Thoughts on this home NAS Build?

[itsjudd]

NAS use:
Sample storage for music production & Plex server mainly. Only streaming to 1 tv ever really.

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-10105
Motherboard: Asus Prime B560M-A Micro ATX
Memory: 1x 16gb G.Skill Ripjaws V
Case: Fractal Design Node 804 MicroATX

Power Supply: Corsair RM650 80+ (had to go full or semi modular, hate dealing with non)

 

Storage: I currently have 2x Iron Wolf Pro 10tb drives but would probably extend by 2x more soon.

[WhiteAirLock]

It's very decent to be honest. I personally would choose a different path, especially since team Red offers better options when it comes for the price of your CPU/MB combo but the whole thing about personal NAS boxes is about the personal need and budget.

 

For example I have a repurposed office PC that I bought for dirt cheap since it was a demo unit and I use it for data storage, local device backup and all my digitalized anime VHS/DVD/BD  and movie collection.

 

My setup:

Case > ASROCK DeskMini (includes 120w PSU)

CPU > Ryzen 5 5600G (I upgraded it from a Ryzen 3 2200G)

RAM > 2x 8gb Corsair modules (CMSX32GX4M4X4000C19)

m.2 > 250gb WD Red SN700

Adaptec ASR-71605 227440-R*  (a very great hardware raid card with a huge amount of connectors)

 

Storage (kinda jerry rigged into 3d printed enclosure since I used a hardware raid card here):

4x 10tb WD Red Plus (data storage/ raid 10)

4x Intenso Top Performance SSD 1tb** (raid 10 | anime/movie collection)

 

* great card. I really recommend it, especially since it has great features like....

• Support for RAID levels: 0, 1, 1E, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60

• HBA Mode and Simple Volume Mode for automatic deployment

• Supports up to 256 SAS or SATA devices using SAS expanders

• Supports remote firmware update

• 16 drive ports

 

** Since I also archive everything to a remote rented server, I don't care about the reliability of those SSD's. I just choose them because they were like 51$ for each one and I installed one into my mom's laptop and even though the SSD was tortured with all the Ubuntu updates and copying data from her DSLR to Laptop and then to her phone, it still is running fine since I installed it ( Dec 2019). The SSD's don't run all the time, they're automatically powered off when they're unmounted (I use a script for that) and there's no activity on them.

[itsjudd]

I would have went AMD but I believe last I checked Plex doesn't support AMD for transcoding.

 

Will definitely need to look into the raid card though, totally forgot about that and not a fan of just relying on software raid.

[Bersella AI]

Even the Pentium G6405-ish would suffice all of this IMO?

Also the Ripjaws & the Corsair PSU may be a total overkill for a home server? I'd pick up a DDR4 module on 2666MHz w/o a shield, and a PSU with a lower power envelope (like Delta NX350).

 

Besides, if the TV can decode the stream by itself (mostly likely the case at present), there's even no need for an iGPU for transcoding. And then the platform from Red Team can also be acceptable, with lower costs.

[WhiteAirLock]

On 12/22/2022 at 7:12 AM, itsjudd said:

I would have went AMD but I believe last I checked Plex doesn't support AMD for transcoding.

 

Will definitely need to look into the raid card though, totally forgot about that and not a fan of just relying on software raid.

Ah, that really su*ks.

I actually never used plex. I have some plugin that allows me to call for my music and video folder directly via VLC player. It's not the best solution but it's cross device compatible and since I use VLC on my phones, tablet and PC's, it's actually very handy since I don't need an additional app for this.

There's one small issue. The built-in subtitles and multi-audio tracks in the videos don't always get detected by VLC. I have to go close and open VLC again in order to make it work again. However, it's a small issue and not really a deal breaker.

 

That raid card is actually obsolete for businesses and this means you can get it for dirt cheap. I got mine for 42.60usd with free shipping. It even included original box, accessories and driver CD.