I am looking for a Case that will be able to house 8 drives for a raid 5 card. Looking for something under 300 if possible. I am using a 3ware raid card so the IDE cables will have to reach below the PCI card so I am looking for something that is basically ALL 5 1/4" drive bays... or anyone with suggestions for a case that has a good number of internal 3 1/2" drive containers would be welcomed. Someone had a case up here the other day that was like 8 or 10 5 1/4" drive bays and was a mid tower or just slightly larger than that.
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Raid 5 Case Suggestions?
- Thread starter pyrodex
- Start date
You could even do it with a mid-tower. Just get one of these:
http://servercase.com/miva/miva?/Me...roduct_Code=BR-IDE35&Category_Code=ATA100/133
It takes 3 5.25" bays but handles 5 out of the 8 drives. Many mid-tower cases have room for 3 3.5" hard drives anyway, so you'll be set.
By the way, if that hotswap enclosure is too expensive, here is an alternative:
http://www.stayonline.com/internal_chassis_brackets/5445.asp
If you search futher, you could probably find a 5-drive version as well, or make one.
http://servercase.com/miva/miva?/Me...roduct_Code=BR-IDE35&Category_Code=ATA100/133
It takes 3 5.25" bays but handles 5 out of the 8 drives. Many mid-tower cases have room for 3 3.5" hard drives anyway, so you'll be set.
By the way, if that hotswap enclosure is too expensive, here is an alternative:
http://www.stayonline.com/internal_chassis_brackets/5445.asp
If you search futher, you could probably find a 5-drive version as well, or make one.
blindviper
[H]ard|Gawd
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you could get a Pc 71 which has 9 3 1/2 bays they go for about 180-200
brycejones
Supreme [H]ardness
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Get one of the U2-UFO cases from mountainmods.com. They can handle 9 hard drives in one stack internally. Its the case I'm using for my 8 drive array and 1 boot drive. Also they have a ton of room inside and great cooling. You can pick up a plain case for complete with fans for $340. Trust me they are worth it.
This may sound cheesy, but if brand isn't important to you, I'd suggest looking at compgeeks . They have a few no-PSU cases that can handle a whole load of hard drives . Here's one that actually looks pretty decent, has 7 x 3.5" internal spots and 4 5.25" ones. It's only $22.50 + shipping.
<runs as he sees the tide of "that's a terrible case" posts coming>
<runs as he sees the tide of "that's a terrible case" posts coming>
brycejones
Supreme [H]ardness
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Thing only thing about those cheap cases is that usually the front intakes stink (no airflow). An 8 drive array gets pretty hot without enough cooling.
I found them finally! All day searching and finally came across IDE cables that are round and have just one device and bigger than 18in.
CablesAmerica
They have 24in and 36in IDE round cables for 7.17$ a pop. Thats a killer deal IMHO.
CablesAmerica
They have 24in and 36in IDE round cables for 7.17$ a pop. Thats a killer deal IMHO.
18 inches is spec. With the small size of the wires in the ribbon cable, the potential for interference, the clock speed, and the amount of data, eighteen inches is the longest length cable with guaranteed data integrity.
You may (and probably will) get away with longer cables, but you're taking a calculated risk. The worst that can happen is data corruption--there's no risk to your hardware.
You may (and probably will) get away with longer cables, but you're taking a calculated risk. The worst that can happen is data corruption--there's no risk to your hardware.
You have a good point--I assumed that this would be a fresh install and everything. Data corruption due to long cables should show up fairly early. Daily or weekly backups are a good thing. Maybe just because I've lost all my data so many times I've lost the sensitivity I once had to data loss!
I don't know if you already have the Controller and drive but if you're buying them as well, you might wanna switch to SATA for longer cables and easier cable management
3Ware makes 8 and even 12 Drives SATA RAID 5 controllers
http://www.3ware.com/products/serial_ata8000.asp
Holy shit thats nice. Looks like you are using cables longer than 18in... any issues with data? I thought about using all hot swap bays but I could not find a good size case with 9-10 5 1/4in bays. 9 would do (8 drives + DVDROM).
This is driving me crazy with the case... anyone happen to have a Lian-Li PC76 or PC78 (Non SCA version) that could measure from the part of the case where the PCI/AGP slots are to the drive cages for the case? I am trying to get a idea if I should go and get SATA converters and use SATA cable or if 18inch single device IDE Cables are good enough. I am afraid of data corruption...
I was going about this all the wrong way.. I was thinking harder and not smarter.. Well I own a PC70 which is basically the PC76 but like 2x the width. So I took a spare 18inch floppy cable and it was more than enough room so 18inches will work. That is good since my vendor sent me like 10 free rounded IDE 18inch cables the other day.