Suggest CPU(s) for a DIY NAS box:

[TabrisDarkPeace]

:lol:
Suggest CPU(s) for a DIY NAS box:

So far I've got (spare parts):
- an Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (Socket AM2, 2 x 512 KB L2 cache, 90nm SOI)
- on a MSI K9N Neo main-board
- with 2 x 1 GB G.Skill DDR2-800 (5-5-5-15 at 1.9 to 2.0 Volts req)
- Antec 1088 AMG case + TruePower PSU (will need to crack it open and check specs + other parts)
- Potential issue with XFX 7900 GT+ not being near-silent enough. :lol:
- Heaps of 300 GB and 320 GB HDDs (7,200 rpm, SATA, 16 MB cache - Maxtor and Seagate)
- Gigabit switched 'backbone' for SOHO LAN

Considering salvaging all the data from that box to another box, and installing Linux on it as the primary OS** (SUSE and/or Novell + Fedora.RedHat most likely, slim chance of Sun Solaris - if it'll work with main-board, chipset, etc), with Windows XP as a secondary OS.

Would it be possible to under-clock, under-volt + use Cool'n'Quiet and have a very nearly silent DIY NAS box with this CPU ?

I plan to have it will double as a file-server (NAS box) + web-server, and likely ftp-server too eventually. I don't expect CPU load to be very high, but the dual-core will (a little, but measurable) help at times.

May 'mess around' with LAN / web authentication + security stuff a little too.

I think it is time I got my own web-server online, as my IP rarely changes* and I will be getting ADSL2+ very soon (8192 kbps down / 768 kbps up - if not faster each way).

Somewhere to collate all my ideas and data, that is easy to replicate to a 2nd, 3rd, nth machine for backups or as desired.

*(can find/replace IP with scripts in the few non-relative files if it does until I get a domain associated)
**(another thread perhaps for that part of the plan, if it'll even work on the main-board in question)

I need a place to keep all my stuff in order, I've got thousands, if not millions, of notes + ideas + scratch pad stuff that I want to turn from physical space taking 'junk' into 'virtual junk'. A concept more males should adopt IMHO (in that we can never throw something away).

Goal is to free up heaps of space, consolidate but distribute + replicate data at the same time to other 'nodes', and have all my ideas at my fingertips. Initially just high-resolution photo's of stuff (notes, scribbles, maybe manuals if faster than scanning) and a central store for files, documentation & the like, but moving to a better 'Information Management System' over time.

8) - TabrisarkPeace



I've been reading technical documents, white-papers & the like since the days of 486 SX 25 processors (I still have a few somewhere), So there will be a lot of information to 'manage' considering I'm just 'one person', with plans to share ideas and information, thus building more "knowledge" (yes, a single store of all that complex crap people wanted to know but are always to afraid to ask, and much, much more) while taking up less physical room.

:arrow: (I often spell-check, write, sometimes even save, my posts or entire threads if useful using OpenOffice.org - Now that there is a good, free document standard, with stock PDF export I feel now is the time to prepare for this, that and Digital SLR Camera's with 8 - 10.2 Mega-pixels are getting cheap. I want to be able to photograph an 'unfolded news-paper sized documents' and read the text on a PC without 'jaggies / aliasing', then ultimately use an OCR application on the images to extract searchable text).

No doubt 'boring' compared to gaming, but it was my desire to game that led to a deep understanding of so many things (eg: How to recover 620+ KB conventional memory, use EMM386, QEMM, HIMEM, EMS page-frames, Double-Space, Drive-Space, Stacker 4.0, etc).

I used to be the Assistant Sys-Op (System Operator) for AXL's BBS, Australia, when it was in 'Wagga Wagga'. In the days before the Internet was even popular (let alone affordable :lol: )

However it is these skills that can knock my ping down -30% or more, and permit excessive brutality in online games.

(Overused Example):

[Figured this post needed at least one cool picture by now].

I have a vision, and I feel many people in TomsHardware Forumz also have a similar vision:

"Around March - April in 2007 hardware will become far less important than software, by October 2007 most people will have caught on, and by Q1 2012 you'll need to be more skilled in software development to keep a job than in deep hardware understanding & appreciation - However the skills will complement each other. I strongly suggest people who are the hardware guru's today learn to code in C, and related languages, to maintain being a guru of tomorrow - albeit in both software & hardware

PS: A little network knowledge, esp in IPv4 to IPv6 transitions would go a long way too, paired with a new 'IT guru' skillset"

Joke: If BaronMatrix, and others, want high performance mutli-threaded (K8L CPU optimized ) best we go and make it (Just charge BaronMatrix by socket :lol: )

With 20 to choose from, and not a wide clarification over AMDs CPUs regarding power usage in the Poll options (see: www.amdcompare.com - and comment which ones are better).

I'm after advice for my own plans, aswell as preparing others by assisting them with future plans (for your own DIY NAS file/web-server boxes). - Thus the wide selection off poll options.

Removed poll options (too many):
3) Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® 5300 Sequence
4) Intel® Core™2 Extreme
5) Intel® Core™2 Duo mobile processor
10) Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® 5000 Sequence
11) Intel® Pentium® D processor 900 sequence
12) Intel® Pentium® 4 processor (any in series)
15) AMD Athlon™ 64 FX

 

[TabrisDarkPeace]

A note not just to myself but to all those that thought, like I did, that Digital SLR's have finally beaten 35mm film - This is a forum so others can learn from it:

I've just calculated that for 2 x A4 pages to be photographed (smaller than an unfolded newspaper) at 200 or 300 dpi I'll need at least 12 to 17.5 Mega-pixels (assuming aspect ratio matches perfectly which it doesn't). I don't have that much cash to justify the cost (may need to wait until 17.5 MP is the norm for AU$1200 camera's, which is likely still a few years off).

This is using the 'rule' of 'always sample at at least double the resolution (per axis) that you want to use on screen when editing'.

I want(ed) high enough resolution for re-printing (on demand) and for a bilinear re-sample to 72 - 96 dpi while retaining 'acceptable' quality (enough for an OCR function to rip text from 'image files').

Didn't really want to opt for a scanner, as can't double as an outdoor device for wild-life shots, web-pictures, (and everything in-between). Nor can a scanner make virtual representations of most 3D objects. - Which totally bites.

An old Pentax SLR I have, using 35mm film, with 2 x good lenses and a scanner 'might' do a better quality job at a lower TCO (to me), but it'll use heaps of film in the process. (Sort of defeats the purpose).

Not everyday I find that 'technology alone' is not enough, which is why I am sharing this.

- TabrisarkPeace


PostScript:

I've spent about $50 on related magazines, and other reading materials which has thankfully saved me from a AU $1,200 - AU $2,000 dollar mistake).

Still I've learned alot from the process, Mainly that: Newsagents & Book Stores = A good time and dollar investment (gain knowledge, save money, reduce mistakes, prob* a few other things too 8) ).

(Also: Go Libraries, because not enough people use them, considering they are free today, They might be privatised tomorrow)

EDIT: Still planning to go ahead with the DIY NAS box though, just can't 'migrate (as much) virtual stuff' to it as originally desired.