Building a Home Server and Need Help with Components

[CuddlyCannibal]

Hey, I've lurked these forums for a while but this is my first time posting. I'm trying to build a home server for a lot of media that I've accumulated over the years. I would like to use FlexRaid over top of a Windows 7 installation for this project. I am new to the computer building community so I just had a few questions before I make my purchases. Here are the parts I have picked out:

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=11-182-566&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&SelectedRating1=1&Keywords=floppy#scrollFullInfo

Motherboard/CPU Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-131-843&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-148-543&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023

My questions then are the following. The combo I picked seems to be the most cost effective solution I can find as far as Sata inputs go, but I am limited to only six. If I did my math right (which could be a reach), that case will fit 12 HD's so how can I connect the other six? I If anyone has a more cost effective solution, that would be welcomed but I would like to stay under $400. Also, if there are any other tips or tricks before I get this project started I'd love to read them.

Thanks in advanced!

 

[goldfish]

If your building a server, the most important thing is storage, and reliable at that. I would recommend a "real" raid controller card to provide redundant storage.
Read this about RAID:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

Remember, these will protect against hardware failure, not against virus/accidental deletion.

Areca:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816151039

3ware:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816116078

adaptec:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816103231

You would want something along these lines, also, you will need a cable to go along with these:
2 of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816103194

This will allow you to setup a raid 5/6/10 and not bog down the CPU, as the raid controller will perform all the calculations on the on board CPU of the raid card. If your data is important to you, you should seriously consider a RAID setup.

--Joe

 

[smorizio]

would be to by a mini atx form factor motherboard and install one or two ad it sata controller cards. myself i pay more and use an intel sata raid card so that it would work with the intel chipset. i put the os on a boot ssd on the onboard chipset and the data drives on a controller card.

 

[CuddlyCannibal]

I've looked into Raid, and it seems like overkill for my situation specifically. Flexraid is exactly what I need, a little bit of peace of mind that if a drive fails I have a pretty good chance I can recover the data and drive pooling. As of right now I just use a bunch of external hard drives, but I'd rather have a solution where everything is all confined to one case.