Question About Which Chassis to Buy

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blacksunseven

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So I'm in the market for a new chassis to replace my original-era CM Stacker case and am trying to knock off a few pounds and bays (and noise). I can't afford anything too expensive right now but here's kind of the things I would like in this case:

Space for three 5-in-3 cages (though right now I have zero of these due to price, I'm hoping to get some in the future). Cooling is obviously important both now and in the future (currently @ 12 HDs in 4-in-3 CM cages). I don't plan to put in an optical drive. I've got a full-size ATX motherboard and non-modular (for now) PSU.

If there are any other questions, please feel free to ask them.

P.S. I'd obviously like to get a Norco RPC-4220 but the damn things are expensive and loud and I don't have a nice place to put it D:
 
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[LYL]Homer;1036974638 said:
1. Norco, you'll end up getting one eventually any way.
2. I made my Norco decently quiet and I haven't even swapped in the 120mm fans yet.
Click to expand...

LOL, I can't say that I feel like your first point isn't accurate.. As for your link, I apparently don't have permissions to view that page?
 
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Norco RPC-4224 gets my vote (and dollars). Always leave yourself room to expand.

I'll qualify this: If you spend $100 on a semi-decent chassis with 9x 3.5" bays, and then spend $300 ($100 each) on 3 5-in-3 hot-swap bay backplane units, you'll have spent as much as the RPC-4224, but have fewer bays and a generally lower-quality build.

If you can't afford quality components, don't go cheap. Save until you can afford what you really want.
 
I went the 4-in-3 route as well, although not as many. I am currently eyeing the Norco too....
 
[LYL]Homer;1036974832 said:
copy/paste fail on my part. The link is fixed.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, I've seen that post before. How much did the replacement fans run you? I think when I get home I'll perform the same dB benchmark you outlined and see what the current noise level of my server is.

Gigas-VII said:
Norco RPC-4224 gets my vote (and dollars). Always leave yourself room to expand.

I'll qualify this: If you spend $100 on a semi-decent chassis with 9x 3.5" bays, and then spend $300 ($100 each) on 3 5-in-3 hot-swap bay backplane units, you'll have spent as much as the RPC-4224, but have fewer bays and a generally lower-quality build.

If you can't afford quality components, don't go cheap. Save until you can afford what you really want.
Click to expand...

Is the 4224 the same quality as the 4220 just with an extra 4 hard drive bays? (and what about between the 4020 and the 4220?) It's $100 difference on NewEgg. I'd also like to point out that I agree with your sentiments on how much components cost - I was just hoping to do this piecewise. That said, you guys are making me re-consider... so much for sticking with my original plan haha.
 
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[LYL]Homer;1036974638 said:
1. Norco, you'll end up getting one eventually any way.
Click to expand...

Please update the above to read:
1. Norco, you'll end up getting at least one eventually anyway.

Very true though. Going 5-in-3's will end up costing you more in the long run. Do it right the first time.
 
BTW, I've been in the same boat as the OP - drives jammed into a case and no where to expand. Many times I considered the 5-in-3 cages.

Norco was a little out of reach for my budget (so said the wife :rolleyes: ) but finally getting one last September was worth the wait. Bang for the buck, better cooling, and room to work without tearing it half apart to do anything.

The SilenX fans are currently listed as $13 at Newegg but I think when I got them they were around $8 each. Maybe look around the web for another source.
 
[LYL]Homer;1036975514 said:
BTW, I've been in the same boat as the OP - drives jammed into a case and no where to expand. Many times I considered the 5-in-3 cages.

Norco was a little out of reach for my budget (so said the wife :rolleyes: ) but finally getting one last September was worth the wait. Bang for the buck, better cooling, and room to work without tearing it half apart to do anything.

The SilenX fans are currently listed as $13 at Newegg but I think when I got them they were around $8 each. Maybe look around the web for another source.
Click to expand...

Sigh, alright, looks like I'm getting a Norco (damn you wonderful people). Now the question is: Which Norco do I get? The RPC-4020 and -4220 look to be identical, including price. The -4224 seems like overkill and I'd need someone to help me justify the extra $100 price-tag.

@Homer: You mentioned that you had purchased a 120mm rack accessory for your Norco and then put some SilenX fans in that, is that correct?
 
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I would buy an 4216 and use the nice 5,25 slots for stuff like blu-ray ripping, usb3-ports, funky temperature lcds and such stuff....
 
