Would this HDD Case setup work ?

[phpdog]

Im building a seperate case for my Media HDD's , and am about to buy the parts . Could someone tell me if they think the setup im building will wirk , Or if theres an easier or better way ?

Im buying a standard ATX Midi Tower Case with a 650 Watt PSU . The case will only have between 6 to 10 SATA HDD's fitted in it .

I will mod the PSU to run without connection to a motherboard and use it only to power the SATA HDD's and Case fans .

The SATA HDD's will connect to my Main PC either using Extra long SATA Extension cables or by a Multilane SATA II Cable Bracket and cables setup .

So i will have the entire space and power of the PSU, Case & Case Fans for the SATA HDD's only .

Would there be any problems with this setup ?

 

[BushLin]

The most obvious problem to me is the length of cables and the fact you'd have that many non-hotplug cables running between two cases... Also, you'd probably want a relay between the two power supplies unless this was on 24/7.

If you want 10 HDDs and two power supplies on one system, why not just buy a case which accommodates this? (or just a beefier PSU)

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/p...=25&ss_index=61&g=spec

Or... have a separate media server and put up with a network bottleneck for big transfers.

 

[M0RPH]

I think the sata cables are the only problem. You can use the multilane things but from a quick search I did it looks like they are quite expensive.

The PSU would be grossly overpowered. Hard drives typically use about 10W each, maybe 15 at peak. Even if you had 10 drives all going at 15W each (and you won't) that would only be 150W.

 

[phpdog]

I really want the HDDs in a seperate Case because of the heat they generate .

At the moment i have 2 x IcyDock Hot Plug cages able to hold 4 x 3.25 HDDs in a 3 x 5.25 Bays . I have 6 x 2m Right Angled Cables & 8 x 1.5m Extension cables, 2m Cables were £259 each , which was pretty good deal .. This should be more than enough as the 2 cases will only be about 2/3ft apart . Thinking of binding them together like a loom .

The system will definitely run 24/7, thats one of the main reasons why im doing this because of the heat when running this much .

I cant afford one of those dedicated NAS Enclosure cases, There really expensive :frown: . I wish i could find a HDD NAS Enclosure Case seperate from the HDD's , so i can just put my current drives in . I havent seen any .

EDIT : If the PSU is that overpowered i will just buy a smaller PSU so there less heat and noise from it . Might even be able to get a passive cooled one .

 

[BushLin]

There's no need for two power supplies if the kit is in the same case, you could get something like an Antec Twelve Hundred and get an extra cage if you need more than 9 drives.

Unless you've got some serious overclock going on, there's no reason that kind of case can't deal with cooling. You'd have 3 x 120mm (front), 2 x 120mm (rear) and 1 x 200mm (top).

With the cables you mention at those sort of prices it seems weird to create a potentially precarious situation with non-hotplug devices between two cases and pay out for another power supply.