The original post: /r/datahoarder by /u/sunbeamian on 2025-03-25 07:19:40.
I don't use RAID or anything else, I just have a lot of data. I currently have an optical drive and 7 HDDs along with two NVME drives in my Fractal Design Define R3. I don't have the money to consolidate the drives into larger ones, so still am going to need at least 6-9 HDDs in my build.
Upon searching around I could only find the Godlike MB with 8 sata ports, the Taichi and Taichi Lite with 6 ports, and everything else seems to only have 4 ports or less.
So I'm thinking I will need to rely on either a PCI-E SATA adapter card or a SAS HBA.
I'd never even heard of SAS HBA before delving into this topic, but I saw a lot of people saying that most SATA adapter cards were bad chipsets or firmware or something (Marvell particularly), and 'better off with SAS HBA'. However I've also read of people saying the opposite, that they prefer to use PCI-E SATA adapters.
As a Windows desktop user that just wants access to more data without any RAID or similar options, what is my best method for drive expansion?
I was looking at a SilverStone ECS06 6 Port SATA3 ControllerSilverStone ECS06 6 Port SATA3 Controller, but it seems like SAS HBA adapters are even cheaper that that (and I'm not sure if that Asmedia controller is worthwhile). Perhaps I should also be considering M2 drive adapters? However I feel like a PCI-E adapter would be more useful as I might use the M2 drive slot at some stage in the future, but I don't usually have a use for spare PCI-E connections. This is an M2 option with Jmicron controller I could potentially use: Silverstone ECS07
Also if I did get an SAS HBA, what considerations do I need in regards to the available PCI-E lanes? I was looking at potentially getting a MSI X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI which has a spare PCI-E x4 slot.
Also if I want to run more than 8 SATA drives, if my PSU only has power for 8 SATA, what options do I have there? Other than buying a PSU with 10-12 SATA power?
I have also heard that SAS HBA cards without fans need additional cooling to run in a desktop. Considerations for that?
Thoughts?