Hey fellow hoarders,
I'm building out a Plex/media server in a 4U rackmount chassis. It's got 8 internal HDD slots, and I'm quickly running out of space. The mobo is full ATX, and I'm using Unraid.
I'm looking into a PCIe HBA (like an LSI 9207-8i or 9305-16i) to add more drives. My power supply is 750W and has plenty of headroom. The case, however, is the bottleneck — I physically can't fit more than 8 drives inside. I think my ultimate setup would have max 12 HDDs so I can't imagine needing more than four HDDs outside the case.
Would it be totally foolish to run SATA breakout cables and PSU power cables out the back of the 4U chassis and mount more drives in a separate 1U or 2U rack slot below or above it?
I'm picturing just bolting some fans and drive cages into an old 1U chassis or DIY shelf, maybe even 3D printing some brackets. I already have the cables, the PSU seems up to the task, and this avoids the complexity and cost of a true JBOD enclosure with SAS expander, separate PSU, etc.
Is this a terrible idea for drive integrity/cooling/safety? Or is this a totally common budget-friendly move?
