, writes in the mid-30's.

I went for a Pro license, and I gotta say I totally love it. unRAID such a great system, they way it's designed & set up, the pricing structure (I've never felt better paying someone for software, ever), the amount of help you get in the forum (here's to you, Joe L!), the fun people seem to have with their rigs, the DYI aspect, and so on. I'm curious to see more builds - bring it on! (I admit that this here thread must be my fave…)

 

(edited picture links)

[Joe L.]

Nice looking server.  You can also probably fashion a small 2 disk "rack" mounted just over the power supply if you get crunched for space in the front of the case.  It might need its own fan, but there's plenty of room for it. 

 

The white plastic disk mounts must make it very easy to install drives.

[Blofeld]

Nice looking server.   You can also probably fashion a small 2 disk "rack" mounted just over the power supply if you get crunched for space in the front of the case.  It might need its own fan, but there's plenty of room for it. 

 

The white plastic disk mounts must make it very easy to install drives.

...that's a great idea! That would mean I could have a total of 12 drives in there, which should be good enough. I'll see about air circulation and temperatures once I cross that bridge, but I doubt I'd have 12 drives spinning at the same time anyway.

I'm already almost out of SATA ports, so a PCIe SATA card is next on the list I suppose.

[WeeboTech]

Nice looking server.   You can also probably fashion a small 2 disk "rack" mounted just over the power supply if you get crunched for space in the front of the case.  It might need its own fan, but there's plenty of room for it. 

 

The white plastic disk mounts must make it very easy to install drives.

...that's a great idea! That would mean I could have a total of 12 drives in there, which should be good enough. I'll see about air circulation and temperatures once I cross that bridge, but I doubt I'd have 12 drives spinning at the same time anyway.

I'm already almost out of SATA ports, so a PCIe SATA card is next on the list I suppose.

 

There are special PCI mount racks to do this.

Scythe has a PCI slot rafter (for 2.5" drives).

Sunbean used to have some form of PCI rack to mount 3.5" drives.

You can also use something like this

StarUSA iStorm7 Heat Terminator Bracket

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856999209

 

The only issue would be bolting it in, but then again you could use some kind of strong velcro on the bottom.

 

[WeeboTech]

Finally finished documenting my latest prototype build, the 6 Drive miniTower

More pictures and a detailed review here.

 

Love it!

[Blofeld]

There are special PCI mount racks to do this.

Scythe has a PCI slot rafter (for 2.5" drives).

Sunbean used to have some form of PCI rack to mount 3.5" drives.

You can also use something like this

StarUSA iStorm7 Heat Terminator Bracket

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856999209

 

The only issue would be bolting it in, but then again you could use some kind of strong velcro on the bottom.

 

nice idea, thanks (I had no clue sth. like that even existed...). I hope I won't be running out of SATA ports or power connectors by then, but we'll see!

[chanders]

@ Blofed - Thats one nice looking server! You have any pics from the front? I have never sen that case before but its really nice, especially the HD management.

[Blofeld]

@ Blofed - Thats one nice looking server! You have any pics from the front? I have never sen that case before but its really nice, especially the HD management.

I do but they look much worse than the thing itself - so here's their websitehttp://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2∏=34. It's a Swedish company, and they're good I think. It's a well thought-out case, and I just saw that they have a successor out now, the R3. The drives run real quiet, as the white drive plates hold the drives with rubber.

[kizer]

@Blofeld

 

I currently have the 590 case and really like it, however I dig the side loading of drives you have there with your case. Thats nice and really handy. On my 590 I have to pull out the OEM cage just to swap out a drive and thank god I labeled every cable and my drives so I know where each thing goes back in.

 

I think other than doing some cable zip tieing and cleaning up you have a nifty looking machine. I just kinda pushed some of my cables around to make it a bit more tiddy. I even took some electrical tape and wraped it around my usb cable to usb drive connection to make sure it doesn't come loose. Placed my usb stick on the very bottom under and behind everything so it doesn't get touched and unplugged. Been there before. LOL

 

[Rajahal]

Very nice, I love Fractal Designs cases.  The exterior of this one reminds me of my Antec p180, but the interior design is much different.

 

I think the major benefit of the CM 590 is that it can support three 5-in-3s for an easy 15 bay hot swap server, like this one.  If you don't mind internal drives, then side-loaded drives like those in the Fractal case are much better.

[Blofeld]

Thanks everybody!

I'm fine with internal drives, so I guess I picked the right case. And @ Kizer, you're right about the side-loading drives - it's very convenient - and with the expansion mentioned further up, I can fit about 12 drives, which should do for now (famous last words...).

And I'm curious about your AsRock ION 330 + XBMC Live setup...seriously considering a setup like that, but I've been waiting for the Boxee Box, as I really want the thing to be usable as a consumer electronic device, as it were - per remote control, as a couch potato. But it's not ready yet, and XBMC is very fine...

[Rajahal]

You can run XBMC from a remote control, you don't even need to configure it, XBMC figures it out for you.

 

I run XBMC Live from a Zbox, and I've used a Revo in the past.  Both work great.  See here for more info.  I use a simple MCE remote similar to this one (though mine is Microsoft brand).  Some people have had success with Logitech Harmony remotes also, but I haven't been so lucky.

[Blofeld]

You can run XBMC from a remote control, you don't even need to configure it, XBMC figures it out for you.

 

I run XBMC Live from a Zbox, and I've used a Revo in the past.  Both work great.  See here for more info.  I use a simple MCE remote similar to this one (though mine is Microsoft brand).  Some people have had success with Logitech Harmony remotes also, but I haven't been so lucky.

oh dear...I can see my next project on the horizon...

[Rajahal]

This disappointing part is that it is so easy to configure that the project will take you 2 hours or less.  Anything that takes less than 4 hours leaves me unsatisfied

[funbubba]

Anything that takes less than 4 hours leaves me unsatisfied

 

Also, XBMC is easy to configure. </rimshot>

[chanders]

@Blofeld

 

I currently have the 590 case and really like it, however I dig the side loading of drives you have there with your case. Thats nice and really handy.

 

Thats why I went with the 690 II Advanced instead of the 590. It has the six internal drive bays that slide out like Blofeld's case. With two additional 3-in-2's thats 12 drives. Perfect for a Plus licence. Should I require more I can always get a bracket for over the PSU as per Joe's recommendation.

 

 

 

 

 

[kizer]

And I'm curious about your AsRock ION 330 + XBMC Live setup...seriously considering a setup like that, but I've been waiting for the Boxee Box, as I really want the thing to be usable as a consumer electronic device, as it were - per remote control, as a couch potato. But it's not ready yet, and XBMC is very fine...

 

Yeah I love it. I just add content to my unRAID setup. Turn on my AsRock and it scans it to the Library and then I grab my old school Xbox remote and get sores on my butt from sitting to long. LOL

 

Plays 720 and 1080 content just fine.

 

Probably a subject that should be discussed in another thread or I'd glady talk with you via PM so we don't clutter this one up a lot. Plus the guys over on xbmc.org are awesome for very specific questions.