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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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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Spanky Deluxe 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.Reply
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! -
gwolfman dunderklumptonAwesome Torrent box, but a bit large for my needs. But can it play Cr... n/mNo, but I think it can store Crysis.Reply -
chess Has an iron man feel to it lol but..I wonder how in the world is he gonna fit the power and sata cablesReply -
joebob2000 Spanky DeluxeI 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!Reply