Building a 9 Bay DVD Duplication Tower...

Cory Weekes · June 27th, 2006, 08:42 AM

Hello, I've been looking into trying to put one of these together myself and this is what I came up with so far:

Acard Controller ARS-2033S : 1-to-7 DVD - costs $85
http://www.acard.com.tw/english/fb01...r&type1_idno=4

Silver Black 7 Target DVD CD Duplicator Case - costs $105

http://cgi.ebay.com/Silver-Black-7-T...ayphotohosting

3 Silver NEC 3550A drives from newegg - costs $117
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827152060

Seagate 120GB Internal Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive costs = $50
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....7&type=product
OR:
Seagate 120GB Internal Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive costs = $80
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....3&type=product

Total so far = $357(with seagate) and $387(with western digital)

That's what I got so far. I know I still need a dvd-rom drive, but that shouldn't be hard to get, so I just wanted to make sure I was heading in the right direction first, you know. If anyone has any feedback, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

Martin Archer-Shee · June 27th, 2006, 09:20 AM

I can't comment on the specific items. I am not familiar withe ACARD controller but it is probably similar to the wytron I bought. I would suggest finding the manual online and reading it, to make sure you have all the info you need and it is understandable. If you are doing any amount of copying you might consider filling the drive bays, thus ensuring you have the same model burners (just in case...). Hard drive wise , I ended up using an "old" 40G drive I had in an old computer. Works fine and as long as I don't need more than 6 or 7 dvd sources to be stored I am fine.
Make sure that the controller you purchase comes with all the ribbon cables you need, namely for the full number of drives it can handle. I forgot to check this but luckily the unit had everything. Make sur that the case has lots of ventilation, mine came with three fans and a 500watt supply along with all the power supply cords (another thing to check). What? me paranoid....???

Setup of the whole system was easy and it works fine.

Best of luck
Martin

Brian Light · June 27th, 2006, 08:07 PM

Fretting over the choices is the hardest thing you will face. Not knowing what you needs are, I would say the drive size would be a bit smallish. And keep in mind most of the units require same drive and same firmware version unlike the Athena controller I used.

Most controllers come will all the IDE cables your will need, at least in my research. As long as the case is designed for drives it should have the amount of cables to fill the number of bays it offers too.

Beware of people selling normal cases with normal computer power supplies.

Also cooling needs to be properly addressed and in my limited testing on my tower it seems to not be an issue at all as a few concurrently burns in a row increased temps in the case just a few degree F.

Keep us informed.

Brian

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cory Weekes

Hello, I've been looking into trying to put one of these together myself and this is what I came up with so far:

Cory Weekes · July 3rd, 2006, 07:42 AM

Hey guys, I've ordered everything except my hard drive. I looked at some of your suggestions and altered my components a bit. Here is what I have now:

Acard Controller ARS-2033S : 1-to-7 DVD - costs $85
http://www.acard.com.tw/english/fb01...r&type1_idno=4

Xcase 9 bay 500w 3 fans
http://copystars.com/xcase_9_bay_dvd...er_60_prd1.htm

ASUS E616A 16X DVD-ROM (Black)
http://www.laptops4me.com/product_in...ducts_id/11114

NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Silver IDE Model ND-3550A
http://www.chiefvalue.com/product/pr...tem=27-152-060

Cory Weekes · July 7th, 2006, 03:23 PM

Maybe it's just me, but I am missing something here. I have all those pieces now except for the hard drive, but I don't understand how the drives and the controller are supposed to stay fixed in the tower. Is there a piece I am missing from the tower. It came with a bunch of screws, but I don't know what to do with them.

Martin Archer-Shee · July 7th, 2006, 04:53 PM

Hi Cory

If you open up both sides of the case and take off the front cover you should see how things go together. Mind you the front cover is often the hardest part to remove. It is often held in place by a bunch of plastic snap pins/pieces. Look through the open sides and start playing with the front. Onmce you find "pivot" point start trying to release it. Once the front is off you should be able to slide the various drives into place and attach through the sides with those screws. hard to explain but once you get started you will see what is needed. Then connect all the wires and you should be running.
If you have difficulty take some pix and post them and some of us should be able to help.

Best of luck.

