CanadianBacon221
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2001
- Messages
- 1,455
I'm looking to build a file storage server for my home needs, primarily backups of other computers (I've got a few), primary storage for movies and other large files, archival purposes for valuable files, and also handling torrenting, xvid encoding, and other long-duration/ongoing tasks that require a fair amount of storage. A separate system from my primary machines is important due to the amount of storage I'll be needing from it, and the intention to continue adding space in the future
I'm hoping to finalize some of my choices here and get some input/feedback from those in-the-know on the parts I'm working with and possibly get some suggestions on alternatives if it's something I should be considering. I don't have an unlimited budget which is why I cut costs where I feel comfortable, and the drives are a big point of contention for me. See the questions section.
That being said, here's my current chosen configuration, with notes on why I chose the parts:
Specific Questions:
I'm posting this for general feedback/suggestions. If you've got a recommendation on something better, or even just an alternative for anything I could consider, by all means post about it. I feel more comfortable about my purchases the more informed I am and this'll be a fair amount of money to invest on bum hardware.
I'm hoping to finalize some of my choices here and get some input/feedback from those in-the-know on the parts I'm working with and possibly get some suggestions on alternatives if it's something I should be considering. I don't have an unlimited budget which is why I cut costs where I feel comfortable, and the drives are a big point of contention for me. See the questions section.
That being said, here's my current chosen configuration, with notes on why I chose the parts:
- Case - Lian Li PC-6077B - $121.50
The case design is great, and offers me the minimum 6 5.25" bays I need to house two of the quad-HDD enclosures and is a decent size. You may notice that this wouldn't leave space for the DVD-RW (the FDD isn't really a usable 5.25" space apparently), which I'm hoping I can remedy. See the questions section down below.
- Power Supply - Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-380 - $62.00
If you use the 2a per 7200RPM drive formula, I'll be pulling ~16A for 8 HDD's. There are two 12v rails each with a max of 16A on them, so to be safe I'll be giving each set of 4 drives it's own rail. Plenty of power for what I need.
- Motherboard - ABIT NF8 - $85.00
This system won't be playing games or breaking any performance records so it's quite sufficient. I chose this motherboard over the others in the guide for the onboard gigabit ethernet and onboard firewire for fast data transfers to my external drive.
- Processor - AMD Sempron 2600+ - $72.00
Quite adequate for encoding some xvid or other misc tasks. Since this won't be seeing many other uses, time isn't of utmost importance with encoding tasks so I probably won't be looking for anything much more powerful.
- Videocard - Sapphire Radeon 7000 - $25.00
It's cheap.
- RAM - From my drawer - $FREE
Nothing special, I've got a 512MB stick of Corsair PC2700 (or 3200 I forget) laying around that'll find a happy home in this system.
- DVD-RW - NEC 3520A - $44.99
This will be used for DVD ripping and burning, also allowing me to store secondary backups for mission-critical data on dual layer media in a separate location.
- HDD Controller - Broadcom BC4852D - $365.00
It supports everything I want and more, including 8 max drives, hotswap, online array expansion and rebuilding, and automatic detection of failed drives. BEAUTIFUL. Having to do this all online isn't absolutely mission-critical, however it's quite the added benefit I'll enjoy.
- HDD Enclosure - I-Star BPU-340SATA - $125.00
Took me a fair amount of time to search around and decide on these since I had no reference point or other recommendations, but these look to suit my needs quite well. I get 4 hot swappable drives in 3 5.25" bays, HDD activity lights (this I like because I'm a nerd and I love watching file server disk lights blinking away), and also a temperature alarm. Added benefit of good airflow around the drives without depending on a ton of miniscule fans. I was originally looking at individual bay slots, however these beat them by far on cost and space, and have great features to boot.
- HDD Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 300GB (OEM) - $167.00
I chose the 300GB model as opposed to the 400GB model due to the $300 price difference when you're counting a total of 3 drives to begin with. I'll be ramping up the number of drives as my budget and capacity needs dictate. The cost/GB is reasonable on these units, and the storage capacity is top-notch. I'm not too concerned with incredible performance or low noise here since this'll be running in my basement, so I'm always open to other drive recommendations. 5-year warranty is an absolute must since I'm investing a fair amount of money and want to trust my data with companies that trust their own hardware.
I can get a better price-storage ratio and a good price savings overall if I drop to the super-cheap 250GB unit, however I'm concerned with the long-term outlook. I'd like to continue using the same model and capacity drives in the future, and 50GB isn't much for one drive, but that adds up to 350GB lost per 50GB over an 8-drive array.
Specific Questions:
- Case - It has 6 usable 5.25" bays, including one that contains a cover for a standard CD-ROM, but the fixed floppy spot actually takes up a possible 5.25" bay. Does anyone know if it's possible to pry/cut/tear this out and use it as a standard 5.25" bay? The necessary side mounts are there, I'm just hoping I can get that fixed floppy drive outtatheway.
Here's a picture:
Otherwise, I'll simply stick the DVD-RW into another machine and share it out to this one for when I need it.
- HDD - They are just something I whipped up but by no means the best cost/GB I'm sure. Are there any other SATA 5-year warranty drives that'll offer me the best price-storage ratio with high capacity?
- HDD Also - Is there a consensus of running a bum drive for the OS and having the array on it's own or is it better to put the OS on the array?
- HDD Controller - I couldn't find a max capacity anywhere for this. Are there even limitations on what drive sizes and total array sizes I can have on this, or is the sky the limit?
I'm posting this for general feedback/suggestions. If you've got a recommendation on something better, or even just an alternative for anything I could consider, by all means post about it. I feel more comfortable about my purchases the more informed I am and this'll be a fair amount of money to invest on bum hardware.