Looking to build a storage PC.

[AkuTimi]

Budget (including currency): hopefully below 2000$

Country: 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: storage purposes -> depending on budget anywhere between 50TB and 200TB

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

I'm looking to build a PC out of common parts used only for storage. I already built my gaming PC but I don't know what parts and what specifications should I search for the new build. I have a couple of questions:

1. What motherboard should I get (what type and why)? -> how much storage can I get for that motherboard? (how many storage units and up to what size each?)

2. Should I go for SSD or HDD? What connectors? I know about SATA but nothing much about anything else. What form factor(I mean size) should they have?

3. How much should I spend on the CPU and what is recommended for such a build?

4. Should I even buy a cheap(maybe even second-hand) dedicated GPU? Or it's just not worth it?

5. I read some stuff and some people recommended just a server slice or something along the lines? Should I bother for a server build (which I know nothing about)? This build won't be used in any professional way so I don't see the need to tackle a server build since I'm not familiar with it and maybe a common parts PC would do just as fine.

6. I heard about RAID and it's many types. Should I do anything about it and if yes, which type should I use and why?

7. How much RAM should I go for?

 

If there stuff on topic that I didn't even think about please tell me about it.

 

Thank you!

[goatedpenguin]

This build can vary a lot depending on what your doing. For an example, if this server is being used for heavy IO E.g transferring large video files than you would need a solid cpu + storage. However, if this build is just for storing stuff than you could use mid range hardware and invest most of the money into storage. Like I said we need more information on what will the use case of the storage computer be to really find suitable hardware for you.

 

P.S you don't really need a gpu in these type of builds and you should never get second hand storage unless they have been properly tested. Regarding on what RAID type you need will also vary on the use case RAID 0 will be the fastest for transferring and writing large files but there will be no redundancy. As a rule of thumb, the higher in RAID you go(till RAID 10) the more redundancy you will have but at lesser performance. You will also need more drives for the higher in RAID you go.

[Electronics Wizardy]

What is this system doing with the storage? Is it a NAS? Do you need much performance? Are you going to use this system directly(Aka plug a keyboard + mouse + monitor in or are you remoting in?)

 

What form factor do you want this system?

 

2. With that budget and storage requirement, HDDs are your best option likely.

 

I'd probably get something like a define r7 case here as it can fit a lot of 3.5 in HDDs and is normal tower case.

 

3. What exactly are you doing on this PC? Probably can get away with a i3 here from the stuff you have listed.

 

4. Do you need much graphics power? I'd go iGPU here from the requirements you have listed.

 

What OS do you want to run on this system?

 

 

 

[AkuTimi]

12 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

What is this system doing with the storage? Is it a NAS? Do you need much performance? Are you going to use this system directly(Aka plug a keyboard + mouse + monitor in or are you remoting in?)

 

What form factor do you want this system?

 

2. With that budget and storage requirement, HDDs are your best option likely.

 

I'd probably get something like a define r7 case here as it can fit a lot of 3.5 in HDDs and is normal tower case.

 

3. What exactly are you doing on this PC? Probably can get away with a i3 here from the stuff you have listed.

 

4. Do you need much graphics power? I'd go iGPU here from the requirements you have listed.

 

What OS do you want to run on this system?

 

 

 

I don't know what NAS is and why should or should not use it.

I will use the system directly (keyboard, mouse and monitor).

I plan on just storing data. not transfer back and forth.

I would like to use Windows since I barely touched other OSes.

I guess I don't need graphics power. intel i3 with integrated graphics should do fine, now that I think about it.

 

My biggest concern remaining is about the type of Motherboard and if it needs to be something special that supports a lot of storage. Or any decent consumer MBoard would do just fine? Are there any specs of it that I should be looking for (have it extra or have it in more capacity than the common ones)?

[QuantumSingularity]

What you are doing here with the storage rig is diving into the deep end of the pool with basic float-above-the-water skill. Before going any further i suggest you read a bit about RAID, how it works and what it's designed for as well as interfaces like SATA, because you are almost certainly getting into a nightmare, especially with Windows. As for the storage itself - HDDs are waaaaaaaaay cheaper, but SSDs are much more reliable. It all again depends on the specific use - are you gonna store you large library of pr0n and other "scientific research" on it and want to access it at any time or are you going to try to mine crypto? Each use has it's specific needs.

[goatedpenguin]

5 hours ago, AkuTimi said:

I don't know what NAS is and why should or should not use it.

I will use the system directly (keyboard, mouse and monitor).

I plan on just storing data. not transfer back and forth.

I would like to use Windows since I barely touched other OSes.

I guess I don't need graphics power. intel i3 with integrated graphics should do fine, now that I think about it.

 

My biggest concern remaining is about the type of Motherboard and if it needs to be something special that supports a lot of storage. Or any decent consumer MBoard would do just fine? Are there any specs of it that I should be looking for (have it extra or have it in more capacity than the common ones)?

Regarding what you said, here is what I will say:

1)You do not need a gpu

2)Given your use case the build does not have to be 2000 bucks. It can be way cheaper

3) Go read about storage computer, what a NAS is and what OS you should etc. Windows is not always the best.

