Old hardware -> DIY NAS (Suggestions are welcome)

[arism11]

First ever post, so hello!

 

I am going to upgrade my desktop in the immediate future, so i will have some spare parts. I got my hands on a Silverstone GD01, which i think it will be perfect for my use case.

My server setup will be:

Case: Silverstone GD01

Cpu: AMD Ryzen 1600

Mobo: ASUS Prime B350-Plus

RAM: 16GB 3000MHz

GPU: AMD 580 4GB or NVIDIA 1080(I don't know yet if i will upgrade my gpu)

PSU: Sharkoon 650w 80+ Bronze (the first candidate for the garbage can from my old setup)

Storage: 2*4TB HDD( NAS refurbished)+1*6TB WD RED(from my old setup as parity)+future expansion

OS: UNRAID

 

What I am looking for:

-Plex server

-NAS with remote storage

-NVR

-Home Assistant

-PiHole

-Photo backup

-VPN(not necessarily) 

 

Some key points:

-I don't have any experience with server setups, server OS, VMs etc. I do have some theoretical knowledge, but that's it. I would love to expand my knowledge in that field, but for the following years, my free time will be very limited.

-I think that UNRAID will be perfect for me, considering the ease of use, the flexible expandability and the limited need for maintenance.

-Home Assistant is running on an old laptop, so it's not necessary to be included in the server

-PiHole may run on a Fujitsu S920, if needed (it's really affordable here in Europe)

 

Please give any suggestions you have!

 

ps. Please forgive any mistakes. English is not my first language.

[johnt]

I think unraid likes a little more memory, but 16 GB will be more than enough to start. And really it should be enough for everything you've listed. I would build it and just have fun. I don't think the R1600 has a built in GPU, so you will need a dedicated card to install and gets this configured at first, but I think you will be able to run everything remotely and remove the video card when it is all setup.

[arism11]

2 minutes ago, johnt said:

I think unraid likes a little more memory, but 16 GB will be more than enough to start. And really it should be enough for everything you've listed. I would build it and just have fun. I don't think the R1600 has a built in GPU, so you will need a dedicated card to install and gets this configured at first, but I think you will be able to run everything remotely and remove the video card when it is all setup.

Yes, r1600 doesn't have a built-in gpu. I included a gpu (rx 580 4gb (if i don't upgrade my gpu) or gtx 1080(if i upgrade my gpu), for hardware acceleration for plex.

[johnt]

56 minutes ago, arism11 said:

Yes, r1600 doesn't have a built-in gpu. I included a gpu (rx 580 4gb (if i don't upgrade my gpu) or gtx 1080(if i upgrade my gpu), for hardware acceleration for plex.

So a few things about Plex. It does not require transcoding if you plan to watch content at native resolution. Transcoding only happens when watching at a different resolution, which is usually on a mobile device to reduce on bandwidth usage. Problem is, you trade bandwidth for electricity, but that's a different issue.

 

Hardware transcoding requires paying for the software. I didn't know this at first. I was skeptical because I didn't think Plex would actually work as well as everyone claims. But it really is a unicorn software for movie nerds. It's absolutely worth the cost in my opinion. But just know your GPU is behind a paywall.

[arism11]

1 minute ago, johnt said:

So a few things about Plex. It does not require transcoding if you plan to watch content at native resolution. Transcoding only happens when watching at a different resolution, which is usually on a mobile device to reduce on bandwidth usage. Problem is, you trade bandwidth for electricity, but that's a different issue.

 

Hardware transcoding requires paying for the software. I didn't know this at first. I was skeptical because I didn't think Plex would actually work as well as everyone claims. But it really is a unicorn software for movie nerds. It's absolutely worth the cost in my opinion. But just know your GPU is behind a paywall.

Yes, i'm going to purchase a license, mostly for remote access, and for hardware acceleration as an added benefit. My long-term plan is to cancel all my subscriptions and use plex as my local and remote media library, so a license is necessary. I am sure there are other solutions that will give me this options for free, but in a year the license money will be paid off, by cancelling netflix and disney plus

[johnt]

15 minutes ago, arism11 said:

Yes, i'm going to purchase a license, mostly for remote access, and for hardware acceleration as an added benefit. My long-term plan is to cancel all my subscriptions and use plex as my local and remote media library, so a license is necessary. I am sure there are other solutions that will give me this options for free, but in a year the license money will be paid off, by cancelling netflix and disney plus

Right! Get the lifetime license while you still can. Have fun!

[Kilrah]

2 minutes ago, johnt said:

Get the lifetime license while you still can.

That ship sailed a couple of weeks ago (other than the $250 option)

 

1rs gen ryzen isn't great for a server, usually you have to to disable most of the power saving features or they're unstable and crashing under low load, leading to higher idle power consumption. 

 

[johnt]

5 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

That ship sailed a couple of weeks ago (other than the $250 option)

 

I guess that depends on your country. It’s $120 usd for my area. 

[Kilrah]

19 minutes ago, johnt said:

I guess that depends on your country. It’s $120 usd for my area. 

You might be referring to an upgrade for an existing license... if you're a new user it's either yearly or $249 for lifetime updates now.

 

[johnt]

5 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

You might be referring to an upgrade for an existing license... if you're a new user it's either yearly or $249 for lifetime updates now.

 

Oh I think you’re talking about unraid. I was talking about Plex.

[arism11]

46 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

That ship sailed a couple of weeks ago (other than the $250 option)

 

1rs gen ryzen isn't great for a server, usually you have to to disable most of the power saving features or they're unstable and crashing under low load, leading to higher idle power consumption. 

 

Here in Greece, lifetime subscription is available for 120 euros

 

I have to consider the cost of upgrading to a different cpu versus the cost of electricity by using r1600 with no power features