Home - NAS/POD/Media - X99 resurrect

[A. Cole]

I'm looking at saving for a new build in the upcoming months (mini itx/dtx with mods, please see other forum posts if your interested) 
But I certainly don't want to just give up/sell off my current system as it's still a beast.
Originally this build was made before the RGB and number of cores craze, and runs a 6 core CPU with 32gb RAM, and was used for AutoCAD and other design work I was doing at the time, alongside gaming.
The Asus x99 deluxe II is enough of a beast to warrant me wanting to keep it, and as I'm no longer doing Engineering Designs professionally I want to use this x99 board to as much of its full capability as possible/practicable in a home network system.

The NZXT 530 comes with plenty of HDD bays and I was planning on making this build into a NAS first and foremost, for a majority mix of media files and steam library, but I don't want to stop there.
I'm thinking is it worth getting a dedicated sound card if I plan on running the PC as a local media system alongside as a NAS (with speakers to mach) 
I'm also wondering if I could use this PC as a local power on demand service? (kind of like the Razer Core) where low performance systems on the network (i.e Laptops) can offload some of the processing to the server
If I'm wanting to do any of this, should I stick win the windows 10pro currently installed or go for a server OS? 

I also want this system to be the centre of a star network, so even Wifi connections would go through this PC before the router (I might need a better NIC for this, but plenty of PCI-e lanes and slots to populate) or would I need this system to be prior to the router and leave the router as the star topology with the server being a last/first stop firewall?
Also has anyone seen PCI-e cards with hardware firewall capabilities? or does anyone know a way to use this system as network firewall? 
If anyone knows of 3rd party software that would let me monitor and control network traffic on this system it would also be useful? 

Would it be recommended to upgrade some of the hardware, is 4x8gb 2666 speed ram enough, or should I go for a higher speed kit or more capacity? will a 6 core handle this load or should I go for an upgrade? I doubt I will need cat7 or fiber speeds, but will 1gb/s networking be enough or will this bottleneck?

In short, I want to use my X99 as a "mini server" to the full extent that anyone would need a system like this for HOME USE ONLY not business, any other ways I could use this system to benefit in home use would be appreciated (i'm thinking of putting this PC behind a TV stand, which is a shame cause I've started painting the case out of boredom) 
 

REDUCE - REUSE - RECYCLE, I would rather find a way to Reuse this system then recycle/sell it on

[Shockers87]

9 minutes ago, A. Cole said:

I'm looking at saving for a new build in the upcoming months (mini itx/dtx with mods, please see other forum posts if your interested) 
But I certainly don't want to just give up/sell off my current system as it's still a beast.
Originally this build was made before the RGB and number of cores craze, and runs a 6 core CPU with 32gb RAM, and was used for AutoCAD and other design work I was doing at the time, alongside gaming.
The Asus x99 deluxe II is enough of a beast to warrant me wanting to keep it, and as I'm no longer doing Engineering Designs professionally I want to use this x99 board to as much of its full capability as possible/practicable in a home network system.

The NZXT 530 comes with plenty of HDD bays and I was planning on making this build into a NAS first and foremost, for a majority mix of media files and steam library, but I don't want to stop there.
I'm thinking is it worth getting a dedicated sound card if I plan on running the PC as a local media system alongside as a NAS (with speakers to mach) 
I'm also wondering if I could use this PC as a local power on demand service? (kind of like the Razer Core) where low performance systems on the network (i.e Laptops) can offload some of the processing to the server
If I'm wanting to do any of this, should I stick win the windows 10pro currently installed or go for a server OS? 

I also want this system to be the centre of a star network, so even Wifi connections would go through this PC before the router (I might need a better NIC for this, but plenty of PCI-e lanes and slots to populate) or would I need this system to be prior to the router and leave the router as the star topology with the server being a last/first stop firewall?
Also has anyone seen PCI-e cards with hardware firewall capabilities? or does anyone know a way to use this system as network firewall? 
If anyone knows of 3rd party software that would let me monitor and control network traffic on this system it would also be useful? 

Would it be recommended to upgrade some of the hardware, is 4x8gb 2666 speed ram enough, or should I go for a higher speed kit or more capacity? will a 6 core handle this load or should I go for an upgrade? I doubt I will need cat7 or fiber speeds, but will 1gb/s networking be enough or will this bottleneck?

