Advice on Storage Server Build

[SoN][c]

Hello,

I've been lurking for a while and decided to register and post a few questions / ask for some advice. I'm looking to build a storage server primarily used to store backups from other servers.

First of all, thanks to all who have been posting in the various forums with updates - much appreciated and I'll be contributing as soon as my build is complete.

I've read through many of the threads and although lots of people have *opinions*, I'm wondering if anybody has any first hand experience. Here's what I'm thinking:

-Norco 3U 3216 chasis
-Areca 1880i Raid Card
-8xHitachi 5K3000 2TB RAID 6 (to start)
-When I want to expand in the future, I'd pickup a SAS expander (Intel or HP) and load up the Norco with another 8 drives

Questions:
1) Anybody confirmed running hardware RAID 6 with those Hitachi 5K3000 drives? I'm worried about having disks drop out of the array or other problems with them going to sleep.

2) Does dual link work with the HP or Intel SAS expanders such that I can connect both the 8087 ports on the Areca 1880i to the expander, and then connect the drives to the expander?

3) Is a 650W+ power supply sufficient? Anything else to look at in a power supply?

4) What kind of CURRENT draw can I expect from 8 (or 16) drives? Since this will be going into a datacentre I have to ensure I wont overload the existing circuit.

Thanks very much

Cheers