Over the past few days we've been talking about system-upgrades and new builds in the shoutbox, during which silly old me mentioned creating build-logs on the forums.
Well, here it is...

During the PG dog days of summer challenge it became clear to me that at least one of my systems was no longer up to the task
So I decided to build a new system, using both new and recycled parts.
The main goal of the new system is to hold files and crunch a bit of BOINC.

new parts
Housing: Chieftec CA-01 B-B-SL
Mainboard: ASUS P5K WS
CPU: Intel C2Q Q6600
Memory: Kingston HyperX 2*2GB DDR2-800
GFX-card: Asus EAH3650 TOP/HTDI
Cooling: a bunch of Scythe KAMAFlex 92mm and 120mm fans

recycled bits
Coolermaster RealPower M520 PSU (for now)
2 WD Raptor, 1st gen, 36GB for OS and stuff
Promise EX8300, PCI-X 133, 8-port SATA RAID-controller
8 WD3200SD disks in RAID5 for data
HighPoint RocketRaid 1740 PCI, 4-port SATA RAID-controller
4 Maxtor 200GB SATA in RAID5 for more data

if you're wondering about the name ... you apparently are not familiar with Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels

more (and pics) to follow later

ok, here are some of the obligatory box-shots...




sorry, no sexy shots of the controllers as they are currently otherwise engaged in other systems

quick update as the innards are starting to come together.
pulled the RocketRaid 1740 and the maxtors from another system and put them in the case.



and as I forgot the "naked case" shots, a little surprise ...
some parts I forgot to mention earlier: a couple of coolermaster 4-in-3 Devices to get all the drives in

another quicky update.
pulled the WD drives and Promise controller from the various systems they were in, so they're ready to go into the case.

grmbl

cable-management is hell

(btw, it's ok to comment )

MP:

Elegant build!

. . . gee, that seems like a whole lot of HD's. . .

What OS?. . . 64 bit, I hope.

Your MoBo supports 8gigs of ram. . . just get it over with, you know you want to . . . .

most likely some 64-bit windblowz flavor.
8 gig? yer, I know I want to, but budget constrains are not as flexible as they used to be.
the PSU I'm using should be enough, but the next investment is most likely going to be in a slightly beefier one.

getting close to the finish now, most cables are in, just the cpu and psu now.

you might find yourself in trouble with that bunch of drives on that poor little PSU.
dunno if delayed startup is still available with modern drives.

frank.

Frank, yer, I know, on the other hand, been running the promise with 6 drives on the other Q6600 on a 480watt without issues.
If push comes to shove, I'll just take the 8-drive array offline, still some room left on the other big box

the problem is not total wattage - it's that huge demand in 12V during drive spinup. if you can set up spinup-delays this will be very much
better for the whole thing.

frank.

well, as far as I understand the Promise is supposed to support stagered spin-up,
but like I said, don't need the array right now, so I just disconnected the power to those drives after taking the pic );