In short, I want to use my X99 as a "mini server" to the full extent that anyone would need a system like this for HOME USE ONLY not business, any other ways I could use this system to benefit in home use would be appreciated (i'm thinking of putting this PC behind a TV stand, which is a shame cause I've started painting the case out of boredom) 
 

REDUCE - REUSE - RECYCLE, I would rather find a way to Reuse this system then recycle/sell it on

You are asking a lot of one server. It is almost overkill as a nas as it will take a lot of electricity compared to a regular nas. I would look into freenas and plex (for media). If you are getting a sound card get an audio interface not a sound card, a lot better quality of sound for the money. I don't have too much experience with servers but I fix the ones at my job from time to time and you are asking a lot of one server. Hopefully someone else will reply as well who has more experience of actually setting up a server/nas then fixing one.

[A. Cole]

37 minutes ago, Shockers87 said:

You are asking a lot of one server. It is almost overkill as a nas as it will take a lot of electricity compared to a regular nas. I would look into freenas and plex (for media). If you are getting a sound card get an audio interface not a sound card, a lot better quality of sound for the money. I don't have too much experience with servers but I fix the ones at my job from time to time and you are asking a lot of one server. Hopefully someone else will reply as well who has more experience of actually setting up a server/nas then fixing one.

I agree its probably asking allot for one system, although servers are normally hardware specific for there function and run levels above what I would want this system to be.
I've heard mixed reviews on sound cards vs externals DAC's and even reviews of having both together, all of them seem to be inconclusive.
Its more I want to find future use for this system rather than getting an independent NAS 

That's another thing I should of mentioned, ill be taking the HX70i PSU out for my next build and replacing it with a cheaper gold/silver rated PSU, Of course I either want to reduce power draw or maximise the efficiency if its a higher power draw, I don't want this system to be just a NAS because as you said it's just wasting electricity then. 
I would be happy if this system could provide any extra functionality above a NAS system, the list is more hot balling ideas but your right its highly unlikely I would be able to do all those functions on one system.

[Shockers87]

1 hour ago, A. Cole said:

I agree its probably asking allot for one system, although servers are normally hardware specific for there function and run levels above what I would want this system to be.
I've heard mixed reviews on sound cards vs externals DAC's and even reviews of having both together, all of them seem to be inconclusive.
Its more I want to find future use for this system rather than getting an independent NAS 

That's another thing I should of mentioned, ill be taking the HX70i PSU out for my next build and replacing it with a cheaper gold/silver rated PSU, Of course I either want to reduce power draw or maximise the efficiency if its a higher power draw, I don't want this system to be just a NAS because as you said it's just wasting electricity then. 
I would be happy if this system could provide any extra functionality above a NAS system, the list is more hot balling ideas but your right its highly unlikely I would be able to do all those functions on one system.

You'd easily be able to run freenas and plex it is just idk how much power you would have leftover with all that running. I am a bit biased with the audio interface vs sound card as I produce music in my free time and ai usually produce flatter sounds which is need to get the right mix (and have more mic inputs). It really depends on the person though, if you like bass and more consumer based stuff id get a sound card but if you are going for sound quality or are getting high end/bookshelf speakers, get the interface imo.

[A. Cole]

1 minute ago, Shockers87 said:

You'd easily be able to run freenas and plex it is just idk how much power you would have leftover with all that running. I am a bit biased with the audio interface vs sound card as I produce music in my free time and ai usually produce flatter sounds which is need to get the right mix (and have more mic inputs). It really depends on the person though, if you like bass and more consumer based stuff id get a sound card but if you are going for sound quality or are getting high end/bookshelf speakers, get the interface imo.

one of the reasons I've been looking into the media side is to finally have a look though my fathers old ass FLAC/WAV collection, not entirely sure what format there all in, there just a collection from when a small radio studio closed down
I'm more musically sided towards instruments etc, though I love the richness and range even Vinyl has over MP3, How much would it cost to home entry level/home cinema? I can map out sound paths and probably find acoustic sweet spots.
I remember part of the selling point of X99 boards at the time was this "performance sharing" networking, i only briefly looked into it at the time as I wasn't as IT capable 6 years ago as I am now

