What is the best bang for your buck for sata adapters for 3.5in. drives?
i have nearly 100 - 8tb sata drives that are unused from my datacenter job i was able to buy for dirt cheap.
just wondering if there are any recommended brands/types that would work for my application.
thanks!
Look for SAS HBA adapters, most of them support 8 HDD’s and they are really robust. IBM M5015 or M5014 or Dell Perc H310 for example.
And if you want, you could break it out even more with a SATA Expansion card in combination with the SAS HBA adapter, this card can be run on a riser, just requiring power.
thanks!
how do I hook the sata cables up to the HBA? sorry for the newbie questions.
i see the IBM M5015 for example but idk how to hook my hard drives to it…
i have an old R710 server as well but it can only handle 2tb drives due to bios limitation.
maybe I can throw an HBA into that as well and use larger hard drives?
You can buy 2 SAS breakout cables, they cost around 10 USD on Amazon. Also depending on the model, you might have to flash it to work in IT mode so you can see each individual drive.
Here is an example for the H310 Dell
Also more information about the different models. You should look for one that says “no BBU” in order to be able to flash it. But I think some models just work out of the box. Only I had to flash the Dell one.
again, thank you! huge huge help.
so what would be the advantage of using this method over a bunch of powered usb to sata adapters? or cheap enclosures with adapters built in? other than cost of course. write speed maybe?
I got a Corsair Obsidian 750D that can fit up to 16 3.5" HDDs. I like to have my setup compact and clean. Also, powering every single USB drive with its own power adapter is highly inefficient. I just have a 750W PSU for everything. Powered USB to SATA are maybe a bit more efficient but still, a lot of cables. BTW those LSI cards are designed for servers with an optimal airflow. They tend to get really hot, like burning to the touch. I am thinking about attaching small fans with cable ties on top of their heatsink.
awesome i think the corsair route is best thank you very much for all the input! you really helped