Server needs HDs, will this work?

[Ashton]

I've got a PC I've turned into a media server and as I'm copying all my DVDs to it, I'm running out of space (just added a 1tb HD, and it's over 90% full!) I only have space for 1 more HD, so I was looking at this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/PCI-E-PCIE-RAID...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item414ae62293

it looks like it adds 2 more SATA ports using the PCI-E (which is the only slot that's available) will it work to add another 4tb of space as I need it (2x 2tb) or is it going to cause more problems?

(OS: Win 7, CPU: Athelon64x2 @ 2.33ghz, Ram: 3gb)

EDIT:
Found this one too, which offers _4_ SATA ports:
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-eSATA-2-SATA-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item414b03e62c

 

[Dark Shade]

That second one is two SATA and two E-SATA, which may or may not be what you desire. How many slots does your motherboard have, PCI/PCI-E etc? Is that PCI-E slot the only one not occupied?

 

[Ashton]

That second one is two SATA and two E-SATA, which may or may not be what you desire. How many slots does your motherboard have, PCI/PCI-E etc? Is that PCI-E slot the only one not occupied?

The way I understand it (which might be wrong) is that e-sata is identical to sata, so all I have to do is open a second plate on the back and thread the cables back through for internal HDs

My Momo has 3 slots, 2 PCI and 1 PCI-E
I have a Graphics card in 1 PCI slot
I have a sound card in the 2nd PCI slot

So, yeah, my only open slot is the PCI-E, though if performance is going to be especially bad, I guess I can buy a PCI-E graphics card and a PCI sata controller...

 

[lifeinchains]

The way I understand it (which might be wrong) is that e-sata is identical to sata, so all I have to do is open a second plate on the back and thread the cables back through for internal HDs

eSATA is electrically identical but not physically identical. You need something like this to connect internal SATA to eSATA. And then you'd need two of these to connect the card to the bracket.

It is an awfully roundabout way to get the extra two ports though. It might be worth it to just spend a little extra on a controller with 4 or more internal ports.

 

[Dark Shade]

My Momo has 3 slots, 2 PCI and 1 PCI-E
I have a Graphics card in 1 PCI slot
I have a sound card in the 2nd PCI slot

So, yeah, my only open slot is the PCI-E, though if performance is going to be especially bad, I guess I can buy a PCI-E graphics card and a PCI sata controller...

Are you playing the media through this computer connected to a monitor/HDTV, or is it just storing the data? If it's the former, get a decent HDMI w/sound capable PCI-E video card (I have a 4650 in mine) which will let you remove the sound card and the PCI graphics card, giving you two open PCI slots for SATA expansion cards. If it's just storing data, grab a cheapie PCI-E card or use the motherboard's onboard video and remove the sound card, dataservers don't need sound.

 

[Ashton]

Are you playing the media through this computer connected to a monitor/HDTV, or is it just storing the data? If it's the former, get a decent HDMI w/sound capable PCI-E video card (I have a 4650 in mine) which will let you remove the sound card and the PCI graphics card, giving you two open PCI slots for SATA expansion cards. If it's just storing data, grab a cheapie PCI-E card or use the motherboard's onboard video and remove the sound card, dataservers don't need sound.

Yes.

I use it to watch the media and I also use it to stream it to my PS3/360. I had not considered the HDMI-out so eliminate the need for the sound card, I'll keep that in mind (though it wont happen till I buy a new monitor that supports HDMI, mine only support VGA or Component for HD)

I would use on-board except I have 2 monitors hooked up for Maya (3D modeling) where screen space is a premium. Though since everything is running find on an "old" video card (512mb Radeon x1300) I can probably pick up a PCI-e version for $5 - $20 on ebay; perhaps one that will handle HDMI as well for future upgrades

eSATA is electrically identical but not physically identical. You need something like this to connect internal SATA to eSATA. And then you'd need two of these to connect the card to the bracket.

It is an awfully roundabout way to get the extra two ports though. It might be worth it to just spend a little extra on a controller with 4 or more internal ports.

Geeze, I had no idea, I was under the impression they were the same (also had no idea untill reading the comments on newegg that E-sata had the same Xfer rate as USB 2.0) I think I'll just look for one with 4 internal ports. Thanks!

 

[lifeinchains]

Geeze, I had no idea, I was under the impression they were the same (also had no idea untill reading the comments on newegg that E-sata had the same Xfer rate as USB 2.0) I think I'll just look for one with 4 internal ports. Thanks!

Actually, that is incorrect. eSATA has the capability to run at the full 3Gbps rate of SATA II, much higher than the 480Mbps that USB 2.0 runs at. It really is just SATA piped over a thicker cable for connection to external devices.

It has been over taken by USB 3.0, but widespread usage of that is still a little ways off.