Ya.. I'm new ( let's get that out of the way first ) 

 

I've never second guessed myself so many times since trying to determine what hardware to get for my UnRaid server.  Just when I think I have my head wrapped around one component, I go and read another forum posting and it I then question what I thought I knew.

 

My question right now is regarding my decision on what case to purchase.

 

Are back planes added for cooling purposes or to squeeze that 1 extra drive-bay out of every 3?

 

I am looking at getting the Cool Master Centurion 590 for $70 (Canadian Dollars...almost equal to US dollar right now).  It has 9 drive bays and it will be some time before I get them all filled.  Do you get the back plane ( COOLER MASTER STB-3T4-E3-GP 4-in-3 Device Module Hardisk Cage - $25 ) right away or do you only worry about adding them when you need space for your 10th, 11th and 12th drive?

 

The power supply has been decided at least:  Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W  ( although depending on sale prices, the 750W is $20 different right now, however if I order more than it for the retailer, it will only be $10 difference so I may just get it ).

 

Thanks

 

Ya.. I'm new ( let's get that out of the way first ) 

 

I've never second guessed myself so many times since trying to determine what hardware to get for my UnRaid server.  Just when I think I have my head wrapped around one component, I go and read another forum posting and it I then question what I thought I knew.

 

My question right now is regarding my decision on what case to purchase.

 

Are back planes added for cooling purposes or to squeeze that 1 extra drive-bay out of every 3?

 

I am looking at getting the Cool Master Centurion 590 for $70 (Canadian Dollars...almost equal to US dollar right now).   It has 9 drive bays and it will be some time before I get them all filled.   Do you get the back plane ( COOLER MASTER STB-3T4-E3-GP 4-in-3 Device Module Hardisk Cage - $25 ) right away or do you only worry about adding them when you need space for your 10th, 11th and 12th drive?

 

The power supply has been decided at least:  Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W  ( although depending on sale prices, the 750W is $20 different right now, however if I order more than it for the retailer, it will only be $10 difference so I may just get it ).

 

Thanks

 

 

I think most add the backplanes to squeeze the extra room out of there cases.  I would purchase as many backplanes as you can use right now, then as you add more drives and require more backplanes by some more.

 Do you get the back plane ( COOLER MASTER STB-3T4-E3-GP 4-in-3 Device Module Hardisk Cage - $25 ) right away or do you only worry about adding them when you need space for your 10th, 11th and 12th drive?

 

Backplanes are used to squeeze extra drives in limited space.. 

 

The hard disk cage you listed above is different. It is not a backplane. All it is is a cage that you manually screw your drives into. It has a 120mm fan on the front to cool the drives. (By the way I use these & they keep the drives very cool.) You still have to manually hook up the power cables & data cables to the drives yourself. If you don't mind removing the entire cage when you need to change out a drive, then I would highly recommend these cages. They will keep your drives cool.

 

Phil

 

P.S. I would get the Hard disk cage right away. They keep the drives cool & the blue light on the front of the fan looks cool... 

Maybe I should be reading more into the word "BACKplane".

 

So, it is a totally different item.  I think I am getting it now.  The cases we are using are full size towers and all the drive bays are at the front.  If I am getting this right, a backplane is basically a rack that attaches to the back of the base to give you more "bays" to store your hard-drives in.

 

Unless someone convinces me otherwise, I think I will just got with the Cool Master Case and grab the 3 enclosures.  I technically only need one to start with, but I might as well spend the extra $50 and have the the two available for when I need them ( doesn't hurt to get them, just in case they don't make them anymore when I really do need them ).    Basically, $150 for the case and enclosures + $115 for power supply.  Seems reasonable for something that will last me for many years.

Maybe I should be reading more into the word "BACKplane".

 

So, it is a totally different item.   I think I am getting it now.   The cases we are using are full size towers and all the drive bays are at the front.   If I am getting this right, a backplane is basically a rack that attaches to the back of the base to give you more "bays" to store your hard-drives in.

 

Unless someone convinces me otherwise, I think I will just got with the Cool Master Case and grab the 3 enclosures.  I technically only need one to start with, but I might as well spend the extra $50 and have the the two available for when I need them ( doesn't hurt to get them, just in case they don't make them anymore when I really do need them ).    Basically, $150 for the case and enclosures + $115 for power supply.  Seems reasonable for something that will last me for many years.

 

A backplane is a circuit board that is placed at the back of a hard drive cage. Your power & data cables are connected to the backplane. On the side of the backplane that is inside of the cage are connectors that automatically slide into the power & data connectors that are on the hard drive. This allows you to slide a hard drive from the front into the cage & the connections ( data & power) connect automatically. You can change hard drives in & out by just pulling the drives out of the case from the front. Really nothing to connect or disconnect.

 

A hard drive cage only is a different story. All it is is a metal box that you manually screw your hard drives into. You install this into your case & then hook up your power & data cables to the drives. Any time that you need to change out a drive, you need to disconnect all drives & remove the drive cage from the case. You would then unscrew the hard drive & install a new hard drive in the cage. You would then reinstall the cage into your case & rehook up ALL of the power cables & data cables. Major difference.

 

Some people like the convenience of being able to just pull out 1 drive at a time & replacing the drive. A minute of work tops. Compared to 10 minutes or more of pulling out 4 drives & like I said above unhooking & rehooking everything back up.

 

I'm one who doesn't mind & I use the cheaper drive cages. Less chances of something going wrong since the data & power cables are directly connected to the hard drives.

 

Hope this helped to explain the differences & I hope I didn't make the confusion worse.. 

I would call them a drive cage or drive adapter. You need an adapter to put a 3.5" drive into a 5.25" slot.

 

FYI, the case comes with one of those 4 into 3 drive cages installed in it. It's not quite the same, but it does the same thing and has a 120mm fan and will work just as well. So, you only need 2 more to fit 12 drives in the case.

 

Also, you can remove the plastic piece off the front of those cages and they will fit behind the front cover of the case. The front cover of the case has perforated metal 5.25" drive bay covers with filters behind them so fitting everything behind the front cover works well.

 

If the power supply has long cables I'm sure you could populate the cage, connect all the plugs and then slide it into the front of the case.

 

Peter

 

Unless someone convinces me otherwise, I think I will just got with the Cool Master Case and grab the 3 enclosures.  I technically only need one to start with, but I might as well spend the extra $50 and have the the two available for when I need them ( doesn't hurt to get them, just in case they don't make them anymore when I really do need them ).    Basically, $150 for the case and enclosures + $115 for power supply.  Seems reasonable for something that will last me for many years.

 

I would get as many matching cages that will fit in a case as I can afford at one time.

Sometimes they stop making the cages or change them and if you want everything to look consistent then get all you need up front.

(at least for this set up).

Can you see the light bulb going flickering now ( about my head ) 

 

I use to have a removable drive bay on an old P3 of mine.  Similar idea.  The difference being I had to put the IDE drive into a little tray and then slide it into the drive bay. 

 

I don't intend to swap drives out (only if I fill all 12 bays up and get bigger ones, however that will be on a "once in a while" deal, so I have no concern with the extra time to make the change ).

 

lionelhutz - I appreciate you pointing out that it includes one cage with the case.  That would mean it can only take 2 more, so for the extra $25 I might just get the other one and have it on stand-by

 

For anyone else maybe reading this, that was also a bit confused, here's the back of backplane:

 

Alternatively, here is the inside of a cage:

 

Thanks everyone.  This topic is now "resolved" (in my mind) 

 

Stay turned for "Chuck the Canuck's Motherboard Thread" as I am sure after I read the hardware compatibility page again, something is bound to come up!