Did a little research to determine the differences between the 4220 and the 4020. The 4020 uses regular SATA connectors that can be a little weak but has better airflow due to a more porous front cover. The 4220 appears to use mini-SAS connectors to help minimize the number of cables needed to be run in the case but doesn't have as good of airflow and uses louder fans to compensate. This all sound correct?

Also, cavediver appears to be the forum member who sells the 120mm Norco fan adapter, I've discovered. Wonder if he still has any...

edit: Norco also apparently sells a 120mm fan adapter now.
 
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I suggest the RPC-4224 for a couple of reasons:

1) SFF-8087: this is the industry standard connector for HDD backplanes, period. Any modern controller card (RAID, SAS, or otherwise) will terminate in at least 2 SFF-8087 ports, if not more. Any SAS expander will also expect SFF-8087. If you will be using motherboard-based SATA initially, you can purchase SFF-8087 "Reverse Breakout" cables to connect the motherboard ports to the SFF-8087 ports on the backplanes.

2) Cable management: the SFF-8087 and 4-pin Molex Power connector layout in this chassis makes cabling extremely easy. RECOMMENDATION: look for the EDIT: not Athena Power, rather NORCO 7-way Molex Power Splitter (goes for about $6 on Newegg, $4 on Amazon, but Newegg often pairs it with the RPC-4224 for a steep discount, like $50). Cable management on the 4224 is vastly improved over previous models.

3) Bay Design: The hot-swap trays include front ventilation which can be opened or closed per bay. Replacement trays are $5 (from iPCDIRECT). The trays can handle 3.5" and 2.5" drives due to ideal screw-hole placement (love love love this feature). No wasted space between bays. No unnecessary plastic edge covers or fronts. The layout of the 4224 is ideal.

4) 5.25" bays are worthless in a server. If you absolutely require a DVD/BD Drive, you have 2 choices: 1) External, or 2) Put it in a client system and mount via IPMI, SMB, NFS, or any other network method. Gigabit networking is about 20x faster than DVD, so having the drive within the server is not particularly beneficial. More 3.5" bays are way more important.
NOTE1: The 4220 has 2x 2.5" bay, along with a slim-optical bay. Since 2.5" drives fit in the 4224 trays, there is no reason to buy the 4220 for the 2.5" bays. The 4220 has fewer total usable bays in any configuration.
NOTE2: Counter to Note1: A single 5.25" bay can be adapted to house (hot-swap) 4x 2.5"x15mm drives, or 6x 2.5"x9mm drives. If you intend to use a large number of SSDs, SAS2.5" drives, or laptop HDDs, then maybe having a 5.25" bay would be beneficial for this purpose.

5) Most importantly: You think you won't need 24 bays, and for the moment you are correct. However, you can add more HDDs at any time. I'd suggest going with a smaller number of drives today, but the better chassis. Drives will become cheaper with time, but solid chassis design remains expensive no matter what.
NOTE3: OS Choice: To maximize expandability, I suggest using an OS that supports spanning a volume across a dynamic number of disks. This means WHSv1, or any OS that supports ZFS. My reason is this: rebuilding a RAID5/6/50/60 to include additional disks is risky once you exceed about 5TB (and extremely risky over 12TB). If you use a stripe-of-mirrors (a la RAID10, or mirrored vdevs in ZFS) you can generally expand quickly and easily, with minimal risk to you data. This comes at the cost of reduced net usable capacity of the pool of disks, which you can alternatively interpret as a cost: you need to buy more disks to achieve the capacity goal you set. I think this cost is worth the added safety.

Drawbacks to the RPC-4224:

1) Noise: It comes with 2x Delta Screamers for exhaust. You can replace this in 2 minutes, so it isn't a big deal. Also, uses 80mm hot-swap fan partition, but you can swap that out for a 120mm fixed fan partition. Hot-swap fans can rattle as they are not hard-mounted to anything (plastic-on-plastic, etc.)

2) Expense: It's the most expensive option. Mitigated by the fact that it requires zero upgrades to perform its function from the day you buy it to the day you retire it: No 5-in-3, no 4/6-in-5.25, no optional HDD cages. It comes 100% complete and ready to rock.

3) No Front USB: The RPC-4224 is depicted as having a little USB connector protruding by the power buttons (front top left) on both Newegg and NORCO's websites. However, the current model forgoes this one USB port for a beefier front handle. Mitigation: USB in rear. USB hub. USB KVM. USB over IPMI. You're building a server, not a workstation. You only need 2 or 4 USB ports total, and you can surely make them work from the rear.

