Case for 10HDs (with 18" of a PCI slot)

[Stereodude]

So, now that I have all the drives for my server I figure I should probably take the drives off the floor where they're currently running.

Are there any moderately sized server cases or tower cases that are going to let me put at least 8 HDs within 18" of a PCI slot?

Ventilation is pretty important, so I would prefer a setup where there are mounting spots where fans can blow directly onto the HDs. Any ideas? I'm trying not to break the bank.

 

[Handruin]

Here is a picture from XBIT using the same case that I own. (a Chenming 901A, or also known as antec 1240SX)

Each hard drive tray has the option to place an 80MM case fan in front of it and they blow across the hard drives and into the case. I have both of mine running with fans as seen here.

I paid roughly $150 for the case, PS, and shipping.

 

[Handruin]

Also, my drives may seem cramped in the case, but I've checked their temperature after running for weeks and all my drives are room temperature or less. I can leave the back of my hand on the drive and it's barely warm. (atlas 10KII, atlas 10KIII, WD Expert, barracura 18XL, and WD 1200JB)

 

[Stereodude]

Are those 18" cables I wonder...

Hmm... thanks for the tip... I'll look into it further.

 

[Handruin]

Ah, good point, no they are not...sorry about missing that detail.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/3ware-7850.html

Closer Look
3ware sent us a boxed version of their 7850 controller. Besides the card itself, the package included eight 24-inch (!) 80-pin ATA cables, four power supply splitters, a CD and floppies with drivers.

I was rather intrigued by the unusual length of the ATA cables. The common ATA cables are 18" (45cm) long. 3ware claims its cables fully comply with the ATA standard (see here). Well, we'll soon test them at work!

 

[Stereodude]

Ah, good point, no they are not...sorry about missing that detail.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/3ware-7850.html

Closer Look
3ware sent us a boxed version of their 7850 controller. Besides the card itself, the package included eight 24-inch (!) 80-pin ATA cables, four power supply splitters, a CD and floppies with drivers.

I was rather intrigued by the unusual length of the ATA cables. The common ATA cables are 18" (45cm) long. 3ware claims its cables fully comply with the ATA standard (see here). Well, we'll soon test them at work!

It's ok, I have only 18" cables. I got a white box from Hypermicro. Aside from them shipping drivers that wouldn't work with the card...

 

[Stereodude]

After looking closely at the picture I think a 18" cable should be ok. It looks like there's enough slop in that cable. I guess I can always get 24" cables for the top two drives if the 18s don't reach. I have a 6 drive array, and a 2 drive array, so it should work out nicely even if I have to go to 24" cables for the two.

 

[CougTek]

Antec SLK3700AMB

Comes with a 350W PSU and has front and rear holes for 120mm fans. You'd need 5¼ to 3½ braquets for one or two drives (depending if you have a floppy in this box or not). All drives should fit within 18" of the HBA.

 

[Stereodude]

Antec SLK3700AMB

Comes with a 350W PSU and has front and rear holes for 120mm fans. You'd need 5¼ to 3½ braquets for one or two drives (depending if you have a floppy in this box or not). All drives should fit within 18" of the HBA.

Yes, this would be the Chenming 601/Antec/Chieftec. There are 5 3.5" bays at the bottom, two external 3.5" bays and 4 external 5.25" bays. It would work with my 8HDs, floppy, and 2 optical drives. However, every bay would be filled, and I'm a little nervous of the ventilation situation.

I found the Chieftec Dragpm DA-01BD tower (same as xbit labs case, but black and with a door for the drives) for $65 without a PS. Add in two front and two back 80mm Enermax UC-8FAB fans (adjustable with speed a potentiometer) and 1 90mm Enermax UC-9FAB fan for above the PS (also speed adjustable with potentiometer) it ends up being $116 shipped. This the way I'm leaning now.

 

[Handruin]

Would you be able to fit the 120MM fan in the front? I looked at the mechanical drawing on antec's site and it doesn't look lit it will fit. Does it sqeeze in between the plastic front bezel and the metal frame?

If it fits inside, I'd worry the drives would have to be positioned further back causing a couple of drives to hang over the RAM or worse, touch the video card.

 

[Stereodude]

Would you be able to fit the 120MM fan in the front? I looked at the mechanical drawing on antec's site and it doesn't look lit it will fit. Does it sqeeze in between the plastic front bezel and the metal frame?

If it fits inside, I'd worry the drives would have to be positioned further back causing a couple of drives to hang over the RAM or worse, touch the video card.

I think the case is pretty deep. It definitely goes inside the case, not on the outside. As long as the mobo isn't that deep, I think the drives would clear any necessary components on the mobo. Usually, the IDE and floppy headers are down in that corner.

 

[blakerwry]

I have the case, it's plenty deep. There is a purple plastic bracket that holds both the front and rear 120mm fans. The drive placement is the same whether you use a front fan or not anyway.

The HDDs do overlap a standard ATX mobo by about 1/2" to 1" However, the drive placement is such that they are several inches away from the motherboard so it would be impossible for any surface mount component or stick of RAM to cause problems.

You will should have no problem mounting your 5.25" devices either.

 

[Mercutio]

From time to time compgeeks.com has a 3 3.5" to 2 5.25" module for sale. They don't have it right now, or I'd link to it, but I've got a couple of them in the SuperMicro case I'm using to run 12 hard disks.