Martin

Cory Weekes · July 7th, 2006, 06:05 PM

Hey, thanks for your help Martin. I've taken off the sides and the front, but I don't see where you're supposed to screw in the drives. Could you please help me? I don't think I'm authorized to post pics. I do have them though. Update, I see two small holes on each side of the drives. Are those the ones to stick the screws in? I tried screwing one drive in and it looked good. Also, do any screws need to go on the bottom of the drives?

Martin Archer-Shee · July 8th, 2006, 03:32 AM

Hi Cory

Sounds like you should be on your way. My case had a series of holes that when you lined up the screw holes on the drives it allowed one to place one drive above another and align them front to back by a small amount.

Most drives come with several sets of screw holes. Normally the side ones are what are needed. If you are not sure as to the screw hole/ screw combination try one to make sure the screw is not too long or that you are not cross-threading.
Depending on the space in your case you might find it easier to install one at a time and connect the power and data cables before going to the next. Matter of choice.

Martin

Cory Weekes · July 12th, 2006, 08:25 PM

SUCCESS!!!! I got it to work last friday! It's been going good since. Thanks Martin and Brian, I really appreciate all of your help. I now have another problem, albeit a small one. I bought two antec 80mm tricolor fans for my duplicator, but the connectors aren't compatible with the ones on the duplicator. Any ideas? Thanks.

Brian Light · July 12th, 2006, 09:39 PM

Generally the fans I've bought came with an adapter to go from the standard drive power connector like the DVD Drives and hard drive have to what the fans need. Other wise you can just splice it in being sure to hook it to the correct wires. I'm betting the fan is 12 VDC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cory Weekes

SUCCESS!!!! I got it to work last friday! It's been going good since. Thanks Martin and Brian, I really appreciate all of your help. I now have another problem, albeit a small one. I bought two antec 80mm tricolor fans for my duplicator, but the connectors aren't compatible with the ones on the duplicator. Any ideas? Thanks.

Chris Barrow · July 20th, 2006, 09:00 AM

1. Acard 2033S controller from Amamax.com $145
2. 9 bay case from Copystars $84
3. Lite On DVD-ROM from Newegg $18
4. Pioneer 111 DVD RW drives from Newegg $35.00 each

All prices are the best I can remember here at work, but it was all free shipping and I have $500 in a 1 to 7 duplicator that would have cost almost $1400 at Microboards. BTW - it uses the same RW drives as a standard Microboards.

Super easy to build and works like a champ.

Bill Hamell · August 19th, 2006, 05:48 AM

Cory,

Now that you have had the duplacator for a while how is it doing, any problems?

Where did you find a ARS-2033S for $85?

Thanks,
Bill

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cory Weekes

Hey guys, I've ordered everything except my hard drive. I looked at some of your suggestions and altered my components a bit. Here is what I have now:

Acard Controller ARS-2033S : 1-to-7 DVD - costs $85
http://www.acard.com.tw/english/fb01...r&type1_idno=4

Xcase 9 bay 500w 3 fans
http://copystars.com/xcase_9_bay_dvd...er_60_prd1.htm

ASUS E616A 16X DVD-ROM (Black)
http://www.laptops4me.com/product_in...ducts_id/11114

NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Silver IDE Model ND-3550A
http://www.chiefvalue.com/product/pr...tem=27-152-060

Cory Weekes · August 24th, 2006, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Hamell

Cory,

Now that you have had the duplacator for a while how is it doing, any problems?

Where did you find a ARS-2033S for $85?

Thanks,
Bill

Hey Bill. Sorry, I haven't been on here in awhile. This is a great forum, so I can't just abandon it. My duplicator is still working like a heavyweight champ. Thanks for asking. I actually lucked out in regards to the Acard controller. I bought it off of ebay. Looking back on that, man that was a great deal. The cheapest price I found after that is $115.

Phillip Massey · November 9th, 2006, 11:51 AM

Hello. My name is Phillip Massey.
I was doing a search about building a dvd duplicator and I saw the responses here about building one. I just a have few questions that I know someone the answers to. So will anyone help me if you can.
Well, first let me tell you what I have.
PC/Dupicator case XCase model number 2727D
- Motherboard MaxSpeed KM800
- Processor: AMD Sempron (Boxed)
- Memory: 512 DDR
- 2 Hard Drive 120 gigs each
- Wytron DVD Controller
- 1 DVD ROM
- 5 DVD-RW
- 550Watt Powersupply
And this is what I would like to do :
I want to build an duplicator with HD and motherbord So really it would be a PC with 5 DVD burners.

first,do you connect or how do you conect the controller card to the HD or the motherboard ?
How would you install XP ? (since this will be also a PC).
Is the Master drive(DVD rom , the reader) will also be conected to the motherboard ?
My case only have the switch to turn "it "on. Meaning that I think I can only turn on one "thing "as one whole unit,either the mothboard or the burners. I dont have a switch to turn on the motherboard and then other swith for the DVD burners. If this case is a problem or if you know of a case to buy please let me know.
So I want to be able to burn DVD's and also use this as a PC.

