[WIP] Home Server Upgrade Time!

[Silmano]

So I've decided to upgrade the home server and add a couple more HDDs to be able to use it as NAS also. Right now is working mainly as a home seedbox and local http server.
 
~ SPECS ~
Case: Lian Li PC-Q08
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-I
CPU: Intel Core i3-3220T
Cooler: Intel Stock
RAM: 2x4Gb G-Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1600
PSU: Tacens Radix
Storage:

• Crucial M4 64Gb SSD
• OCZ Agility 4 64Gb SSD
• WD Red WD10EFRX 1TB

Also I'm gonna try to tidy up the internals of the case, as they're kinda chaotic right now.

 
~ Current Modifications ~
The case interior has the current modifications:

• Changed front fan: The Lian-Li LED front fan has been changed for a Noctua NF-P14 140mm round fan.
• Removed top fan: I was using a Noctua 120mm high static-pressure fan that was vacuuming dust inside the case from the back mesh, so I removed it and used the rubber thingies of the fan to fix the top grill.
• Removed HDD bay: Removed the 4-HDD bay to improve the airflow to the back of the case.

 

~ Upgrade changes ~
This are the changes I'm planning to do:

• Remove the extra SSD and rearange the rest of the disks.
• Change the PSU for a modular one to avoid all the extra cables inside the case.
• Add the HDD bay and the two new HDDs to it.
• (Maybe) Change the CPU cooler if the temps rise a lot with the other changes.

 

~ Upgrade parts ~
PSU: Corsair CS550M
HDD: 2x WD Red WD30EFRX 3TB

 

 

~ Updates on the build ~

• Update #1: Rearange the SSD and HDD to make some room for the new ones.
• Update #2: Buying the new parts
• Update #3: Cleaning, reasembling and mounting the new parts

[Silmano]

reserved

[ShadowCaptain]

Why do you have SSDs in the hard drive bays, and the hard drive not in it

 

SSDs can just go anywhere since they have no moving parts, you should really have the mechanical drives mounted securely 

[Silmano]

Btw, i'd put the mech drives in the bay and just stick the SSD's to the bottom with some double sided tape, they don't have any moving parts and don't get warm so it's fine.

 

Since I'm gonna get rid of one SSD, I was thinking on mounting the other SSD in the 5.25 bay.

 

Why do you have SSDs in the hard drive bays, and the hard drive not in it

 

SSDs can just go anywhere since they have no moving parts, you should really have the mechanical drives mounted securely 

 

Totally agree, I'm going to move the SSD to the 5.25 bay and the HDD to one of the bottom bays to have it more securelly fixed.

[Silmano]

Update #1
 
The first thing I did, to make some room for the new HDDs, was rearange the SSD and the HDD. Since I'm removing one of the SSD's, I placed the main one in the 5.25" bay. Then I moved the HDD to the bottom bay to have it better fitted in the case.

Running it up to the bay also means your have to run a SATA power and data cable across your case, i'd stick it on top of the drive bay so you have all drive cables in one point.
Modular PSU's come with these long strips of 4 SATA connectors so it would be a huge waste to use a whole new one for one drive up there.

 
The SATA ports in the motherboard are in the top, so if I put the SSD in the drive bay I would need less cable length from the PSU but I will still need to cross through the case with the SATA data cable. Right now I have a spare 15cm SATA data cable, so I'm gonna check how this works out with the SSD on top.

[Silmano]

Update #2
 
This is the list of the new parts:

• 2x WD Red WD30EFRX 3TB
• Corsair CS550M
• 2x 45cm SATA3 cables

 
The new parts have arrived!

 
I'm amazed on how protected the HDDs came

 
And now to clean the case and remove all the dust!

[Silmano]

Update #3
 
The first step of this update was to strip all the case and clean both the case and each component. Since its been a while (maybe a year) since I last cleaned the case, it had a nice amount of dust collected. You can check the photos on the first post to have an idea.

 
Next step was to install the two new HDDs and connect all the data cables to see what could be their best layout. I must say that despite you can install a 2.5" drive in the 5.25" bay, the screws push directly over the 4-bay case so it can be a little tricky to insert it. In my case I've removed the far-end screws to the able to fit the bay. Also I've decided to pass the new HDD data cables over the 5.25" bay to avoid blocking the airflow of the front fan.

 
Final step was to install all the power cables and see how could I arrange them.

Some cables of the new PSU are kinda large for this case, so I'm thinking in trimming them (the 24-pin and the 4+4-pin) to save some space.
 
Oh! I almost forgot! Since this PC is working as a 24/7 server, I've removed the front USB and audio connectors from the case to have some less cables to route. The problem now is that the front of the case has the holes of the connectors. Any idea on what to do about it?