[mythtv-users] OT: 160GB Western Digital, $30 after rebates

[Fedor Pikus]

On 7/10/05, Blammo <blammo.doh at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 6/6/05, Fedor Pikus <fpikus at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Yikes. For this money I can build the whole RAID box *including*
> > disks. My MythTV box has 5 Seagate 300GB disks in software RAID5, at
> > $129/piece from Fry's. With two Nexus fans it stays cool and the fans
> > are absolutely silent:
> 
> Anyone have any suggestions for a good, well ventilated case with up
> to 10 drive bays? I'm looking to build a 8-drive-plus-OS-drive NFS box
> for one of my myth-friends and haven't been happy with what I've found
> so far.

For 10 drives, you're not looking for a AV-system-format case (the
largest I've seen is 8, and even then it's a very tight fit). So you
want a full-tower case, or a mid-tower case with drive bay going all
the way along the case. If you can afford it, buy a Lian Li case like
this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112043

Lian Li also makes an interesting case with drive bay mounted sideways
(look at the picture, you'll see what I mean):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112024

There are also cases where disks are mounted "across" the case, the
connectors are facing the side wall. This makes it easier to change
them, it also makes it less likely that disks will bump into memory or
expansion cards (if you're making a server, it's probably not going to
happen, but in my desktop I cannot put a disk in the bay aligned with
the PCI-X slot because the video card is too long).
I think Coolermaster makes a case like that, their cases are expensive though.

As for ventilation, you will have to add fans. Most cases use 80mm
fans, but if you can find a case which takes 120mm fans it's better,
higher airflow and lower noise. You'll need fans on the front and on
the back of the case, most likely: front fans blow air right between
the disks, and with 10 disks you will need forced airflow.

If you care about noise, the very best fans are made by Nexus, they
are well worth the money:

http://iguanamicro.com/ne80resicafa.html

I have two in my MythPC case, can't hear them at all. I have to say
that Silverstone fans are almost as good, though. Coolermaster makes
some fans with very low noise, at least on the spec:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811999072

but I've had pretty bad luck with Coolermaster fans in the past, they
failed soon (although not this particular model).
-- 
Fedor G Pikus (fpikus at gmail.com)
http://www.pikus.net
http://wild-light.com