I think that covers it,but if you guys know of anything that I didn't ask and I should, to please tell me.
thank you again for the help.

phillip massey
e-mail: phillipmassey@hotmail.com

Steven Davis · November 9th, 2006, 02:04 PM

I bought a controller, box premade and the drives. I didn't go the motherboard route. There are several part lists in threads along these lines. Each having a link to parts. The cheapest way I found was the box, controller and drives.

You don't need the motherboard, but if you do build it to fit both a pc and duplicator, you'll need a mother board that has a lot of power and connectors. Honestly, I think you would appreciate a seperate duplicator better.

June 27th, 2006, 08:42 AM	#46
Cory Weekes New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Brooklyn,NY Posts: 7	Trying to put together a duplicator Hello, I've been looking into trying to put one of these together myself and this is what I came up with so far: Acard Controller ARS-2033S : 1-to-7 DVD - costs $85 http://www.acard.com.tw/english/fb01...r&type1_idno=4 Silver Black 7 Target DVD CD Duplicator Case - costs $105 http://cgi.ebay.com/Silver-Black-7-T...ayphotohosting 3 Silver NEC 3550A drives from newegg - costs $117 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827152060 Seagate 120GB Internal Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive costs = $50 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....7&type=product OR: Seagate 120GB Internal Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive costs = $80 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....3&type=product Total so far = $357(with seagate) and $387(with western digital) That's what I got so far. I know I still need a dvd-rom drive, but that shouldn't be hard to get, so I just wanted to make sure I was heading in the right direction first, you know. If anyone has any feedback, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

June 27th, 2006, 09:20 AM	#47
Martin Archer-Shee Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada Posts: 123	Cory's duplicator I can't comment on the specific items. I am not familiar withe ACARD controller but it is probably similar to the wytron I bought. I would suggest finding the manual online and reading it, to make sure you have all the info you need and it is understandable. If you are doing any amount of copying you might consider filling the drive bays, thus ensuring you have the same model burners (just in case...). Hard drive wise , I ended up using an "old" 40G drive I had in an old computer. Works fine and as long as I don't need more than 6 or 7 dvd sources to be stored I am fine. Make sure that the controller you purchase comes with all the ribbon cables you need, namely for the full number of drives it can handle. I forgot to check this but luckily the unit had everything. Make sur that the case has lots of ventilation, mine came with three fans and a 500watt supply along with all the power supply cords (another thing to check). What? me paranoid....??? Setup of the whole system was easy and it works fine. Best of luck Martin

July 3rd, 2006, 07:42 AM	#49
Cory Weekes New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Brooklyn,NY Posts: 7	After further review Hey guys, I've ordered everything except my hard drive. I looked at some of your suggestions and altered my components a bit. Here is what I have now: Acard Controller ARS-2033S : 1-to-7 DVD - costs $85 http://www.acard.com.tw/english/fb01...r&type1_idno=4 Xcase 9 bay 500w 3 fans http://copystars.com/xcase_9_bay_dvd...er_60_prd1.htm ASUS E616A 16X DVD-ROM (Black) http://www.laptops4me.com/product_in...ducts_id/11114 NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Silver IDE Model ND-3550A http://www.chiefvalue.com/product/pr...tem=27-152-060

July 7th, 2006, 03:23 PM	#50
Cory Weekes New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Brooklyn,NY Posts: 7	I'm having a problem here Maybe it's just me, but I am missing something here. I have all those pieces now except for the hard drive, but I don't understand how the drives and the controller are supposed to stay fixed in the tower. Is there a piece I am missing from the tower. It came with a bunch of screws, but I don't know what to do with them.

