To build a NAS out of old computer

[CGC]

I use to really be into building computers and then I went to Mac (sorry I love my Mac but also love to build things), 15 years later thinking of getting back into it after watching a bunch of LTT YouTube videos, I have an OLD Abit Fatl1ty AN8 Socket 939 MB (Brand New), Thermaltake Chassis, Modular PSU, 8GB DDR PC3200 and a bunch of hard drives. Missing CPU and GPU. I am wondering if it is a crazy idea to use what I have and get the last pieces and turn this into a NAS? I currently have a CineRAID and Raidon and both have been maxed out. I want to make a NAS with 12-16 SATA bays and figured this equipment may be just fine for data storage. I do run a lot of video files from my current NAS on Apple TV’s (typically 1080p/6ch minimum) and that will be its main use. Or start all over with new MB and RAM, because it would be well worth the speed improvement. Like I said I have been out of it a long time so tech has changed so much, my goal is NAS and then a top of the line build PC for my aphid arts work and getting into video editing.

[Electronics Wizardy]

Thats gonna be pretty slow on that hardware. Id also worry about failure at that age, things just don't last that long, and things like caps from that era liked to die.

 

Id just get a big newer of a system.

 

What type of speed are you looking for? 

 

 

[CGC]

That answers my question, I will start from scratch and just keep my case and PSU. My end goal for this build is MASS data storage (mostly video) that can be quickly accessed across my network both wireless and wired by PC, MAC, IPad, Apple TV, etc. I currently use VLC but also have Plex and would like to keep using either one, I am not so great on the programming side and why I like these two media apps. I may install a good 4K graphics card and have this unit directly connected to my main TV and act as a media PC, my office is right next to my great room which is where I watch most my stuff. I guess my next question to those of you that have stayed current is what really do I need? I tend to be of the school of buy the best so it will last longer and usually hold up better.
But do I need to go crazy on CPU, RAM, MB for what I want this to do? I do not game, but am a movie_tv junkie, I have a MacBook Pro and a separate PC rig for my video editing and actual work I do.

Priorities of this rig:

1. Mass Data Storage 64TB of HDD in some RAID config (advice here would be much appreciated as well)

2. Fast Read/Write to the drives from other devices.

3. Media PC - Graphics for 4K video display (video so 120hz at best)

4. Media PC - Great sound running a 9.1 system in great room.

5. Water cooled and as quiet as possible. I will water cool the drives as well, 

Any advice or products I should consider is greatly appreciated, real excited to get back in this game.

[Electronics Wizardy]

43 minutes ago, CGC said:

That answers my question, I will start from scratch and just keep my case and PSU. My end goal for this build is MASS data storage (mostly video) that can be quickly accessed across my network both wireless and wired by PC, MAC, IPad, Apple TV, etc. I currently use VLC but also have Plex and would like to keep using either one, I am not so great on the programming side and why I like these two media apps. I may install a good 4K graphics card and have this unit directly connected to my main TV and act as a media PC, my office is right next to my great room which is where I watch most my stuff. I guess my next question to those of you that have stayed current is what really do I need? I tend to be of the school of buy the best so it will last longer and usually hold up better.
But do I need to go crazy on CPU, RAM, MB for what I want this to do? I do not game, but am a movie_tv junkie, I have a MacBook Pro and a separate PC rig for my video editing and actual work I do.

Priorities of this rig:

1. Mass Data Storage 64TB of HDD in some RAID config (advice here would be much appreciated as well)

2. Fast Read/Write to the drives from other devices.

3. Media PC - Graphics for 4K video display (video so 120hz at best)

4. Media PC - Great sound running a 9.1 system in great room.

5. Water cooled and as quiet as possible. I will water cool the drives as well, 

Any advice or products I should consider is greatly appreciated, real excited to get back in this game.

How fast is fast read and write? are you setting up a 10g network?

 

 

Id really try to keep your nas and media pc seprate. id just get a basic media player for playback, and then use thas nas only as a nas

 

id fo something with 8x 12tb hdds in rad6 for stargae.

 

no reason to water cool, wont be any queter, and the hdds really dont need it. Just increasig your faiilure rate and noise here.

 

 

[lal12]

10 hours ago, CGC said:

That answers my question, I will start from scratch and just keep my case and PSU. My end goal for this build is MASS data storage (mostly video) that can be quickly accessed across my network both wireless and wired by PC, MAC, IPad, Apple TV, etc. I currently use VLC but also have Plex and would like to keep using either one, I am not so great on the programming side and why I like these two media apps. I may install a good 4K graphics card and have this unit directly connected to my main TV and act as a media PC, my office is right next to my great room which is where I watch most my stuff. I guess my next question to those of you that have stayed current is what really do I need? I tend to be of the school of buy the best so it will last longer and usually hold up better.
But do I need to go crazy on CPU, RAM, MB for what I want this to do? I do not game, but am a movie_tv junkie, I have a MacBook Pro and a separate PC rig for my video editing and actual work I do.

Priorities of this rig:

1. Mass Data Storage 64TB of HDD in some RAID config (advice here would be much appreciated as well)

2. Fast Read/Write to the drives from other devices.

3. Media PC - Graphics for 4K video display (video so 120hz at best)

4. Media PC - Great sound running a 9.1 system in great room.

5. Water cooled and as quiet as possible. I will water cool the drives as well, 

Any advice or products I should consider is greatly appreciated, real excited to get back in this game.

I probably would use FreeNAS and setup a VM with GPU/USB passthrough for the media PC. Though maybe using Proxmox would be better. Then either manage the storage via Proxmox directly or add a FreeNAS VM for it. Then again add a VM with GPU and USB passthrough for Media Stuff.

 

Either way I would go for ZFS using SSDs (2+) as a faster cache. I am not exactly sure which RAID mode to go, but for better speed I would go either RAID10 or RAID50 (depends on the drive count).
Also it is probably a good Idea to have a seperate SSD just for the Media PC windows installation. (I assume you want to use Windows there?)

Technically such an setup is no problem, but in terms of longevity and noisiness I probably would go for a NAS and a seperate Media PC, though it probably is ok with water cooling.

 

Hardware wise You don't have to go crazy ^^. I think 24GB RAM, a Ryzen 3600x (for future proofness going one higher to a 3700x can be considered) and GTX 1660 would be sufficient while stile having enough "performance left for the future". The needed RAM/CPU depends a bit on the ZFS configuration, but on FreeNAS default settings it usually not too resource hungry.