[Netix]

Hi there, (just want to say that English is my second language so sorry for the writing)

I would like some advice regarding my project and if it doable.

I have an old macbook 2007 lying around (Core2Duo, 4gb ram, 2,16 ghz) and I saw that thread : Attaching 3.5" desktop drive to MacBook SATA. Do you guys think it would be possible to connect this : Mediasonic ProBox 8 Bay (the one sold by amazon is 258$) to the macbook ?

I would run Ubuntu on a usb stick connected to the macbook. I would like the macbook to run FlexRaid, a Plex Media Server, a MySQL Library, Share my library across my house with SMB and control torrents downloads (CouchPotato and SickBeard).

Would it be cheaper to just buy a normal NAS ?

Thank you all for your advice and help !

[Netix]

Up ! Any toughts guys ?

[booker88]

You aren't going to find a 8-bay NAS for $258... so using a dedicated NAS won't be cheaper than re-purposing your Macbook. But you need to confirm whether or not that sata port in the macbook supports port-multiplying or not. Does your macbook have an express slot? You might look into sourcing a sata express card if the internal sata port doesn't support port multiplication.

And a caveat with Flexraid (I use it as well on kubuntu 12.04.3 64bit) ... since you are from Montreal I presume some of your media will have accented file names. Flexraid on linux needs to have locale settings adjusted for it properly access non english file-names (Flexraid won't warn you that it is having problems with some file-names but you'll see the same files being processed over and over again in your log-files for no discernible reason).

[Netix]

Oh well.. I didnt knew about that port-multiplying.. I'm trying to find a way to convert a sata port into a usb 3.0 port that would be a better solution for the transfer rate and I could run everything out of OS X since I would take the port out of the : Optical Bay

There's no express slot on my macbook..

Is it true that eSATA are limited to 5 drives ? So even If i find a way to get a port multiplier connected to my internal sata port I would need like 2 of them because the enclosure is 8 drives ?

Edit :

Am i thinking to much ? This into this

[Netix]

New Solution

I tried to find anything that could make usb 3.0 compatible with my mac but apparently there's none. So I tought I could build myself an enclosure with the port multiplier in it, here's are the part :

Case : http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B006TVQU...YIK6Y9EEQB
PSU : http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B002UOR1...YIK6Y9EEQB
5 x SATA Cable : http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B004QM5M...WDMXI70UAF

Port Multiplier : http://www.datoptic.com/ec/sata-5-sil372...plier.html
PCI Bracket Adapter : http://www.datoptic.com/ec/pci-to-scsi-1...apter.html
eSATA to SATA Cable : http://www.datoptic.com/ec/3ft-esata-to-sata-cable.html

Total cost with shipping to Montreal = 210$

Any things you guys would change ? With a 4in3 cage and another port multiplier I could have a total of 10 hdd in this case with enough power cable on the psu.

I could still switch my optical bay and run OS X from an SSD to get things running faster.

[CaptainPsycho]

750W for 5 hdds and a Portmultiplier ... ?

Even 100 would double the watts you'll need.

You can take an external enclosure with 8 bays and integrated raid controller and usb3 / eSATA and won't have any hassle.

http://www.sharkoon.com/?q=en/node/2217

[Netix]

Still more expensive to go that way... cant find any sharkoon enclosure in north america..

about the PSU, I just found out that you can use a molex to power 2 SATA drive.. so I could go with that : http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.asp...6817371033 and still have enough for 10 hdd

Edit :

Went ahead and look up on amazon.ca if I could find a case and psu with a lower shipping cost

New Case : http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B006TVQU...YIK6Y9EEQB

New PSU : http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B002UOR1...YIK6Y9EEQB

Bring the total down to : 210$ !!!

[CaptainPsycho]

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/offer-listing/B0...017&sr=1-6

Not so cheap as you wanted, but the raid will be recognized as one disk to your macbook, so you don't need the port multiplier function on the macbook.

[Netix]

Thanks for the heads up CaptainPsycho ! I think i'll try the hassle with the build im trying.. I think everything could work out and it's really cheap ! At only 210$, I can add a SSD into my macbook and run a faster os on it.

Im just wondering if everything is gonna work out..!

[Netix]

Here's some question to help you guys guide me through my toughts processs.

1. Will the mac be powerful enough to run a Plex Media Server (Transcoding, Etc..) and do other stuff at the same time ? (Torrents, SMB Share)

2. Will I be able to only run windows from the SSD inside the optical bay without the mac OS X partition ? (Since I would take that out to connect the sata to esata cable)

3. Will it be energy efficient ? I'm doing this because everything is on my gaming rig right now who's running 24/7 at 325 watt.

4. Will the mac be able to detect the 5 hdd's connected to the port multiplier through the sata to esata cable ?

5. Should I sell the mac and just add a motherboard, a processor and run everything out of Ubuntu Stick ? (Never used Ubuntu before) The mac is also in bad shape alot of scratch and you can see wire coming out of the power brick, the battery is also dead.

Thanks for your help guys !