NAS Build Help

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MetricGnome

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 15, 2010
Messages
200
Hi!

I'm going to be building a NAS to run http://freenas.org I'm trying to do it as cheaply as possible, however I still want to use quality components. I really would prefer to have a smaller case/cube....however I could not find one with 4 HD bays. :-(

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147111
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130237
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144241
Drives: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284 x4 (have 2 already)

I cannot decide upon a PSU or HSF to use for this rig. It's just going to be a file server/torrent box. Will a normal PSU fit? Do I need to use a Micro ATX PSU? Stock AMD HSF okay?

Thanks!
 
A standard ATX PSU will fit in that case. So I recommend this PSU which will be more than enough for 4 drives:
$40 - Antec Earthwatts Green EA380D 380W PSU

As for the CPU + Mobo + RAM, I'd recommend this:
$132 - AMD Athlon II X2 240 CPU + Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard Combo
$57 - Kingston KVR1333D3K2/2GR 2 x 1GB DDR3 1333 RAM
-----
Total: $189 plus tax and shipping.

There's virtually no performance difference between the X2 240 and the X2 250. However the above setup is a bit more future upgrade friendly due to socket AM3 and DDR3 RAM. '

The stock HSF will be enough.
 
I would urge you to use an Intel solution. They're just much more likely to 'just work' in non-Windows machines. You also get a much better NIC that should improve performance and stability considerably with FreeBSD with the below suggestion, and it costs and performs about the same.

I suggest:
Intel DG43NB
Celeron E3300 (or the E3200 to save a couple bucks...)
 
The intel systems are eithor too expensive or on a dead socket, not worth it eithor way to spend the money.
 
gwarren007 said:
The intel systems are eithor too expensive or on a dead socket, not worth it eithor way to spend the money.
Click to expand...

Irrelevant. Spec a system for your needs, and the needs of a fileserver are already way overmet by pretty much any modern system, even doing software RAID6. The Intel NIC is easily worth the extra cost (which is nil anyway in this situation), especially for a FreeBSD-based system where the Realtek drivers are really quite bad and will almost certainly cause problems. And while you may not have problems with the AMD chipset, it's a much bigger wildcard than the Intel gear which is known to work well and where Intel actually contributes to the drivers.

I mean, go with AMD if you want, it will probably work fine, but considering there is no cost advantage and a performance disadvantage for this use, I certainly will recommend against it.
 
Thanks Keenan.

I've actually never used an AMD chip before, so I was kinda curious to see how well it did. But, as compatibilty and ease of use are major concerns for me, I'll stick with intel!
 
Hows this for the intel system? :)

Product Description Savings Total Price
select item 1 quantity of item 1


Rosewill R102-P-BK 120mm Fan MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Rosewill R102-P-BK 120mm Fan MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811147111
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$6.00 Instant


$29.99
$23.99

select item 2 quantity of item 2


Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136284
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$10.00 Instant


$219.98
$199.98
($99.99 each)

select item 3 quantity of item 3


Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power ... - Retail
Item #: N82E16817371033
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$20.00 Instant


$59.99
$39.99

select item 4 quantity of item 4


A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K

A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K - Retail
Item #: N82E16820211066
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy



$36.99

select item 5 quantity of item 5


Intel BOXDG43NB LGA 775 Intel G43 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel BOXDG43NB LGA 775 Intel G43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813121349
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



$84.99

select item 6 quantity of item 6


Intel Celeron E3300 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E3300

Intel Celeron E3300 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E3300 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819116264
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy



$52.99

Subtotal: $438.93
 
If you're going to go Intel and would like to upgrade your system at some point in the future, stick with a Socket 1156-based system. However, you may have to bump up your budget.

You could swap out your processor, motherboard, and RAM for the following:

$164 - Intel Pentium G6950 and MSI H55M-P31 combo deal
$57 - Kingston 2x1GB DDR3 1333 dual channel kit

That said, the above parts are about $50 more (give or take shipping charges and tax) than your Socket 775-based equivalents.

Again, if you want a longer upgrade cycle, go with the recently released Intel processors and motherboards (that will support various Socket 1156-based Core i3, i5, and i7 processors). But keenan is correct in saying that your above build would be more than powerful enough for use as a NAS.
 
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