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@ 2007/02/01Ars Technica guides you through the process of building a home media server, with plenty of storage:
"The money saved by buying smaller, cheaper disks is offset by the fact that they still have to be connected to the RAID controller, powered by the power supply, and cooled by the fans in the chassis. Most motherboards and RAID controllers have four ports. Going to six disks rather than four suddenly means you need a separate controller card—or you'll have to hunt for the rare motherboard with six SATA ports. A hard drive consumes 15 to 20 watts of power when actively seeking, which may mean you'll need a bigger power supply, and then you have to find a case that can fit more disks. Finding a case capable of holding four or five 3.5 inch drives is not overly difficult, but think six or eight disks and the task becomes, if not more difficult, then at least somewhat more costly.
"The money saved by buying smaller, cheaper disks is offset by the fact that they still have to be connected to the RAID controller, powered by the power supply, and cooled by the fans in the chassis. Most motherboards and RAID controllers have four ports. Going to six disks rather than four suddenly means you need a separate controller card—or you'll have to hunt for the rare motherboard with six SATA ports. A hard drive consumes 15 to 20 watts of power when actively seeking, which may mean you'll need a bigger power supply, and then you have to find a case that can fit more disks. Finding a case capable of holding four or five 3.5 inch drives is not overly difficult, but think six or eight disks and the task becomes, if not more difficult, then at least somewhat more costly.
