mihcox Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 I currently have a computer tower with 6 actual HDD slots, 2 SDD slots. I have managed to get 8 HDD in it, but want to change that. My build already has a sas expander card, so i am trying to figure out the best way to start using these extra drives as external storage. Is there a 2,5,8,10 bay drive i can aquire that works through the sas card expander slot? Quote Link to comment
Decto Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 It depends somewhat on your region as to what hardware is available at reasonable prices. I have both Silverstone TS431S and STARDOM Sohotank ST4-U5 which are both 4bay external enclosures I bought second hand, but such devices are now increasingly rare both new and used and quite expensive new though work very well. The cheapest option by some margin would be a new case for your PC/ server . Something with 12 or more bays depending on your need. The main alternative unless you want a lot of HDD bays (storinator) or can't find a smaller 4 bay expansion is to take an empty PC case, add a PSU and some back panel connectors to make a second tower unit act as an expansion. You would need to force the PSU on with a wiring fix and something like https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/10003240084 and breakout cable within the second case to spit the SAS to each drive. However this is quite expensive as you need case, PSU, breakout cables, external SAS-SAS cable , a SAS card with external output or more SAS back panel connectors hence case is the cheapest option. Quote Link to comment
mihcox Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 This would be in Texas, US. I currently have a total of 8 HDD, 2 Cache SSD, and 1 unassigned SSD. So if moving cases, i would look for something in the 12-15 bay range. something like a rosewill 4U unit would work well for that i expect? Quote Link to comment
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