[Shockers87]

2 hours ago, A. Cole said:

one of the reasons I've been looking into the media side is to finally have a look though my fathers old ass FLAC/WAV collection, not entirely sure what format there all in, there just a collection from when a small radio studio closed down
I'm more musically sided towards instruments etc, though I love the richness and range even Vinyl has over MP3, How much would it cost to home entry level/home cinema? I can map out sound paths and probably find acoustic sweet spots.
I remember part of the selling point of X99 boards at the time was this "performance sharing" networking, i only briefly looked into it at the time as I wasn't as IT capable 6 years ago as I am now

I would spend around 400-500 USD if you are looking for a speakers plus receiver bundle. I have a pioneer set for my record player. Every brand has their own upsides but for entry level I would look at sony or pioneer, I love bose but the are crazy expensive (My fathers bose set still has great sound quality and works like its new 30 years later). I have had great experience with my pioneer but reading the reviews on my set it really varies. 

Edited August 27, 2019 by Shockers87

[A. Cole]

17 hours ago, Shockers87 said:

I would spend around 400-500 USD if you are looking for a speakers plus receiver bundle. I have a pioneer set for my record player. Every brand has their own upsides but for entry level I would look at sony or pioneer, I love bose but the are crazy expensive (My fathers bose set still has great sound quality and works like its new 30 years later). I have had great experience with my pioneer but reading the reviews on my set it really varies. 

I've had good experiences with pioneer in the past so there a brand that I trust, for a long time I always just assumed BOSE was out of my range like Harman Kardon, but not quite Rainbow prices.
Though I went of Bose very quickly after hearing the Bose systems in most Mazda RX8 (i know its old tech but still) and I was surprised my cheaper aftermarket JBL system sounded so much better
I use to own a Celica before she died, with a nice sound system in that was all JBL, (2x) tweeters, (2x) 4", (2x)  6" x 8", a 4 channel 600w amp and (2x) 12" subs (I know well overkill on the subs, but I got them for an amazing deal, I believe I got both for £90, one was still sealed in box and other was missing its box)

How does JBL translate into the home audio? or would you recommend against JBL?
Also this is a long shot, but I have a few musician friends who have some good CAB's like Vox (speakers only without amp) would these be any good for a home audio system or am I being stupid?
Also whats your opinion on me going for a sound card and external DAC? I really like creative labs so I was thinking a creative labs card paired with there sound blaster x7, is this overkill or would it be a good start point?

 

How exactly do high end audio book shelf speakers work? should i be looking for higher impedance? is there a way to tell audiophile speakers apart from desktop other bookshelf/home audio systems? Do i need a large room for good acoustics or can you have an audiophile setup in the average lounge? how do these compare to home cinema systems like the Samsung Q90R? I'm assuming a good entry level audiophile set up will be around the Q90R price of £1500 

Also though its not related to this build, the mini itx build I plan on making in the future might feature the sound blaster Katana or the Razer Nommo for desktop speakers.
I've always wanted to listen to Santana on an audiophile system

P.S should i be making a new post on a different part of the forums to ask all these questions? XD

[Shockers87]

2 hours ago, A. Cole said:

I've had good experiences with pioneer in the past so there a brand that I trust, for a long time I always just assumed BOSE was out of my range like Harman Kardon, but not quite Rainbow prices.
Though I went of Bose very quickly after hearing the Bose systems in most Mazda RX8 (i know its old tech but still) and I was surprised my cheaper aftermarket JBL system sounded so much better
I use to own a Celica before she died, with a nice sound system in that was all JBL, (2x) tweeters, (2x) 4", (2x)  6" x 8", a 4 channel 600w amp and (2x) 12" subs (I know well overkill on the subs, but I got them for an amazing deal, I believe I got both for £90, one was still sealed in box and other was missing its box)

How does JBL translate into the home audio? or would you recommend against JBL?
Also this is a long shot, but I have a few musician friends who have some good CAB's like Vox (speakers only without amp) would these be any good for a home audio system or am I being stupid?
Also whats your opinion on me going for a sound card and external DAC? I really like creative labs so I was thinking a creative labs card paired with there sound blaster x7, is this overkill or would it be a good start point?

