NAS build

[KingLich]

Hi.

 

I'll be building a home NAS soon and have most of the parts figured out but I'd like some opinions and validation on the choices I've made.

 

I plan on going the ZFS way with a 3HDD RAID-Z1 (to start).

 

The NAS will be connected to an Asus AC66U wireless router via Gigabit Ethernet (I'll probably put some better firmware on the router since it throttles at around 100 Mbps right now for no apparent reason).

 

The plan is to run FreeNAS and a Plex media server for starters.

 

It needs to be power efficient, reliable, reasonably quiet and look alright since it'll be in a somewhat visible spot in my living room - between a wall and some furniture, but not completely hidden.

 

My current plan is this:

 

- Intel Celeron G3420 3.2 GHz (nice and cheap, reasonably power frugal, box cooler should suffice I expect);

- Gigabyte GA-H87M-HD3 (mATX seems the sweet spot, because ATX is too big and mITX has too few SATAs);

- Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB CL10 Dual Channel Kit (ZFS apparently needs a lot of memory to work well - at least 1GB/storage TB recommended);

- Thermaltake Urban S1 case (this was really tough since I couldn't find nice looking cases at reasonable prices that are not huge and can house a decent number of HDDs - in this case 5x 3.5" bays + 2x 5.25");

- Corsair CS450M PSU (80+ Gold, should be able to feed the system even after I add more HDDs);

- 3x Seagate NAS 3TB HDDs (they seem to be slightly better than WD Reds at the same price - I'll probably add a some more as time passes);

 

Basically I'd like to know if this would do the job long-term given my necessities and whether there's anything in particular that you'd change about it staying in the same sort of price range with the whole build (this comes to about $1000 here in Romania). Sorry for not using pcpartpicker, but availability and prices really don't match with my local situation.

 

Cheers.

[ShadowCaptain]

I think that is a really nice build

 

My current home sever running essentials 2012 uses the g3220 and its a really decent processor

I am running the OS off an old SSD i had lying around so it makes no noise if the discs arnt active

 

I chose to use the fractal define mini which looks really like that thermal take case

 

Yeah if you are going ZFS then 1gb per TB is the general consensus

 

The reds are rated for 24/7 continuous operation which is why I chose them as this pc will not be turned off, I also use a seasonic strider PSU that was rated for 24/7 operation just to be sure!

 

Ive not had a problem using gigabit, I even have a hard drive to install steam games to my server and they all run with no loss of speed

[KingLich]

Thanks for the reply.

 

The Seagate NAS series is also supposed to be rated for 24/7 operation (or so I gather). I think either will probably do the job.

 

I also understand that I can run FreeNAS off a flash drive that I can plug directly into the motherboard with an adapter. Can anyone confirm that? I'd really rather not buy an SSD just for the OS (even a tiny one).

[bordrx]

Thanks for the reply.

 

The Seagate NAS series is also supposed to be rated for 24/7 operation (or so I gather). I think either will probably do the job.

 

I also understand that I can run FreeNAS off a flash drive that I can plug directly into the motherboard with an adapter. Can anyone confirm that? I'd really rather not buy an SSD just for the OS (even a tiny one).

 

sure you can, depending on where the machine will live you can buy a small barely visible USB drive (for example http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Flash-Drive-SDCZ33-032G-B35/dp/B00812F7O8 ) and just plug it into one of the external ports, without needing an adapter

[TassieTim]

i just built a pc for mate of mine using the BitFenix Merc Alpha Mid Tower case , that looked nice with the same amount of drive bay options for low price

[KingLich]

i just built a pc for mate of mine using the BitFenix Merc Alpha Mid Tower case , that looked nice with the same amount of drive bay options for low price

 

Thanks for that. It actually has more bays than my initial choice and is about $20 cheaper over here. I'm also considering the Fractal Design @ShadowCaptain mentioned. I'm reasonably sure it would be the quieter and better looking of all the choices, but the price is high as well. I'll need to look around for opinions. At least I have good choices now

 

sure you can, depending on where the machine will live you can buy a small barely visible USB drive (for example http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Flash-Drive-SDCZ33-032G-B35/dp/B00812F7O8 ) and just plug it into one of the external ports, without needing an adapter

 

I thought of that as well, but was under the impression that USB3.0 would better serve the purpose and I couldn't find any tiny 3.0 flash drives, hence the idea to stick it inside the case.

[ShadowCaptain]

Thanks for that. It actually has more bays than my initial choice and is about $20 cheaper over here. I'm also considering the Fractal Design @ShadowCaptain mentioned. I'm reasonably sure it would be the quieter and better looking of all the choices, but the price is high as well. I'll need to look around for opinions. At least I have good choices now

 

Mine is really nice, very quiet especially with the sound dampening foam it came fitted with. I might replace the stock cooler with something to be even more silent, maybe i can find a passive heat sink

 

The bitfenix merc alpha is a really nice case too, its pretty good looking and lots of space