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I currently have a promise SX4000 with 4 drives in raid 5. I also have another drive for the OS. Even though my case has room for 8 internal 3.5" drives, I still don't think there is good enough airflow, especially with all the IDE cables (6). My computer started crashing while playing video games so I figured it was the heat. This made me desire an external enclosure for a new 4 drive RAID setup. I now believe that the video card is just bad and the heat is at acceptable levels.
So my question is, where is the best place to put the drives for a 4 drive RAID array?
1. In the regular internal 3.5" bays. Most cases do not allow for proper airflow from the front for this option to be optimal. My current case has two 80mm fans in the front, but they are only blowing air on 3 of the drives. The amount of air that can get by them is also minimal. I would also prefer for the video card to have as much fresh air as possible, and without a side fan, this generally isn't possible.
2. In the external 5.25" bays. There are several enclosures made for going into multiple 5.25" bays. Such as these: http://www.addonics.com/products/raid_system/ae4rcs35nsa.asp The cooling on those doesn't seem to be very good, but at least it is keeping the heat away from everything else. This seems to offer better cooling, but 4 drives would take up 4 slots: http://www.addonics.com/products/combo_hdd/aechdsa35.asp Also, I'm sure there are things that can hold 4 drives in a 3 or 4 5.25" external bays that have good cooling, but I just can't find them. I don't need hot swap, just something with good airflow.
3. External enclosure. I was really tempted to do this, but I thought I may be over reacting to the heat issue. I'm sure many will suggest that with 4 drives I don't need something external. Any opinions? This external enclosures aren't cheap. They seem to go for around $400 for 4 bays.
4. Separate computer. I was also one day planning on building a separate file server that would operate over gigabit ethernet. While gigabit is fast, it's not as fast as if it was directly connected, so I kind of decided against this route.
I'm having a hard time deciding what kind of case I need. There are just way too many so I was wondering if anyone could suggest something. Also any external or internal enclosure suggestions would be appreciated.
So my question is, where is the best place to put the drives for a 4 drive RAID array?
1. In the regular internal 3.5" bays. Most cases do not allow for proper airflow from the front for this option to be optimal. My current case has two 80mm fans in the front, but they are only blowing air on 3 of the drives. The amount of air that can get by them is also minimal. I would also prefer for the video card to have as much fresh air as possible, and without a side fan, this generally isn't possible.
2. In the external 5.25" bays. There are several enclosures made for going into multiple 5.25" bays. Such as these: http://www.addonics.com/products/raid_system/ae4rcs35nsa.asp The cooling on those doesn't seem to be very good, but at least it is keeping the heat away from everything else. This seems to offer better cooling, but 4 drives would take up 4 slots: http://www.addonics.com/products/combo_hdd/aechdsa35.asp Also, I'm sure there are things that can hold 4 drives in a 3 or 4 5.25" external bays that have good cooling, but I just can't find them. I don't need hot swap, just something with good airflow.
3. External enclosure. I was really tempted to do this, but I thought I may be over reacting to the heat issue. I'm sure many will suggest that with 4 drives I don't need something external. Any opinions? This external enclosures aren't cheap. They seem to go for around $400 for 4 bays.
4. Separate computer. I was also one day planning on building a separate file server that would operate over gigabit ethernet. While gigabit is fast, it's not as fast as if it was directly connected, so I kind of decided against this route.
I'm having a hard time deciding what kind of case I need. There are just way too many so I was wondering if anyone could suggest something. Also any external or internal enclosure suggestions would be appreciated.
