First Server Build

[aegis]

Hey guys,

I'm looking at building a sort of everything server which could be scalable (mainly for storage) in the future.  The primary uses from the start would be data storage/NAS, media hosting, and VPN for overseas access to regional content(i.e. netflix, other streaming services, etc.).  One of the major primary reasons for building this however is to stop paying dropbox $100 a year.  It was great when I used all of the functionality dropbox had to offer, but now that I do not fully utilize the service, as well as privacy concerns and the convenience of being able to access more the 1TB remotely, this is what I have decided upon.  Some uses later on could possibly include website hosting as well as game server hosting.  

I'm looking at this build that I put together on PC Part Picker from some quick research and reading over the past few days.  
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/XfZGGf

 

Component		Selection	Base	Promo	Shipping	Tax	Price	Where
CPU		Intel Xeon E3-1225 V5 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor	$216.95				$216.95	SuperBiiz		Buy
CPU Cooler		Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BL 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler	$69.99	-$10.00	FREE		$59.99	Newegg		Buy
$10.00 mail-in rebate
Motherboard		Supermicro MBD-X11SAE-F-O ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$239.99		FREE		$239.99	Newegg		Buy
Memory		Kingston FURY 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4-2133 Memory	$71.99				$71.99	Amazon		Buy
		Add Additional Memory
Storage		Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$54.99				$54.99	Amazon(Overridden)		Buy
		Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive	$149.49		FREE		$149.49	B&H		Buy
		Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive	$149.49		FREE		$149.49	B&H		Buy
		Add Additional Storage
Video Card		Choose A Video Card
Case		Fractal Design Define R5 (Titanium) ATX Mid Tower Case	$94.99				$94.99	NCIX US		Buy
Power Supply		Corsair RM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

 

Some details on the build:

As I said before, this first build is to just get me started with the ability to add storage later.  I am planning on running Ubuntu off of the 120GB SSD, and running the WD Red 4TB drives in Raid 1 for an overall capacity of 4TB for data and whatever else I want.  I have a license to Windows server as well, but am leaning towards Ubuntu simply because I want to try it out.  I also need IPMI for remote management (or another suitable equivalent) as I will not be physically present with the server starting in September when I will also want to be utlizing the VPN functionality when I am moving out of the country for a bit.

 

As listed on PC Part Picker, I have selected the motherboard becuase it has IPMI functionality, as well as the ability to add up to 6 more HDDs without needing to replace the motherboard/add more SATA connectors.  The case and processor I am still not concrete on, as well as the PSU.

 

Let me know what you guys think based on what I am trying to do.  I've had a lot of experience with PC builds (especially for gaming) but servers are a relatively new ballpark for me.

 

And lastly, I know a lot depends on my ISP connection for VPN and streaming capabilities.  It's pretty good, I'm not looking for anything mind blowing, but will upgrade it if performance is really suffering.

 

My budget is capped at $1300, with a preferable budget in the $7/800-$1100 price range.

[pcshme33]

DO NOT GET THAT POWER SUPPLY

 

cheap capacitors/bad quality I know because I have one

 

Get a Evga g2

[Cela1]

Also get a different SSD, those ones got really bad...

[aegis]

Is 550W the lowest for the EVGA G2?  Would that be too much overkill for powering the system (max is 211W right now) or can that not be avoided?

And noted on the SSD, will look for something else.  Do you have one in mind?

[samiscool51]

1. try not to get a xeon, a quad-core i7 would do the same thing and it would cost less

2. if you are using windows server (i will use 2015 as a example) check the min-requirements i would use this SSD for a server: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/jxphP6/a-data-internal-hard-drive-asp600s364gmc

3. if you NEED to use a xeon then get a low end GPU like a GeForce 210 realy cheap these days

 

[aegis]

I was under the impression that the Xeon had integrated graphics on it as well, but I could be mistaken.  Also, the motherboard supports it as well, so I should be fine without a graphics card either way, correct?

I have been interested in purchasing the skylake series of either brand.  I'm not too good at determining performance between different types of processors.  Which i7 could I find would be about the same as the CPU that I have currently selected?

[AshleyAshes]

2 hours ago, samiscool51 said:

3. if you NEED to use a xeon then get a low end GPU like a GeForce 210 realy cheap these days

Since the model of Xeon selected has Intel IGP, why would you suggest a low end NVidia GPU to pair with it?  That's just redundant.

[Captain_WD]

8 hours ago, aegis said:

~snip~

Hi there

 

The CPU does have an integrated GPU so you don't necessarily need a dedicated one.

I would consider going for 2x8GB for the memory as you may benefit from the dual-channel support on the motherboard and it may be less costly. 

WD Red drives are a great choice for this! 

 

The guys gave you some excellent advice so I'd listen to that! 

 

Feel free to ask if you have any questions! 

 

Captain_WD.