4)the type of motherboard and cpu you would require would probably be a b760 + i5 13600K if you are going with team intel or a b650 + 7600x if you are going with AMD. Some ppl might say that is overkill which it is but it does give you room to upgrade. However, if you wanted something that would get the job done I would go with a x570 + 5800x or a 5600x the latter is cheaper. In this case always go for a x570 and not a b550 if you going with this option since you will have less sata ports if you go with the latter. 16gb of RAM will suffice for this build. You might want to do your own research and see motherboards that have a decent amount of sata ports. 

 

Lastly, just like @QuantumSingularity said you can’t be going into these type of builds without knowing stuff like computer hardware, NASes, RAID configuration etc so I would highly recommend you study a bit more on this.

 

 

[brob]

7 hours ago, AkuTimi said:

19 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Expand  

I don't know what NAS is and why should or should not use it.

 

NAS is an acronym for Network Attached Storage. This is essentially what you are trying to create.

 

Rather than build a general purpose PC and using it for a single dedicated purpose, consider using a NAS or DAS. NAS are relatively inexpensive appliances that plug into your home network and are typically controlled through another PC on the network. DAS, Direct Access Storage are an appliance that directly connects to a PC providing large amounts of storage.

 

Both NAS and DAS are available that can house 2, 4, 6, 8+ HDD. They are typically sold without HDD. This allows for starting with a few HDD adding more as required.

 

https://www.asustor.com/event/buying_guide

https://www.qnap.com/solution/nas-choose-and-upgrade/en/

https://www.synology.com/en-us/support/nas_selector

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

8 hours ago, AkuTimi said:

I don't know what NAS is and why should or should not use it.

I will use the system directly (keyboard, mouse and monitor).

I plan on just storing data. not transfer back and forth.

I would like to use Windows since I barely touched other OSes.

I guess I don't need graphics power. intel i3 with integrated graphics should do fine, now that I think about it.

 

My biggest concern remaining is about the type of Motherboard and if it needs to be something special that supports a lot of storage. Or any decent consumer MBoard would do just fine? Are there any specs of it that I should be looking for (have it extra or have it in more capacity than the common ones)?

Any decent motherboard should work fine here, If you need more drives get a SAS HBA and you can add a lot more drives. For now, I'd just use the onboard sata ports and get a few 20TB drives.

 

Probably gonna want to setup storage spaces in windows so you have one big volume, and if a drive fails you dont' lose any data.

 

I'd be darn tempted to get a nas here, and then access all the files from your main system.

[goatedpenguin]

Correct me if I am wrong anyone here, if OP has a lot of things to store wouldn't it be better to use a NAS + LVM since the LVM does allow for lots of scalability, data striping and other bells and whistles etc. compared to making partitions? Or would it not be worth it?

[Electronics Wizardy]

7 minutes ago, goatedpenguin said:

Correct me if I am wrong anyone here, if OP has a lot of things to store wouldn't it be better to use a NAS + LVM since the LVM does allow for lots of scalability, data striping and other bells and whistles etc. compared to making partitions? Or would it not be worth it?

IDK what exactly OP is doing, but a NAS often makes a lot of sense for usecases like this. 

 

LVM is linux only, and I'd personally use ZFS as it supports much of what LVM does, but with more features like parity raid. Unraid would also be a good option for a NAS os that supports easy expansion.  Also storage spaces on windows allows for much of the same features.

[goatedpenguin]

56 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Also storage spaces on windows allows for much of the same features.

Are you referring to dynamic storage or virtual drives for windows? But yes a NAS would make more sense but if I were OP, I would go the extra mile to learn a bit of Linux and add LVM to it or use ZFS like you said along with maybe RAID 5. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

35 minutes ago, goatedpenguin said:

Are you referring to dynamic storage or virtual drives for windows? But yes a NAS would make more sense but if I were OP, I would go the extra mile to learn a bit of Linux and add LVM to it or use ZFS like you said along with maybe RAID 5. 

I'm talking about storage spaces. It was added in windows 8/2012 and supports many new features like tiering, many raid levels, adding/removing drives, multiple levels of raid on one set of drives, checksumming of data and more.

[goatedpenguin]

ah I see  

[QuantumSingularity]

Guys, there is a bigger issue here - when you have absolutely basic knowledge about PC hardware and you are not sure if physical sizes on the drives dictate capacity or how many drives you can connect to a motherboard, there is a bigger fish to fry. As i said earlier, OP needs to read a bit. Not to learn everything like he is gonna earn a phd in computer science, but enough to understand the basics like different types of RAID and which one he needs as well as raid cards, because chances are the SATA ports on the motherboard, especially if it's cheap board, won't be enough to support all the desired drives. I am not trying to discourage the guy, i 'm just trying to help him understand what he is getting into. None of us was born with that knowledge installed in our heads, we all had to learn. It's not something to be ashamed of. It's exactly what forums like this one are for - help people learn new stuff they are passionate about. We are more than happy to help, but certain basics are a must. You can't change the brakes on your car if you don't know already how to remove the wheels, right? It's basically the same thing.