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New build = home "server" / NAS

T

TroyTalksNoMore

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jun 10, 2004
Messages
6,192
New build = home "server" / NAS
==================================
I want to build a box to run on weekends for home network / media server.
I want a decent CPU, plenty of ram, lots of HD bays & fairly quiet
I need several USB 3 & eSATA ports for my 4 drive ICY DOCKs too...
~ http://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=172

Use model = HOME SHARING / MEDIA SYNC:
Office box in bedroom
Game box in living room (sig rig)
Laptop goes in & out of the house on side jobs

I typically add & DL new files on all 3 PC's throughout the week.
Weekdays = Dropbox is used all week by all 3 PC's
Weekend = pull shit off dropbox to save space / backup

=========================================

1) What will you be doing with this PC?
See above....

Also note my (gaming) sig rig...
~ if I can roll the old box over to NAS & build a better game box = DO IT!

2) What's your budget?
$500 ~ $750 = tax / SH included

3) Which country do you live in?
USA / Chicago suburbs

4) What exact parts do you need?
CASE
PSU
MOBO
~ on-board video, sound, network = OK
CPU
RAM
DVD
OS

5) If reusing parts, what parts?
Storage hard drives, 24" touch monitor, KB, mouse

6) Will you be overclocking?
Not required, but if I can, it's a bonus!

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
47" & 37" HDTV's = 1920x1080
24" = http://www.planar.com/products/desktop-touch-screen-monitors/24-inch/pxl2430mw/

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Next 2~4 weeks (2 pay periods)

9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
Noted above as = MOBO (on-board video, sound, network = OK)

10) Do you already have a legit OS?
Noted above as = need OS

=========================================
I am open to any suggested solutions...
I already have the HP Mediasmart Server EX475
~ recently had OS / network problems
~ I want a better solution!!!!!

I never used it as it was intended...
~ ie: always on / multi user / multi pc backup / remote access, etc.

I only used it as a shared data / media dump
~ turned it on as needed to share files on home network
~ dumped data & media files from game PC, home office PC, laptop

Dropbox came along & I rarely use it for data anymore...
~ last time I fired it up, could not connect on any networked device
~ this may be caused by recent VM network install, but IDK?

Thanks in advance!
:D
 
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A few more questions:
1) How comfortable are you with Linux or FreeBSD?
2) What games are you playing now or plan on playing?
3) What else, besides gaming, do you use your PC for?
4) How long is the drive to these Microcenters for you?:
http://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/westmont.aspx
http://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/chicago.aspx

Almost any new Intel CPU or AMD APU we recommend to you will probably end up being as fast, if not faster, than your current PC. So might as well build a new gaming PC while you're at it. Especially considering the pricing of DDR3 RAM right now.

talk2troy said:
Could I just put 2 cages in my existing SIG RIG / game box?
Top 3 bays = 5.25" bays = DVD / SSD / 3TB steam HD
~ http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Three-Hundred-Gaming-Computer/dp/B000GQMHBI

Bottom 3.5" space + 2 of these 5 HD storage devices = 10 HD's:
~ http://www.amazon.com/Icy-Dock-MB455SPF-B-Hot-Swap-Backplane/dp/B000KMAWHO

All I need to do then is share those storage HD's on my home network = right?
Click to expand...
That math doesn't work out. The Icy Dock Hot-swap backplane, well pretty much any 5in3 backplane, requires three 5.25" bays. They will not fit inside the 3.5" bays of that Antec case. So you're looking at a total of 11 hard drives if you do that 5in3 backplane and use all six of 3.5" bays on that case.

As noted earlier, you might as well build a new PC now. DDR3 RAM is only to go higher in price from here on out and it won't be until 2016 when DDR4 RAM starts approaching reasonable pricing.

talk2troy said:
Appears I would need a short GPU card vs. my existing 6870.

Here is what I found, but WTF is w/ the price?
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-HD-6870-vs-GeForce-GTX-670

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p...0+Mini&ie=UTF8&qid=1409502514&rnid=6030980011

http://youtu.be/77RPHppWK1M

Appears this might be better, but I can't find pricing for the shorty card...
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-270X-vs-GeForce-GTX-760
http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1226
Click to expand...

GPUBoss doesn't continually update their pricing or check for availability. Hence the bad pricing. Not to mtnion that the GTX 670 is no longer being sold. Since you're building a new PC, none of those GPUs will end up being your final choice.
 
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OK: RE:
1) How comfortable are you with Linux or FreeBSD?
2) What games are you playing now or plan on playing?
3) What else, besides gaming, do you use your PC for?
4) How long is the drive to these Microcenters for you?:

1) I am familiar w/ Ubuntu linux... FreeBSD doesn't "scare" me.
= laptop is dual boot = win 7 + Ubuntu linux (I am learning RAILS)
+ I typically run WIN 7x64 for @ desktops & gaming / STEAM + VMware for OSX Mavericks to learn SWIFT.

2) Games = 1920x1080 = http://steamcommunity.com/id/videogameracing/games/?tab=all
~ Racing, FPS / COD / BF / CS / CRYSIS type stuff, Batman(s), etc.

3) Some video editing, photoshop & Wordpress, Drupal, Magento @ hosted sites = no big deal...

