Fractal Define R4 10 drive 16TB system: Couldn't be happier!


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I look forward to seeing what you come up with, have fun  ;D

 

I use one of these at the top.

ICY DOCK MB971SP-B DuoSwap 5.25" Hot-Swap Drive Caddy for 2.5" and 3.5" SATA HD/SSD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994143

 

and an Antec USM easy swap for my DJ drives.

http://www.antec.com/global/product.php/outputtable/?id=NzA0Mzgz

 

I could just use those areas, but I need the ability to pop in a drive like a floppy do what I need, and pop it out.

 

If I didn't have such limited space I would own the ARC XL.

 

As much as I don't want to, I may add a LSI 4i4o card leaving the raid bios in place.

Get an External SAS unit and do the raid0 external.

 

For the time being I have a eSATA capable SANS Digital box.

I tried it in Port multiplier mode, but none of the SATA ports support PMP at the current time.

The unit has hardware raid on it, so I may go that route.

 

There are allot of smaller external solutions I can place on top of the unit and be done with it.

I just figured if the 3 slot bracket was available it would be a quick win for a neat setup without having to turn the machine upside down to unscrew the caselabs unit.  My time is precious, that's not something I'm willing to do.

 

For most other uses, I think it's a great solution. Not in my case.

When things break, it's always at the most inopportune time.

Since my unRAID server is the main repository with all workstations using laptops and ssds, being down is a pain.

 

I have to give kudos for the neat and tidy setup in that pic!

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Have followed this thread with interest and recently purchased and transferred my system over from a 3U rackmount to the R5. Mainly due to the system temps with the 3U when it was anywhere but in an open area.

 

The R5 is not performing as I expected with drive temps, I will explain the setup first then ask the questions:

 

Running V6 Beta 14b

 

5 x WD Reds (3TB)

2 x Hitachi (2TB)

1 x WD Green (2TB)

 

2 x 140mm GP14 fans at the front intake connected to the case fan controller with 1 x 120mm Akasa Viper connected to the motherboard (http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11111/fan-709/Akasa_120mm_x_25mm_Viper_PWM_Fan_w_Hydro_Dynamic_Bearings_AK-FN059.html) taken from the 3U case.

 

Originally with the 3U case and the Akasa 120mm fan on intake in front of the WD Reds and 2 x 60mm exhaust, the drives were reading 28-30 degs which was great, once in an enclosed space they headed towards 38-42 degs. Added the hitachis and green without an intake and they were heading towards the 50s.

 

Yesterday i swapped the system over to the R5 in an open space - the reds are displaying 31-35 degs, not sure why the drives vary this much they are in the 5 drive cage and the others between 37 and 42 degs in the bottom 3 drive cage - these have always run a little hotter than the reds so is expected. With the case door open these temps reduce by 3 degs.

 

I expected the WD red drive temps to be similar to the 3U case in an open space if not improved. I noticed the GP14s run at 140mm x 1000rpm which the Akasa can run at 120mm x 1900rpm.

 

Are the GP14s enough to deal with the temps? Is it better to take them off the case fan controller and connect direct to the MB? Is the Akasa 120mm exhaust not enough and should be replaced with a 140mm or 2 x 140mm exhausts? Should i not be concerned with the temps mentioned about in the R5? Either way if i have achieved these temps before in the 3U which i consider far worse airflow than the R5, i would want to optimise the setup to reduce the temps as best as possible - especially before summer arrives.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

 

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Have followed this thread with interest and recently purchased and transferred my system over from a 3U rackmount to the R5. Mainly due to the system temps with the 3U when it was anywhere but in an open area.

 

The R5 is not performing as I expected with drive temps, I will explain the setup first then ask the questions:

 

Running V6 Beta 14b

 

5 x WD Reds (3TB)

2 x Hitachi (2TB)

1 x WD Green (2TB)

 

2 x 140mm GP14 fans at the front intake connected to the case fan controller with 1 x 120mm Akasa Viper connected to the motherboard (http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11111/fan-709/Akasa_120mm_x_25mm_Viper_PWM_Fan_w_Hydro_Dynamic_Bearings_AK-FN059.html) taken from the 3U case.

 

Originally with the 3U case and the Akasa 120mm fan on intake in front of the WD Reds and 2 x 60mm exhaust, the drives were reading 28-30 degs which was great, once in an enclosed space they headed towards 38-42 degs. Added the hitachis and green without an intake and they were heading towards the 50s.

 

Yesterday i swapped the system over to the R5 in an open space - the reds are displaying 31-35 degs, not sure why the drives vary this much they are in the 5 drive cage and the others between 37 and 42 degs in the bottom 3 drive cage - these have always run a little hotter than the reds so is expected. With the case door open these temps reduce by 3 degs.

 

I expected the WD red drive temps to be similar to the 3U case in an open space if not improved. I noticed the GP14s run at 140mm x 1000rpm which the Akasa can run at 120mm x 1900rpm.

