NAS build recommendation

[IllPhil]

Hey all,

 

I currently have a Synology DS415+ that is used as a backup server, Plex streamer and some other services (NzbGet etc).

If I want to transcode a single 1080p stream, the NAS fails to do so without constantly buffering.

I am running against the limits of the NAS that is why I am looking to build my own NAS so I can future-proof it.

However, I have no clue on what hardware to get.

Is a desktop CPU (e.g i3) enough to run all of the above in combination with a VM from time to time or do I need server hardware?

I was thinking of getting FreeNAS on the build.

 

Any ideas of feedback?

Thanks in advance!

 

Regards

[Streetguru]

10 minutes ago, IllPhil said:

 

Might want to go for an R3 2200G or something, leaves you with an upgrade path/more options in the future.
 

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

How much do you want to spend?

 

How much do you care about power consumption?

 

How much storage do you need?

 

Do you want to reuse any parts.

 

 

 

 

[RussianSalad]

You could buy a used i5 pc somewere and add a used server sata card from ebay to connect all your drives. Plus if the i5 pc uses ddr3 ram you could upgrade it for cheap (Freenas and ZFS like to eat a LOT of ram ~8GB + 1GB per terabyte of storage)

[Maticks]

Unraid is another good NAS os. It's very different to FreeNAS which uses zfs all disks in the raid. Unraid runs xfs on each disk with two parity drives. You get more space some redundancy. But if you did loose a heap of drives the disks you have left are accessible and normal xfs. The other advantage if your primary use is Plex like mine. Most of your disks can spin down. With FreeNAS all disks in the array need to be spinning at all times. If you loose the disks that make up your redundancy bye all your data.

 

I use an array of two parity drives and 20 3tb and 4tb drives. If I lost 4 drives I'd still have a lot of my content.

Unraid can show missing folders so worst case get new drives and re-download.

 

Just throwing in another option. Now the trade off is unraid is not faster than FreeNAS. Your looking at 60Mbps vs likely 130Mbps. There is a reconstruction mode in unraid to get 120Mbps but it will spin up all disks to calculate parity faster. Both FreeNAS and unraid have trial versions put a disk or two in and check them out...

[IllPhil]

Thanks for the replies.

I currently have a 450W Gold PSU that I want to use.

I will also be using the disks that are in my Synology now (4x2TB WD RED)

 

I saw that the 8th gen i3 processors are really good for this. They get a passmark score of 9.000. Plex Media Server needs 2.000 per 1080p stream. I only need one so it seems that there is enough room for one VM and some services.

[Maticks]

That or pick up a 6700k i7 for cheap  might get a good deal motherboard cpu and memory.

[IllPhil]

23 minutes ago, Maticks said:

That or pick up a 6700k i7 for cheap  might get a good deal motherboard cpu and memory.

Sarcasm?  The 6700k i7 is still expensive: 340 euros

[Maticks]

They are cheap here in au. The other option Ryzen 5 has sales and a lot more cores if the price is right. With + out you should have some sales on. 

[IllPhil]

17 hours ago, Maticks said:

They are cheap here in au. The other option Ryzen 5 has sales and a lot more cores if the price is right. With + out you should have some sales on. 

What are the shipping costs to the EU?