150 - 200$ file server suggestions

[deltakid]

Hey everyone,

I work with a few friends here at home and thought it would help a lot if we would have a small fileserver. Can anyone recommend a budget built? The fileserver should be as cheap as possible and maybe if possible for that money a raid system to make sure that if one hd dies the other one still has the data.

We use the server to store lots of files so big hds would be the most important things.

I have never built such a system so any suggestions would be awesome!

 

[Onus]

To build anything worthwhile, I think you'll need a slightly bigger budget. Here's a suggested build, not including monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers.

Rosewill R218-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #:R218-P-BK
Item #:N82E16811147073

$29.99 -$8.00 Instant $21.99
Will hold plenty of drives. Hard to get much cheaper, but this case should be suitable. I've used some similar low-end Rosewill cases and they are reasonable.

Antec earthwatts EA430 430W ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Model #:EA430
Item #:N82E16817371006

$69.99 -$30.00 Instant $39.99
Hard to beat this price on a decent PSU that also has 4 SATA connectors. Two are not enough for you.

ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #:M3A78-EM
Item #:N82E16813131324

$79.99 $79.99
Not the cheapest, but has integrated video good enough for use as a home theater component; has RAID.

AMD Athlon X2 4450e Brisbane 2.3GHz Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor Model ADH4450DOBOX - Retail
Model #:ADH4450DOBOX
Item #:N82E16819103256

$58.99 $58.99
Sips power, which will be nice for a box that will likely be running 24/7.

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #:WD3200AAKS
Item #:N82E16822136074

$59.99 $119.98
You did say big drives, so you may want bigger, but I thought I'd already stretched your budget enough. I chose two because you want RAID-1.

LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-16D3S-04 - OEM
Model #: DH-16D3S-04 <<<---- Edited to remove smiley
Item #:N82E16827106261

$17.99 $17.99
Not a burner, but you won't be burning on your server, just loading media.

Subtotal: $338.93

You might consider getting a NAS box or using external USB drives on an existing system if your main requirement is just more storage.

 

[evongugg]

Use an old computer and FreeNAS.

 

[zenmaster]

Nice Build JTT.

Here is another option.
You can get a decent Dell for $419 Shipped.
This comes with a Full Size 19" Monitor that you can sell for $120-$150 to get the system price below $300.

 

[zenmaster]

Use an old computer and FreeNAS.

I think that is the only way to stay within budget.
You can find old PCs for next to nothing.

Pick up 1-2 HDDs for about $60 each for a little data protection against old drives.
Toss on Linux and some type for Sharing software and you are set.

For a New System, Look at JTT or what I put.
But those are definitely over budget.

 

[M3d]

If you have an am2 heatsink/fan check this oem processor out. It's what I'm going to use on a home server. If you shop at newegg it can be $32 to your door using the promocode AMD1068.
Its a 45w.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103215

 

[evongugg]

For FreeNAS mix and match:

Product Description Unit Price Total Price
1 Rosewill R223-P-BK 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$19.99 $19.99
1 Foxconn G9657MA-8EKRS2H LGA 775 Intel G965 Express Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$49.99 $49.99
1 Antec Basiq BP-350B 350W ATX12V Version 2.01 Power Supply - OEM
$9.99 $9.99
1 Intel Celeron 430 Conroe-L 1.8GHz LGA 775 35W Single-Core Processor Model BX80557430 - Retail
$37.99 $37.99
1 Kingston 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2N6/1G - Retail
$14.99 $14.99
1 OS FreeNAS
$0.0 $0.0
3 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$74.99 $224.97
3 Optional Part: iStarUSA T-5-SA 1x5.25" Bay Trayless Anti-vibration SATA Mobile Rack - Retail $14.99 $44.97
Subtotal: $357.92
Subtotal (with Mobile Racks) 402.89