Silverstone SG05 & two 3.5" HDD ?

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I am looking to build a low energy, always on, NAS/streaming box (maybe HTPC in the future) and have been looking around for a small case. The Silverstone SG05 seems good, apart from the fact that it only supports 1 x 3.5" HDD and 1x 2.5 HDD.

I was wondering if anyone knows if I can squeeze in a second 3.5 HDD instead of a 2.5 HDD. It will be a fairly simple build, with no external graphics card, just a 780G motherboard with onboard graphics and thats it. Is it possible to fit a second 3.5", even if it is just 'hanging loose' instead of being properly mounted?


The other question I have it to do with the optical drive. I have a spare Slimline DVD which I am hoping to use, PBDS DS-8W1P 8X Slim DVD±RW ;

http://support.euro.dell.com/support/edocs/storage/P137851/en/spec.htm

Am I correct in thinking that its an IDE driver, if this is the case the SG05 wil be able to accomdate this. I have seen that the SG05 has only 2 SATA connections and a dual IDE connection, with IDE adaptor.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks
 
I have no doubt the case can fit 3 or 4, maybe even 5 3.5" HDD's. Drill out the rivets for the 2.5" HDD holder and get it out of the way. Then make brackets to hang the other 3.5" below the stock location. At work so can't check, but pretty sure that spot will fit it depending on your mobo/ram height. Fitting more will take more effort, but can be done. The case was made for a DTX mobo and has two slots for a vid card and whatever, that spot can fit 2 HDDs as well, you'll just have to make brakets to hang em. Should be a non-issue to fit 2 3.5" HDD's.
 
Thanks for the reply.

Its reassuring to know that there is the possibility of extra 3.5HDD, what isn't reassuring are my handyman skills. I was hoping that it was possible without modification, or with very little to add a second 3.5 HDD ?

Drilling out rivets might be ok, but i wouldn't trust myself to make some brackets, unless theres a simple guide out there.

How about the my slimline burner, is it 'compatible' with the case, or do I need any extra cable adaptors/converters
 
Get an Esata external enclosure. Just use it as a 2nd main HDD.

this only works of course if you have an Esata port... but it works great for me lol.
 
casca is right with the rivets.

there's a guy that made some very simple mods and used this to fit 4 drives:

http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/acc/042/images/scyhdsx4-ex1_400.jpg

you can check out this link.

he's got pics of it somewhere in there.

http://forums.vr-zone.com/hardware-...the-new-sugo-05-mini-itx-their-sugo-line.html

I'm looking at this case as well for an WHS build.

good luck!

the 4-drive config is here. pretty crazy.

http://forums.vr-zone.com/hardware-...e-new-sugo-05-mini-itx-their-sugo-line-2.html
 
I am assuming, by the fact that you say 2 SATA ports, that you are talking about the Zotac 9300 motherboard (a popular choice for this case). Otherwise, I think that the SUGO-05 case has 3 SATA power connectors hooked up to the PSU.
For the slimline burner, I had the same issue as yourself. The ATAPI interface of your spare drive cannot easily hook up directly to the motherboard (the 9300). I bought a cheap used Sony drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118017) and used the following cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270183
Slim drives annoyingly often have a slim SATA power connection needed, and as far as I know, this is the only cable to get the job done.
This however uses up a SATA slot, leaving you only one on the 9300. If you are planning on using many hard-drives, this might not be the best choice.
Your slim drive connection ultimately depends on your motherboard.
Hope that helps.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the feedback.

The 4 Drive config looks amazing. For my needs I think 2 or max 3 HDD is enough, which is good as it means its not so much of a tight squeeze.

I haven't decided on the other parts, but because the system will be an always on NAS/file server, low energy is a priority, This is why I'll probably go down the route of a 780G motherboard and an Athlon 5050e (need a CPU good enough to use ps3mediasever to stream/transcode).

I know this is going off on a tangent, I was hoping to minimise output by using a picoPSU, but I haven't got a clue on whether the 150w will be enough. The box will have a 780G Motherboard with onboard 3200 video and two 3.5 HDD). If I do use a picoPSU, that will also mean a gaping hole in the SG05 ?

Hamilton10,
I understand what you mean by the cable, but I'm thrown off somewhat by the Silverstone manual. I downloaded it from here ;

http://www.silverstonetek.com/downloads/CASE/Multi-SG05-Manual.pdf

On page 7, it describes a adaptor which is included with the case. I'm not sure if this is applicable for my dvd burner, but surely this can not also supply power too ?
 
The adapter included with the SG05 is designed for converting slim IDE (or ATAPI) optical drive into desktop IDE interface. The adapter also lets you use the 4pin floppy power connector from SG05's SFX power supply to power the slim optical drive so you don't need to get any additional converters.
 
Thats perfect ! So I can use my slimline with the included adaptor and 4 pin floppy connector, leaving 2 SATA connectors for the 2 HDD.

Just one thing, if I decide to add a third (or even fourth) HDD at a later date, are there enough SATA and Power connectors, or can I get some splitters/adaptors ?

Sorry, one other question, I think I saw the contents of a SG05 Case, and it included what looked like a bezel for the slimline optical drive ? My optical drive has a bezel contoured for a dell laptop, which wont fit flush in an SG05
 
tft_newbie, just a reminder, if you want to utilize the included IDE adapter for your slim optical drive, the motherboard you use need to have an IDE connector as well. There are now less new Mini-ITX motherboards on the market with IDE connectors.
 
The power requirements of the Intel D945GSEJT are truely amazing, 14 watts! Although low energy usage is a priorty, I need a CPU powerfull enough for my needs. I need a system with enough power to stream/transcode SD content via ps3mediaserver, plus some extra headroom.

This is why I am looking out for the Athlon 5050e, coupled with either a 740/780G motherboard. Although the power requirements are much higher than the Atom, they are still relatively low. Now to find a miniATX 780G Motherboard with an IDE channel. With the SG05, am I limitted to 2 SATA HDD, in terms of power and SATA connectors, or is there a way to expand them ?

I have to say, this is the most difficult system I have had to spec, its a combination of a small form factor, yet still being able to accommdate a couple of 3.5" HDD, with enough SATA/IDE/Power connectors, powerful enough to stream/transcode video, all for the lowest possible power requirements. I'm nearly there !
 
The SG05 has room for a 3.5" and a 2.5" hard drive so to have more than two, you will need to get a 3.5" converter bay that converts to two 2.5" spaces such as our SDP08:

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=SDP08&area=

Obvisouly you are also limited by how many SATA connectors the motherboard provides.

If you want to have more than two hard drives for the purpose of having more storage capacity, you are still better off just getting one big 3.5" hard drive instead.
 
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