xeon Building a Home Server

[Arges86]

I'm looking into building a small server for the home to replace my old WHSv1 that's running Windows Server 2003.

I'm primarily going to use it for media storage, but may install the LAMP stack on it (Ubuntu Sever maybe?) and play around with web services too.

At $820.58 this is my current build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fbkXTW. its highlights are an Intel Xeon E3-1220 V3, ASRock Z97 EXTREME6, and 3 Western Digital Reds for RAID 5.

I'm sure its a little overkill, but I want it to last and have fast transfer speeds. My current mini Server running an Atom CPU is very processor bound in nearly every task I do.

So....

What do people think?

Any easy place to cut corners?

[mikat]

no need for Z97?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1220 V3 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($195.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.44 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus H81M-K Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GT 610 2GB Video Card  ($43.87 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill I5-397-BK ATX Mini Tower Case w/450W Power Supply  ($62.98 @ Newegg) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($19.55 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($19.55 @ Amazon) 
Total: $724.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-11 12:03 EST-0500

this should be fine

[KirbyTech]

35 minutes ago, mikat said:

no need for Z97?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1220 V3 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($195.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.44 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus H81M-K Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GT 610 2GB Video Card  ($43.87 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill I5-397-BK ATX Mini Tower Case w/450W Power Supply  ($62.98 @ Newegg) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($19.55 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($19.55 @ Amazon) 
Total: $724.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-11 12:03 EST-0500

this should be fine

It is a server no need for Noctua fans IMO

[scottyseng]

1 hour ago, Arges86 said:

-snip-

Just wanted to comment that onboard RAID5 isn't that fast. RAID5 / 6 is pretty CPU intensive so it'll bog down on slower CPUs. That Xeon should handle it though.

 

Also, I would heavily recommend a better PSU than the one that comes with that Rosewill case...usually the ones that come free with the cases aren't great quality...

[Arges86]

2 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

Also, I would heavily recommend a better PSU than the one that comes with that Rosewill case...usually the ones that come free with the cases aren't great quality...

I was hoping to upgrade the PSU later when I got some more money... I've experienced first hand what a low-end PSU can do to a system's stability. Would something like the Corsair CSM @ $60 be worth it?

 

1 hour ago, mikat said:

no need for Z97?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1220 V3 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($195.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.44 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus H81M-K Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($48.99 @

The only reason I went with the ASRock board over something like the ASUS H81M-K was I wanted this to have dual NICs for teaming so I could get maximum throughput on large file transfers (like when backup up Blu-ray and the like). Would it be cheaper to just buy a PCI NIC like this Intel one?

[scottyseng]

6 minutes ago, Arges86 said:

I was hoping to upgrade the PSU later when I got some more money... I've experienced first hand what a low-end PSU can do to a system's stability. Would something like the Corsair CSM @ $60 be worth it?

Yeah, it would be worth it. Since the system runs for a lot longer than your average PC (As it's the server), you want a decent PSU at least.

 

I think the ASRock board would be better if you wanted to try teaming. That or check on ebay...you might find multi port Intel LAN cards for cheap there.

[mikat]

53 minutes ago, KirbyTech said:

It is a server no need for Noctua fans IMO

the noctuas were already in there, so i assumed he wanted them

[KirbyTech]

Just now, mikat said:

the noctuas were already in there, so i assumed he wanted them

Sure but still would not recommend them to him or anyone for a server. High SP with high airflow is much better.

[Arges86]

1 hour ago, KirbyTech said:

Sure but still would not recommend them to him or anyone for a server. High SP with high airflow is much better.

What would be a good Static Pressure fan?
Something like these Corsair ones?

[KirbyTech]

1 minute ago, Arges86 said:

What would be a good Static Pressure fan?
Something like these Corsair ones?

For a server I always say fractal design or I believe they are silverstone ones I also like to use. Mostly it is better to go semi cheap, about $5-7 per fan and more of them than going with high end fans. You will get a better return for your money.