The
2 drives in the removable caddies are the boot and data drives.
Under them is a single sata drive which was needed to overcome the
conflict between the on-board motherboard raid controller and the
one fitted to the pci raid card.
We then have a DVD drive.
The
bottom of the case is fitted with 2 pairs of 160GB Maxtor drives set
up via the raid pci card into a raid 0+1, giving a storage capacity
of 305GB.
The gap between the 2 pairs is to let cooling air from
the front fitted 120mmm fan. The duct tape is to keep the air
blowing over the drives and not escaping to the sides. I also added
a few ram heat sinks in a effort to help cool the drives.
Yes it is a rats nest of wires.
1x160Gb
4x160 in Raid 0+1
Compared
The results seem worth the effort, a single drive
starts at 60GB but drops to 35Gb. The raid starts at 80GB and stays
above 70Gb until near the very end of the test. The two are compared
in the 3rd graph.
Perhaps more importantly the raid array feeds the
computer at an average speed of 76.3MB/s compared to the single
drive of 49.1MB/s
The pc is powered by a P4/2.8GHz Intel processor &
has HyperOS FE 2004 giving it 8 separate Windows XP Pro SP2 systems.
I could have up to 20 but find 8 is about all I need right now.
The computer case I use and recommend is made by
www.jeantech.com
The case as fitted with 7 hard drives, one DVD and
floppy drive.
Raid Controller
Screenshot of My Other Computers
Johns Case front view, with an Akasa Control Panel which can monitor
up to four heat sensors and control four fans.
