I'm going to be putting together my new ESXi server over the next few weeks and I'm curious what you guys think would be best when it comes to running the front 120mm fans to cool the hard drives. This case holds 20 hard drives in the front of the case (10 per side) and there's 3 120mm fans on each side of the case. I've attached an image of what this looks like if you're not familiar with the case.

 

Do you think it would be best to:

 

1.) Run all 120mm fans facing inwards. They'll basically both blow in and the air will meet in the middle, hopefully then having the rear 140mm fans pull that air back and vent through the rear of the case.

 

2.) Run one side of the 120mm fans as an instake, and the other side as an outtake. The idea here would be a push/pull system and the air would travel a short distance from one side of the case to the other (instead of out through the rear).

 

I think both setups would work, but do you guys have any thoughts on what would be the ideal way to set this up? Option #2 sounds like a good solution... I'm just not sure if the rear fans in the case will create too much static pressure and cause the push pull to not work properly.

Side note but your picture reminded me of it. In the past with my Lian-Li cases I've used a dremel and cut out the fan grills on the back of the case and replaced them with some standard circular fan grills like the one below. I know Lian-Li cuts them like that because it looks nice but they restrict airflow. When trying to cool 20+ hard disks plus system hardware any increase in exhaust airflow helps.

 

 

It won't hurt to experiment and see what your actual temps are with each arrangement;  but I'd think having both sides blow inward is best.  It will definitely provide the best static pressure in the case, which will help with the OTHER components and provide the best airflow out the rear.

 

It also should provide the best cooling for the hard drives, since both sets of drives will have fresh air blowing directly over them => in the push/pull arrangement, the air flowing over the drives on the "pull" side will have air that's already passed over the first set being pulled over them ... bad in two ways:  (1) the air will have already been heated a bit; and (2) "pull" arrangements don't provide the same level of airflow that a push arrangement does.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll end up trying them both ways and see what works best... I was just hoping someone may have already experimented with a similar case and save me the effort.

 

That's a good point as well mrow about the exhaust grates. I'll consider cutting those out to maximise the airflow. I've never been good with a dremel though... can't cut anything in a straight line with one .

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll end up trying them both ways and see what works best... I was just hoping someone may have already experimented with a similar case and save me the effort.

 

That's a good point as well mrow about the exhaust grates. I'll consider cutting those out to maximise the airflow. I've never been good with a dremel though... can't cut anything in a straight line with one .

 

I'd wait until you see just how your temps look and what you think about the overall airflow before cutting the grills => while I don't dispute that there would be slightly less resistance with the replacement grills, I have certainly NOT seen any issue with airflow through the stock Lian-Li mesh grills ... and they're much nicer looking and completely resistant to any foreign object (pencil, finger, etc.) poking through and hitting the fan.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll end up trying them both ways and see what works best... I was just hoping someone may have already experimented with a similar case and save me the effort.

 

That's a good point as well mrow about the exhaust grates. I'll consider cutting those out to maximise the airflow. I've never been good with a dremel though... can't cut anything in a straight line with one .

 

I'd wait until you see just how your temps look and what you think about the overall airflow before cutting the grills => while I don't dispute that there would be slightly less resistance with the replacement grills, I have certainly NOT seen any issue with airflow through the stock Lian-Li mesh grills ... and they're much nicer looking and completely resistant to any foreign object (pencil, finger, etc.) poking through and hitting the fan.

 

Agreed. I'm not interested in cutting this brand new case . If for some reason it's not cooling everything well enough, I'll consider it. But I don't see that being a problem in the D8000. This this is HUGE with 3 140mm fans and 1 120mm fan as the exhaust fans.

Yep ... it's a BIG case.  Most folks are surprised when they see it even though the dimensions are clearly published, so it shouldn't be a surprise.

 

Yea. I knew the dimensions when I ordered it. Even measured the space it would go in to make sure it would fit properly. But even knowing all of that, it still amazed me to see how big it is.

I've never been good with a dremel though... can't cut anything in a straight line with one .

