I am clustering 7 desktop computers and would like to put them in a rack. I have an 8U rack and 1U will be taken up by the ethernet switch. I will take out the optical drives. I plan on putting each in a 1U chassis like this one or other open ones.
I have three problems:
- Processor Heat Sink
- Hard Drive
Power Supply
- Processor Heat Sink:
Do I need a heat sink if I put in tons of fans? If yes, could I get a laptop heat sink even though it is a desktop cpu? Any other creative ideas?
- Hard Drive:
There are rack-mountable hard drive holders that can hold 8 hard drives while taking 1U of the rack. Would that work if all hard drives belonged to separate independent computers? I could probably just get long SATA cords to connect to pc. What about power for hard drives? (I would have to keep one computer in its case) Any other creative ideas?
- Power Supply: The only thing I can think of for this would be to have them hanging out the back of the rack? Any other creative ideas?
- Processor Heat Sink:
Do I need a heat sink if I put in tons of fans? If yes, could I get a laptop heat sink even though it is a desktop cpu? Any other creative ideas?
I know this is a lot for one question, so if you can answer anything or give any suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated. If there are any better way to mount desktops in racks, please mention. I don't have the rack real estate for more than 1U per computer though. By the way, I want to mount the dell optiplex 760 desktop version. If there are any other brackets that I need to buy or rack mounting tips, please share. Thanks in advance.