Gimli, a NAS build by Shaqalac.

[cl_l-CaKe]

Woaw, is it really that simple? I will have to do that to my main rig as well. As you can see from my Installation of NH-D14 I had to relocate my drive cage because the cable where interfering with the 120mm fan on the NH-D14.

 

Ye worked fine for me, I added 2 more connectors that way without any problem.

 

I just dont know how many connectors you can add max

[alpenwasser]

Ye worked fine for me, I added 2 more connectors that way without any problem.

 

I just dont know how many connectors you can add max

Assuming you connect the cable to a modular PSU with a connector that uses

normal ATX pins (which are pretty much all modular PSUs I've seen so far),

this is what I arrive at:

According to Molex' specifications, a Mini-Fit Jr. Female connector can take

up to 9A per contact (source: Molex spec sheet, pdf).

So, let's the WD's Red 3 TB drive as an example, which has the folling

requirements (source: WDC's website)

 

Current Requirements    12 VDC    Read/Write 250 mA    Idle 230 mA    Standby 7 mA    Sleep 7 mA5 VDC    Read/Write 280 mA    Idle 260 mA    Standby 105 mA    Sleep 105 mAPower Dissipation    Read/Write 4.40 Watts    Idle 4.10 Watts    Standby 0.60 Watts    Sleep 0.60 Watts

Taking the maximum (280 mA on the 5 V line) as the limiting factor yields

9 A / 280 mA = 32.14, which I'll round to 32 drives. For 32 drives, the

PSU would need to deliver 32 * 280 mA * 5 V = 44.8 W on the 5 V

line, and 32 * 250 mA * 12 V = 96 W on the 12 V line (for read/write

on all drives simultaneously).

NOTE

This does of course not take into account the power needed for spinning up

the drives, which can be quite a bit more, but I couldn't find any reliable

specs on that, plus that could be mitigated by staggered spin-ups AFAIK.

 

Also, let me know if you spot a grave error either in my thought process or

calculations. But be aware that I only consider this a rough calculation anyway.

[cl_l-CaKe]

Assuming you connect the cable to a modular PSU with a connector that uses

normal ATX pins (which are pretty much all modular PSUs I've seen so far),

this is what I arrive at:

According to Molex' specifications, a Mini-Fit Jr. Female connector can take

up to 9A per contact (source: Molex spec sheet, pdf).

So, let's the WD's Red 3 TB drive as an example, which has the folling

requirements (source: WDC's website)

 

Current Requirements    12 VDC    Read/Write 250 mA    Idle 230 mA    Standby 7 mA    Sleep 7 mA5 VDC    Read/Write 280 mA    Idle 260 mA    Standby 105 mA    Sleep 105 mAPower Dissipation    Read/Write 4.40 Watts    Idle 4.10 Watts    Standby 0.60 Watts    Sleep 0.60 Watts

Taking the maximum (280 mA on the 5 V line) as the limiting factor yields

9 A / 280 mA = 32.14, which I'll round to 32 drives. For 32 drives, the

PSU would need to deliver 32 * 280 mA * 5 V = 44.8 W on the 5 V

line, and 32 * 250 mA * 12 V = 96 W on the 12 V line (for read/write

on all drives simultaneously).

NOTE

This does of course not take into account the power needed for spinning up

the drives, which can be quite a bit more, but I couldn't find any reliable

specs on that, plus that could be mitigated by staggered spin-ups AFAIK.

 

Also, let me know if you spot a grave error either in my thought process or

calculations. But be aware that I only consider this a rough calculation anyway.

 

Oh well that was a wall to read

 

I cant say if you have any error in that calculation, im not really into stuff like that, but it looked somehow resonable.

And even if there is a little mistake in the calculation i dont think it will effect much, since i cant imagine someone putting 32 drives on one cable

[alpenwasser]

Oh well that was a wall to read

 

I cant say if you have any error in that calculation, im not really into stuff like that, but it looked somehow resonable.

And even if there is a little mistake in the calculation i dont think it will effect much, since i cant imagine someone putting 32 drives on one cable

Yeah, sorry, I tend to do that on occasion.

 

I actually did this calculation a few days back because I'm building a server and wanted

to know how many drives I can hook up to one cable (I'll probably be doing only 12 though,

maybe all 24, but certainly not 32).

[Shaqalac]

Yes, that's the sort of adapter I meant. However, if you're going to buy

adapters to cannibalize, you might as well just buy the connectors.

I only cannibalized my adapters because I still had some laying around,

so I thought I might as well use them for something.

