Left Angle to Left Angle Sata Cables... don't exist?!

[volve]

Ok, what?! I'm trying to find SATA cables that have a left angle connector on both ends. Apparently the closest I can get is Left Angle to Straight? Why?! I can find Right Angle to Right Angle cables just fine!

I'm trying to use my Areca ARC-1220 PCIe RAID Controller which has 8 Left Angle connectors with drives in my Lian-Li PC-V2100B case which would would best if the cables aimed up like this image but had a left on both ends (this image has a straight going to the motherboard):
http://www.satacables.com/assets/images/P72552046a.jpg

Lots of Left Angle to Straight cables here:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=353

Oh and I don't know why they gave this a technically incorrect name but this image is NOT a Left Angle to Left Angle cable, it's more a weird 45 degree angle cable or something... nutty:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/images/large/products/RightAngleSAT_1_t_LRG.jpg

*frustrated*

Any ideas on this strange conspiracy??

[c1001]

maybe you could hold it in your right hand and flip it over?:)

[volve]

@c1001:

Ha, if only that would keep the alignment of the connector then I'd be all for it! :)

I found a handy page that shows close-ups of all the different SATA connectors:
http://www.cooldrives.com/saiandsaiiin.html

Here is the Left Angle that I need:
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/cooldrives/left-angle-sata-internal-cable-connector.jpg

And for reference here is a Right Angle connector:
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/cooldrives/right-angle-sata-internal-cable-connector.jpg

[brent_anderson]

It says "2 right angle connectors" but it looks like your pic?

http://www.cooldrives.com/insaseatacaf.html

[volve]

@brent_anderson:

It does, you're right. Hmm, strange though, it seems like coolgear.com, cooldrives.com, satacables.com and satagear.com are all pretty much the same company... so I'm somewhat weary of them given the last order I got from them was 8 SATA cables with 2 Right Angle connectors labeled as Left Angle to Right Angle... all 8 were labeled wrong, it was a pretty meticulous screw-up I have to say.

I'll shoot them a question asking about that photo though, thanks Brent!

[brent_anderson]

How about these...

http://store.pchcables.com/18durianseat.html

At least they are labeled correctly :)

[volve]

Brent, you're a genius! That's exactly what I need, and the price looks good too! Woohoo! :D

I owe you Brent!

[brent_anderson]

No problem, Post a pick when it's done :cool:

[volve]

@brent:

Well, at a minimum I needed practice in good cable management and zip-tie usage, so I went ahead and worked on the system at the weekend before the Left-to-Left cables were in the mix.

What do you think? :) For reference, there are some "before" photos over here: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1174969

Whole system:
http://files.volved.com/server_cables/after/IMG_2391.jpg

Close-up on drives:
http://files.volved.com/server_cables/after/IMG_2392.jpg

Upper part of case:
http://files.volved.com/server_cables/after/IMG_2393.jpg

[c1001]

Looks clean and practical. Very tidy without undue neat-freakishness!

[brent_anderson]

Looks good, What are the specs of the array?

[volve]

@brent:

Well this particular array is 7x 300GB Barracuda 7200.9 in RAID5 so 1.8TB usable.

The OS is Ubuntu Server with LVM2 and XFS filesystems which allows online growth without even stopping disk access - very handy! :)

I did actually go 2x 4U rack servers both 16x 400GB Barracuda for a while with 3ware RAID5 controllers but the noise and power was just unacceptable. Having 2x "real" servers with 3x 650w redundant power supplies each can make a dent in the electricity bill pretty easily! ;)

So right now I'm back to this system while waiting for the 1TB Hitachi drives to hit the market. They're supposed to retail for $400/each which is pretty good. I'm hoping it pushes the price of the current 750GB models down too as I'll yank the 300GB drives and easily triple my capacity without even needing a new RAID controller.

That's the plan anyway. :)

[brent_anderson]

Very Nice!