Hard Drive Bay Question 2

[electronicsfreak]

Ok, I am somewhat new to this type of thing. I have my own server rack, and have been building things recently for it. I purchased a server rack case(link below) and ran into an issue with it. The case itself I really like but the problem lies with the fan fitting with the hard drive storage compartment in it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811219030

The 2 fans that came with it were weak, in fact, one was doa. When I bought the case, I ordered 2 Silvertone 120mm fans with it. I switched them out, went to install them in place of the originals, then ran into an issue. The Silvertones are thicker than the originals. So, because of them being thick, they will not fit in with the hard drive storage in place. Since I really like these fans, I took the storage compartment out and decided to buy a hard drive bay or some type of storage like that anyway. Forgive the long post, but I am doing this to explain as much information on this as possible.

I went looking around at bays, and since I am new to them, I wanted to make sure I understood everything before I bought one. I was looking at this hard drive bay, but was not sure on some things. I know it handles raid, but was wondering, must you use raid? Or can it function as each drive as a single drive? Sorry if this sounds stupid, but once again, I am new to this area. The link to it is below. Also feel free to post any links on better suited storage ideas if you know of any. Thanks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816215083

There is a point in wisdom and knowledge that when you reach it, you exceed what is considered possible - Jason Schoon

 

[G0AOZ]

No, you don't have to use this in a raid configuration. All you have here is basically a box that will hold 5 drives. All the SATA drives' power connectors are joined together and present themselves as two 4-pin molex sockets on the back of the unit. I suggest you provide power to BOTH sockets irrespective of how many drives you install. Each drive has its own SATA connector which you can see on the rear view. Just connect up whichever drive or drives you wish, to the SATA connector(s) on your motherboard and you should be good to go.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[electronicsfreak]

Thanks!! Really appreciate the information. Star!

There is a point in wisdom and knowledge that when you reach it, you exceed what is considered possible - Jason Schoon

 

[wahnula]

This hard drive bay is called a backplane. It fits into the (3) 5.25" bays that are present in the Norco case, meaning no room for other ODDs or other 5.25" devices.

I would recommend modding the Norco case and drilling a few new holes to mount the HDDs a little farther back and leave them relatively where they are. It's a simple mod and should not affect anything about the case's operation. Or, find thinner fans.

Another thing, those i-Star backplanes are extremely LOUD. I looked into them when I built my current rig and that was a common complaint in the reviews. Of course you could always switch out their fans but most backplanes have fan-failure alarms if you don't use the correct fan.

The much bigger issue I see is no room for optical dives once installed. There are 3-drive-into-two-bay backplanes available as an option.

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[electronicsfreak]

Yeah, I think I am going to try finding powerful, but thinner fans. As the other options are looking like a huge pain right now. I really do not want to mod the case unless I have no choice. So that will be an absolute last resort.

Yeah when I looked at the thing, did not realize at first it fit into the case. I was trying to find something to fit in my rack that I could connect to it. I have decided to try this a different way.

What I think I am going to do for now, is hopefully find some thinner but powerful fans to put in the case so I can still use the hard drive bays lol.

There is a point in wisdom and knowledge that when you reach it, you exceed what is considered possible - Jason Schoon

 

[wahnula]

You don't really need exceptionally powerful fans to cool the hard drives, any decent fans should work as intake fans. You will want to add a pair of 80mm fans at the rear too for exhaust. Getting all that cool air in won't help much if you don't get the hot air out.

I like the Antec Tri-Cool fan with 3-speed switches, that let you set the RPMs manually. Their Smart Cool thermostatically-controlled fans are winners as well. ThermalTake also makes a good fan.

BTW are those Silvertone fans made by Sears? Geezers will get that one...

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[electronicsfreak]

lol I like the silvertones because from what I keep reading on the specs, they push more air then most of the fans I see. I found some that are actual 25mm instead of 33 on width lol. I ordered them with a couple Seagate 500 GB drives. Made by Sears, interesting lol. Never knew that. Oh well, they work good lol. Only thing is I wished they came in black instead of white, but spray paint can fix that if needed lol.

Also I know the hard drives do not need much cooling, I just want to get a lot of airflow in it due to the processor. I am using an older computer I have around to run the server as I am mainly making it for storage. I am an Intel fan but this board is an Amd Athlon xp 2600 (2GHz) processor that runs a bit warm. So I am getting airflow in it to keep it cool. Yeah I have 2 80mm in the back already lol.

There is a point in wisdom and knowledge that when you reach it, you exceed what is considered possible - Jason Schoon

 

[wahnula]

There was a time when Sears sold guitars and amplifiers, along with other electronics, under the Silvertone brand. Their guitar amps are still sought-after today, they were an inside joke among musicians of the era but time and the market made the joke on us.

I think the fans you have now are SilverStone and I was just having fun with the typo. Sounds like you've got things under control now, good luck with the new build!

Tony

Users helping Users...