July 7th, 2006, 04:53 PM	#51
Martin Archer-Shee Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada Posts: 123	new tower Hi Cory If you open up both sides of the case and take off the front cover you should see how things go together. Mind you the front cover is often the hardest part to remove. It is often held in place by a bunch of plastic snap pins/pieces. Look through the open sides and start playing with the front. Onmce you find "pivot" point start trying to release it. Once the front is off you should be able to slide the various drives into place and attach through the sides with those screws. hard to explain but once you get started you will see what is needed. Then connect all the wires and you should be running. If you have difficulty take some pix and post them and some of us should be able to help. Best of luck. Martin

July 7th, 2006, 06:05 PM	#52
Cory Weekes New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Brooklyn,NY Posts: 7	Hey, thanks for your help Martin. I've taken off the sides and the front, but I don't see where you're supposed to screw in the drives. Could you please help me? I don't think I'm authorized to post pics. I do have them though. Update, I see two small holes on each side of the drives. Are those the ones to stick the screws in? I tried screwing one drive in and it looked good. Also, do any screws need to go on the bottom of the drives? Last edited by Cory Weekes; July 7th, 2006 at 06:47 PM.

July 8th, 2006, 03:32 AM	#53
Martin Archer-Shee Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada Posts: 123	Hi Cory Sounds like you should be on your way. My case had a series of holes that when you lined up the screw holes on the drives it allowed one to place one drive above another and align them front to back by a small amount. Most drives come with several sets of screw holes. Normally the side ones are what are needed. If you are not sure as to the screw hole/ screw combination try one to make sure the screw is not too long or that you are not cross-threading. Depending on the space in your case you might find it easier to install one at a time and connect the power and data cables before going to the next. Matter of choice. Martin

July 12th, 2006, 08:25 PM	#54
Cory Weekes New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Brooklyn,NY Posts: 7	SUCCESS!!!! I got it to work last friday! It's been going good since. Thanks Martin and Brian, I really appreciate all of your help. I now have another problem, albeit a small one. I bought two antec 80mm tricolor fans for my duplicator, but the connectors aren't compatible with the ones on the duplicator. Any ideas? Thanks.

July 20th, 2006, 09:00 AM	#56
Chris Barrow New Boot Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: NC Posts: 11	built one 1. Acard 2033S controller from Amamax.com $145 2. 9 bay case from Copystars $84 3. Lite On DVD-ROM from Newegg $18 4. Pioneer 111 DVD RW drives from Newegg $35.00 each All prices are the best I can remember here at work, but it was all free shipping and I have $500 in a 1 to 7 duplicator that would have cost almost $1400 at Microboards. BTW - it uses the same RW drives as a standard Microboards. Super easy to build and works like a champ.

November 9th, 2006, 11:51 AM	#59
Phillip Massey Tourist Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: new york,NY Posts: 1	I need a little help here....... Hello. My name is Phillip Massey. I was doing a search about building a dvd duplicator and I saw the responses here about building one. I just a have few questions that I know someone the answers to. So will anyone help me if you can. Well, first let me tell you what I have. PC/Dupicator case XCase model number 2727D - Motherboard MaxSpeed KM800 - Processor: AMD Sempron (Boxed) - Memory: 512 DDR - 2 Hard Drive 120 gigs each - Wytron DVD Controller - 1 DVD ROM - 5 DVD-RW - 550Watt Powersupply And this is what I would like to do : I want to build an duplicator with HD and motherbord So really it would be a PC with 5 DVD burners. first,do you connect or how do you conect the controller card to the HD or the motherboard ? How would you install XP ? (since this will be also a PC). Is the Master drive(DVD rom , the reader) will also be conected to the motherboard ? My case only have the switch to turn "it "on. Meaning that I think I can only turn on one "thing "as one whole unit,either the mothboard or the burners. I dont have a switch to turn on the motherboard and then other swith for the DVD burners. If this case is a problem or if you know of a case to buy please let me know. So I want to be able to burn DVD's and also use this as a PC. I think that covers it,but if you guys know of anything that I didn't ask and I should, to please tell me. thank you again for the help. phillip massey e-mail: phillipmassey@hotmail.com Last edited by Phillip Massey; November 9th, 2006 at 09:46 PM.

November 9th, 2006, 02:04 PM	#60
Steven Davis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 3,065	I bought a controller, box premade and the drives. I didn't go the motherboard route. There are several part lists in threads along these lines. Each having a link to parts. The cheapest way I found was the box, controller and drives. You don't need the motherboard, but if you do build it to fit both a pc and duplicator, you'll need a mother board that has a lot of power and connectors. Honestly, I think you would appreciate a seperate duplicator better. __________________ What happens if I push the 'Red' button?