- Nov 18, 2014
- 3
- 0
- 4,510
Hello all,
Looong time reader, first time poster here.
I am currently engaged in the internal debate that has tormented man since the dawn of time - buy or build a NAS.
So the options are building a NAS over the 'sugar hit' of shelling out for one. My objective it to run software RAID through FreeNAS (on OpenBSD) opposed to a motherboard based implementation.
I am very new to this so please hang in there.
The main sticking point seems to be the balance of finding enough SATA ports on a motherboard or just biting the bullet to buy a host controller card. To solve this I am trying to select a build that grows into the need for a host controller.
I know there are strong views on this but I'm trying to do build this with a view of having a bit of fun as well.
Links:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QHrgqs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QHrgqs/by_merchant/
Breakdown
Motherboard: Asus H97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.13 @ NCIX US)
My initial thought was to try an embedded motherboard like an ASUS C8HM70-I/HDMI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131948), but the limits I hit around finding a suitable option with PCI Express 3.0 for a future host controller upgrade made me go up notch. The lack of wifi out of the box is not an issue day one.
CPU: Intel Core i3-4360 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
This is simply a compatible CPU for the board. Seems suitable for my needs based on reviews. Which would be similar to a HTPC.
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
This is just seemingly well regarded option for this board. I didn't want to muck around and just decided to max it out to 16GB.
Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
As mentioned above, I'm looking at OpenBSD and a SSD seems like a reasonable option for the system drive as I don't want it on the NAS storage. I was considering an M.2 drive as there is a port on the selected motherboard, but they seem too pricy for my application.
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($169.00 @ Adorama)
Initially I would only run two of these. This seems rather silly out of the gate but it would only be while I build/prove this platform. It would be a basic RAID 1.
The target would be to run nine. Eight drives in RAID 10 (maybe) with one sitting there for a hot swap.
Power Supply: Antec 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.01 @ Mwave)
Maybe slightly overrated for my application but I am keen to get a PSU that is fully modular, fairly well reviewed and can power my SATA drives. It's hard to get fully modular at a lowish wattage that review well. The case selection will explain some of this. There may be some other power requirements in the future that I don't want to be the wrong side of 500W with.
Other: LSI LSI00301 (9207-8i) PCI-Express 3.0 x8 Low Profile SATA / SAS Host Controller Card ($254.99)
These things are EXPENSIVE in my part of the world. Yes, I will drop in a controller, but from day one the slot will simply be provisioned on the build.
Case: Cooler Master HAF Stacker 915R Mini ITX Tower Case ($66.98 @ Newegg)
AND here is where it all goes weird. Yep, I'm thinking of a HAF stacker. I am working on a design of a storage tier, a power tier, a compute tier and a cooling tier. Day one though is to test the waters with a NAS build. I want it all to be very tidy as the case can be fairly tricky to cable manage in (or so I am told).
Total: $2416.08
It would be a lot lower than that day one at a shade under $1,000 - and I already own some WD Reds making it just over $600 for my entry level NAS that I can expand out crazy if required.
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-18 05:54 EST-0500
Credit where credit is due.
OK, so I was wondering if anyone had any feedback or comments on this?
As I said, I've never done anything like this before so it's been a bit of a Google warrior effort so please be kind!
Lunch Stubby
Looong time reader, first time poster here.
I am currently engaged in the internal debate that has tormented man since the dawn of time - buy or build a NAS.
So the options are building a NAS over the 'sugar hit' of shelling out for one. My objective it to run software RAID through FreeNAS (on OpenBSD) opposed to a motherboard based implementation.
I am very new to this so please hang in there.
The main sticking point seems to be the balance of finding enough SATA ports on a motherboard or just biting the bullet to buy a host controller card. To solve this I am trying to select a build that grows into the need for a host controller.
I know there are strong views on this but I'm trying to do build this with a view of having a bit of fun as well.
Links:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QHrgqs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QHrgqs/by_merchant/
Breakdown
Motherboard: Asus H97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.13 @ NCIX US)
My initial thought was to try an embedded motherboard like an ASUS C8HM70-I/HDMI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131948), but the limits I hit around finding a suitable option with PCI Express 3.0 for a future host controller upgrade made me go up notch. The lack of wifi out of the box is not an issue day one.
CPU: Intel Core i3-4360 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
This is simply a compatible CPU for the board. Seems suitable for my needs based on reviews. Which would be similar to a HTPC.
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
This is just seemingly well regarded option for this board. I didn't want to muck around and just decided to max it out to 16GB.
Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
As mentioned above, I'm looking at OpenBSD and a SSD seems like a reasonable option for the system drive as I don't want it on the NAS storage. I was considering an M.2 drive as there is a port on the selected motherboard, but they seem too pricy for my application.
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($169.00 @ Adorama)
Initially I would only run two of these. This seems rather silly out of the gate but it would only be while I build/prove this platform. It would be a basic RAID 1.
The target would be to run nine. Eight drives in RAID 10 (maybe) with one sitting there for a hot swap.
Power Supply: Antec 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.01 @ Mwave)
Maybe slightly overrated for my application but I am keen to get a PSU that is fully modular, fairly well reviewed and can power my SATA drives. It's hard to get fully modular at a lowish wattage that review well. The case selection will explain some of this. There may be some other power requirements in the future that I don't want to be the wrong side of 500W with.
Other: LSI LSI00301 (9207-8i) PCI-Express 3.0 x8 Low Profile SATA / SAS Host Controller Card ($254.99)
These things are EXPENSIVE in my part of the world. Yes, I will drop in a controller, but from day one the slot will simply be provisioned on the build.
Case: Cooler Master HAF Stacker 915R Mini ITX Tower Case ($66.98 @ Newegg)
AND here is where it all goes weird. Yep, I'm thinking of a HAF stacker. I am working on a design of a storage tier, a power tier, a compute tier and a cooling tier. Day one though is to test the waters with a NAS build. I want it all to be very tidy as the case can be fairly tricky to cable manage in (or so I am told).
Total: $2416.08
It would be a lot lower than that day one at a shade under $1,000 - and I already own some WD Reds making it just over $600 for my entry level NAS that I can expand out crazy if required.
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-18 05:54 EST-0500
Credit where credit is due.
OK, so I was wondering if anyone had any feedback or comments on this?
As I said, I've never done anything like this before so it's been a bit of a Google warrior effort so please be kind!
Lunch Stubby
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