What PSU for a ton of hard drives but low proc and no video card?

[hifiaudio2]

I am going to build a media server around the Asrock C2750D4I MB / 8 core Atom / Avoton chip combo with 16GB of ECC ram.

Hard drives will be a sas / sata mix and could ultimately be 12-14 drives, depending on the expansion of the case I end up getting.

I don't want to overdo it on the PSU wattage, but want to make sure whatever I get has enough juice on the appropriate rails for all of those drives.

It is also likely that I will be doing cabled drives, so a separate power cable / sas/sata cable for each drive is likely. I could end up getting something with a backplane, but for now lets assume I need lots of sata power connections.

A modular and highly efficient PS is a plus.

 

[smitbret]

Mechanical HDDs draw about 8-12 watts each. You really don't need that much PSU for a server. I use the Corsair Builder Series in mine:

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Modul...der+430w+80+bronze+certified+atx+power+supply

 

[hifiaudio2]

Ok thanks. Its the 5v rail I need to worry about on hard drive power, right?

Do I need to worry about how many sata power cables are on the power supply or just get some sort of expanders?

 

[smitbret]

You should probably get a definitive answer from someone else, but I think HDDs draw power from both 12v and 5v. The motor that spins the platter draws from the 12v rail and I think the logic board runs from the 5v.

You'll run out of room in a full tower before you'll run out of Amps unless you throw in a high draw video card.

 

[rchunter]

Here's a good thread on running a server with a bunch of hard drives. http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=28056.0
If you read it you will see that it doesn't take much to run what you're wanting to run. 400w would probably be plenty.

 

[bigboxes]

I use a Seasonic S12II 430 in my file server. I use an AMD A4-3300 APU, two SATA II controller cards, a Samsung 840 for the boot drive and 8 hard drives for storage. I didn't want to cheap out on the power supply, but could do without modular cabling. File server has been on 24/7 for 2+ years with this psu. Previous S12 430 lasted six years before faltering.

 

[Red Squirrel]

My 24 bay has redundant 1200w if I recall. I know it was over 1000w I just don't remember the exact number. The whole server only used like 75w with 4 drives in it during initial testing but now that it's almost full I'm not too sure of usage, I'd have to check. They're Supermicro PSUs which are known to be really good.

You do want to consider the initial draw though if you have no way of setting up staggered spin up, in case you ever need to shut it down and turn it back up.

You probably want quality over quantity for this.

 

[Flapdrol1337]

Is there a way for you to do staggered spinup? If so you won't need a massive psu.

 

[hifiaudio2]

Not sure.. it will be running on Windows 2012 R2 essentials with a LSI 9201-16i card for the drives. I dont know if that card has some sort of option for staggered spin up or not.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Why not just throw in a good Silver/Gold/Plat 80+ 600-800W PSU and be done with it? They're relatively inexpensive ($50 - $70 with a good deal, sometimes even less).
I've been running a 750W for years for my two HTPCs with no staggered spin-up.

 

[SERPENTINE]

I am going to build a media server around the Asrock C2750D4I MB / 8 core Atom / Avoton chip combo with 16GB of ECC ram.

Hard drives will be a sas / sata mix and could ultimately be 12-14 drives, depending on the expansion of the case I end up getting.

I don't want to overdo it on the PSU wattage, but want to make sure whatever I get has enough juice on the appropriate rails for all of those drives.

It is also likely that I will be doing cabled drives, so a separate power cable / sas/sata cable for each drive is likely. I could end up getting something with a backplane, but for now lets assume I need lots of sata power connections.

A modular and highly efficient PS is a plus.

This video will explain it all.
Make sure you get a modular or hybrid-modular PSU.
Also, make sure it is at least 80+ Bronze.

 

[lehtv]

Why not just throw in a good Silver/Gold/Plat 80+ 600-800W PSU and be done with it? They're relatively inexpensive ($50 - $70 with a good deal, sometimes even less).
I've been running a 750W for years for my two HTPCs with no staggered spin-up.

$50-70 for a good 600-800W Gold unit? Doesn't sound quite right. According to pcpartpicker, the only 600+ watt Gold unit currently under $70 is Rosewill Valens 600W. It's made by ATNG... it's probably alright, but not what I'd buy. Would have to see a review first.

As for 700+ watt - they start at $80 with a Thermaltake and then Raidmax... the good ones are $95+.

