Small home server advice

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
J

jpringle1

Reputable
Jul 26, 2015
22
0
4,510
I want to make a small personal server, mostly out of unused computer parts. But I had not idea what I'm doing or the difference between building a desktop to a server. So I've come here hoping someone can help.

What I will be using it for -
I want it to store all of my media files. Music, pictures, videos and documents so that all of my devices (phone, laptop, computer) have access to the same files. And also game data files so that i can download them onto my computer without having to redownload them from steam. I don't need the server to be super fast, just working.

The plan so far - I have an Intel 3.4gz xeon that was built specifically for servers so I'm assuming i can use that, however it has been modded to fit a desktop mobo. The mod can be removed, but I want to if I have to buy a mobo specifically for servers or can i use the one I currently have?.
I'm going to use only a single 2tb hard drive, either blue or green im not sure yet please advise. Also I have a 4gb ddr3 ram stick that I can use but I heard somewhere that desktop ram and server ram is totally different. Is this true?

Main issue - I have no idea which PSU to buy. I have a 600w PSU with 230v input requirement so not only is it overkill but it's no efficient, as I don't want to rack up a huge electricity bill. Please help, thanks
 
Solution
USAFRet
1. A house server for that purpose does NOT need to be anything powerful. My current one runs on a Pentium G840 CPU, 4GB RAM. Soon to be upgraded to an i3-6100.

Which specific Xeon is this?

2. A single 2TB HDD is the wrong way to go. You want one drive for the OS, and another drive for all that media.

3. PSU - what make/model is it? 600 watts only means that what it is theoretically able to provide. Not what it actually pulls from the wall all the time.
Sort by date Sort by votes
corroded

corroded

Splendid
Sep 5, 2011
2,859
0
21,960
I use a FREENAS rig. Based off an older AMD A8 CPU. It's a little techy to get setup. I then have an older Dell w/ Windows on it as my Plex server.

It could be just as easy (for you) to setup a Windows Desktop with lower power hardware, a small SSD for boot, and a set of 3TB drives for Media. Share as you'd normally do for Windows and your online
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
USAFRet

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Mar 16, 2013
171,445
17,909
184,590
1. A house server for that purpose does NOT need to be anything powerful. My current one runs on a Pentium G840 CPU, 4GB RAM. Soon to be upgraded to an i3-6100.

Which specific Xeon is this?

2. A single 2TB HDD is the wrong way to go. You want one drive for the OS, and another drive for all that media.

3. PSU - what make/model is it? 600 watts only means that what it is theoretically able to provide. Not what it actually pulls from the wall all the time.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
J

jakjawagon

Distinguished
Aug 28, 2010
374
5
18,965
You CAN use normal desktop parts to build a server. Might not be as efficient, but it'll work.

Both Seagate and WD make hard drives for servers. Seagate's are called NAS HDD, and WD's are Red. Again, WD blue or green would be fine (probably green would be better IMO because of their energy efficiency), but if you're buying new, not using a drive you have laying around, one of those would be better.

Some servers use ECC RAM, which is unnecessary for a home server. The RAM you have will be fine.

For a PSU, see http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html and pick something with preferably an 80+ Gold rating or higher.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
USAFRet

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Mar 16, 2013
171,445
17,909
184,590
This is the parts in my current house server/HTPC.
W8EddXU.png


Run all the music and movies, plus backups for all the other PCs and devices.

Soon to change up just a little bit, but not much
i3-6100, 8GB RAM, and an appropriate motherboard.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jpringle1

Reputable
Jul 26, 2015
22
0
4,510


1. Intel Xeon X5460

2. ahh yes i forgot about the OS, i have another hard drive lying around so that wont be a problem.

3. "Ace Black 600W Power Supply", ok so even though it wont always be pulling 600w, do you think it wouldnt be much of a problem to have this PSU running 24/7? or is it better if i invest in a higher certified one?

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jpringle1

Reputable
Jul 26, 2015
22
0
4,510


good lord, why do you need so much storage? are you building a simulation of the universe or something??

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jpringle1

Reputable
Jul 26, 2015
22
0
4,510


heh... yeh, i originally bought it for my first gaming rig but itdidnt take long for me to realise that you get EXACTLY what you pay for. i was hoping to be able to use it for something else such as this server but ill take your word and scrap the thing.

ok so i looked on that list and found my other psu which is actually stable under the "untiered" section. its a silverstone strider 500w. is it too risky to use this as it is untiered?

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom