Home server build

Want to update my home server hardware at minimal cost.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Home server running WHS 2011. Used for backup storage, print server, and media streaming.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
As low as possible. Trying for no more than $300.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Columbus, OH

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, motherboard, RAM, PSU, case

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Hard drives - 2 WD Green 2TB's, 1 Seagate Green 2TB, Samsung 840 120GB for OS.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Nope

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
N/A

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Nothing fancy; enough SATA connections for 6 hard drives or more.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Have WHS 2011

I was looking at building something around an Intel Pentium G2020 or similar. Looking for power-sipping and quiet.

Thanks!

$68 - Intel Pentium G860 CPU
$100 - ASRock Z77 Pro4-M Intel Z77 mATX Motherboard
$60 - Corsair CMV8GX3M1A1333C9 8GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$45 - Corsair 430CX V2 430W PSU
$43 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
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Total: $316 shipped

A tadover budget but it has a lot of room for growth: Both the case and motherboard can easily support 8 hard drives right off the bat. In addition, the case can support another 4 drives if you use a 4in3 HDD module like this Coolermaster. Just add a 4 port SATA controller to that mobo and you'll get 12 HDD capability. RAM is getting more and more expensive nowadays so I highly recommend getting 8GB of RAM now just in case you change plans for your server in the future (i.e more virtualization)

As an alternative offering, assuming you might want something smaller:

Take Danny's suggestions above, but swap the motherboard and case for the following ($10 more):

Asus miniITX with 6 SATA ports

Fractal Design Node 304, which has space for six 3.5"/2.5"drives

If you want something small yet spacious this is an alternative option. If you want to drop the cost down to $300 you can go with 4GB of ram too - I guarantee you won't notice the difference when running a file server.

^ If you're going to recommend the Node 304, then also be sure to recommend a modular power supply. Cable management for six HDDs is enough of a pain with a modular PSU, and space is a premium.

PTNL said:

^ If you're going to recommend the Node 304, then also be sure to recommend a modular power supply. Cable management for six HDDs is enough of a pain with a modular PSU, and space is a premium.

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Actually I will NOT recommend that:

1. WAYYYY outside his price range.

2. You actually lose space with the modular PSU as well because (with the exception of some Silverstone models) it's 20mm longer (to fit the modular ports connectors), and if he's going to use 6 hard drives he's going to have most of the modular connectors attached anyway:

1 x Main connector (20+4Pin)
1 x 8 Pin EPS 12V
1 x PCI-E
4 x SATA
3 x Peripheral
1 x Floppy

Click to expand...

Tucking away the extra PCIe and floppy connectors will be easy. The rest he will use if he wants to run 6 hard drives (4 built-in SATA + 2 molex->SATA)!

Since he is going to use on-board video, the space allocated for the double-height video card in the case can be used to tuck away unused PSU cables. Trust me, I own one

I never said it would be an easy fit stuffing all that into the case, but it is TECHNICALLY possible, and is made easier by the removable drive rails (you can pretty-much disassemble the entire case upper frame). I just suggested it in case he considers PHYSICAL SPACE an important factor for his new server, since he could do either build and still meet his budget (especially since Newegg is offering a huge discount on the Node 304).

Also, did I mention 3 separate REMOVABLE DRIVE RAILS (each holds two drives)? If he's not planning on using more then 4 drives in this initial build, he can remove the drive rail directly above the PSU cables to give himself more room. He can sort it out later when he can actually buys more drives

I agree with the suggestion of the case, but I also own a Node 304 and would recommend the modular PSU from my experience with it.

(Though we are on the same page regarding the quality and install time required for 6 HDDs in the Node 304.)

I appreciate all the suggestions. I think I'm leaning toward the NZXT case that Danny mentioned. My main rig uses an Antec P280 case and the inside layout of the NZXT looks very similar. I love how open it is...makes cable management way easier IMO.

Danny, just out of curiosity what would be an Asus-equivelent mobo to the ASRock you suggested? If the price difference between the two isn't huge I'd prefer to spend a little extra and get the Asus. I've used Asus almost exclusively and have become loyal to them for mobos.

Also, it looks like the NZXT case doesn't come with any fan filters for the front of the case (something my Antec P280 has). Do you know off-hand of any compatible filters for that case? I'm at work, otherwise I'd do some quick Google searching.

Thanks again!

Dexter007 said:

Danny, just out of curiosity what would be an Asus-equivelent mobo to the ASRock you suggested? If the price difference between the two isn't huge I'd prefer to spend a little extra and get the Asus. I've used Asus almost exclusively and have become loyal to them for mobos.

Click to expand...

The cheapest Asus motherboard with the same number of SATA ports and socket is $185. So yeah, not worth it.

Dexter007 said:

Also, it looks like the NZXT case doesn't come with any fan filters for the front of the case (something my Antec P280 has). Do you know off-hand of any compatible filters for that case? I'm at work, otherwise I'd do some quick Google searching.

Click to expand...

Don't know of any.

Thanks for looking into an Asus equivelent. How is ASRock these days? I know at least for a little while not too long ago I saw some recommendations against them. Has this changed or was that only for certain mobos?

I'll look into the filters. I don't know if I could own a case without filters now that I've had them for my last few builds.

I have Asrock mobo for my last 2 builts (Z77 extreme4 and X58 extreme) and they work great. I recommend them.

Danny's suggestion is good but I would rather use the Pentium G540 instead since its only $45 and should be more than enough to handle quiet server tasks like NAS and media streaming.

If you aren't planning to upgrade for a while then this would suffice and allow you to save more money to buy extra hard drives so you can do a RAID 1 or 5 if you'd like.

foxtrotniner said:

Danny's suggestion is good but I would rather use the Pentium G540 instead since its only $45 and should be more than enough to handle quiet server tasks like NAS and media streaming.

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For $23 more, I think it's a worthwhile investment just in case his performance needs does change tad. Plus you don't have to say that you have a Celeron