These are what you're looking for I think:

SATA Push-In Connector, Pass-through Cap, End Cap

Well if I buy the adapters I'll get 2 x SATA Push-In Connector, 1 x Pass-through Cap and 1 x End Cap for $1.10 including shipping.

At Lutro0's I'll have to pay, for the same amount, $1.60 excluding shipping.

If I'm going with Lutro0's plastic sleeving I'll of course order the connector parts from him as well. Will probably get a much faster shipping as well.

 

I am currently doing a sleeve job (well, a favour, really) with MDPC-X and

it's pretty nice to work with. I've never worked with Lutro0's plastic

sleeving, but from what I've heard it's pretty nice as well.

The sleeving you used in your Zeus build was paracord sleeving right? Just to get this straight, paracord is nylon and therefore a lot more flexible than what Lutro0's and MDPC's plastic (PET) sleeving would be? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Taking the maximum (280 mA on the 5 V line) as the limiting factor yields

9 A / 280 mA = 32.14, which I'll round to 32 drives. For 32 drives, the

PSU would need to deliver 32 * 280 mA * 5 V = 44.8 W on the 5 V

line, and 32 * 250 mA * 12 V = 96 W on the 12 V line (for read/write

on all drives simultaneously).

cl_l-CaKe asked my next question "how many drives can you run off of a single cable" and here I have the answer. I'll only run 8 drives maximum off of a single cable so that shouldn't be a problem.

[alpenwasser]

Well if I buy the adapters I'll get 2 x SATA Push-In Connector, 1 x Pass-through Cap and 1 x End Cap for $1.10 including shipping.

At Lutro0's I'll have to pay, for the same amount, $1.60 excluding shipping.

If I'm going with Lutro0's plastic sleeving I'll of course order the connector parts from him as well. Will probably get a much faster shipping as well.

 

Makes sense.

 

The sleeving you used in your Zeus build was paracord sleeving right? Just to get this straight, paracord is nylon and therefore a lot more flexible than what Lutro0's and MDPC's plastic (PET) sleeving would be? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Yeah, it's blue paracord. I think the plastic sleeving is made from PET

(at least Lutro0 used to sell his under that label). The main difference

is less in the material and more in the thickness of the threads though.

 

Paracord  is  a very finely  woven fabric,  whereas MDPC and Lutro0's

sleeve  is made from  thicker  threads. This  makes  them more robust

(Paracord is rather easily damaged, depending on quality, if you snag

it on  something), but  it is  not  always 100% light-proof (meaning that

under  some  circumstances you might be able to see the wire shining

through  a  bit, though  with  the MDPC-X  I'm  currently working that is

not  really a concern)  and in  my experience  a bit trickier to work with

(paracord  is  very  nice  to  work  with  IMO,  melts  a  lot  easier  than

MDPC-X or Lutro0's sleeving).

 

TBH, in the  end  I'd  say  the most  important  aspec  is your personal

preference   about   the   aesthetics.   Some  prefer  paracord,  others

MDPC-X.

cl_l-CaKe asked my next question "how many drives can you run off of a single cable" and here I have the answer. I'll only run 8 drives maximum off of a single cable so that shouldn't be a problem.

Hehe, happy to be of use. I am running seven drives off of one cable in

ZEUS  (plus  an SSD) so  I see  no problem  there  if  your PSU is good

enough.

[Shaqalac]

Paracord  is  a very finely  woven fabric,  whereas MDPC and Lutro0's

sleeve  is made from  thicker  threads. This  makes  them more robust

(Paracord is rather easily damaged, depending on quality, if you snag

it on  something), but  it is  not  always 100% light-proof (meaning that

under  some  circumstances you might be able to see the wire shining

through  a  bit, though  with  the MDPC-X  I'm  currently working that is

not  really a concern)  and in  my experience  a bit trickier to work with

(paracord  is  very  nice  to  work  with  IMO,  melts  a  lot  easier  than

MDPC-X or Lutro0's sleeving).

This will be my first time sleeving something, so from what you're saying it might be a better choice to start with something a little more robust like MDPC-X or Lutro0.

 

TBH, in the  end  I'd  say  the most  important  aspec  is your personal

preference   about   the   aesthetics.   Some  prefer  paracord,  others

MDPC-X.

I've been thinking during the night and day and I think I've come to the decision to got with MDPC-X. There's just something very appealing about it

 

Now I just have to decide what colour scheme I should go with and whether I'll be doing heatshrinkless sleeving or not.

 

Hehe, happy to be of use. I am running seven drives off of one cable in

ZEUS  (plus  an SSD) so  I see  no problem  there  if  your PSU is good

enough.

