energy efficient home server, need psu rec.

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Manaknight

Supreme [H]ardness
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so i set up the most efficient home server i could set up with the parts i had on hand. This is what i came up with (i know some parts can be made better and as time goes on i'll do so.)

anyway

athlon x2 BE-2400
biostar a770 mb
geforce 7300 le (will probably change this for an even lower power card)
2x2gb ram
2x 80gb ide hard drive raid 1
1x 40gb ide running as sata (with adapter)for OS
2x 250gb IDE raid 1
2x 320gb sata raid 1
3ware escalade 7000 ide raid card
adaptec 2410sa sata raid card.
1x dvd burner ide
2nd intel gigabit nic for ethernet bridging
3x fans may move to 4

i was leaning to that 430w earthwatts on newegg, but didn't know if that would be enough to keep this thing on most of the time. Main reason is i'm still up in the air about the average draw of that many hard drives. So i'm trying match a low budget with a decent psu

thanks

anyway, any hel
 
The power needs of each drive should be written on the drive case. If not, the data should be on the manufacturer's web site.

Assuming 10W per drive is probably not a bad average for peak demand - many newer drive use less. That will mean about 70W for all your drives.

Having been down the RMA route with Antec, I'd recommend a Corsair VX450. It's at least as efficient as any Antec model (all Corsair PSUs meet the efficiency standards).
 
i'll probably just roll with the corsair then, the rest of my house is corsair. I just wasn't sure of the efficiency overall.

thanks guys
 
I have a couple of the Earthwatts 380's - for $20 or 30 or whatever it's tough to beat for 80+ efficiency. Currently Newegg has the 430 for $30 after rebate. They seem to be well regarded, but I had an Antec burn out on me as well.

I have a Corsair 650TX in my main desktop that I am quite happy with, so that would be a good choice as well.
 
Wanna save power?

Ditch all those hard drives, replace them with two 750's.
 
I run a single board computer (no agp/pci slots) with a 1.6ghz p4 northwood and 1GB ram. single TB hd and a 250W antec ATX power supply. Everything else I can connect via USB when needed and unplug when not needed. It runs 2K3 pretty well. I have an APC backups with the LCD and it says it only draws 65W. My wireless gateway, voice router, and various network switches combined draw more power. Something to think about, as I went "green" this year.
 
Michael Daly said:
Having been down the RMA route with Antec, I'd recommend a Corsair VX450. It's at least as efficient as any Antec model (all Corsair PSUs meet the efficiency standards).
Click to expand...

The VX450 is built on the same Seasonic platform as the EA430 (assuming the non-D version; the EA430D is made by Delta), except using slightly better components.

Anyway, that system will use very little power, even with all the HDs, so the Corsair and Antec units would both be good choices. Either one will do fine, but if the Earthwatts is cheaper, there's no need to go with the Corsair.
 
Could you please tell us what parts you have and what parts you need to buy?

Unlike Michael Daly's experience with Antec's RMA department, mine went pretty well. Sent back a squealing Smartpower 450W PSU. Got back a Earthwatts EA500D a week later.
 
Ockie said:
Wanna save power?

Ditch all those hard drives, replace them with two 750's.
Click to expand...

This is certainly good advice in the long run. Two drives will be less than 20W, possibly somewhat less depending on the brand and model. With 7 drives at an estimated 70W the reduction will beat the difference between two different brands of PSUs or the difference between regular efficient and newer "green" higher efficiency PSUs.
 
Michael Daly said:
This is certainly good advice in the long run. Two drives will be less than 20W, possibly somewhat less depending on the brand and model. With 7 drives at an estimated 70W the reduction will beat the difference between two different brands of PSUs or the difference between regular efficient and newer "green" higher efficiency PSUs.
Click to expand...

i agree, but at the moment i need to move data off my main systems and don't have the current money on hand to spend ~90 bucks per drive. I'm going to put aside to move up to bigger drives just like ockie says. so yeah give it a few months of getting the setup ironed out and in place into my network and then i'll move to higher capacity drives.

Either way i have a 600w xfinity in there...not exactly the definition of efficient for something that will be on a lot. I'll grab the antec and see how it goes.
 
I agree wit lowering the drives. Although expensive, segate has the 1.5TB drive. I have seen reviews, but 1 drive should be less power. I realize you want some redundancy, but a simple usb back up drive would be a very power efficient way to store data because you can shut it off. It would get rid of the need of a raid card, or in your case 2.

Also consider something like a via processor. You're looking for two different kinds of efficiency. One with power draw, the other is complete use of cycles. Something that can throttle the cpu down would be good.

Also go passive. 1 hdd, passive processor and slower low voltage to ram should allow you to run without fans.

My efficiency is when I don't have to turn on the furnace in the winter cuz I can warm the house with My computer.
 
Cloud15x said:
I agree wit lowering the drives. Although expensive, segate has the 1.5TB drive. I have seen reviews, but 1 drive should be less power. I realize you want some redundancy, but a simple usb back up drive would be a very power efficient way to store data because you can shut it off. It would get rid of the need of a raid card, or in your case 2.

Also consider something like a via processor. You're looking for two different kinds of efficiency. One with power draw, the other is complete use of cycles. Something that can throttle the cpu down would be good.

Also go passive. 1 hdd, passive processor and slower low voltage to ram should allow you to run without fans.

My efficiency is when I don't have to turn on the furnace in the winter cuz I can warm the house with My computer.
Click to expand...

got myself set up with a pair of 1tb drives, though i kept the 320s as well. also got the earthwatts psu. as for the other stuff, this is also being used for home business, so i need a little more flexibility than a usb backup, and more power than the via. Mainly i am simply looking for total power draw, i already have 3 main rigs around the house that can keep the place warm in winter. I just wanted something that can be efficient when being left on for large expanses of time. So i guess I wasn't looking for hardcore efficiency, mainly doing the best with what i had.
 
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