CharleyVarrick 283 Posted May 27, 2017 Posted May 27, 2017 (edited) I am at a point where I need to expand my storage capacity (here I go again ). My 2 servers have identical casings, and all 3.5' bays are full, each presently hold 6x 3.5" sata hdd. Each have 3x 5.25" unused bay, I already have tool-less 5.25 to 3.5" adapters They also have 2x 2.5 ssd mounting area. So I have 6 drives in each but I could squeeze-in up to 4 more. All 6 m/bd sata ports are presently used so I need to go for pci-ex sata expansion card (4 ports) I bought some cheap 2 ports cards a while back, but they were wrong form factor (mounting bracket too small). Can you suggest me a good make and model? Found this Startech PEXSAT34RH https://www.amazon.ca/StarTech-com-Express-6Gbps-Controller-Adapter/dp/B00BUC3N74 Is it ok, or overkill, as I do not require RAID functionality, just extra sata ports Thanks in advance Edited May 27, 2017 by jlr19
mediacowboy 438 Posted May 27, 2017 Posted May 27, 2017 If all you need is sata expansion there is this. IO Crest 4 Port SATA III PCI-e 2.0 x1 Controller Card Marvell Non-Raid with Low Profile Bracket SI-PEX40064 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AZ9T3OU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ICAkzbW5RWZSX No only is is about half the price but I used two of them before I switched to the lsi-9211-8i flashed to IT mode. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk 1
CharleyVarrick 283 Posted May 27, 2017 Author Posted May 27, 2017 Hi, thank you, low profile is what I previously bought and the mounting bracket was too short (that's how I found out what low profile meant). Do they make a standard profile model?
mediacowboy 438 Posted May 27, 2017 Posted May 27, 2017 (edited) They come with both standard and a low profile. Look at the 5rh picture. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk Edited May 27, 2017 by mediacowboy
CharleyVarrick 283 Posted May 27, 2017 Author Posted May 27, 2017 (edited) Great! Thanks I just Doofus (ordered) a pair of those. Thanks again Edited May 27, 2017 by jlr19 1
pir8radio 1312 Posted May 27, 2017 Posted May 27, 2017 Great! Thanks I just Doofus (ordered) a pair of those. Thanks again Poor @ , he keeps getting picked on just because he strives to build the perfect emby server.
mediacowboy 438 Posted May 27, 2017 Posted May 27, 2017 Well when he buys something new every other day.
Happy2Play 9780 Posted May 27, 2017 Posted May 27, 2017 Or you could look for Full Height Brackets for the cards you already have. https://www.amazon.com/Standard-Height-Bracket-Profile-Cards/dp/B00BF7Q4MU
CharleyVarrick 283 Posted May 27, 2017 Author Posted May 27, 2017 Or you could look for Full Height Brackets for the cards you already have. https://www.amazon.com/Standard-Height-Bracket-Profile-Cards/dp/B00BF7Q4MU Or just swap the brackets with other from cards I have laying around, but I prefer to go with 4 ports (future proof).
CharleyVarrick 283 Posted May 31, 2017 Author Posted May 31, 2017 If all you need is sata expansion there is this. IO Crest 4 Port SATA III PCI-e 2.0 x1 Controller Card Marvell Non-Raid with Low Profile Bracket SI-PEX40064 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AZ9T3OU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ICAkzbW5RWZSX No only is is about half the price but I used two of them before I switched to the lsi-9211-8i flashed to IT mode. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk And they work flawlessly out of the box too. Already installed in both my servers, a hard drive added to each, nothing exploded! That was like 2 for 1, man! Thanks!!! 1
mediacowboy 438 Posted May 31, 2017 Posted May 31, 2017 And they work flawlessly out of the box too. Already installed in both my servers, a hard drive added to each, nothing exploded! That was like 2 for 1, man! Thanks!!! Then my advice wasn't a total failure. HAHA
chef 3810 Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 (edited) If all you need is sata expansion there is this. IO Crest 4 Port SATA III PCI-e 2.0 x1 Controller Card Marvell Non-Raid with Low Profile Bracket SI-PEX40064 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AZ9T3OU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ICAkzbW5RWZSX No only is is about half the price but I used two of them before I switched to the lsi-9211-8i flashed to IT mode. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk I just bought this IO crest mentioned here. Works fine! Just make sure you have enough power from your supply to run the extra drives. I also just puchased 5 ATX cases which I'm going to build 5 NAS computers out of. Each one will house about 5 4 TB drives... So, 20 X 5 = an extra 100 TB. Should be cool. Edited June 1, 2017 by chef
mediacowboy 438 Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 I just bought this IO crest mentioned here. Works fine! Just make sure you have enough power from your supply to run the extra drives. I also just puchased 5 ATX cases which I'm going to build 5 NAS computers out of. Each one will house about 5 4 TB drives... So, 20 X 5 = an extra 100 TB. Should be cool. You going to do a build log on it?
