[Capt Fiero]

Ok so I am a bit of a data *****. I have 1 main server however I had issues with it a few years ago, and no longer use it for data archival, I use my main PC for data archival as well as a local network media server. About 6 months ago, I had run out of storage space and grabbed a spare drive from the computer shop and was simply too lazy to install it correctly so I ran sata cable and power cable to it on the floor and plugged it in. Then about 4 months ago, I did the same thing, then a month ago, I needed to remove the ram and video card, so I had to pull one of the drive cages out, and figured I already had 2 drives on the ground what does another 2 mean. Then a week ago, I added yet another drive and decided enough was enough, it was time to pull all the drives and make a cage big enough for all of them as well as do a bit of case modification so that they all can fit in the tower together as well as keep them all cool.

In total there are 7 HD's totaling 6tb of data, with 2, 92mm fans and an 80mm fan cooling the entire mess.
5 of the drives are SATA, 2 are IDE and one SATA DVD Burner.
The power supply is a 750w Antec which handles the load very well.
Dual Network cards, One for internal traffic and one for Web access.
CPU is an E8400 overclocked to 3.5ghz.
Video card is an Nvidia DX11 5600 or 5700 GT I can't remember.

The rest I'll explain as I go.

First up the MESS. I told ya I got lazy about it. I have a 1 year old daughter that takes up all my energy.




Believe it or not, everything in that pic is running.



Yes I really did need to do something about the mess.



Ok so this is the test setup. I took 4 very large stainless steel hose clamps, straightened them out and drilled 32 perfectly even holes in them. So I have room for 1 more drive.





The worm drive screws turned out to make great feet for the stand.



I have no idea who Murrey is.



The old cages had been in there for a while, and really needed to be cleaned.


This is one of the OEM ones that came with the case, nice but too small.


I was going to use the old cages however I did not like the way they stacked together and they would not all fit in the case. Which I wanted to make sure happened.


All 7 drives, there are a pair of 2 TB drives and the rest vary in size down to 300gb. Most the space is for TV / Movies and Music.



All Stacked up.






The first Test fit inside the case. I had to do a bit of trimming and removing the old drive cage shelf, but worked out well.


The stock fan intakes just did not work for me, so I had to build a new fan system for the drives.


The bottom one was using old plumbers strap and worked fairly well, the top 2 I used lock wire. The top ones look cleaner, however the bottom is much easier to install and remove as it mounts to the existing drive screws.




I don't have the fully completed installed pics yet as I want to do much more cleaning, before I post those. So maybe in another 6 months, I'll get it all properly cleaned up and post the rest. LOL.

Hope you enjoyed my hard drive madness.

P.S. The only time I could find to do this, was by getting up at 3:30am and working on it until 8:30am before Arianna woke up. Then it took me 2 days to find the time to edit the pics and write this post in between naps and getting the wife to watch her.

[petteyg359]

I approve of recycling junk into non-junk

[MattNo5ss]

Nice improv on the HDD rack




Your floor looked a lot like my bedroom floor:

• 8 HDDs and a CD/DVD burner.
• Two systems up and running. One sitting on a mobo box on the floor, and the other on a bench which is on the floor.
• A CPU loop running with all the WC parts on the floor.
• A single stage for benching also on the floor.
• Modem, router, and 3 ethernet cords.

You have many more wires scattered around though

[Capt Fiero]

Originally Posted by MattNo5ss

Nice improv on the HDD rack




Your floor looked a lot like my bedroom floor:

• 8 HDDs and a CD/DVD burner.
• Two systems up and running. One sitting on a mobo box on the floor, and the other on a bench which is on the floor.
• A CPU loop running with all the WC parts on the floor.
• A single stage for benching also on the floor.
• Modem, router, and 3 Ethernet cords.

You have many more wires scattered around though

I use to have that, when I was building the bigger machines, however have stepped it down a bit to what I have now. I am contemplating doing another "Mega Machine" with all my best parts in it. However not sure if I can justify a 3ft tall PC that weighs 100lbs.

[nd4spdbh2]

reminds me of this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEjpVNACY6c

:-P

naw, genius idea man, not pretty but gets the job done damn good!

[ajrettke]

How can you stand being around all that, I gotta go get a tetnus shot!

It's great you're consolidating the drives to make it somewhat cleaner....but you need to spend a solid day cleaning your area up man!

Your HDD's probably don't need fans either unless your sticking them in a case with no other airflow...that can cut down on some wires!

Ghetto fab!

[Capt Fiero]

I put the fan son the drives because this machine and those drives do a lot of video streaming, so they get a lot of use. As for the mess of wiring, I am actually trying to sort, clean and reduce the amount of clutter. It just got out of hand adding things and not routing wiring correctly. Believe it or not, I used to spend hours making my case wiring perfect hiding everything and now that I have a baby to watch after everything seems to get put in the back seat.

[Jmtyra]

Very nice improvement!
I hate to say this, but don't they make cheap, flat metal wire with holes pre-drilled? Like the stuff they use to mount large air conditioning ducts from the ceiling?

Just thinking out loud for the next project and/or if I decide to make an inexpensive HD rack.

[Capt Fiero]

Yes they do and that is what I used for the lower fan mount, I had tried in the past to use it as the hard drive rack, however it was not stiff enough. The Stainless steel clamps are much harder. Ya it was kinda hard to drill, but it worked.

[Jmtyra]

Ahh, OK -- hadn't tried that myself, so wasn't sure.
Any-who, OT, sry.