My 450W 80+ Gold PSU should be able to handle it but there's only one way to find out.

 

 

 

 

FINALLY!

 

My gloves finally arrived and God do I look good with them on. Should have considered a hand model carrier instead. :-P

They are a bit on the smaller site but it doesn't worry me too much as I prefer they sit tight on my hand. Should make it much easier to work with the case and hardware.

 

 

 

So this weekend I WILL be doing some assembly as I have no plans.

 

Look forward to a lot of pictures, I am that's for sure.

 

Cheers Shaqalac.

[alpenwasser]

This will be my first time sleeving something, so from what you're saying it might be a better choice to start with something a little more robust like MDPC-X or Lutro0.

TBH I find paracord easier to work with, despite it being a

bit more fragile.

I've been thinking during the night and day and I think I've come to the decision to got with MDPC-X. There's just something very appealing about it

That is certainly true. :wub:

 

Now I just have to decide what colour scheme I should go with and whether I'll be doing heatshrinkless sleeving or not.

I've done both, heatshrinkless is quite a bit easier IME. Getting

the heatshrink style perfect (and there's really no point to this

if you don't) is quite tricky. Not impossible, but still...

Also: Gloves, I like the way you think.

[Shaqalac]

I've done both, heatshrinkless is quite a bit easier IME. Getting

the heatshrink style perfect (and there's really no point to this

if you don't) is quite tricky. Not impossible, but still...

I think the heatshrink method looks really good, when it's done like MDPC-X shows.

 

I'm completely sure though, that I wouldn't be able to do this and I wouldn't be satisfied unless it looked very similar to this. So luckily for me you say heatshrinkless is a bit easier, as it most likely will be the method I'm going to use.

 

Also: Gloves, I like the way you think.

Yeah, my OCD kicks in when I see fingerprints and now they'll be impossible to remove completely again

 

 

 

Question for all:

 

So I've done some unboxing and assembly today and I've taking a bunch of pictures, quite a few to be honest. The question is, do you want all the pictures that I feel like posting or do you want the most essential pictures and a link to the album for those who wants to see the rest?

 

Cheers Shaqalac.

[Anthony_95]

All please

[alpenwasser]

I think the heatshrink method looks really good, when it's done like MDPC-X shows.

I'm completely sure though, that I wouldn't be able to do this and I wouldn't be satisfied unless it looked very similar to this. So luckily for me you say heatshrinkless is a bit easier, as it most likely will be the method I'm going to use.

Definitely agree, heatshrink done right looks absolutely gorgeous. :wub:

It is however a huge amount of work to really get it perfect (and as you say,

your eye will be able to spot even very small imperfections, so it really does

need to be flawless, at least IMHO).

Question for all:

 

So I've done some unboxing and assembly today and I've taking a bunch of pictures, quite a few to be honest. The question is, do you want all the pictures that I feel like posting or do you want the most essential pictures and a link to the album for those who wants to see the rest?

 

Cheers Shaqalac.

Personally I prefer having everything in the build log so that I don't

need to go somewhere else to view all images, but that's just my personal

preference.

[Shaqalac]

Definitely agree, heatshrink done right looks absolutely gorgeous. :wub:

It is however a huge amount of work to really get it perfect (and as you say,

your eye will be able to spot even very small imperfections, so it really does

need to be flawless, at least IMHO).

 

When I'm going to invest so much time in making something stand out and look beautiful, I want to make it perfect, at least within my skill level. I'm no master at sleeving of course since I haven't tried it, so therefore there's no point for me to begin doing something that I can't make look as good as I want it to. Don't get me wrong, I want to make a sleeving similar to that picture but I DEFINITELY need practice to do so.

 

I do think the heatshrinkless sleeving will look awesome, so I'm not sad about it.

 

Personally I prefer having everything in the build log so that I don't

need to go somewhere else to view all images, but that's just my personal

preference.

I guess this makes sense as a lot of people, including myself, mostly scroll through the build log to find the pictures and maybe they find it interesting enough to read some of the comments/replies.

 

All please 

Aye aye Captain.

 

 

I will get the pictures up as quickly as possible.

[Shaqalac]

Update #7: Unboxing, assembly and a scary cooler mount.

 

The B85I comes in, what looks like, a very stripped down box. I guess it's to keep cost down, which I don't mind as long as the board itself is top notch.

 

No wasted money here. I/O Shield, 2 x SATA data cables, manuals and driver CD.

 

Nothing fancy about the B85I's I/O shield, it's just a I/O shield.

 

MSI B85I placed on the workbench. Before I began to assemble the parts, I chose to take a closer looks at it.

