Caught the DIY NAS bug

[SomethingOrOtherThing]

A while ago got a Synology 2-bay NAS for home use and it worked out relatively well.

But it's just so limited, you know? Covers the basics but I'd really prefer a low-powered Windows machine.

Cannot stop  daydreaming about researching parts one by one, getting a proper mini-ITX box from whatever is available around these parts, and then scouring forums in search of solutions to use the box.

 

Note - I work at my PC all day, at home.

But this other box would be a nice hobby. Setting up the OS for such a use, a remote storage solution, a mailing service, etc. A streamripper at least

Really don't like that commercial NAS solutions require at least JBOD so there's no way to store on individual drives outside RAID solutions. I don't really care THAT much about hardcore backup of my stuff. Don't have as much money to get two 8TB drives and only get to use one of them. Too much of a packrat to sacrifice.

 

Am I getting into this with a weak will, will I find it approachable enough? 

Anyone been on this path and learned some useful lessons?

 

 

[Firewrath9]

the only reason why i pay premiums for actual NASes, is to get the software. I can easily build a small server for the price of a NAS, but the compactness, and hot swap and the software make up for it.

 

A cheap nas part list coming up, with hot swap bays.

[SomethingOrOtherThing]

Just now, Firewrath9 said:

the only reason why i pay premiums for actual NASes, is to get the software. I can easily build a small server for the price of a NAS, but the compactness, and hot swap and the software make up for it.

 

A cheap nas part list coming up, with hot swap bays.

Sure thing. Info is always appreciated.

[Firewrath9]

this is a bit expensive, bc the case (cheapest one with at least 4 bay hot swap and in stock) requires a Flex ATX psu, and is stupidly expensive at 160$.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Celeron G4900 3.1 GHz Dual-Core Processor	$44.59 @ OutletPC
CPU Cooler	Thermaltake - Gravity i2 31.34 CFM CPU Cooler	$12.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	MSI - H310I PRO Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard	$81.03 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill - NT Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2133 Memory	$49.99 @ Newegg
Storage	HP - EX900 120 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$32.99 @ Newegg
Case	Inwin - IW-MS04 Mini ITX Desktop Case	$159.72 @ Newegg
Power Supply	SeaSonic - 300 W 80+ Gold Certified Flex ATX Power Supply	$61.59 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$442.80
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-12 14:04 EST-0500

a 2c desktop processor is much stronger than any nas processor, 8gb is ram is a lot for a nas, and the psu is good. I put a m.2 ssd to keep the only 4 sata ports on the mobo for the hot swap bays.

A cheaper list without hot swap is this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Celeron G4900 3.1 GHz Dual-Core Processor	$44.59 @ OutletPC
CPU Cooler	Thermaltake - Gravity i2 31.34 CFM CPU Cooler	$12.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	MSI - H310I PRO Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard	$81.03 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill - NT Series 4 GB (1 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory	$27.99 @ Newegg
Storage	HP - EX900 120 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$32.99 @ Newegg
Case	Fractal Design - Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	EVGA - BQ 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$44.01 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$348.49
	Mail-in rebates	-$15.00
	Total	$333.49
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-12 14:11 EST-0500

 

no hot swap, but the case supports a gpu, in case you want it for a streaming box, etc. 

 

you could go even cheaper, go on ebay, search for a mitx case, perhaps a 3rd or 4th gen i3/i5, and a cheap itx board, and really cheap ddr3 ram etc.

[Bananasplit_00]

I bought a HP Microsever and threw NAS4FREE onto it, worked well for a coupple years untill i recently switched to a Neatgear ReadyNAS because its smaller, quieter and draws less power. Its probably more fun if you do it on some more modern hardware but a 1.6GHz dualcore FX chip and 4GB of RAM was pretty annoying to work with as most modern software needs more RAM than that or takes a bit of CPU horsepower to run

[SomethingOrOtherThing]

4 minutes ago, Firewrath9 said:

a 2c desktop processor is much stronger than any nas processor, 8gb is ram is a lot for a nas, and the psu is good. I put a m.2 ssd to keep the only 4 sata ports on the mobo for the hot swap bays.

A cheaper list without hot swap is this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Celeron G4900 3.1 GHz Dual-Core Processor	$44.59 @ OutletPC
CPU Cooler	Thermaltake - Gravity i2 31.34 CFM CPU Cooler	$12.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	MSI - H310I PRO Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard	$81.03 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill - NT Series 4 GB (1 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory	$27.99 @ Newegg
Storage	HP - EX900 120 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$32.99 @ Newegg
Case	Fractal Design - Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	EVGA - BQ 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$44.01 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$348.49
	Mail-in rebates	-$15.00
	Total	$333.49
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-12 14:11 EST-0500

 

no hot swap, but the case supports a gpu, in case you want it for a streaming box, etc. 

 

you could go even cheaper, go on ebay, search for a mitx case, perhaps a 3rd or 4th gen i3/i5, and a cheap itx board, and really cheap ddr3 ram etc.

There's a spare SSD which doesn't get much use. So 3 SATA ports ain't too bad. 