If you have any particular questions about the RPC-4224, I'll be happy to elaborate.
 
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I set up my 4020 just before the 120mm fan bracket was shipping as a separate part. I replaced the 80mm Deltas with the 80mm SilenX fans. I received the 120mm bracket a few weeks after it was set up and I haven't installed it because the 80mm SilenX's seem to be doing just fine and the noise isn't an issue with them. Next time I tear into the box I'll swap the bracket in but I haven't had an excuse to do it just yet.

I currently have 13 drives in it, and I wonder if the 120mm fans I have would provide better cooling at about the same noise level - thinking toward when I eventually add more drives that I may need better cooling than the 80mm SilenX's can deliver it it was full up with 20 drives.

Here is a link to the bracket: http://www.ipcdirect.net/servlet/Detail?no=258
 
[LYL]Homer;1036979263 said:
I set up my 4020 just before the 120mm fan bracket was shipping as a separate part. I replaced the 80mm Deltas with the 80mm SilenX fans. I received the 120mm bracket a few weeks after it was set up and I haven't installed it because the 80mm SilenX's seem to be doing just fine and the noise isn't an issue with them. Next time I tear into the box I'll swap the bracket in but I haven't had an excuse to do it just yet.

I currently have 13 drives in it, and I wonder if the 120mm fans I have would provide better cooling at about the same noise level - thinking toward when I eventually add more drives that I may need better cooling than the 80mm SilenX's can deliver it it was full up with 20 drives.

Here is a link to the bracket: http://www.ipcdirect.net/servlet/Detail?no=258
Click to expand...

20 "green" drives can probably be operated passively, to be honest. The reason for forced airflow is generally for the 7200-15,000 RPM enterprise-grade drives, where performance is the only objective and efficiency is irrelevant. Check your temps with an IR thermometer if you have one.
 
Gigas-VII said:
I suggest the RPC-4224 for a couple of reasons:

1) SFF-8087: this is the industry standard connector for HDD backplanes, period. Any modern controller card (RAID, SAS, or otherwise) will terminate in at least 2 SFF-8087 ports, if not more. Any SAS expander will also expect SFF-8087. If you will be using motherboard-based SATA initially, you can purchase SFF-8087 "Reverse Breakout" cables to connect the motherboard ports to the SFF-8087 ports on the backplanes.

2) Cable management: the SFF-8087 and 4-pin Molex Power connector layout in this chassis makes cabling extremely easy. RECOMMENDATION: look for the Athena Power 7-way Molex Power Splitter (goes for about $6 on Newegg, $4 on Amazon, but Newegg often pairs it with the RPC-4224 for a steep discount, like $50). Cable management on the 4224 is vastly improved over previous models.

3) Bay Design: The hot-swap trays include front ventilation which can be opened or closed per bay. Replacement trays are $5 (from iPCDIRECT). The trays can handle 3.5" and 2.5" drives due to ideal screw-hole placement (love love love this feature). No wasted space between bays. No unnecessary plastic edge covers or fronts. The layout of the 4224 is ideal.

4) 5.25" bays are worthless in a server. If you absolutely require a DVD/BD Drive, you have 2 choices: 1) External, or 2) Put it in a client system and mount via IPMI, SMB, NFS, or any other network method. Gigabit networking is about 20x faster than DVD, so having the drive within the server is not particularly beneficial. More 3.5" bays are way more important.
NOTE1: The 4220 has 2x 2.5" bay, along with a slim-optical bay. Since 2.5" drives fit in the 4224 trays, there is no reason to buy the 4220 for the 2.5" bays. The 4220 has fewer total usable bays in any configuration.
NOTE2: Counter to Note1: A single 5.25" bay can be adapted to house (hot-swap) 4x 2.5"x15mm drives, or 6x 2.5"x9mm drives. If you intend to use a large number of SSDs, SAS2.5" drives, or laptop HDDs, then maybe having a 5.25" bay would be beneficial for this purpose.

5) Most importantly: You think you won't need 24 bays, and for the moment you are correct. However, you can add more HDDs at any time. I'd suggest going with a smaller number of drives today, but the better chassis. Drives will become cheaper with time, but solid chassis design remains expensive no matter what.
NOTE3: OS Choice: To maximize expandability, I suggest using an OS that supports spanning a volume across a dynamic number of disks. This means WHSv1, or any OS that supports ZFS. My reason is this: rebuilding a RAID5/6/50/60 to include additional disks is risky once you exceed about 5TB (and extremely risky over 12TB). If you use a stripe-of-mirrors (a la RAID10, or mirrored vdevs in ZFS) you can generally expand quickly and easily, with minimal risk to you data. This comes at the cost of reduced net usable capacity of the pool of disks, which you can alternatively interpret as a cost: you need to buy more disks to achieve the capacity goal you set. I think this cost is worth the added safety.

