My Media PC.

Priapus

Priapus

Priapus

Soldato
Joined
30 Jul 2004
Posts
10,573
Location
East Sussex, UK
Hey all,

I have built a machine from spare parts to act as a media server. I leave it on all the time - however I am now starting to wonder - is this wise for the HDDs? (I have 6 HDDs connected inside the case)

Also, every now and then - two or three HDDs would vanish from Windows and the BIOS. The only way to fix this is by unplugging them and switching ports. :confused:

I think this problem is down to two things:

A: PSU not good enough? (300 way PSU in there)
B: Motherboard is playing up?

Any thoughts?

Many thanks all!
 
If you've got 6 HDDs then it's probably wise to think about adding a proper hardware raid controller and using RAID5 for your data

Ebay is a good place to look for second hand ones, that's what i did, and my LSI Megaraid 8308ELP has been going strong for 6 years now

Nothing wrong with leaving it switched on 24/7, mine has 8 x 2TB WD Greens and they run cool and quiet

You could also look into automating your computer going to sleep so it switches on when you get home from work, and sleeps around 2am (if you're not using it to download etc)

Recommend a better PSU as well, just in case. I'm using a Corsair 550W and it's rock solid stable and relatively inexpensive

No way would i trust a cheap low power PSU in my media centre
 
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Problem I have with a RAID setup is down to the fact that I have four old IDE drives and two SATA drives - so no RAID for me.

I think the best plan of attack, would be to scrap the IDE drives, get two 500GB drives and then replace motherboard and PSU as motherboard only has two SATA ports.

Also, good thinking, batman with the automating the PC to go to sleep at 2am - as I don't download anything from home.

Thanks for the tips, bud. :)
 
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