Plus I can use the USB 3 ports for an external drive or two and a wifi adapter.

 

The PCI-E slot will remain for a USB expansion card or something else useful.

 

Saved and annotated. Thanks!

[SomethingOrOtherThing]

13 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

I bought a HP Microsever and threw NAS4FREE onto it, worked well for a coupple years untill i recently switched to a Neatgear ReadyNAS because its smaller, quieter and draws less power. Its probably more fun if you do it on some more modern hardware but a 1.6GHz dualcore FX chip and 4GB of RAM was pretty annoying to work with as most modern software needs more RAM than that or takes a bit of CPU horsepower to run

The limitations of a prebuild are obvious, yes. There's a reason you were able to get a microserver, business hardware is sold off regularly if it's not performing well enough.

 

Did wishlist a few ReadyNAS'es

RN212 2 Bay

RN214 4 Bay  

RN422 2 Bay

 

But they have the same issues as any prebuilt consumer stuff, cannot really upgrade anything but storage.

[Bananasplit_00]

Just now, FIXXX said:

The limitations of a prebuild are obvious, yes. There's a reason you were able to get a microserver, business hardware is sold off regularly if it's not performing well enough.

 

Did wishlist a few ReadyNAS'es

RN212 2 Bay

RN214 4 Bay  

RN422 2 Bay

 

But they have the same issues as any prebuilt consumer stuff, cannot really upgrade anything but storage.

I have a 102 which is an older 2 bay, got it for free and was nice and simple to set up. performance is way better too, but thats probably mostly because i went from a 2.5" HDD to a 3.5" one

[SomethingOrOtherThing]

1 minute ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

I have a 102 which is an older 2 bay, got it for free and was nice and simple to set up. performance is way better too, but thats probably mostly because i went from a 2.5" HDD to a 3.5" one

Should be noted that those boxes are purpose built. Rather like how iOS runs smoothly even on older iPhones. 

You wouldn't really be able to run a 4k video off of a dual core 1.5-1.6Ghz with 2GB RAM, even if you could have put Windows on it. Just as an example.

[SomethingOrOtherThing]

@Firewrath9 here's one I found a lil while ago. Looks good too. Lots more expansion room. SATA ports up the wahzoo and PCI slots too.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5 GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($96.80 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B250M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($70.15 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($54.74 @ Newegg Business) 
Case: Fractal Design - Node 804 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $351.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-12 14:36 EST-0500

[Bananasplit_00]

1 minute ago, FIXXX said:

Should be noted that those boxes are purpose built. Rather like how iOS runs smoothly even on older iPhones. 

You wouldn't really be able to run a 4k video off of a dual core 1.5-1.6Ghz with 2GB RAM, even if you could have put Windows on it. Just as an example.

i couldnt do that off my microserver either  but either way this box is way more suited for what it gets used for, which is pretty much nothing lol

[SomethingOrOtherThing]

3 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

i couldnt do that off my microserver either  but either way this box is way more suited for what it gets used for, which is pretty much nothing lol

still, ain't it comfy to know you have one at hand ?)

[Bananasplit_00]

Just now, FIXXX said:

still, ain't it comfy to know you have one at hand ?)

oh i love having it, its really nice to know its there for safe storage of some stuff

[Firewrath9]

btw, for hard drives, buy either WD Red Pros, or Seagate Ironwolfs. I got each of my red pros for only 180$ from a friend, who has a server, but he upgraded to ultrastar HE12s.

Ultrastar HE8s are actually really good.

[Firewrath9]

12 minutes ago, FIXXX said:

@Firewrath9 here's one I found a lil while ago. Looks good too. Lots more expansion room. SATA ports up the wahzoo and PCI slots too.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5 GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($96.80 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B250M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($70.15 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($54.74 @ Newegg Business) 
Case: Fractal Design - Node 804 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $351.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-12 14:36 EST-0500

yeah, that would be nice, only problem is that its micro atx, which is quite bigger. If you have the space, then its great. also, id get an am4 with a 2200g as that is cheaper.

[SomethingOrOtherThing]

10 minutes ago, Firewrath9 said:

btw, for hard drives, buy either WD Red Pros, or Seagate Ironwolfs. I got each of my red pros for only 180$ from a friend, who has a server, but he upgraded to ultrastar HE12s.

Ultrastar HE8s are actually really good.

For I'd use whatever there is around, as not to spend unnecessarily. But, yes, I did understand that for 24/7 uptime - specifically made HDDs are the way to go.

PS: What about ECC memory? Any point getting that or is compatibility with mobo and CPU + price just not worth the tenuous benefits?

[SomethingOrOtherThing]

22 minutes ago, Firewrath9 said:

yeah, that would be nice, only problem is that its micro atx, which is quite bigger. If you have the space, then its great. also, id get an am4 with a 2200g as that is cheaper.

Oh that's right. Somehow thought your option used the same case.

Indeed much smaller.

Perhaps you meant 200GE rather than 2200G?

 

One of the reasons I'm not pulling the plug is to see whatever comes out during/after CES - as there ought to be a successor to the G4000-series.