Recommend a PSUs for CM Stacker Case (Very big)

[Suse User]

I've managed to track down one of the older CM Stacker Cases that have the facility to fit 2 PSUs.

 

Could someone recommend a good PSU to buy a pair of for the CM Stacker case please?  There would need to a quite a decent length to the internal cables, plenty of connectors & I'm not sure what power rating will be necessary.  Or would I be better fitting one, more powerful PSU?

 

It'll eventually be running:-

 

Celeron 3.33ghz CPU + Cooler

2 x 512mb Ram

Stacker Crossflow Fan

Various Other Case Fans as necessary

14 HDDs (Probably 8 IDE, 6 Sata but at least 4 IDE as I have those already)

 

Note 5 of the Sata's will be in an IcyBox 5HDD-into-3Bay Caddy and the remainder in individual "Cooler" trays, model to be decided.

 

While I'm asking...

Which Internal Individual Drive Caddies are best for the stacker (IDE & Sata ones)?  I'm looking to keep the server as cool as I can, particularly when Parity is rebuilding.  This seems to be a fairly common occurence to me due to our regular power cuts .  My current server case runs a little hot with it's 12 HDDs all running at the same time.  I'm assuming the HDDs will be cooler in individual caddies rather than in the 5-into-3bay versions?

 

I wish all drives to be in "Hot-Swappable" type enclosures.

 

Thanks,

 

Mark.

[Suse User]

I need to be buying the PSUs for my Stacker case that arrives tomorrow,

 

Would 2 x 330W Do for my setup?  I'm thinking either 2 x Seasonic S12 330W http://www.silentpcreview.com/article596-page1.html

 

or

 

1 x Corsair HX620W Modular PSU http://www.silentpcreview.com/article692-page1.html

 

I was aware of other threads than discuss the merits of 1 vs 2 PSUs, my query is specific to PSUs with sufficiently long internal cables required to fit properly in this humungeous case.

 

I have decided that other then the 5 Satas in the Caddy ALL of the remaining of the 14 HDDs (Sata & IDE) will be in individual Icybox Caddies, once I work out which is the best one to use.  Each of these caddies has a small fan (40mmx40mmx10mm) Will these add anything significantly to the power requirements?  I'm assuming these "caddy fans" spin up with the drives? or do they run 24/7?

 

Thanks,

 

Mark.

[Joe L.]

The individual fans in docking trays do not spin up with the drives, they run 24/7.

 

They do not add much to the power supply load at all. 

 

As described many times before, you need to look at the 12V supply, not the total wattage of any prospective power supply.  A huge amount of capacity on the 5 volt supply is unused when you are powering disk drives. Some power supplies have far more 12v amperage than others, and are far better with multiple drives all trying to spin up at the same time.

[Suse User]

As described many times before, you need to look at the 12V supply, not the total wattage of any prospective power supply.  A huge amount of capacity on the 5 volt supply is unused when you are powering disk drives. Some power supplies have far more 12v amperage than others, and are far better with multiple drives all trying to spin up at the same time.

 

With the 2 scenarios I've chosed above the 2 X Seasonic will give me 4 12v Rails Total 2 x 8 Amp & 2 x 14 Amp and 528W (2 x 264W) on the 12V Rails where as the single Corsair Offers 3 12V Rails of 18A and a total of 600W on the 12v Rails.

 

To my uneducated (lack of) understanding of these number the Corsair seems to be a more powerful bet, but is it the preferred option of the 2?  I've seen many people say 2 smaller PSUs are better than one bigger one.

 

Thanks,

 

Mark.

[WannaTheater]

Please let me know at to what route you choose, and how well it works, as I am having power-supply difficulties at the moment.

[Suse User]

Please let me know at to what route you choose, and how well it works, as I am having power-supply difficulties at the moment.

 

I've gone with the Corsair HX620W Modular Single PSU, 3 rails of 18Amp with the ability of any rail being able to call on the others if overloaded seems a good bet to me.  My current UnRaid uses a single Hiper 580W PSU for a 2.6 Celeron& Cooler, 1 GB Ram, 12 IDE HDDs and 4 Case fans and hasn't had any problems.

 

It will be arriving tomorrow, however it may be a little while before I can pass any comments as I'm having trouble selecting some components(The Trays) and finding others in the UK (the Promise IDE Controller).

 

I will post how I get on though.

 

Mark.