*Official* Norco data storage products thread

still one question for u guys/girls/hybrids.. in what kind of temperatures do u have these cases ? basic room temperature? maybe some basement thingy going on? was thinkin about adding my server case to a cool room in basement but i think its too cool so it would start to make some water in to the case :(
 
I used to have mine in the basement which wasn't heated or cooled at all, even in the middle of the winter i never had any condensation form, but thats doesn't speak for your situation though. Now it sits in my bedroom adding to the noise LOL
 
moose517 said:
I used to have mine in the basement which wasn't heated or cooled at all, even in the middle of the winter i never had any condensation form, but thats doesn't speak for your situation though. Now it sits in my bedroom adding to the noise LOL
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Maybe i should try the basements coolest room ;D what kind of temps did u have in there? where do u live ?
 
I don't recall exact temps for the HDD's but i'm thinking summer they were like 35-40c and in the winter were around 20c. I live in northern indiana
 
kk.. what kind of winter temps do u have in idiana?

We have most of the time under -20-30 C in here...


edit: i ordered that norcos 4224 (^^,) tho still need to wait a littlebit b4 i get enough money for 6 slot sas controller.. :)
 
How cold is that actual basement?

I haven't had any condensation issues with my rack being in a unheated basement. This is in New York, where our ambient temperatures outside usually average 0 C in the winter. My 5400 RPM drives would idle in the 16 C range and the 7200 RPM drives idle in the 21 C range.

On the flip side, in the summer things get quite toasty in that room. Can't have it both ways I guess.
 
yeah we have in outside like ummm lets say -0 -> -30 in winter time.. need to find a different place from basement area.. like 8 rooms/spaces in there.. cant be too cold coz its not good for hardware..
 
Has anyone used a H50 with the Norco 4020 or similar case? if so how did you mount the radiator?
 
AMD_Gamer said:
Has anyone used a H50 with the Norco 4020 or similar case? if so how did you mount the radiator?
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With the internal 120mm fan bracket, I think it would be pretty easy, you'd be radiating heat within the case, but you'd still be getting it away from the CPU efficiently enough I think. You'd likely have to mount the radiator sideways, which from a brief bit of googling sounds like it's not an issue.

In the next week or 2 I'll be moving a system that's using an H50 from a Lian-Li PC-P50 into a Rosewill RSV-L4000 case. It has a 120mm fan bracket similar in size/location to the Norco internal fan bracket. And that's where I'll try to mount the H50 first.

An alternative would be to cut a 120mm fan-hole in the side, top, or bottom of the case. The side would somewhat work in my situation and is my fallback plan. My cases are all in a rack so the top or bottom would be infeasible, unless I always put this machine on the top or bottom of the stack.

If I do decide to cut a hole in the side, I'll likely use a hole-saw, which I already have from past modding projects. And I'll make sure the hole doesn't overlap any of the rail screw holes. I'll use a printed template to drill the mounting holes.

Another idea would be to cut out one of the 80mm fan mounts, and then run the pump+hoses through it from the outside. The hoses would likely rach on some(most?) motherboards. If you didn't want to lose a fan, you could cut a notch from the adjacent fan hole, to above the expansion slots, and slide the hoses into it, though that would be an even longer hose run.

And I have seen at least one screen shot, where someone gave up ~half their expansion slots and added an 120mm fan mount or 2 to the back of a Norco case.
 
Yes, 4 new models in total: 24-bay and 12-bay, including power supply, and with or without an integrated Areca expander based on the LSI2SASx36 expander chip - which in my opinion is the most the universal and broadly compatible SAS2 expander chip on the market.

I'm prepping a hands-on review which should be posted some time next week. Originally they said the 12-bay models would come out first in January with a 24-bay model later on, but they've fast-tracked everything and now all four models will be available on Newegg *next week*. I have no idea on pricing.

12f.jpg

12d.jpg

12e.jpg


24f.jpg

24d.jpg

24e.jpg
 
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I saw those on eBay last week actually. Before you get all excited, going by the pricing on there (which seems to be accurate as the seller has every other Norco product at retail), they are extremely expensive. The Supermicro 4Us are cheaper than what they want (which is $1300 for the 2U and $1600 for the 4U).
 
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The ebay seller you mention *is* Norco (IPCDirect), but yeah the models with the integrated SAS2 expander will be relatively pricey for the home/hobbyist crowd. I imagine they had more in mind than the people looking to store Bluray rips at the lowest possible cost.

We'll see if Newegg price them any more aggressively, and I'll try to get clarification from Norco on how the pricing breaks out, since the 12 and 24 port Areca expanders employed in those cases can be purchased standalone for $500 and $625 respectively.
 
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I don't really understand their pricing. A Supermicro 846E26-R1200B (which even has dual expanders) is only ~$1300 on Provantage. Hell, you can get the 45 bay (847E26-RJBOD1) for only $400 more than what Norco wants and they both have redundant power supplies and are far higher quality. You're essentially buying a $1300 SAS expander. If you want to save money, there's Chenbro's UEK line too. I can't see them selling many of them.
 
