MRTECH

Ok, this post might be a bit confusing, but just seeking some opinions on what I should be doing. These are going to be questions regarding Network Storage options within my house. I currently have around 3TB of Network storage, but will likely want to go to 6GB (4x2GB in Raid 5) Background Info: I have used pretty much every generation of D-Link's DNS series of 2-bay, and 4-bay NAS options. Needless to say, the performance isn't great.. I am currently running the following as my storage server on my home network: - DNS-345 running in RAID 5 with (4)x Seagate 750GB drives. (2.25TB) - Older HP MediaSmart Server with a 320GB, and 500GB drive - roughly 800GB Total of 3TB Here are my questions: Option 1 I have a bunch of older components kicking around that I have been considering using to set up either a FreeNAS box, or a WHS box. Included in this lot of old stuff are various P4s, some Northwood's with HT, some newer Socket 775 varieties.. None of them are 64bit, so this rules out WHS 2011.. If I could find a copy of the original WHS software, is it worth setting up a box, investing in a decent controller card, and running a Raid 5, or 10 from that box? I would be investing in 4x2GB WD Red drives Option 2 Use the same older hardware, but run FreeNas instead Option 3 Build a new box, with newer hardware Option 4, just add some new drives to the DNS-345 and deal with the Uber slow Raid 5 performance.. Thanks for any insight / commentary

Have you considered 2600K?? Can be had for less than $300 now..

Sell your 3770, get a 2600K, or 2700K, and 4.8GHz can be achieved very easily. 4.9, or 5.0 is also attainable with a bit of work. A SB 2600K at 4.8GHz will beat the pants off any 3770 stock, even most 3770K CPUs can't match a "properly" setup 2600K. 2600K can be had for $299 now brand new.. You also don't have nearly the same amount of thermal issues with SB vs IB. The tradeoff of course is that you loose the advanced memory controller, and PCI-E 3.0 in the IB CPU, and also the HD 4000 GFX. I assume however that if you are looking to OC, then you likely are using a discreet card anyway. PCI-E 3.0 only becomes truly beneficial in Triple of Quad configurations anyway.. I own both a 2600K and a 3770K, and for OC potential, SB beats the IB hands down.. At the end of the day, a non-K 3770 is still a kick-ass CPU, and will run anything on the market without any issues whatsoever..