Ever a limit on hard-drives?
in [Hardware]
|
Prev: Lifecam VX-5000 video static
Next: Help with new mobo
From: Brian V on 2 Jan 2010 17:56 Is there ever a limit to how many hard-drives you want to internally install into a computer? I understand you need a certain amount or ports on your motherboard and the connectors from the power supply or additional ones from an expansion slot. eg: Can I put a 1.5 terabyte drive into an older computer if I really wanted to? Or if the computer had 6 ports and six connectors, can I put in 1.5Tb x 6?
From: DL on 2 Jan 2010 18:49 Not enough info; Your bios would need to support large drives and you psu would need the capacity to power them. And what does older PC mean "Brian V" <BrianV(a)discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:67A5C867-FC49-442A-B9D5-935D0CD1F1BD(a)microsoft.com... > Is there ever a limit to how many hard-drives you want to internally > install > into a computer? > > I understand you need a certain amount or ports on your motherboard and > the > connectors from the power supply or additional ones from an expansion > slot. > > eg: Can I put a 1.5 terabyte drive into an older computer if I really > wanted > to? Or if the computer had 6 ports and six connectors, can I put in 1.5Tb > x 6?
From: philo on 2 Jan 2010 18:46 Brian V wrote: > Is there ever a limit to how many hard-drives you want to internally install > into a computer? > > I understand you need a certain amount or ports on your motherboard and the > connectors from the power supply or additional ones from an expansion slot. > > eg: Can I put a 1.5 terabyte drive into an older computer if I really wanted > to? Or if the computer had 6 ports and six connectors, can I put in 1.5Tb x 6? The main problem is that with an older mobo the bios will not support over 137 gigs http://www.48bitlba.com/ of course you can install a PCI SATA card and get support for 4 large drives here is an example http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124020 There are even 6 port cards avail but it may be cheaper to buy two, 4 port cards Also...if you are going to use six harddrives you will need a pretty decent power supply with 9TB of data avail chances are you can stop using floppies now <G>
From: Shenan Stanley on 2 Jan 2010 18:55 Brian V wrote: > Is there ever a limit to how many hard-drives you want to > internally install into a computer? > > I understand you need a certain amount or ports on your motherboard > and the connectors from the power supply or additional ones from an > expansion slot. > > eg: Can I put a 1.5 terabyte drive into an older computer if I > really wanted to? Or if the computer had 6 ports and six > connectors, can I put in 1.5Tb x 6? If the motherboard/BIOS supports the drives and you have enough *power* for them and connectors/cables (including power) - you certainly can. In some cases - you can get around BIOS limitations with software or by purchasing additional hardware (internal drive controller cards). For all practical purposes - the limitation is hardware. The issue comes with how you setup these drives, what you can use them for, etc. FAT32, NTFS, etc. Why you want that many large drives is another point you want to consider. RAID them tegther to make a bunch of storage or for data redundancy or for performance reasons? How about a specific scenario you are looking at so someone could give you more directed advice? -- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP -- How To Ask Questions The Smart Way http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
From: Paul on 2 Jan 2010 19:09
Brian V wrote: > Is there ever a limit to how many hard-drives you want to internally install > into a computer? > > I understand you need a certain amount or ports on your motherboard and the > connectors from the power supply or additional ones from an expansion slot. > > eg: Can I put a 1.5 terabyte drive into an older computer if I really wanted > to? Or if the computer had 6 ports and six connectors, can I put in 1.5Tb x 6? There are no limits, only details to worry about. If I wanted to install a 1.5TB drive in an older computer, I'd probably be looking for a good SATA card to install with it. Alternately, you can get a bridge adapter, to convert SATA to PATA, then use a PATA card such as an Ultra133 TX2. It supports 48 bit LBA, so could handle a 1.5TB drive. I use Promise cards like that, in machines like my old 440BX based machine. For internally housed drives, startup current is an issue. A hard drive draws 2.5 amps from the 12V rail for the first ten seconds. I've seen at least one custom tower case design, that had 18-20 drives or so, and you can see that 20*2.5amps = 50 amps. So a hefty supply would be needed to help spin all the drives up simultaneously. Back in the old days, a person could use SCSI drives, and they had a "staggered spin" feature to reduce the impact on the power supply. The case that had all the drives in it, used two power supplies. But in the current day, you can find monster supplies that could power 20 drives with ease, all by themselves. 1000W power supplies are available if you want them. You can use chains of Firewire drives, SAS drives have expansion features, USB external drives are available, there are even networked drives (Ethernet interface). So you don't have to place all the drives inside the computer. By distributing the drives, eventually you'll get to the point where AC power is an issue. Or finding enough plugs for all the wall adapters etc. Paul |