Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > Power Supplies, PC Cases & Case Mods > PSU for 20 Hard Drives
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jromano01   08-14-2009 at 03:32:00 PM

Hello All!

I am currently in the process of building a home server which will sport 20 SATA WD "Green" 1TB hard drives. The system will be built using a MSI mobo with a 2.2ghz Dual Core Celeron and 2-4gb of ram. There might also be 3 PCIx SATA cards as well. Video and NIC are integrated. Also, there will be fans; max 7 12v 80mm. What would be the min amount of wattage I'd need? I do have a 600w PSU, but I'm not sure if this will be sufficient.

Thank you!

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hefox   08-14-2009 at 03:41:14 PM
- 0 +

Yes, it's fine. The only problem are the cables. What psu do you have?

------------------------------ Intel i7 920, Gigabyte X58-DS4, 3x1 Corsair DDR3 1333, XFX 260 GTX
Samsung 750Gb F1,Samsung DVD-rw, Hiper Type-M 880W, Coolermaster HAF 932, Logitech Z-5500
 Reply to hefox
jromano01   08-14-2009 at 03:47:32 PM
- 0 +

The PSU I have laying around is this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817148026

The 12v rail amperage is OK, I wish it was a bit higher. It does have 8 4-pin molex and 4 SATA - could I buy a 1-7 molex adapter?

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to jromano01
jromano01   08-14-2009 at 03:48:38 PM
- 0 +

Come to think of it, I also have an older Enermax 431w as well. How would that fair up?

Reply to jromano01
hefox   08-14-2009 at 03:50:52 PM
- 0 +

An hdd should use around 5-5.4W so even Enermax should be fine.

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ Intel i7 920, Gigabyte X58-DS4, 3x1 Corsair DDR3 1333, XFX 260 GTX
Samsung 750Gb F1,Samsung DVD-rw, Hiper Type-M 880W, Coolermaster HAF 932, Logitech Z-5500
 Reply to hefox
jromano01   08-14-2009 at 04:25:53 PM
- 0 +

Excellent news! Now I don't have to buy a PSU!

Thank you very much, Hefox.

Reply to jromano01
theAnimal   08-14-2009 at 04:46:19 PM
- 0 +

jromano01 wrote :

The PSU I have laying around is this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817148026

The 12v rail amperage is OK, I wish it was a bit higher. It does have 8 4-pin molex and 4 SATA - could I buy a 1-7 molex adapter?


That PSU is best kept laying around.

------------------------------ *How To Ask For New Build Advice*
HAF 922 | HX750
Rampage2Gene | i7 920 | 6GB Gold 1600 | Hyper 212+
Caviar Black 640GB | 2x GTX260 216
 Reply to theAnimal
theAnimal   08-14-2009 at 05:02:03 PM
- 0 +

hefox wrote :

An hdd should use around 5-5.4W so even Enermax should be fine.


An average HDD uses 10-15W while seeking. The 1TB Green drives are ~7.6W, and ~4W @ idle.

The main problem with a large number of HDDs is spin-up, when HDDs use the most power. According to storagereview.com the 1TB Green uses ~30W.

You should really be using HDD controllers with staggered spin-up to reduce the power draw.

I would also recommend a PSU with a lot more SATA/Molex connectors, or better yet use 10 2TB Green instead since they use less power than the 1TB (only ~14W @ spin-up per storagereview)

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ *How To Ask For New Build Advice*
HAF 922 | HX750
Rampage2Gene | i7 920 | 6GB Gold 1600 | Hyper 212+
Caviar Black 640GB | 2x GTX260 216
 Reply to theAnimal
hefox   08-14-2009 at 05:27:37 PM
- 0 +

theAnimal wrote :

An average HDD uses 10-15W while seeking. The 1TB Green drives are ~7.6W, and ~4W @ idle.

The main problem with a large number of HDDs is spin-up, when HDDs use the most power. According to storagereview.com the 1TB Green uses ~30W.

You should really be using HDD controllers with staggered spin-up to reduce the power draw.

I would also recommend a PSU with a lot more SATA/Molex connectors, or better yet use 10 2TB Green instead since they use less power than the 1TB (only ~14W @ spin-up per storagereview)



Can you please add the links? Thank you.

------------------------------ Intel i7 920, Gigabyte X58-DS4, 3x1 Corsair DDR3 1333, XFX 260 GTX
Samsung 750Gb F1,Samsung DVD-rw, Hiper Type-M 880W, Coolermaster HAF 932, Logitech Z-5500
 Reply to hefox
theAnimal   08-14-2009 at 07:46:29 PM
- 0 +

http://www.storagereview.com/php/b [...] h_sort.php

------------------------------ *How To Ask For New Build Advice*
HAF 922 | HX750
Rampage2Gene | i7 920 | 6GB Gold 1600 | Hyper 212+
Caviar Black 640GB | 2x GTX260 216
 Reply to theAnimal
hefox   08-14-2009 at 08:13:20 PM
- 0 +

Thanks but I can't find the power usage.

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ Intel i7 920, Gigabyte X58-DS4, 3x1 Corsair DDR3 1333, XFX 260 GTX
Samsung 750Gb F1,Samsung DVD-rw, Hiper Type-M 880W, Coolermaster HAF 932, Logitech Z-5500
 Reply to hefox
theAnimal   08-15-2009 at 08:34:56 AM
- 0 +

hefox wrote :

Thanks but I can't find the power usage.


Sorry, that was the link at the page.

Try this one.
http://www.storagereview.com/Testbed4Compare.sr

------------------------------ *How To Ask For New Build Advice*
HAF 922 | HX750
Rampage2Gene | i7 920 | 6GB Gold 1600 | Hyper 212+
Caviar Black 640GB | 2x GTX260 216
 Reply to theAnimal
djcoolmasterx   08-15-2009 at 04:24:39 PM
- 0 +

You should probably set up staggered spin up on those drives.

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to djcoolmasterx
jromano01   08-22-2009 at 02:25:56 AM
- 0 +

Thank you all for the info. So far, I am planning this:


Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811219021

Mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813186146

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116075

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820134797

SATA Controller:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6816124008
(I already have one of these)

Hard Drives:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136317
(Already have 2 of these)

I will be using a Maxtor 320gb for the O/S and I have a WD Caviar Black 1Tb as well.


I was thinking of getting this PSU to power everything; I'm worried that my Apevia 600w or Enermax 431w isn't going perform well...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006


Windows Home Server will the O/S - I already have a small File Server that has WHS - I am just going to create a new system.

Reply to jromano01
jromano01   08-22-2009 at 02:26:25 AM
- 0 +

djcoolmasterx wrote :

You should probably set up staggered spin up on those drives.



How do I set that up w/ the hardware I'll be using?

Update: I checked in my controller card bios and there is nothing for staggered spin up... any suggestions?


Message edited by jromano01 on 08-22-2009 at 03:51:15 AM
Reply to jromano01
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