Maximum PC

Hi All,
So I came across some type of server used in the graphics arts industry to connect to a proofing printer. We have no use for it at work and can't really sell it to anyone. So I took it home to see if there was anything I could use off of it. It has a bunch of Maxtor Atlas Serial Attached SCSI drives in it. I had couple of questions on them. 1) Is there any way to use them in a home computer as a regular hard drive and 2) is this even worth it? It doesn't look like it uses a standard SATA connection on it. The reason I am asking it that they are all rated at 10K RPM. I thought that they might be a bit faster than regular drives. Thanks for any help.

You can use them in any system that has a SAS controller.

The good news is if you are looking to just attach one or two drives to a system controllers start at $70. No straight up PCI controllers though.

Is there a controller in the system that houses them now? If so, is it a RAID card, or just a controller?

I would consider leaving the drives in the system and turning it into a file server.

n0b0dykn0ws

Thanks for the tip. Not sure if what the drives connect to. I will have to dig into it further. I don't think it would make the most econimical file server. It has two power supplies and sounds like a jet engine when it is turned on.

Nowhere to stick it out of the way?

Servers/high end workstations are definitely not known for being quiet, or energy efficient.

Do you know what size the drives are? Are they all the same or different brands/models/sizes?

n0b0dykn0ws

The drives are all the same brand Maxtor Atlas drives. And they are either 73GB or 146 GB. There is a combination of both sizes.

Check out the mobo specs in your main machine. I know some Asus socket 1366 X58 mobo's have built in Marvell SAS controller and sockets. I think mostly the P6Txxx series. If your not rocking and SSD it would be a cheap and easy raid 0 setup I guess depending how long those drives have been in use and what their rep is for longevity and reliability. Also depending on what their performance rating is as opposed to WD's Raptors.