Happy2Play 9780 Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 I just bought this IO crest mentioned here. Works fine! Just make sure you have enough power from your supply to run the extra drives. I also just puchased 5 ATX cases which I'm going to build 5 NAS computers out of. Each one will house about 5 4 TB drives... So, 20 X 5 = an extra 100 TB. Should be cool. Any reason to build 5 instead or 1?
chef 3810 Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 Any reason to build 5 instead or 1? The ATX cases where on sale for... Get this... $12.00. Not even kidding.
CharleyVarrick 283 Posted June 1, 2017 Author Posted June 1, 2017 @@chef I thought you posted a link to them 12$ cases, but I realize its in your signature, in any case (no pun intended), that dropbox link is dead...
CharleyVarrick 283 Posted June 1, 2017 Author Posted June 1, 2017 I just bought this IO crest mentioned here. Works fine! Just make sure you have enough power from your supply to run the extra drives. Funny, yesterday I installed those expansion cards/added 1 drive each (for now) on my 2 servers, when I fired up the 2nd server, I immediately smelled something burning, turns out it was just a neighbour burning some kind of junk... Should have seen my face for a moment, priceless! 1
chef 3810 Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 (edited) Funny, yesterday I installed those expansion cards/added 1 drive each (for now) on my 2 servers, when I fired up the 2nd server, I immediately smelled something burning, turns out it was just a neighbour burning some kind of junk... Should have seen my face for a moment, priceless! Lol! The cards are quite cheap so i can see how that would scare you for a moment. I was going to buy quite a few more of them, since the NAS is headless, I was going to fill all the pcie slots with them, try to push for more 4 TB drives. I wonder if pushing for 200 extra TB on top of my server is overkill. Lol Edited June 1, 2017 by chef
chef 3810 Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 (edited) @@chef I thought you posted a link to them 12$ cases, but I realize its in your signature, in any case (no pun intended), that dropbox link is dead... I know I gotta fix that. The 12.00 cases went back up to 69.00 each a day later. Problem is the cases are going to arrive in giant boxes and my wife is going to lose her mind when she sees them. I can't hide giant boxes at the door, like smaller purchases. If no one hears from me for a while, I'll be in the dog house... Edited June 1, 2017 by chef 1
CharleyVarrick 283 Posted June 1, 2017 Author Posted June 1, 2017 Problem is the cases are going to arrive in giant boxes and my wife is going to lose her mind when she sees them. I can't hide giant boxes at their door, like smaller purchases. If no one hears from me for a while, I'll be in the dog house... Funny and so true, wife are rarely worried with small packages, but always suspicious of larger ones.
chef 3810 Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 (edited) They went back down to 29.00 bucks 4.2 out of 5 stars 55 Reviews Rosewill Micro ATX Mini Tower Computer Case SRM-01 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B00ZPWOA6I/ref=ya_st_dp_summary On Amazon. Ends up they are micro ATX, but still might be okay for NAS. Probably good I bought 5... Edited June 1, 2017 by chef
mediacowboy 438 Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 They went back down to 29.00 bucks 4.2 out of 5 stars 55 Reviews Rosewill Micro ATX Mini Tower Computer Case SRM-01 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B00ZPWOA6I/ref=ya_st_dp_summary On Amazon. Ends up they are micro ATX, but still might be okay for NAS. Probably good I bought 5... How you going to get 5 drives in those bad boys? With only 1 - 5.25 and 2 - 3.5 drive bays.
chef 3810 Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 (edited) I was thinking about Gutting them with a dremmel and attaching drive bays. Or drilling extra holes. But now my concern is air flow. I think... Edited June 1, 2017 by chef
CharleyVarrick 283 Posted June 1, 2017 Author Posted June 1, 2017 I was thinking about Gutting them with a dremmel and attaching drive bays. Or drilling extra holes. But now my concern is air flow. I think... To me, air flow is the most important aspect in a case. In the past, I've run into pretty horrible internal design. ThermalTake Bach HTPC was like a toaster oven inside, plus it made a racket. The exterior was gorgeous to look at though. I'm writing this on a Dell XPS-8300, and its 2 hard drives temperatures are 41c & 37c respectively. Meanwhile, my desktop server, inches away, reports temperatures of its 7 drives between 26c & 31c. And it also has the quietest stock fans by a long shot. A good case is a sound investment to protect those precious hdd'$ 1
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