Mini-ITX chassis with two 2.5" drives

oli · 18th March 2009, 8:17 PM

Hi all!

I want to build a little server with two mirrored 2.5" SATA drives. It doesn't need an optical drive or any other drives at all.

I'm a bit concerned about heat because most of the cases are designed to have one drives in them only, and have minimal fans/active cooling. I think with most I'd need an adaptor like this one to put a second drive in.

Has anyone done something like this or have any suggestions about what case to use? If possible I'd prefer one of the flatter cases and not the cube shaped ones.

Edit: Is a 60w PSU enough for two 2.5" SATA drives? (5400rpm)

Any tips or recommendations appreciated.

lil^mac · 18th March 2009, 11:24 PM

hellos oli,

I've had the same idea as you; running a little server with 2x 2.5" SATA HDD mirror'd in a flat ITX casing. So far, I've found these cases http://www.aywun.com , pricing I'm not too sure but staticice may help you out on that. As for 60W PSU....most 2.5" run at 2.5-4W max, factor in an ITX mobo solution that sucks up 30-40W and you should be well under 60W (these are just guestimates).

good luck.

oli · 19th March 2009, 6:29 AM

Yep, I had narrowed it down to the MD-100 model from that company.

That's good that the power should be sufficient.

What about heat?

If I'm using 5400rpm drives I'm guessing heat should not be too much of a problem, especially considering the motherboard would produce a small amount of heat anyway (using a Intel Atom based solution).

SLATYE · 19th March 2009, 1:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oli

If I'm using 5400rpm drives I'm guessing heat should not be too much of a problem, especially considering the motherboard would produce a small amount of heat anyway (using a Intel Atom based solution).

Most laptops provide essentially no ventilation or cooling for the HDD. As long as you keep the drives separated by a few millimetres they should be fine.

oli · 19th March 2009, 1:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLATYE

Most laptops provide essentially no ventilation or cooling for the HDD. As long as you keep the drives separated by a few millimetres they should be fine.

Great, I didn't see that being a problem but thought I'd ask anyway.

Thanks guys.

18th March 2009, 8:17 PM	#1
oli Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,797	Mini-ITX chassis with two 2.5" drives Hi all! I want to build a little server with two mirrored 2.5" SATA drives. It doesn't need an optical drive or any other drives at all. I'm a bit concerned about heat because most of the cases are designed to have one drives in them only, and have minimal fans/active cooling. I think with most I'd need an adaptor like this one to put a second drive in. Has anyone done something like this or have any suggestions about what case to use? If possible I'd prefer one of the flatter cases and not the cube shaped ones. Edit: Is a 60w PSU enough for two 2.5" SATA drives? (5400rpm) Any tips or recommendations appreciated. Last edited by oli; 18th March 2009 at 9:06 PM.

18th March 2009, 11:24 PM	#2
lil^mac Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: S.A. Posts: 249	hellos oli, I've had the same idea as you; running a little server with 2x 2.5" SATA HDD mirror'd in a flat ITX casing. So far, I've found these cases http://www.aywun.com , pricing I'm not too sure but staticice may help you out on that. As for 60W PSU....most 2.5" run at 2.5-4W max, factor in an ITX mobo solution that sucks up 30-40W and you should be well under 60W (these are just guestimates). good luck. __________________ Sig: Dell 2405FPW

19th March 2009, 6:29 AM	#3
oli Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,797	Yep, I had narrowed it down to the MD-100 model from that company. That's good that the power should be sufficient. What about heat? If I'm using 5400rpm drives I'm guessing heat should not be too much of a problem, especially considering the motherboard would produce a small amount of heat anyway (using a Intel Atom based solution).