VIDEO: User Crams 16 TB into SFF Case
Eight HDDs were stuffed into a SFF case.
Looking for server-class storage but just don't want to cough up the room for a towering rack mount? One modder has figured out a way to cram over 16 TB worth of storage into a small form factor (SFF) case. The entire step-by-step process, listed here, has actually landed sponsorship by the likes of NewEgg, Crucial, and others.
Designed by Will Urbina, the project is called Black Dwarf, and consists of a Quanmax KEEX-2030 ECX motherboard powered by an Intel Atom N270. The board also features a PCI-e x4 slot which was filled by a HighPoint Rocket RAID 2680 8-port SATA/SAS raid controller card purchased from Newegg.
As for the storage, Urbina used eight 3.5-inch HDDs, with an additional two 2.5-inch HDDs to be installed later. "In addition to being tasked with storing huge amounts of files on the system's 8 3.5-inch drives, this computer would also be running 24/7 running sharing files on Bit Torrent," he admitted.
To see how he created the Black Dwarf, check out the video--the first part of two--located below. The website also shows a pictorial step-by-step process as well as professional-looking shots of the finished product.
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also that looks pretty awesome
Awesome Torrent box, but a bit large for my needs. But can it play Cr... n/m
This guy loves his cameras and not leaving any breathing room for his drives.
Now gaming companies wont have the excuse to have dedicated servers!
16TB of entirely legitimate stuff to share, for sure
I hope he's using a decent raid setup because those disks may fail a little early what with all the metal dust and sparks he blew at them while cutting metal etc for the case! I'm also not convinced that the cooling of the hard drives is ideal.
Great build!
Edit: Just realised after getting towards the end of the second video that the original hard drives there were old scrap ones for sizing reasons so the sparks and dust doesn't matter.
Awesome Torrent box, but a bit large for my needs. But can it play Cr... n/m
No, but I think it can store Crysis.
Has an iron man feel to it lol but..I wonder how in the world is he gonna fit the power and sata cables
I hope he's using a decent raid setup because those disks may fail a little early what with all the metal dust and sparks he blew at them while cutting metal etc for the case! I'm also not convinced that the cooling of the hard drives is ideal.
He probably doesn't have to worry about longevity; with 16TB worth of torrents running he will have all his gear confiscated by the BSA, RIAA, MPAA, or similar agency within the week. Problem solved!
hey toms, need to add the second video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPjcXkKxkIA
Wow, he put so much time and effort into this, I don't understand why he didn't leave more space for airflow between the hard drives, and it seems like mounting them at the odd angle would be bad for the motors...
I wish I had enough money for all those cameras + tools...my workshop consists of 1 saw and a set of screwdrivers
So does this thing catch on fire every couple of hours?
Crystal meth strikes again!!!!
i think i know the who next victim for the MPAA and RIAA is......
16TB of entirely legitimate stuff to share, for sureWho has 16TB of s
Seriously, what does anyone need with 16TB? And for what he must have spent on those drives, wouldn't it have been cheaper to buy those movies and games?
Still, it was a nice experiment in the "what if" category.
It also looks like the HD's he had during the build process were old ones, since he brought in the new shipment of individual 2TB drives at the end.
I like the build. But I was more impressed with the camera work.
I am going to get trolled for this but cutting sheet metal near drives and boards is a very bad idea. Why simple the shavings can get ware they should not be and create electrical shorts. Second the cooling on the drives isn't enough for both performance and life, hard drives need to be cooled.
I am going to get trolled for this but cutting sheet metal near drives and boards is a very bad idea. Why simple the shavings can get ware they should not be and create electrical shorts.
Won't troll but rather correct you. He disassembled the entire thing to clean and paint it before putting it back together with the real drives. Shavings large enough to cause shorts would be rather visible.
Second the cooling on the drives isn't enough for both performance and life, hard drives need to be cooled.
Fortunately those are "green" drives.
The 140mm fan should be enough to remove the
Maybe I'm too old but the FIRST thing that came to mind when I saw it was "Floppy case!"
http://cdn3.ioffer.com/img/item/37 [...] 346%29.jpg
Won't troll but rather correct you. He disassembled the entire thing to clean and paint it before putting it back together with the real drives. Shavings large enough to cause shorts would be rather visible.Fortunately those are "green" drives. A 140mm fan pumping the underside vents should be enough to remove the
I watched part two, Green editions or not when there is 8 at once there is going to be heat issues so just wait till summer he will see. Second air flow with in the cabinet isn't to good. 140mm fan or not it is how flows with in the cabinet sure there is some vents on the under side but hard drives are not that good passively cooled and so typically pass the heat through the case but with 8 drives that causes a cooling issue. Flat featureless plate isn't the best heat sink unless it is think and extends well beyond the heat source.
I hope he's using a decent raid setup because those disks may fail a little early what with all the metal dust and sparks he blew at them while cutting metal etc for the case! I'm also not convinced that the cooling of the hard drives is ideal.Edit: Just realised after getting towards the end of the second video that the original hard drives there were old scrap ones for sizing reasons so the sparks and dust doesn't matter. Great build!
I know, I was thinking the same thing. He also would have probably wiped and destroyed the hard drives from the magnetic field generated from welding lol
Maybe I'm too old but the FIRST thing that came to mind when I saw it was "Floppy case!"http://cdn3.ioffer.com/img/item/37 [...] 346%29.jpg
Me two this reminded me of one that my old school used to have with a clear top and on the front was the old Apple logo.
i think he should have gotten some sata connectors and make the drives easier to come out if one dies
though i wish i had the tools for this kind of work, wouldn't mind having a physical project to work on
I hope he's using a decent raid setup because those disks may fail a little early what with all the metal dust and sparks he blew at them while cutting metal etc for the case!
He end up using a whole new collection of HDDs, I though the same that you, but at the end he used other drives, I think he was just using old non-working drives or something, still the motherboard it was the same ;X
this guy is a cool dude and does alot of his own video work.
he probably needs that storage for his HD video
Wow. I wished I had the engineering know-how for doing this.
16TB of entirely legitimate stuff to share, for sure
14GB
I thought hard drives can only be at a 90 or 180 degree angle?