Support for 3.5" disk

[monnier]

What I wish for is support for connecting a 3.5" HDD.
Currently, I use an old ASUS WL-700ge at one place and a fit-pc2 with external USB enclosure at another, but the WL-700ge is terribly underpowered, and the external enclosure has severe limitations: the USB enclosures don't give full access to smart data, nor do they allow controlling things like power-management and spin-down. Furthermore, they are terribly power-hungry (it consumes more watts than my fit-pc2, even when the disk is not spinning!).

The esata port on the fit-pc3 is a step in the right direction, but I'd still like to see something like:
- a large fit-pc with a 3.5" internal slot (to make it useful to more people, it might be made to also serve as dual-2.5" slots).
- a fit-pc with a powered esata connector.
- some recommendation for a power-efficient external enclosure.

[gabrielh]

Thank you for you feedback. You can use self powered enclosure to avoid power issues. FitPC3 designed to be slim, so the 3.5 hardiness will strongly affect the FitPC3 dimensions

[monnier]

Thank you for you feedback. You can use self powered enclosure to avoid power issues. FitPC3 designed to be slim, so the 3.5 hardiness will strongly affect the FitPC3 dimensions

I did not mean to extend the fit-pc3 case specifically, since indeed the form-factor (and heat constraints) will require significant changes. I just hope to see a future "large fit-pc" or "fit-NAS" or "fat-pc" ... I'll let you choose the name.
Also the other two alternatives still seem perfectly compatible with the general fit-pc design: a powered-esata port, or a recommendation for a power-efficient external enclosure.

[gabrielh]

I liked the FatPC

[Qlaras]

Hrm, perhaps an eSATA/USB 3.0 HDD enclosure that the Fit-PC3/Intense can 'stack' on? (And/or a bracket that would mount them together?)

Cooling would be my only issue, as heat from the Fit-PC would likely work its way into the HDD enclosure.

[jango1985]

I have been looking for a dual low power server setup for a while so I like this idea aswell.