[samiscool51]

4 hours ago, AshleyAshes said:

Since the model of Xeon selected has Intel IGP, why would you suggest a low end NVidia GPU to pair with it?  That's just redundant.

hmm..

never knew that model has a IGP

good to know for later

[AshleyAshes]

4 hours ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

Get a cheap Gigabit Ethernet PCIe network adapter. You can double the available bandwidth for upload, which you'll definitely want for a server

He hasn't even stated what speed of internet service he would have, he'd need to have MORE than 1gbit up stream for that to even make any sense.

[Electronics Wizardy]

16 hours ago, aegis said:

Is 550W the lowest for the EVGA G2?  Would that be too much overkill for powering the system (max is 211W right now) or can that not be avoided?

And noted on the SSD, will look for something else.  Do you have one in mind?

I have a server with the seasonic 360w 80+ gold model and its fine. Id get something like that.

 

Id get a hdd(or two) for boot. The extra speed of a ssd won't help as all files you need are cached on ram and the boot hdd isn't used.

[Electronics Wizardy]

6 hours ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

Get a cheap Gigabit Ethernet PCIe network adapter. You can double the available bandwidth for upload, which you'll definitely want for a server

The nics on most boards are just as good as the ones on thoses nics. It will be the same speed.

[Electronics Wizardy]

16 hours ago, aegis said:

snip

Id probably use the stock cooler, those chips don't make much heat at all, also id get a 1230.

 

Id get a old hdd for boot

 

Also Id suggest looking into a used server like a dell r710/hp dl 180 g6 if you want rack or a t410 or t320 if you want a tower. Both of those can be found for under 500 and would be faster and have lots more server grade features built in like impi, dual psu's, lots of ram slots, dual nic's.

[aegis]

13 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

I have a server with the seasonic 360w 80+ gold model and its fine. Id get something like that.

 

Id get a hdd(or two) for boot. The extra speed of a ssd won't help as all files you need are cached on ram and the boot hdd isn't used.

 

So is there actually no impact on speed or is it just not a noticeable impact on speed?   If I were to go with just a hdd for boot, why would I possibly need 2?

 

15 hours ago, AshleyAshes said:

He hasn't even stated what speed of internet service he would have, he'd need to have MORE than 1gbit up stream for that to even make any sense.

 

Right, I definitely do not have 1 gbit upstream.  But say if later I acquired such later, I could just simply add a PCI network card to take advantage of the new found speed, right?  This would just be part of the scalability of the build.

[Electronics Wizardy]

22 minutes ago, aegis said:

 

So is there actually no impact on speed or is it just not a noticeable impact on speed?   If I were to go with just a hdd for boot, why would I possibly need 2?

 

 

Right, I definitely do not have 1 gbit upstream.  But say if later I acquired such later, I could just simply add a PCI network card to take advantage of the new found speed, right?  This would just be part of the scalability of the build.

1. No impact. All files are stored on ram. Once services are loaded its the same speed.

 

 

2. An add in 1gbe nic won't be any faster than the onboard nic.

[aegis]

Awesome, but what about the mention of possibly having two hdd boot drives?  And adding a PCI card later would be no problem at all?

[glitchmaster0001]

On July 13, 2016 at 9:06 PM, aegis said:

I was under the impression that the Xeon had integrated graphics on it as well, but I could be mistaken.  Also, the motherboard supports it as well, so I should be fine without a graphics card either way, correct?

I have been interested in purchasing the skylake series of either brand.  I'm not too good at determining performance between different types of processors.  Which i7 could I find would be about the same as the CPU that I have currently selected?

The Xeon has an igpu at least the Skylake Xeon 

21 hours ago, aegis said:

Awesome, but what about the mention of possibly having two hdd boot drives?  And adding a PCI card later would be no problem at all?

No it won't be at all but the nic on the supermicro board are 1gbps

[jimistephen]

On 7/15/2016 at 0:16 AM, Electronics Wizardy said:

2. An add in 1gbe nic won't be any faster than the onboard nic.

If you only use one or the other no. But you can use BOTH on different IPs and it can speed up the speed on the network.

[TheRandomness]

On 14/07/2016 at 2:59 AM, samiscool51 said:

1. try not to get a xeon, a quad-core i7 would do the same thing and it would cost less

2. if you are using windows server (i will use 2015 as a example) check the min-requirements i would use this SSD for a server: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/jxphP6/a-data-internal-hard-drive-asp600s364gmc

3. if you NEED to use a xeon then get a low end GPU like a GeForce 210 realy cheap these days

 

1) An i7 would do the same thing for more*

3) Not necessary (mentioned already)

On 13/07/2016 at 11:52 PM, aegis said:

Is 550W the lowest for the EVGA G2?  Would that be too much overkill for powering the system (max is 211W right now) or can that not be avoided?

And noted on the SSD, will look for something else.  Do you have one in mind?

1) Yes, it'd be fine but overkill

2) Crucial BX200 or Adata SP550 if going cheap, Samsung 850 EVO if going expensive.