5 x 2TB WD in RAID 5 configuration

Dear all,

I'd like to built up a "Desktop PC" configuration with an integrated RAID5 of 5x 2TB (WD Caviar Green) HDD's. All this I would like to do it in a Antec P182 case. The thing is that the 2TB drives from WD seem to heat a little more than others (cf : http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 1-10.html) and thus I was wondering if all this would heat a little too much and my HDD's will just die despite the rather good cooling in the P182 case, as the rack for the HDD's seems a bit narrow for 5 disks. Do you know other good silent cases for doing this?
Can I use a AsusP5Q or later MB for this configuration (especially for the RAID configuration) + one 150Gb VelociRaptor for the system.

In a way I need a cheap and stable solution for relatively high performance computing (Quad Core or similar) + lots of highly accessible storage space.

I currently use only a 500W power supply on a P5Q, Intel Quad Core (2,8Ghz), NVIDIA Geforce 9800GTX+, 8Gb RAM (Kingston HyperX) and a 300Gb VelociRaptor and a 1Tb WD Caviar Green in an Antec SonataIII 500. Would a 550W power supply be sufficient for a similar RAID system (adding only the 5x 2TB HDD's ?).

Thanks in advance for your answers.

eclipse2001

Greetings all...

I have spent a while reading thru many of the posts and comments in this division of the forum because I have become concerned about the safety as well as accessibility of my data (approx. 4.5TB currently). We all have need of protection from hardware/software/corruption loss. Eclipse2001, above, suggests a possible solution which I am not knowledgeable enough to evaluate.....which brings me to my point/question in this comment......

I have been reading up on the different flavors of Netgears product line, and while they sound great, I can't tell if they are a rip off for the price, or if they just don't do as good a job as they claim. No one here has reviewed them, and I haven't found reviews anywhere else that I know of as reliable. Would anyone care to respond to that? On the face of it, it would appear that the Netgear RNDP600E ReadyNAS Pro Pioneer 6-Bay NAS, for $1,200 would be an excellent solution for many of us.

Netgear claims "the ReadyNAS Pro utilizes hardware-accelerated RAID to ensure full data redundancy without compromising the system performance. Incorporating Intel Matrix Storage Technology, the ReadyNAS Pro supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, and NETGEAR’s patent pending X-RAID2™, with hot spare capability. With RAID 6, the system ensures data integrity even with 2 simultaneous disk failures. The extra disk bays provided by the 6-bay ReadyNAS Pro makes RAID 6 and hot spares practical options worth considering to prevent any prolonged state in which the ReadyNAS data volume is left in an unprotected state."

Someone commented on one of the threads that RAID 5 wasn't a backup solution.....I'm not sure why that was uncontested...although like I stated before, I'm a noobie at NAS and RAID.....is RAID 5 and/or 6 an adequate backup solution?

This system will cost around $1,200 for the Netgear product, plus the cost of 6 drives (6x2TB Seagates or WD's @ $220), plus the cost of a good surge protector/power supply ($100?) = approx. $2,600........I think that's kind of a lot of money, but I can just about afford it, and I know I can't afford a significant data loss (though this is for my home, not an office or business).

Can anyone knowledgeable venture an opinion for me? I really don't know where else to turn.......

Thanks all.............

Just put your disks in the (empty) 5,25 bays, where your CD/DVD goes. With a nice bracket that leaves plenty of free space for airflow. As WD Green drives consume less than regular 7200rpm disks the heat should be no problem with a margin of space between the drives. You can even do this in a cheap case. The normal 1TB WD Green requires no additional cooling and can be packed with other 1TB disks without overheating. That's a big plus for these drives. But as you say, the 2TB does consume more power (and may also be less reliable). Its waiting for newer 666GB platters so a 2TB disk only needs 3 platters. Then the cost also would go down.

So keep this in mind. On the other hand, 2TB disks do store alot of data-per-Watt and saves the number of SATA ports and physical space you need. So im not dismissing this option as bad or anything. Its a compromise.

things you should do:
1) get a good 8-port raid controller (adaptec comes to mind) on the pci express bus (at least 4x), this will cost anywhere between $300-500 USD
2) make sure the raid card you do get (if not the best) has support for 64bit LBA for having volumes over 2TiB
3) make sure you us GUID instead of MBR on the volume so you can have partitions over 2TiB