Actually it would be a circle wouldn't it - so you would be OK

This case really intrigues me.  I'm about to build a 20 bay, and this is a much less expensive option than what I was thinking about doing before. 

 

I'm wondering on what power supply or supplies (it supports 2) are you going to install?

This case really intrigues me.  I'm about to build a 20 bay, and this is a much less expensive option than what I was thinking about doing before. 

 

I'm wondering on what power supply or supplies (it supports 2) are you going to install?

 

I got a Seasonic 760 watt (SS-760XP2) which has a 63A 12V rail which is plenty for this case. No GPU's are being used, so a second PSU isn't needed.

 

The harder part is getting enough Molex and SATA power connectors to connect to all the hard drives. I ordered the Lian Li Backplanes which means 20 drives will require 14 power connectors. There's enough connectors with the PSU to power those, but if you start adding drives to the 5.25" drive bays, or put some 2.5" drives back by the PCI slots, you're going to be short on power. Luckily, I have some old Seasonic Molex and SATA cables from previous builds, as well as some splitters/extensions from Monoprice, so that one PSU will be able to power all the drives in my system.

 

Much more of a pain then using the three 5 in 3's I was using in my last case. Those only required 6 molex connections to power 15 hard drives which made wiring everything super simple.

You might need a few more power connectors ... but you're going to LOVE this case  8)

 

Wait 'til you see your drive temps on your first parity check 

You might need a few more power connectors ... but you're going to LOVE this case  8)

 

Wait 'til you see your drive temps on your first parity check 

 

Yea... I'm excited to see my temps lower. Parity checks with my backplans keep the drives between 45-55 degrees. Not happy with those temps... but no failures with those temps either.

 

Bolt: See the attached diagram I created for how I plan on wiring all my hard drives with power in the D-8000 case. I plan on using 4 molex connectors with Sata adpaters off of each cable to power the backplanes and the 2 SSD's. My goal was to have no more then 6 drives on a single cable. I've read up to 10 drives is safe... so I feel comfortable with 6.

 

In the future I'll add the 4 in 3 cage as shown and use the final accessory connector on my PSU that has 4 SATA connections. This setup will get me 26 drives with no more then 6 drives per cable. You'll also see on the right side I have a molex to 6 pin adapter to power the 6 120mm fans in the front of the case. I only have 4 hard drives on the rest of that cable so I don't stress the cable out.

Yea... I'm excited to see my temps lower. Parity checks with my backplans keep the drives between 45-55 degrees. Not happy with those temps... but no failures with those temps either.

 

If you're using low-power drives (e.g. WD Reds or Seagate NAS units) I'd be VERY surprised if any of your drives ever sees 40, even during a parity check.

 

 

Yea... I'm excited to see my temps lower. Parity checks with my backplans keep the drives between 45-55 degrees. Not happy with those temps... but no failures with those temps either.

 

If you're using low-power drives (e.g. WD Reds or Seagate NAS units) I'd be VERY surprised if any of your drives ever sees 40, even during a parity check.

 

 

Even with 7200rpm units those are high temps unless you have really poor airflow in a really high ambient temperature room. What kind drives are you using now and in what case/cages?

 

Yea... I'm excited to see my temps lower. Parity checks with my backplans keep the drives between 45-55 degrees. Not happy with those temps... but no failures with those temps either.

 

If you're using low-power drives (e.g. WD Reds or Seagate NAS units) I'd be VERY surprised if any of your drives ever sees 40, even during a parity check.

 

 

Even with 7200rpm units those are high temps unless you have really poor airflow in a really high ambient temperature room. What kind drives are you using now and in what case/cages?

 

Almost all of them are green drives. I'm using Chenbro 5-in-3 cages which are known for having much higher temps then other cages like SuperMicro's and Norco's. That, and I replaced the fan with something quieter/slower. Airflow is a big problem with those cages and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

 

 

Yea... I'm excited to see my temps lower. Parity checks with my backplans keep the drives between 45-55 degrees. Not happy with those temps... but no failures with those temps either.