 

MSI B85I I/O. Has all the features I need so, so far there hasn't been a need for me to buy a higher end motherboard.

 

As there're mounting holes for a heat sink but no heat sink I guess this board is used for a higher model as well.

 

No idea what this is but I'm interested if anyone could tell me. Looks swapable with the two diagonal plastic mounting clips.

To the right you can some of the mini PCI e, most likely for the WI-FI module.

 

Another look at MSI's website showed that the H87I comes with all the extras that my board misses; heat sink, mini PCI e WI-FI/Bluetooth module and antenna mount.

 

Final overview. Now lets get cracking.

 

Pretty impressed that the iPhone 5's camera is capable of taking a picture like this.

 

CPU is placed in the CPU socket. This is definitely the most scary part about any build. Well. Not for this one.

 

The shield popped right off as soon as the CPU was locked in place. Now lets the NH-L9i mounted.

 

Like mentioned earlier, the packaging of any Noctua product is nothing but perfect!

 

Still trying to decide with myself whether I should place this badge somewhere. Don't think it'll end up on the outside of the case as I like to keep a clean aesthetic.

 

The Noctua stamp looks smooth.

 

Another size comparison with the lighter. The cooler is SO low profile, can't wait to see how it will affect the cooling efficiency.

 

Bottom view. It looks good from all angles.

 

So, this was the scary part. I completely forgot to take any pictures to show it but let me try to explain it. So first you place the thermal compound on the CPU, then place the cooler on the CPU. Now it gets tricky, you have to turn the motherboard and cooler upside-down to fasten the cooler to the motherboard. As I was turning the whole damn thing around the cooler was all over the place. The cooler was stuck to the CPU but I was afraid that the thermal compound was spread to placed it shouldn't be. I had to take it apart and to my surprise all the compound was still within the CPU's surface area. Now I did what I should have done to begin with and what I'll recommend everyone else to do if they decide to buy this cooler. Place the cooler upside-down as I did on the previous picture, then flip the motherboard over, look through the mounting holes and align them with the mounting holes on the cooler, GG. That was so much easier! I didn't replaced the compound even though I had it apart, so if temperatures are too bad I'll have to redo it.

 

Black PCB and a black heat spreader with a silver frame. It matches the motherboard so I'm happy!

 

Final picture of today's progress, still can't believe how low profile that cooler is. I've already done some cable management. I locked the fan cable in between the cooler and the RAM, it's not cramped in there, it's just locked in place.

 

 

This was a long one, if you made it through, thanks for watching

 

Next up: Lian-Li Q25B

 

Cheers Shaqalac.

[TheLordofMoisture]

That is the heatsink covering the chipset with the two plastic clips. 

 

Man, that is quite an annoying and tricky process. So, if I do it like the method you recommend, should I place the thermal paste on the CPU or the Heatsink?

[Shaqalac]

That is the heatsink covering the chipset with the two plastic clips. 

It feels like plastic though and not metal.

 

Man, that is quite an annoying and tricky process. So, if I do it like the method you recommend, should I place the thermal paste on the CPU or the Heatsink?

I guess that was one of the problems Noctua faced when they were trying to make this as low profile as possible. It's not an easy mount as the NH-D14 for example but when I'm going to do this again I know how to do it the easy way, the way I described.

I think I'd still put the thermal compound on the CPU as it sticks pretty well, so I don't think it would fall of. Besides from that the amount of paste you put on is so small, so the weight itself of the paste shouldn't be big enough to make an influence.

[JJB]

you spelled Gimli wrong in your first post slow your typing!

 

but looks good so far subbed!

[Shaqalac]

you spelled Gimli wrong in your first post slow your typing!

 

but looks good so far subbed!

Woaw, I didn't even noticed. You sure got an eagle eye.

 

And thanks.

[Raboo]

Very nice update

[DeanWonAgain]

awesome so far

[ygohome]

Sexy NAS.  Great photos of details.  

[Shaqalac]

Very nice update

 Thanks!

 

awesome so far

Thanks!

 

Sexy NAS.  Great photos of details.  

Wait until you see the case. I just had it out of the box to try and get an overview. It is so God damn sexy. By far the most beautiful case I've ever seen, unfortunately I don't think the pictures will be able to justify the beauty of the case, I'll try my best though.

[Shaqalac]

Update #8: The most b-e-a-utiful case I've ever seen!

 

This is actually from last weekend I just haven't had time to sort and upload the pictures, because as you'll see in a moment there's a lot.

I've made more progress this weekend and will probably upload the pictures tomorrow or Tuesday.

