Isnt it in other cases? There will be no optical drives...its just going to sit and be accessed by other PCs and data transferred onto it.
Not really. Looking at the sketches, the PSU is covering most of the PCI slots and is sitting right in front of the mobo. Generally it is either on top of or under the mobo, not right in front of it. Besides, having no optical drives is irrelevant to its position. Why not move the PSU to a side opposite the mobo?
I have seen some standard harddrives with the sensor in them that decects movement and stops the harddrive imidatly. I have one in my laptop and it has survived many falls mabye this would be a good idea as an added layer of protection
Darkhunter: isn't that only for laptop hard drives? I need a large capacity for cheap. Phoeneous: I know what you're saying, but this way there is only one side with connectors: power, I/O for motherboard, etc. There aren't going to be any expansion cards anyways. I don't use PCI slots on my gaming machine, I don't see a reason for a file server to have any - unless they're IDE cards. I was thinking that if I attached the hard drives to rubber bands/elastic cords with high spring rates (i.e. takes a bit of force to get it to stretch/snap back) and connect it to all 4 corners from the corners of the cube, I'll be in a good shape in case of a drop: the hard drive will be safe from hitting the panels/sides and motherboard b/c of the high spring rate.
My motherboard will have onboard gigabit. This box will be connected to my home network via D-Link Gigabit Switch, which is uplinked to my Linksys Router for my cable. Should be very speedy.
when apple first came out with the G3 and was spouting at how durable it was a school mate of mine tested it out. the mac store she worked at likes testing the products they sell before they put them on the shelves so they are ready for anything. 14 stories worth of stairs later the G3 ran fine. wasn't running at the time of being dropped, but the fact it was dropped down 14 stories worth of stairs should account for something. In anycase I would think securing the HD tight withr rubber around it (rubber washers etc) and concentrate on getting the outside of the case shock resistant. if the shock can't ravel into the case then the HD should be safe right?
Very simple, do a rubber suspension. some one Bit-tech did it awhile back, Basically you twist screws in like you normally do and Tie a few rubber bands around the screws. All it it requires is some mounting bolts and location that are further apart than a normal drive cage. Foam would also work But Rubber suspension keeps the thing super quiet and you can basically throw it off a cliff
You guys keep talking as if a drop will be fatal to a PC on every ocasion. Well my Lian Li PC-60 fell of my desk, about 3 1/2 ft. to a concrete floor and its still running fine. Using rubber is probably the best bet though. IMO
The drive wants to be mounted firm and heavy or it may do all kinds of unpleasant things like vibrate and loose tracks. Best mount it on a brick and then mount the brick with drive in foam. The brick will help the drive to keep going in the foam so it can slow down gently.
I'm not sure I could secure a brick reliably, and the problem with a rubber band is that sometimes rubber bands get old and brittle...so are there alternatives? Maybe a foam strip doubled over several times, screw into that to secure the HDD? I'll draw some stuff up in SketchUp of some mounting solutions. Good ideas, keep them coming.
just thought I would ask why before I scratch my brain for any ideas. you said something about extreme weather... like a hurricane? the better solution would just prevent it from being hit by anything. a cage or something of that nature. earthquakes.... I think you might have other things to worry about than your house falling on your computer
Just out of curiousity, do live live in a very unsecure area or where will you have your monster standing, in a Jeep? [update] Sorry, I missed just about each and every comment. Thougth this was a new post.
No, nothing about THE weather, just about "weathering a blow it takes." I've come up with some nifty ways of mounting the hard drives, involving some samples of Tempurpedic foam and steel plates. I think it will do the trick. When you see "Project Kickaround" in the Project Logs, you'll know where you saw it first