$1,300 - 1,600 is certainly a show stopper. I could build a whole system for that. And if we're talking corporate money then there is no way I'd be going with Norco. If that pricing is correct then I just don't see a market for these products.
 
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Those prices are far too high. For me $1000 may even be a bit high for the expander chassis.

A Supermicro SC846E1 is $1200, you get a redundant PSU and much better build quality for $300 less! Norco have got their head in the clouds with that pricing, $900max for the expander model IMHO.
 
A 4224 is $400, and the 4U expander chassis is $1500. That means they are charging an extra $1100 for an expander and a single PSU.

Do the Areca expanders they are using cost $1000? I don't know the exact model they are using, but I thought they were about half that.

What is Norco thinking?
 
I've only followed the expander stuff very superficially, but can someone clarify:

So I'm running a 4020 with a pair of the Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 cards. What would I need to run one of these boxes? Ditch the SM cards for something like an HP SAS expander, use the internal ports to run to the drives inside the 4020 (or this could be optional depending on slot availability on my mobo), and then jump a cable from the external port to one of expander chassis? Are the 3 ports on the back of the expander chassis for more bandwidth if you have more external ports on the host machine, or for jumping to additional expander chassis?
 
You could just get this adaptor. http://www.pc-pitstop.com/sas_cables_adapters/AD8788-1.asp

Then get an SFF8088 to SFF8088 cable to go from the adaptor to the expander chassis.

EDIT: nvm i see you are using all the ports for your internal connections.
Just get an HP SAS expander or a different Controller with both internal and external connections

The extra ports are for daisy chaining additional expander chassis.
 
I have a question for any 4224 owners. Has anyone changed the rear fans to run at 7 volts?
Mainly I want to know if they will still start up, and whether its worth it.
 
I don't know how many volts mine are set to but I have them turned way down. And it is worth it.
 
I don't have a fan controller, I was just planning on swapping the cables to run from the 12v and 5v, instead of 12v and ground.
 
Anyone have more cooling tips for the very first generation 4020? (Perpendicular backplanes, lots of grades, 2008 vintage). I've already taped over all grates on the side and at bottom of fan panel to channel airflow (should I tape over the side grates near the front?)

I think I need to get faster fans. I have all DM12-80s from Yate Loon; 27cfm/29dBa. Drives are getting a little toasty (at least the 7.2ks are, but they're going away soon anyways). Suggestions?
 
movax said:
Anyone have more cooling tips for the very first generation 4020? (Perpendicular backplanes, lots of grades, 2008 vintage). I've already taped over all grates on the side and at bottom of fan panel to channel airflow (should I tape over the side grates near the front?)

I think I need to get faster fans. I have all DM12-80s from Yate Loon; 27cfm/29dBa. Drives are getting a little toasty (at least the 7.2ks are, but they're going away soon anyways). Suggestions?
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Not sure why you need more airflow in that case than the stock fans provide. Most users of these cases (all generations) either stick with stock or experiment with how much less airflow they can live with using low-noise fans. My 4220 is near-silent (well, not really, but pretty darn quiet) and the drives are happily living well below 35c even at load.

Very, very important question: did you open the airflow dampers in the drive trays as you installed the disks? They ship closed - mostly - and if you don't open them you don't have any real intake air.
 
PigLover said:
Very, very important question: did you open the airflow dampers in the drive trays as you installed the disks? They ship closed - mostly - and if you don't open them you don't have any real intake air.
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I don't have any I'm pretty sure. Just the plastic latch, and then nothing (metal grate).
 
Hello guys again! Forgot to post updates about my project :D

Got that norco 4224 from USA -> Finland... took only like 9 days!!! fast as hell and norco has really nice customer service ^^
 
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movax said:
I don't have any I'm pretty sure. Just the plastic latch, and then nothing (metal grate).
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Yes, you do have them. The metal grate has a little slide on it. One way open, one way closed. They ship closed so if you don't think you have them then what you probably have is all of them closed...and almost no airflow over the drives.

Only open the ones where you actually install drives.
 
He said it was a first generation 4020. Are you sure the 1st-gen trays have that feature?

I got a 4224 recently, and it does have the sliding door on the vents, but they did not ship closed. They were all open when I received them.
 
epimetheus said:
Yes, my 2nd gen 4020 (with the blue and green LED's) doesn't have those. As far as I know, no 4020 has those.
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I can only remove the basic metal grating at the front of tray, which compromises the structural integrity of the plastic front (it kinda flops around). So yeah, don't think I have them ;)

Would kill for perpendicular backplanes though, early adopting :(
 
Separate post (separate question): I see Norco sells a metal 3x120mm bracket for the "new" RPC-4020. I definitely have the "old" one...would it still work (aka, anyone tried it?). I'm not averse to drilling a few holes if I have too.

My room is awful toasty (even though it's plenty cold outside...) and my Yates (DM80-12s) aren't doing as well as they could be IMO. Granted temps are a bit higher right now because I'm in the middle of shuffling files around (so lots of I/O), but 3 120s would be quieter and better performing I think.
 
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