 

Now it's time for you to prepare your scroll finger and lean back, this will be a long one.

 

 

The day I've been waiting for, I'm so exited for this case! Comes with hard foam as protection, luckily it had no damage what so ever!

 

Better bring out the gloves before I proceed.

 

It is all aluminium.

It is all brushed aluminium!

 

It was hard to get a good picture of the finish and keep the true colour of the case.

When the build is all done I'll try get my hand on a better camera for some glamour shots. The case sure deserves it.

Look how thick that side panel is!

 

Front I/O, only the necessary, a power button.

If you think the logo doesn't look that sharp it's because I left the protective plastic there for now.

 

Ventilation for the front fan. Doesn't look like much but I hope it'll be enough.

 

Intake for the top fan. Love this grid over the usual hexagon grid.

 

Nice beet feet with big rubber pads to keep the case in place. Also a third fan mount, if you're willing to sacrifice three drive mounts. More on that later. All intakes and exhausts has a fan filter.

 

Lian-Li's mounting mechanism. Haven't seen this on any other case before and it actually works surprisingly well and it looks good.

 

Where the pins go.

If this was a case I should open and close several times during a month I would be a bit concerned of breaking them in the long run.

You also get a glimpse of the PSU mounting bracket, look how thick it is. The build quality is stunning.

 

Accessories; screws, speaker, 2 x zip ties, rubber grommets, mounting mechanism replacement and 3.5" drive slides.

 

Big cut out in the motherboard tray for CPU coolers. Fortunately I mounted my cooler outside the case.

 

Bracket for 3 x 2.5" drives or 2 x 3.5" drive and 1 x 2.5" drive.

Not planning on adding drive #6 and #7 but I'll just leave it there for now.

 

First time I've seen a 3-pin to molex adapter. First I had no idea of why people would use this but I actually saw a pretty smart solution on a forum. I guy had connected the front fan to the molex slot on the back of the hot swap cage. The drawback to this is that the fan will run at max rpm.

 

5 x 3.5" hot swap bays.

 

2.5" drive mount. Wont be using that one.

 

Back of the hot swap cage. I was concerned that my PSU didn't had enough SATA power cables but it turns out I only need three of them to power all five drives.

 

Mounting mechanism for the fans, they slide right in.

 

120mm fan to be replaced with the NF-F12.

 

Have no idea whether this is a good fan or not but I'll be adding it to my Antec900 as there's no way it can be worse than the stock Antec900 fans.

 

Looks like the fans that came with the Q25B have holes for LEDs.

 

Fan filters off of both fans, ready to be mounted on the NF-F12 and NF-A14.

 

Thanks you Roland, I sure will enjoy my NF-F12.

 

Accessories; anti-vibration mounts, fan screws, PWM Y-cable, low-noise adapter and extension cable.

 

My initial plan was to mount the fans with the anti-vibration mounts as shown on the picture. It was a bit of a pain to get through the rubber grommet and the hole in the fan. After I had done the first one I realised I wouldn't be able to add the fan filter as well.

 

For the exhaust fan it would be fine without the filter but I want to minimize the dust inside that case as much as possible.

So I went with the screws instead. I here used the screws that came with the NF-F12 to make a thread for the screws from the stock fans.

Notice that I drilled it out on the wrong side of the fan. The NF-F12 will act as an exhaust fan in the top.

 

Ready for installation.

 

I think I'll be fine with the screws as there is rubber between the fan and fan filter, and rubber between the fan filter and screw.

 

Hopefully it's dens enough to prevent to much dust to access the case and not to dens to prevent a good airflow.

 

Can't really see the colour of the NF-F12 through the grid and fan filter.

 

Hopefully it'll be able to provide enough air for the HDDs.

 

Enough for today.

 

 

Cheers Shaqalac.

[WiiManic]

Damn, that case just oozes amazing build quality.

The brushed aluminium looks amazing on it.

 

Can't wait to see it filled up!

[Raboo]

Very nice case

[Shaqalac]

Damn, that case just oozes amazing build quality.

The brushed aluminium looks amazing on it.

 

Can't wait to see it filled up!

All the hardware is pretty much in the case. The only thing missing is the PSU, power cables and a SAS to SATA cable.

 

Like mentioned in the previous post, I'll try get the picture up tomorrow.

 

 

Question for everybody:

I'm planning on installing Debian as my OS but as it is right now I don't have a drive for the OS.

Will Debian run off of a USB stick or does it require a SSD/HDD? I'd prefer a USB stick sitting on the back of the case to prevent to many cables to enter the case.