My Coolermaster 590 WHS build

Show off your quiet rig.

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kieran45
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:57 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia

My Coolermaster 590 WHS build

Post by kieran45 » Sat Mar 14, 2009 11:00 pm

This is my Windows Home Server rig. I think it is now in pretty much a finished condition. Still room for a couple more HDD's when the need arises though.

Components are:

Coolermaster Centurion 590 case
Corsair HX620
Gigabyte GA G31M-S2L
Intel E7200 with Ninja Mini
2x1GB Kingston RAM
SiI 3114 SATA controller
Assorted HDD's totalling 5.57TB

It was pretty much a budget build, just trying to get all of my HDD's out of my HTPC and localise all storage. The case is the cheapest I could find with 9 5.25" bays, and everything else is pretty low end. I had the ninja mini lying around and all the fans are spares too.

The case is pretty basic, but by soft mounting the drives in the 5.25" bays, controlling the airflow paths and turning the PSU so it sucks in from the bottom, it actually is pretty quiet.

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I covered over all the side and top vents in the case, and the whole front panel acts as an intake over the HDD's with some foam for a filter. Exhaust is a Nexus 120mm at 7V and the Zalman 80mm on the Mini is turned right down with a Fanmate.

All drives are suspended with Stretch Magic, and are not too noisy, considering. The CPU is undervolted to 1.1V, I haven't really had time to get it much lower, but I will get around to it eventually.

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Initially HDD's were running at around 20-25C above ambient temperature. I was thinking of installing 3 Scythe Kama Bay coolers to keep them cool, but at $30 each in Australia, couldn't really foot the bill. Instead I used three 120mm fans I had lying around (A nexus, Noctua S800, Scythe S-flex E) and strapped them to the front of the case with wire and a bit of foam tape to absorb vibration. All 3 are running at 7V, and are really quiet. Works great, temps dropped 10C across the board, now about 10-15 above ambient.

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It was never going to be the quietest thing I have built, with all those HDD's, but it lives in a corner of the lounge room a fair way from where anyone sits, and can't be heard unless it is the middle of the night with everything else turned off. Been running now for about 4-5 months, and hopefully will go strong for a few years to come.

walle
Posts: 605
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 10:52 am

Post by walle » Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:52 am

Think it’s the first time I ever seen someone with that amount of hard drives actually taken the time to soft mount them, I like it.

:)

CallmeRoth
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:41 pm
Location: Canada

Post by CallmeRoth » Sun Mar 15, 2009 1:13 am

Take the top HDD fan put it on CPU and get rid that 80mm.

kieran45
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:57 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by kieran45 » Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:39 am

Hard-mounting 7 hard drives would make a lot of noise. I can handle a bit of fan noise, but the irregular buzz of hard drives makes me nuts. Easy as to suspend drives in 5.25 bays.

The CPU HSF is a Mini Ninja, so the 120mm won't fit, but the 80mm runs at about 1000rpm off the Fanmate, so doesn't make much noise anyway. I could probably run without the CPU fan, but this was never going to be silent, and I like the idea of keeping things as cool as possible, as this is on 24/7 and I want it to be as long-lived as possible.

It gets pretty hot here in the summer, (35-40C) and I don't want to have to change things at all, just leave it with plenty of headroom.

CallmeRoth
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:41 pm
Location: Canada

Post by CallmeRoth » Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:44 am

I seriously did not relise the fan was so small compared the the heatsink itself on the ninja mini. It could easily fit a 92mm looks like.

kieran45
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:57 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by kieran45 » Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:03 pm

Yeah, the mini comes with fan clips for 80 and 92mm, but I didn't have a 92 lying around, only 80mm.

Ayrton
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2009 7:43 am
Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Post by Ayrton » Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:11 pm

Very nice, I just bought a 590 case for a WHS build and was lurking the gallery for pics.

Nice solution on the drive mounting.

budzz89
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:48 am
Location: US

Post by budzz89 » Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:01 pm

wow i never see a multiple hardisk like that, its like a big machine with big storage huh..

ntavlas
Posts: 811
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:35 pm
Location: Greece
Contact:

Post by ntavlas » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:55 am

Excellent. I really love that frontal shot with all those suspended hdds!

Jay_S
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 715
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 2:50 pm
Location: Milwaukee, WI

Post by Jay_S » Sat Aug 08, 2009 7:49 pm

kieran45,

Did you try the included 4-in-3 HDD sub-chassis? I just ordered this case, and if the CM 4-in-3 things are quiet (enough) I'll order two more of them. My server is in our basement, and noise isn't a primary concern...

Thanks again for your PM re: interchangeable side panels, and for sharing your build.

kieran45
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:57 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by kieran45 » Sun Aug 16, 2009 5:58 pm

Yeah, since posting this, I have got a few more HDD's and I am now using the 4 in 3 that came with the case as well as another 2 4 in 3's that I purchased. The one that came with the case is pretty good, I swapped the rubber plugs over for some antec ones I had lying around.

The new 4 in 3's I bought are nowhere near as good. They are coolermaster ones as well, but no soft mounting, and the drives seem to get hotter in them, but it might just be the seagate drives I have in there. Don't think the stock 4in3 that comes with the case is available separately.

Much noisier now with some hardmounted drives and more fans, but still quiet enough for the corner of the lounge.

weivercp
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 3:22 am
Location: USA

Post by weivercp » Tue Sep 21, 2010 3:25 am

Sorry to kick up a year old thread, but I just bought the same case and was wondering what technique you used to get the Stretch Magic to work so well? I've been trying various methods for the last hour, but just can't figure out a solid way to get the Stretch Magic to stay.

JazzJackRabbit
Posts: 1386
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2004 6:53 pm

Post by JazzJackRabbit » Tue Sep 21, 2010 6:59 am

walle wrote:Think it’s the first time I ever seen someone with that amount of hard drives actually taken the time to soft mount them, I like it.

:)
Now imagine suspension string breaking on the top drive causing a top-down avalanche of all 8 drives. Personally, there is no way I would suspend my drives in a manner like that. I've got a fileserver with 8 drives, but they are all "soft-mounted" in P182 case. Quiet enough for me and I do not have to worry about one drive breaking loose and taking an entire array with it.

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