NAS Build

[iamjsed]

Hi All.

 

So I'm planning to build my own NAS.  Here's what I have In mind:

 

For hardware I plan to use these:

 

Core i3 6100

MSI B150M motherboard. (I already have this collecting dust)

8GB DDR4 HyperX Fury

4 x 4TB WD Reds

Corsair carbide spec 03 from my old desktop

Seasonic S12II-520

 

For OS, I plan to use FreeNAS.  OK before all of you freak our YES I KNOW it is recommended to use ECC memory for FreeNAS ZFS.  However, I've seen a couple of people building off non-ecc memories.  Wendell (TekSyndicate), Paul (Paulhardware) and Brian (brianmoses.net) and some others in youtube posted such setup.

 

I also intend to do some plex transcoding.

 

Please be the last nail in the coffin if im going to proceed with this build or not.

 

Thanks!

[Electronics Wizardy]

Id personally use linux, but free nas/freebsd will work fine.

 

Id get a smaller 360w seasonic psu.

[JohnnyCorporalTech]

the i3 should be fin for trans-coding video in plex at 1080p but if you are going to make the jump to 4k you may want to consider something a bit more powerful. 

[SaladFingers]

If you don't intend to run applications that contain critical data on the fly, you don't really need ECC memory. You only need to ask yourself this: How bad would it be if your NAS somehow crashed? If the answer is "not too bad", you don't need it.

 

The setup looks fine, what are you planning to use it for? WD Reds will not always be the best case, even if they are marketed as NAS drives. Part of the reason they are marketed like that is because their firmware can play well with pre-built NAS systems, consume less power (but run a little slower) and also lower noise levels. If your use case involves constant I/O to your NAS, you might want to look into WD Blacks which will perform better and more consistently, but will consume more power and run louder.

[leadeater]

1 hour ago, SaladFingers said:

The setup looks fine, what are you planning to use it for? WD Reds will not always be the best case, even if they are marketed as NAS drives. Part of the reason they are marketed like that is because their firmware can play well with pre-built NAS systems, consume less power (but run a little slower) and also lower noise levels. If your use case involves constant I/O to your NAS, you might want to look into WD Blacks which will perform better and more consistently, but will consume more power and run louder.

WD Se disks are also another good option, they are large capacity performance focused much like Blacks but also feature the firmware and vibration compensation features for many disk systems (24+). Down side is they cost more than both Reds and Blacks.

 

What makes Reds so attractive is not always the NAS firmware as such but the good price and confidence they will last compared to Blues/Greens(now also Blues).

[SaladFingers]

21 minutes ago, leadeater said:

WD Se disks are also another good option, they are large capacity performance focused much like Blacks but also feature the firmware and vibration compensation features for many disk systems (24+). Down side is they cost more than both Reds and Blacks.

 

What makes Reds so attractive is not always the NAS firmware as such but the good price and confidence they will last compared to Blues/Greens(now also Blues).

Thanks for the input. I agree, I didn't really consider suggesting the SE drives as I feel they are a little too pricey and 90% of the time a regular user won't need enterprise solutions. I think the Blacks still outperform them and are reasonably reliable, which is why I recommended them for heavier usage. WD Se also supposedly can withstand the harshest conditions of all, but I don't think much of that applies to home use. But good point, they didn't even come to mind when I replied to the OP.

 

Just to add a personal note: I use Blacks and Blues for my NAS. Blacks because some tasks take place very often and contain large queues of files being copied over, and also Blues because some backups just take place once per month and they don't need either the greatest reliability nor speed. 

[iamjsed]

Thank you guys this is really helps me a lot and I appreciate it.

 

@leadeater Thank you for your suggestion, yeah I think i don't have extra cash for those enterprise drives

 

@SaladFingers you mean you mix blues and black on your system?

 

Are you NAS always on?  How's the power consumption?

[SaladFingers]

16 minutes ago, iamjsed said:

Thank you guys this is really helps me a lot and I appreciate it.

 

@leadeater Thank you for your suggestion, yeah I think i don't have extra cash for those enterprise drives

 

@SaladFingers you mean you mix blues and black on your system?

 

Are you NAS always on?  How's the power consumption?

Yes, I have several Blues and Blacks on the same machine that I use for different purposes. It's always on, as it also serves as a server for several things. Not sure exactly about the power consumption, but let's say it's not on the low side  It's an older computer and the hardware in it consumes more than a more modern system. On idle, it does around 150W if I'm not mistaken.