Drawbacks to the RPC-4224:

1) Noise: It comes with 2x Delta Screamers for exhaust. You can replace this in 2 minutes, so it isn't a big deal. Also, uses 80mm hot-swap fan partition, but you can swap that out for a 120mm fixed fan partition. Hot-swap fans can rattle as they are not hard-mounted to anything (plastic-on-plastic, etc.)

2) Expense: It's the most expensive option. Mitigated by the fact that it requires zero upgrades to perform its function from the day you buy it to the day you retire it: No 5-in-3, no 4/6-in-5.25, no optional HDD cages. It comes 100% complete and ready to rock.

3) No Front USB: The RPC-4224 is depicted as having a little USB connector protruding by the power buttons (front top left) on both Newegg and NORCO's websites. However, the current model forgoes this one USB port for a beefier front handle. Mitigation: USB in rear. USB hub. USB KVM. USB over IPMI. You're building a server, not a workstation. You only need 2 or 4 USB ports total, and you can surely make them work from the rear.

If you have any particular questions about the RPC-4224, I'll be happy to elaborate.
Click to expand...

Succinct and informative writeup!
 
Don't we love peer pressure? so the debate is 4216 vs 4224 and I second hotzen's vote for the 4216.

1) its $50 cheaper.
2) The cost in compute power to support the extra disks is huge and not needed at home
3) The cost in noise (cooling) to support the extra disks isn't good for the home
4) more room for fan controllers and cool temp displays
5) it holds plenty of green 2T+ disks for home use

also, here is the big one, you can tell your wife you arn't getting the top of the line, you are saving her alittle money and getting the right sized one.
 
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Actually, despite the excellent summary of the benefits and drawbacks of the 4224, I already ordered the 4220. I seriously doubt I'll ever need more than 20 hard drives (for reference, I've had 16 for the past 6-7 years and actually LOWERED that number to 12 recently). I also couldn't really find any drawback to the 4220 that couldn't be mitigated easily. The 4220 also uses the SFF-8087 connector as in the 4224. The total price of the 4220 for me, shipped, was $322 - I couldn't find anything within $50 of that for the 4224. I don't know why the 4216 came into the discussion but I was never really considering that... Does anyone object to my decision on the 4220 while it's (maybe...) still possible to cancel the order?

Now that you have all talked me into a case... what's my best option for reverse breakout SAS cables? Is there an SAS expander worth investing in that doesn't cost an arm and a leg that I could just directly interface with SFF8087?
 
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I got my 4224 for $357. The deal is still valid but currently sold out of the power splitter I believe.

Well, if we count shipping, then it was more, but any of these chassis will have expensive shipping. They weigh like 40 lbs each, so I'm not surprised by shipping costs.

Now that you have all talked me into a case... what's my best option for reverse breakout SAS cables? Is there an SAS expander worth investing in that doesn't cost an arm and a leg that I could just directly interface with SFF8087?
Click to expand...
You can get reverse breakout SFF-8087 cables from Newegg for $15 each, sometimes discounted by volume. You can order them from iPCDIRECT for less. In fact, I'd suggest ordering any SFF-8087 cables from iPCDIRECT because their prices are significantly lower than those of Newegg, Amazon, or just about any place I've checked: $12.50 for 8087-to-8087, $12 for Reverse breakout.

While you're there, order an extra back of screws: The NORCO 3.5" trays use these flush-mount screw which are uncommon. An extra bag is $10. That way you'll have enough screws to put 8 in each tray, rather than just 4 (this is probably overkill but I like my mounting to be firm... phrasing >_<

there's only one SAS expander you need: The HP SAS Expander. There's a thread in this same subforum, take a look.

picker said:
Don't we love peer pressure? so the debate is 4216 vs 4224 and I second hotzen's vote for the 4216.

1) its $50 cheaper.
2) The cost in compute power to support the extra disks is huge and not needed at home
3) The cost in noise (cooling) to support the extra disks isn't good for the home
4) more room for fan controllers and cool temp displays
5) it holds plenty of green 2T+ disks for home use

also, here is the big one, you can tell your wife you arn't getting the top of the line, you are saving her alittle money and getting the right sized one.
Click to expand...