 

Are the GP14s enough to deal with the temps? Is it better to take them off the case fan controller and connect direct to the MB? Is the Akasa 120mm exhaust not enough and should be replaced with a 140mm or 2 x 140mm exhausts? Should i not be concerned with the temps mentioned about in the R5? Either way if i have achieved these temps before in the 3U which i consider far worse airflow than the R5, i would want to optimise the setup to reduce the temps as best as possible - especially before summer arrives.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Those temps do seem unexpected, sorry you're having trouble.  I would definitely match your exhaust flow to your input flow as close as you can.  That can make a big difference.  If your exhaust can't keep up, you won't get good air flow over certain parts of the case.

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Your temps aren't "bad" => but the fact they're higher than they were in the previous case clearly indicates an airflow difference.    One fairly obvious difference:  Even if you're running the GP14's at full speed, they're still only 1000 rpm fans; whereas the 120mm Akasa you were using in the other case is a 1900rpm unit.  The 140mm fans have more cross section, but with the speed difference there's still about 25% more airflow with the Akasa.  This can easily account for the temperature difference you're seeing.

 

31-35 is not at all "bad" ... so you may want to just leave it as; or you could swap the 1000 rpm fans for a slightly higher speed fan with higher airflow.    I've used the BitFenix Spectre Pro's on several systems and been very satisfied with the airflow and noise levels.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835345030

 

The BitFenix is a 1200rpm unit rated for 86.73 CFM of airflow, compared to 68.4 CFM for your current fans.  [The Akasa unit is rated at 83.63 CFM]

 

 

 

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Thanks @de1taE1ven and @garycase

 

the CFM unit of measurement makes more sense and seems to be where the problem is. The temps have stabilised a bit to between 28 and 33 on the Reds but still strange to me that these drives were all previously the same temp not a 5 deg difference between the same drives. Need to check out their locations in the R5 but all in the 5 drive cage.

 

The Bitfenix seems to be very good on the CFM measurement compared to a lot of other 140mms, but unfortunately is not available in my country - only ones available seem to hit 70 CFM max - might have to wait till i take a trip somewhere to get them.

 

i think i will use the two GP14s as exhausts and replace the intakes with something a bit more powerful.

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Thanks @de1taE1ven and @garycase

 

the CFM unit of measurement makes more sense and seems to be where the problem is. The temps have stabilised a bit to between 28 and 33 on the Reds but still strange to me that these drives were all previously the same temp not a 5 deg difference between the same drives. Need to check out their locations in the R5 but all in the 5 drive cage.

 

The Bitfenix seems to be very good on the CFM measurement compared to a lot of other 140mms, but unfortunately is not available in my country - only ones available seem to hit 70 CFM max - might have to wait till i take a trip somewhere to get them.

 

i think i will use the two GP14s as exhausts and replace the intakes with something a bit more powerful.

 

It doesn't surprise me too much that your temps fluctuate. My temps are all reasonable, but they do fluctuate from drive to drive by up to 6°C, and they're all the same model.

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Agree -- it's normal for temps to be slightly different even with the same make/model drives.    I've got a mini-ITX server with 6 WD Reds that all have excellent temps, but fluctuate by 2-3 degrees between drives.

 

As for what you're seeing -- remember you switched from a rack-mount server, where all drives were mounted vertically (thus very similar airflow) to a tower where they're mounted horizontally, and thus have somewhat different thermal characteristics ... i.e. some drives are "on top" of others; they're at different points with regard to the airflow from the fans; etc.

 

You would, however, definitely notice some improvement if you switch to fans that provide higher airflow (as you're planning to do).

 

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@garycase - very true point that i hadn't considered. My main concern will be the summer months when outside temps will go from 20-30degs to 50 degs and i suspect currently will push the WD Reds above 40 degs

 

I was looking at the Akasa Viper 140mm which is available now - 2x of these and move the GP14s to the exhaust. Only issue is that these are 4 pin PWM connections whereas the Fractal R5 fan controller is a 3 pin connection but i can connect these to the MB as before.

 

These run 600-1600rpm with a max of 110.61 CFM

 

http://gear-up.me/chassis-and-psu/fans/akasa-fan-14-cm-viper-27881.html

 

or

 

Cooler Cluster 140mm (never heard of this)

 

http://gear-up.me/chassis-and-psu/fans/cooler-cluster-13-9cm-x-13-9cm-x-2-5cm.html

 

which is 600-1400rpm and 39-86 CFM

 

Noise is not a huge factor but i am assuming the CFM will be affected by the case door being closed - possibly need higher / noisier

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110 CFM is VERY good for a fan  :)

 

It's a bit noisy (26db) at 1600rpm, but the Fractal does a very good job of dampening the noise, so it may not be all that noticeable ... and you could always run them at slightly reduced speed and still get very good airflow.

 

Closing the door may have some impact on the airflow, but not a lot, as the case is designed for intake air through the vented sides, and this works quite well in my experience.

 

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@garycase my plan was to purchase 4x of the vipers. 2x front and 2x back. However the supplier only has 2 available at the moment.

 

I will use 2x for now (110 CFM max) with the 2x GP14s currently installed (these are 68 CFM)

 

Is it better to put the vipers on intake (maximum intake) with the GP14s as exhaust or better the other way around with maximum exhaust?

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