SATA Port Addition..

[shackrock]

Hey all,

I want to verify that I won't have any issues with my system (listed below), if I add a SATA PCI card to it, like these:
http://www.glcomp.com/ibm-system-x-serveraid-br10i-sas-sata-controller - IBM System X ServeRAID BR10i SAS/SATA Controller
http://www.provantage.com/supermicro-aoc-usas-l8i~7SUPM18C.htm - Supermicro 3Gb/s Eight-Port SAS Internal RAID Adapter with 16MB SRAM

And using these cables: http://www.provantage.com/3ware-cbl-sff8087ocf-05m~73WAR02N.htm


My system:
Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case In Stock Here
2 x Cooler Master STB-3T4-E3-GP 4 in 3 Device Module w/ 120mm Fan

Supermicro X8SIL-F
Intel Core i3-530 CPU
Kingston 2 x 2GB ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1333 RAM

Corsair 650TX PSU

I currently have 6 2TB WD Green Drives installed, and want to add 4-8 more to the thing. (probably 4 in the same PSU I hope - then 4 in an external enclosure with an eSata helper there).

 

[warri]

The PSU should be absolutely sufficient to support 4 more drives (probably even more).

Have a look at the power consumption of your compenents:

The i3 needs a maximum of ~75 Watts.
One drive needs about 14-15 Watts at startup, and then about 7 watts if it is being used (see [url="http://www.storagereview.com/western_digital_caviar_green_2tb_review_wd20ears]this review[/url]). With 6 drives that makes 90W at startup and 42 Watts under heavy usage.
No idea how much additional power the mainboard, fans and other components need, but there is definitely plenty of space left.

I'm running my setup below on a 300W PSU, and there is still a buffer.

 

[janptak]

Hi,
Since 3 years I was using 300W PSU in 2Ghz CoreDuo, 2Gb RAM, 7x1Tb HDD and all worked flawlessly. Recently Ive upgraded PSU to 350W, Add 4Gb RAM (total 6Gb now). Also Ive installed Freenas 8.
Giving Your additional RAID cards , 650W PSU should be more than enough.

 

[shackrock]

Sorry to bump, does anyone have comments on a good card to use based on the above...?

Thanks others for the PSU info.

 

[BobCochran]

Hi,

I am interested in controller cards also. I am not sure about your card -- I'm not doubting it at all, I'm just too new to FreeNAS to have any idea whether this card will work or not. I did buy 3 DEll PERC 5/i cards on Ebay, one that I tested kept reporting errors with a Western Digital 1 Tb Green hard drive. But I did not flash that card with a Dell-originated firmware update, and I'm not sure if that is needed to get the card to work properly. There are other users, in other areas of this forum, who discuss flashing some IBM-based controller cards into IT mode with an LSI firmware update. I'm thinking of making a big effort to flash my Dell cards. They are reported to work by other FreeNAS users.

Bob