1) Not with the deal I posted.
2) Compute power depends on OS, but yeah, I can see this being a limitation
3) Green drives are cool, efficient and cheap, so this point is irrelevant.
4) Fan controllers and temperature displays do you no good when your server is in a closet, basement, garage, or rack-room. Server's don't need to look good; they need to work perfectly the first time and every subsequent time until they are retired.
5) Any of the chassis proposed here meet this requirement. Even 10 disks would probably be sufficient. The question is, which is the best deal. Ultimately, the one that has the most staying-power is the best. I say more disks is better.

and 6) Okay, fair, assuming the wife gets any say in server builds :) my girlfriend likes my 4224 :cool:
 
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So I get the Norco fanclub is huge. :)

Alternatives DO exist. I use a Lian Li PC-A71FB and love it. I don't really like hotswap bays - and need a vibration dampening on all HDs. I have 18 drives in my NAS (17x F4EG + a 2.5" drive).

I might have considered Norco if I could get it in Norway (and at a good price) but Lian Li is king :)
 
Gigas-VII said:
I got my 4224 for $357. The deal is still valid but currently sold out of the power splitter I believe.

Well, if we count shipping, then it was more, but any of these chassis will have expensive shipping. They weigh like 40 lbs each, so I'm not surprised by shipping costs.


You can get reverse breakout SFF-8087 cables from Newegg for $15 each, sometimes discounted by volume. You can order them from iPCDIRECT for less. In fact, I'd suggest ordering any SFF-8087 cables from iPCDIRECT because their prices are significantly lower than those of Newegg, Amazon, or just about any place I've checked: $12.50 for 8087-to-8087, $12 for Reverse breakout.

While you're there, order an extra back of screws: The NORCO 3.5" trays use these flush-mount screw which are uncommon. An extra bag is $10. That way you'll have enough screws to put 8 in each tray, rather than just 4 (this is probably overkill but I like my mounting to be firm... phrasing >_<

there's only one SAS expander you need: The HP SAS Expander. There's a thread in this same subforum, take a look.



1) Not with the deal I posted.
2) Compute power depends on OS, but yeah, I can see this being a limitation
3) Green drives are cool, efficient and cheap, so this point is irrelevant.
4) Fan controllers and temperature displays do you no good when your server is in a closet, basement, garage, or rack-room. Server's don't need to look good; they need to work perfectly the first time and every subsequent time until they are retired.
5) Any of the chassis proposed here meet this requirement. Even 10 disks would probably be sufficient. The question is, which is the best deal. Ultimately, the one that has the most staying-power is the best. I say more disks is better.

and 6) Okay, fair, assuming the wife gets any say in server builds :) my girlfriend likes my 4224 :cool:
Click to expand...

With tax and shipping on that deal you linked to (if it was in-stock), it still would've been a cool $400 to have an extra four drive bays - I haven't heard any other justification for the 4224 over the 4220 so I think saving the $80 to use towards all these add-ons sounds like a better use of my money (I really don't need 24 bays). I am still interested in a straight answer though: is the 4224 the 4220 with 4 more drive bays?

Time to start seeing how much this SAS expander is going to cost me...

edit: So here's a green HP SAS expander on eBay for <$300 shipped. Anyway to tell from the model # what firmware it has? I don't know anyone nearby with the ability to flash it so it would suck if I got it without the v1.52 firmware.
 
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> is the 4224 the 4220 with 4 more drive bays?

yes, at $88 to $100 cheaper. you will be happy, Congrads! I also went from CM stacker with 5 in 1 to Norco.

Nas3-Upgrade-4257.jpg

nas-build-01561.jpg


> I don't really like hotswap bays - and need a vibration dampening on all HDs.

this is also an issue with some of the 5 in 1 too. mine rattled badly and was one of the reasons for changing my case, The Norco blue plastic sliders touch fingers on the top, and I played around with some spring steel tabs, but ultimately left Norco's design the way it was. it works.

nas-sled-01553.jpg
 
aubsxc said:
Where can I find these controllers for $50 each?
Click to expand...