 

If you're using low-power drives (e.g. WD Reds or Seagate NAS units) I'd be VERY surprised if any of your drives ever sees 40, even during a parity check.

 

 

Even with 7200rpm units those are high temps unless you have really poor airflow in a really high ambient temperature room. What kind drives are you using now and in what case/cages?

 

Almost all of them are green drives. I'm using Chenbro 5-in-3 cages which are known for having much higher temps then other cages like SuperMicro's and Norco's. That, and I replaced the fan with something quieter/slower. Airflow is a big problem with those cages and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

 

 

If I had to guess you replaced the fans with cheaply priced quiet ones that don't have a very high static pressure rating and are struggling to pull air through them. When it comes to quiet fans you've got to pay to play. To get the silence while also keeping a high static pressure so as to actually pull air through the cage you're looking at something like the Noctua NF-B8 at about $20-$25 per 80mm fan. Even when taking in to account the poor ventilation of the Chenbro cages and you're averaging 44-55 degrees with green drives, and don't have your server stored in a sauna, there is no air moving over those drives at all.

I replaced the stock fans (jet engines) with Noctua P series fans. The Noctua's are also loud (to my ears) with the Chenbro case. It's not the fans I hear though... it's the sound of the air being sucked into the cages that's loud.

 

My office is usually around 78* most of the time. Not the coolest... but not THAT hot either. These cages just aren't designed to be used with anything but the stock (jet engine) type fans. Chenbro's are nice cages, but they're really only made for datacenters where noise isn't an issue. From what I've read, other cages like the SuperMicro's usually keep drives anywhere from 5-10* cooler then the Chenbro's which similar RPM fans.

 

I replaced the stock fans (jet engines) with Noctua P series fans. The Noctua's are also loud (to my ears) with the Chenbro case. It's not the fans I hear though... it's the sound of the air being sucked into the cages that's loud.

 

My office is usually around 78* most of the time. Not the coolest... but not THAT hot either. These cages just aren't designed to be used with anything but the stock (jet engine) type fans. Chenbro's are nice cages, but they're really only made for datacenters where noise isn't an issue. From what I've read, other cages like the SuperMicro's usually keep drives anywhere from 5-10* cooler then the Chenbro's which similar RPM fans.

 

 

Hard to believe the ventilation is really that poor in the Chenbros but if you say so. I used NF-B9s in my Supermicro cages in similar ambient temps and the disk temps were more like 10-20 degree cooler.

 

I replaced the stock fans (jet engines) with Noctua P series fans. The Noctua's are also loud (to my ears) with the Chenbro case. It's not the fans I hear though... it's the sound of the air being sucked into the cages that's loud.

 

My office is usually around 78* most of the time. Not the coolest... but not THAT hot either. These cages just aren't designed to be used with anything but the stock (jet engine) type fans. Chenbro's are nice cages, but they're really only made for datacenters where noise isn't an issue. From what I've read, other cages like the SuperMicro's usually keep drives anywhere from 5-10* cooler then the Chenbro's which similar RPM fans.

 

 

Hard to believe the ventilation is really that poor in the Chenbros but if you say so. I used NF-B9s in my Supermicro cages in similar ambient temps and the disk temps were more like 10-20 degree cooler.

 

I wish I had some other 5 in 3 sitting around to test with so I could do an accurate comparison with my system. Maybe it's my case as well, which only has 2 exhaust fans and no top ventilation. It also has a fanless (hot) GPU since my MOBO won't boot without it and it's not a very cool case.

 

Regardless... I'm moving on from this server with 5 in 3 cages to a large D8000 case with open drive bays and a 120mm fan blowing over 3-4 drives each with plenty of space between them. Hot drives will be a thing of the past for me.

 

I have read around the web though that the Chenbro's don't cool as well as other 5 in 3's. I remember another member on this forum actually bought different 5 in 3's because his Chenbro's didn't cool well enough. Maybe I just have the perfect storm for case configuration that cause for cooling to be an issue for me. But I do hope that someone considering the Chenbro's finds this post and instead decides to go with something else that cools better (like the SuperMicro with a larger 90mm fan). Chenbro's are sexy and I've never had an issue with the failing on me. But I do know that with my complete setup, Noctua fans throughout the case (including in each 5in3 cage), the drives sit between 45-55 on parity checks. 55 is only one drive (I think a black drive). They typically sit between 47-51 (comprising of mostly greens with a few reds) during parity checks.