 

[bigboxes]

$50-70 for a good 600-800W Gold unit? Doesn't sound quite right. According to pcpartpicker, the only 600+ watt Gold unit currently under $70 is Rosewill Valens 600W. It's made by ATNG... it's probably alright, but not what I'd buy. Would have to see a review first.

As for 700+ watt - they start at $80 with a Thermaltake and then Raidmax... the good ones are $95+.

To be fair, he did say Silver as well. Outside of that, we're in agreement that quality would probably not be available for that cheap.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

With the right deal, you can

eg. I was previously running 2x Corsair TX750s in my fileservers, but refreshed them to SeaSonic S12G-750s last year.
$79.99 - $15 MIR = $64.99 AR on newEgg. Think there was a coupon code on top of that, so probably might have been closer to $60 AR.

While not Gold certified, I got a bunch of BFG EX-1000s shortly after Jonnyguru left the building. $50 a piece for modular, 80Plus PSUs that I am using to this day

 

[lehtv]

To be fair, he did say Silver as well. Outside of that, we're in agreement that quality would probably not be available for that cheap.

Which Silver units that exist today are worth buying? Silver is practically a dead efficiency rating.

Pcpartpicker all brands, all wattages, all merchants, 80+ Silver:

 

[lehtv]

$79.99 - $15 MIR = $64.99 AR on newEgg.

Not everyone bothers with rebates, and of those that do, not everyone counts them as part of the actual price of the item. I interpreted your $50-70 as the price you actually pay on checkout.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Not everyone bothers with rebates, and of those that do, not everyone counts them as part of the actual price of the item. I interpreted your $50-70 as the price you actually pay on checkout.

That's fine, but I do. And it was a small rebate anyway ($15), certainly not worth the apparent vitriol / hair splitting?

 

[hifiaudio2]

Do I need to get a modular supply that has many "peripheral" connections listed? I notice some only have one outlet labelled as that. Or is one or more fine and I just keep using splitters to power all the hard drives?

 

[hifiaudio2]

I am thinking about this 430 watt Enermax.. thoughts on its capability to drive *and connect power to* 10-12 HDS ultimately? (6-7 at first)

http://www.enermax.com/home.php?fn=eng/product_a1_1_2&lv0=1&lv1=71&no=248

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Do I need to get a modular supply that has many "peripheral" connections listed? I notice some only have one outlet labelled as that. Or is one or more fine and I just keep using splitters to power all the hard drives?

Splitters are fine, I use a few of them in both of my servers.

BTW : Here's a great deal on a good 750W, modular, Gold-rated PSU - only $64.99 after rebate!
http://slickdeals.net/f/7943309-750...nty-for-64-99-ar-free-shipping-newegg-com?v=1

Performed very well in JonnyGuru's tests.

 

[hifiaudio2]

Man that is a really good deal, and I love all the extra pata/sata power ports for extra cables (although I cannot find where you can buy just these regular power cables for cheap... will keep looking), but this system will only take 100-150 watts tops while running, so I would be sooo far down the efficiency curve it would be awful. Need to find something similar in a 400-520 watt psu. I will check all that EVGA has though... havent been looking at them.

 

[cruzinforit]

Personally, I use a Seasonic G 360 in both my server, and my pfsense firewall.

http://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-80PL...pebp=1436601253405&perid=1YMQ25NEF5G27W508PB6


Here is the JG review for it
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=313

For reference, my server is an ASRock B75M ATX motherboard, with 2x 3TB Toshiba drives, and 3x WD Green 2TBs, along with an i3-2100, I figure at idle it pulls around 65W, right in the 20% sweet spot load of the 360W unit for high efficiency.At load (ie when I'm steaming via plex transcode, it's around 90W) Don't forget that if you get a higher wattage PSU, if you are pulling low load on it, it will not be in the most efficient part of the power curve. a 750W PSU at only 10% load will usually only be in the low to mid 70% efficiency range. a 360W gold unit at 20% will be nearly 90% efficient. Also if this is for a 24/7 server, get something that uses a ball bearing, or FDB fan, and get something with japanese capacitors. This power supply is an investment, which is why I went with the Seasonic 360G. It's got all japanese and solid caps, gold rated efficiency, is perfect for the load range I will be putting on it, and has a ball bearing fan. In other words, I fully expect to be using this same PSU on my server(s) for the next 7+ years.