This is the important question. Seriously, where is this deal? I checked ebay and the best I could find was ~$60 +s/h. More importantly, the 1068e is a daughter board, rather than a standard PCIe card, so it might not work on every motherboard. The HP SAS Expander, however, will work on any motherboard with just about any SAS controller. It is OS-independent, and transparent to the board. Only the SAS controller recognizes it, but the protocols it uses are standardized (SAS2, 6.0G being ideal for compatibility)


Picker: I kinda like the way your chassis looks, in a hodge-podge kind of way. It isn't rackmount though, is it? It reminds me of a battleship or something: very grey and industrial; durable and unwaveringly ignorant of aesthetics. It's like... the surface of the deathstar.
 
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Gigas-VII said:
Picker: I kinda like the way your chassis looks, in a hodge-podge kind of way. It isn't rackmount though, is it? It reminds me of a battleship or something: very grey and industrial; durable and unwaveringly ignorant of aesthetics. It's like... the surface of the deathstar.
Click to expand...

Hey now, let's try and be at least a little respectful to all those Imperial engineers who had to construct that monstrosity. I'm pretty sure their boss didn't exactly allow time for exterior frills to be applied..
 
blacksunseven said:
Hey now, let's try and be at least a little respectful to all those Imperial engineers who had to construct that monstrosity. I'm pretty sure their boss didn't exactly allow time for exterior frills to be applied..
Click to expand...

All jokes aside, I wasn't kidding. I kinda like how it looks.
 
blacksunseven said:
This? I don't see these for $50 anywhere either. Where are these $50 cards? Tell us!!
Click to expand...

You just have to keep an eye on ebay. I picked one up for $25+shipping a few months ago. That was a particularly good deal, but I often see them in the $40-50 range.

ebay link
 
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leagle said:
You just have to keep an eye on ebay. I picked one up for $25+shipping a few months ago. That was a particularly good deal, but I often see them in the $40-50 range.

ebay link
Click to expand...

I feel like this is like winning the lottery in this forum.
 
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I'll put in my vote for the Norco 4220. I ordered one for home. I wanted the front USB because in my basement closet I am mounting a Startech 4 post 12U rack for the systems. That will help with USB CD access etc.

Norco customer service is really good. UPS or Newegg smacked the hell out of the chassis. The right front handle was shattered when I got it. Also, 3 of the 4 backplane fans were flopping around out of position.

I did not want to deal with Newegg for a return and asked Norco if I could pay for a handle. They shipped me one free of charge after I e-mailed them.
 
drake3 said:
I'll put in my vote for the Norco 4220. I ordered one for home. I wanted the front USB because in my basement closet I am mounting a Startech 4 post 12U rack for the systems. That will help with USB CD access etc.

Norco customer service is really good. UPS or Newegg smacked the hell out of the chassis. The right front handle was shattered when I got it. Also, 3 of the 4 backplane fans were flopping around out of position.

I did not want to deal with Newegg for a return and asked Norco if I could pay for a handle. They shipped me one free of charge after I e-mailed them.
Click to expand...

Good to hear Norco customer service is top-notch. I actually received my chassis yesterday (kudos to PCDirect, overnighted it for free) in a very damaged box. I didn't have time to open it yet to check how it had help up but I photographed the box in case anyone wants to try and argue with me later.

I've got the whole weekend ahead of me but unfortunately I'm missing important items like the SAS cards and cables so looks like this project won't really get rolling till next week (assuming I can get some SAS cards on eBay for cheap).
 
ChrisBenn said:
50 each (2 for 100)
http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-2-IBM-serve...459?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a63f0763b
Click to expand...

Yeah, I saw this yesterday it's just they're shipping from Israel and tack on $20 for shipping. If something was wrong with them, shipping them back could potentially be expensive if the seller isn't cooperative.

I found this too on eBay which is a great price assuming it doesn't skyrocket.. Would have to resell the additional cards here or on eBay though.
 
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Also both of those say pci-x, but I don't think there was a br10i pci-x model, and the connectors in the picture look like pci-express (which is what you want anyway)
 
ChrisBenn said:
50 each (2 for 100)
http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-2-IBM-serve...459?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a63f0763b
Click to expand...

blacksunseven said:
Yeah, I saw this yesterday it's just they're shipping from Israel and tack on $20 for shipping. If something was wrong with them, shipping them back could potentially be expensive if the seller isn't cooperative.

I found this too on eBay which is a great price assuming it doesn't skyrocket.. Would have to resell the additional cards here or on eBay though.
Click to expand...


I have quite a few M1015 I would be willing to sell for around the same price as these people and can include SAS cables that work great for Norco cases for half the price :)
Just throwing that out there
 
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