 

It's high, but at the end of the day the setup has been working well for me for years now. I'd love to get them below 40 (which I'm sure my new build will allow for), but the green drives are rated up to 60*. Since mine sit between 47-51 during parity checks, I'm within normal specs. I think a lot of the worrying about drive temperatures on here isn't fully justified. Many people post on here about getting concerned if a drive goes over 40, or even over 35. But that's based on what? My personal experience has shown that drives hitting 50* on occasion, and normally running at 40* when all the drives are at idle, hasn't caused any failures in the 5 something years I've ran with 15 drives in my unRAID server. I've had one or two drive failures in unRAID, but that was within the first couple weeks of receiving those drives. From my personal experience, drive temperatures are often blown a bit out of proportion. Maybe others have had completely different experiences though.

Agree there's a lot of unnecessary worrying about parity check temps -- mid-40's is really not an issue for those ... BUT it's certainly true that lower temperatures are better and likely prolong the drives' lifespans.

 

With your new case and green drives I'd expect normal temps in the low 30's (or even high 20's); and parity check temps in the mid-30's.  Guess you'll find out soon enough 

I just got this case this weekend and installed 6x R4-L2R-20AG-R2 along the 3.5 HDD Cages, all blowing into the case.  It's a 2000RPM fan, with 69.69 CFM and 19 db-A.  I really don't hear them.  Then I placed a CF-012LB 1500 RPM fan doing about 40 CFM blowing into the case on the side where the motherboard is installed, and the three of the same fan on the other side for exhaust.  My drive temperatures during pre-clear when it was writing zeros was 30-32.  There's also two 140mm fans in the center blowing onto the motherboard, though I don't have those part numbers right now  Not bad at all. 

 

I only have 4 drives in the system now, but will be adding another 8 over the week or so once I transfer files off my old system onto this one, so I'm curious on what the temperatures will be once it's all installed.

 

The case is huge, luckily it fits in my closet with my other servers without issue.  Even though you measure it, it's another thing to see it in person.

 

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camera%20Uploads/2013-06-30%2020.31.13.jpg?w=AAA7-dB7dqS_H9F_GxKx1tJRbcwRMHQghBK1jhRhYGfUgw

 

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camera%20Uploads/2013-06-30%2020.31.00.jpg?w=AACUKoTuw0QKEyr7JrSjPapqnknik0Q8z49RGuUjrRF8zg

... drive temperatures during pre-clear when it was writing zeros was 30-32. 

 

I'm not at all surprised at the temps ... I predicted they'd be VERY good => and that certainly qualifies.

 

 

... Not bad at all. 

 

A notable understatement 

 

 

I also just recently got this case.  I'm still trying to decide what fans to use for the fronts, but I will tell you in my own opinion I believe you should use all 6 front fans as intakes as the case has a ton of openings in the back.

 

I'm shooting for 6 high static pressure fans as intakes to create positive pressure and just force air out the holes in the back.  I'll probably use a 120mm fan on the mobo tray exhaust.  I'll also have two 140mm fans on the internal mid-plane to force air onto the mobo/PCI cards.  Unfortunately my Noctua D14 is too tall for the mid-plane so I need to replace that was well, going to go for a top-down style cooler this time.

I believe you should use all 6 front fans as intakes as the case has a ton of openings in the back.

 

Agree ... as I noted in my first post in this thread ....

 

... having both sides blow inward is best.

 

... and that's also how Bolt configured his -- with VERY good temperatures as a result:

 

I just got this case this weekend and installed 6x R4-L2R-20AG-R2 along the 3.5 HDD Cages, all blowing into the case.

 

... My drive temperatures during pre-clear when it was writing zeros was 30-32.