 

How exactly do high end audio book shelf speakers work? should i be looking for higher impedance? is there a way to tell audiophile speakers apart from desktop other bookshelf/home audio systems? Do i need a large room for good acoustics or can you have an audiophile setup in the average lounge? how do these compare to home cinema systems like the Samsung Q90R? I'm assuming a good entry level audiophile set up will be around the Q90R price of £1500 

Also though its not related to this build, the mini itx build I plan on making in the future might feature the sound blaster Katana or the Razer Nommo for desktop speakers.
I've always wanted to listen to Santana on an audiophile system

P.S should i be making a new post on a different part of the forums to ask all these questions? XD

I would create a new thread. Does jbl have a set of home speakers? I have only heard them in regards to cars. Dont just get audiophile stuff just because you want audiophile stuff go with what you like hearing not what people say you should like. Unless you are planning on making music in the near future on these speakers you dont need audiophile or your room treated. Every person is different, because you like jbl I would avoid audiophile type stuff, go with pioneer or jbl if there is any. Bose has a more flat sound so you hear every detail but doesn't make any details pop, so jbl sounds better to most as the bass and highs pop but mids are muddled from my experience. I would get an amp as because its upgradable/modular so say you want a new subwoofer you dont have to buy a whole new set of speakers. If you have room for an external DAC get one but again speaker ports on your pc are good enough for consumer grade stuff if you do go audiophile.  

 

[A. Cole]

ok made a separate post for the audio side, back to the main topic then.
This is my current specification for the NAS (parts I already own I have omitted the price)

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MasterAir MA610P
Motherboard: Asus X99-DELUXE II ATX LGA2011-3   
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LED 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  
Storage: MyDigitalSSD SBX 128 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (£24.95 @ Amazon UK) - intended for OS and drivers only
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate IronWolf NAS 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£162.49 @ Box Limited) 
Storage: Seagate IronWolf NAS 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£162.49 @ Box Limited) 
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB Dual Video Card
Case: NZXT Phantom 530 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  (£74.99 @ AWD-IT) 
Case Fan: NZXT FN-200RB 166.2 CFM 200 mm Fan 
Case Fan: Phanteks PH-F200SP_BK 110.1 CFM 200 mm Fan  
Case Fan: Cooler Master MasterFan MF200R RGB 90 CFM 200 mm Fan 

I'm hoping I can use the SSD as a tiered storage some how, rather than using raid 0 for the HDD as I would rather have a redundancy raid like 1, 5 or 6 for the HDD
is there enough ram?
is the CPU powerful enough?
are the 2x1gb built in NIC enough or should I get a 10gb NIC card?
Do I need anything like a raid controller card or will the built in controller on the X99 board suffice?
Anything else you can find that might need improved?
Am I better getting larger capacity HDD or smaller?

Majority of use case as a NAS will be movies, music and steam library

[Salacious B Crum]

Your specs are fine for a NAS/HTPC actually overkill but that's not a bad thing to have your pass-mark score (13621) is worth at least 7-10 Plex streams I run unRAID however I cannot comment on the audio side not my area I do highly recommend you add a UPS to your setup as power will drop out at the worst moment and corruption will follow also you will be running 24/7 so power draw will be an ever present fact

[A. Cole]

5 hours ago, mrbilky said:

Your specs are fine for a NAS/HTPC actually overkill but that's not a bad thing to have your pass-mark score (13621) is worth at least 7-10 Plex streams I run unRAID however I cannot comment on the audio side not my area I do highly recommend you add a UPS to your setup as power will drop out at the worst moment and corruption will follow also you will be running 24/7 so power draw will be an ever present fact

Yeah I'm considering either underclocking pretty much everything to run cooler, and draw less power, or figure out enough ways the PC has to work so it makes it "more efficient" for running 24/7 at its power draw.
Hadn't really considered needing a ups, hopefully I can find just a small UPS for safe shutdown operations if the power goes. In terms of the UPS though, am I better just getting a single socket ups (so only the PC connected) or one with enough sockets for the amp etc so the speakers don't pop on a power surge/failure?
Just a quick look and the APC Back-UPS BX - BX500CI looks like it should suit my needs, is it enough though?

[2FA]

Geforce cards are limited to two video streams unless you hack the drivers to allow more. Just a forewarning.