Need New Storage System, Any Budget Recommendations?

[kindatechy]

Hello all,

 

I am a filmmaker, and have started running into storage issues. I need a solution that will provide me with the option for 4+ drives. I have two drives for my main system with all my files, and my motherboard only has 4 SATA connectors. This was a prebuilt from Lenovo, meaning that there are no more power connectors for more drives. Thus, for 6 drives total, I would need to build a new system altogether. For my needs this would be too expensive right now.

 

I thought about building a system to use as a NAS built with used server parts. This would have the advantage of more upgradability for more drives and such, as well as being able to set up a RAID 1 system. I have an AMD Opteron 6172 that I could get a motherboard for, maybe even run dual CPUs, and also server motherboards have lots of SATA ports. This would cost me roughly $250 according to my calculations, excluding drives, to build. I also thought about an external hard drive enclosure, but did not find any ideal options. The best I found is linked below. 

 

Should I do something like that, should I build a system as a NAS, or is there a different option I should go with? I am looking for something under $350 excluding drive costs. What do you recommend?

 

The hard drive enclosure I mentioned https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Docking-Station-eSATA-Support/dp/B01J4ICS2G/ref=asc_df_B01J4ICS2G/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198138936631&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14333226610363485920&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005612&hvtargid=pla-385158612156&th=1

[BigDamn]

A socket G34 motherboard is going to cost out the ass, especially considering what you're getting. Check these out:

Intel Xeon X3440 Quad Core 8 Threads

Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2 LGA-1156

 

Gonna cost you less than $60 for the CPU and mobo and you should be able to find 8gb RAM for about $40. I've purchased that Xeon from the same seller before and it runs great. It has significantly higher single-threaded performance than your Opteron while consuming less power. These HDD's from HGST (now owned by WD) are a great option on a budget:

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16822145477?reviews=all&Description=hgst 3tb&cm_re=hgst_3tb-_-22-145-477-_-Product

 

They're enterprise drives so they will make some noise when being accessed, as noise wasn't a concern for them with these drives, but HGST's are rock solid.

[Kered124]

Here is my recommendation: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-PowerEdge-R420-E5-2407-v2-2-40GHz-16GB-8GB-PC3L-12800R-No-HDD-Server/264386094588?hash=item3d8ea3a5fc:g:QNIAAOSwdxddHPDE:sc:FedExHomeDelivery!53818!US!-1

 

It shouldn't consume tons of power and has 4 drive bays. If you need more drives, look at the Poweredge R710 or R720 models for around the same price.

 

You mentioned used server gear being your interest, so that is what I provided; if you would like a recommendation on something more power efficient or cost effective, make sure you let everyone know.

 

Happy hunting!

[Jarsky]

A NAS doesnt require a lot of power.

IMO utilize what you have spare, and build an UnRAID box. UnRAID doesnt stripe data and it has parity so its probably the safest for your use case. 

Because of the way UnRAID works, it means you can add disks as you need to, and you can use mixed capacities (as long as any parity disk is your largest disk)

Also you can always add a SATA card or a second hand HBA later if you need to. 

[kindatechy]

Thanks everyone! I am going to go with something similar to BigDamn's suggestion, because I remembered my friend had similar parts lying around and he offered to sell them to me for a good deal!