4) Meh = whatever it takes... but I'd rather pay more to be delivered by Amazon / Newegg, etc.

PS: thx Dangman
 
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DERP de Drrrrrrr: you're right = I did some BAD math:

Current case = 3 x 5.25" @ top + 6 x 3.5" @ bottom
= I could move 3 drives to the top 5.25" bays (240GB SSD OS + 3TB STEAM HD + Blue Ray DVD)

My next move could just be: relocate / add 6 (x) 3.5" HD's (all duplicated) @ 6 x 3.5" bays
= 6 bays (x) all duplicated = 3 (x) 4TB = 12TB eventually

I am trying to be cheap now...
 
talk2troy said:
4) Meh = whatever it takes... but I'd rather pay more to be delivered by Amazon / Newegg, etc.
Click to expand...
We're talking about savings of up to $100 here if you live close enough to where that $100 savings is worthwhile. So unless you're raising your budget by another $100 or you live more than 35 minutes away, how long are the drives to both of those MCs for you?
talk2troy said:
DERP de Drrrrrrr: you're right = I did some BAD math:

Current case = 3 x 5.25" @ top + 6 x 3.5" @ bottom
= I could move 3 drives to the top 5.25" bays (240GB SSD OS + 3TB STEAM HD + Blue Ray DVD)

My next move could just be: relocate / add 6 (x) 3.5" HD's (all duplicated) @ 6 x 3.5" bays
= 6 bays (x) all duplicated = 3 (x) 4TB = 12TB eventually

I am trying to be cheap now...
Click to expand...
Hold up:
1) Are the SSD and 3TB drive part of the new parts list or is your sig out of date in those aspects?
2) Just how much storage do you need for that server?

Considering the timing, you're really better off not being cheap now as you'll end up paying a whole lot more later on.
 
I couldn't keep up here after beer:30 yesterday...

Microcenter / Fry's are 80 miles & two hours round trip = $30 gas / 10 mpg truck.
It's kind of a toss up for me w/ time spent driving & gas money vs. shipping.

Forget my ramblings about the SSD / 3TB & from my sig rig.
I thought about just shuffling disks around to fit more in this case.
I really don't want to move those drives & this vid card to a new game box to save $.
If I did that, I would actually cycle the game box to office duty & office box to server duty.
Then I'd need to either spend more money on a video card or rotate my vid cards around.

I might do all that during x-mas / New Years weekends & build an all new game box.
~ I'm curious why you predict prices will go up sharply soon?

It's easier for now to just build a file / media server if I can do it cheap enough.
This is all I need now... I deleted OS & SSD (I'll try linux & have spare HD's)

CASE
PSU
MOBO ~ on-board video, sound, network = OK
CPU
RAM
DVD
.
 
Well, hell...
I took a stab at picking some quick parts & immediately hit $710
It is really hard not to pick the "next better" part & that adds up quick!

It's impossible to make yourself skimp on foundation parts like case, PSU, mobo.
I picked a $95 case, $60 PSU (skimpy 520W Seasonic Bronze) & Asus mobo @ $133
Also picked an i5-4670K @ $235, 16 GB Crucial Ballistix @ $158 & YIKES!

I see what you mean now... that shit deserves to be my new game box!!!!!!
I'll push this off a month & save for a new video card too...

Let the game > office > server PC rotation cycle begin!!!!!!!

PS: I'm still curious what you would spec for a cheaper server?
~ cheap ass case (10 bays), smaller PSU, i3, 8GB ram, etc?
 
talk2troy said:
Microcenter / Fry's are 80 miles & two hours round trip = $30 gas / 10 mpg truck.
It's kind of a toss up for me w/ time spent driving & gas money vs. shipping..
Click to expand...
Not worth it.

talk2troy said:
~ I'm curious why you predict prices will go up sharply soon?.
Click to expand...
No I said RAM pricing will go up. That's been the general trend for DDR3 RAM pricing over the past few years. About a year and a half ago, you could have gotten 16GB of DDR3 RAM for around $70 to $80. Now you're paying double that. It's going to go higher as RAM manufacturers switch over to DDR4 RAM production, the increase in demand for smaller and smaller RAM chips, and then combined with limited factory space/slots.

talk2troy said:
I'll push this off a month & save for a new video card too...
Click to expand...
All right then, bump up this thread when you're ready to start buying parts for the new PC. Though

talk2troy said:
PS: I'm still curious what you would spec for a cheaper server?
~ cheap ass case (10 bays), smaller PSU, i3, 8GB ram, etc?
Click to expand...
If you were buying a totally brand new server, here's the minimum I would recommend:
$98 - AMD A8-6500 APU
$78 - Gigabyte GA-F2A88X-D3H AMD A88X ATX Motherboard
$75 - Kingston HyperX FURY HX316C10F/8 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$61 - XFX TS Series XFX TS 550W PSU
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite Black ATX Case
---
Total: $362 shipped

The above setup supports 8 hard drives right off the bat. If you need more than 8 hard drives and don't need a DVD burner (just use a flash drive to install OSes), you can buy this module here:
$30 - Cooler Master STB-3T4-E3-GPc w/ 120mm Fan

That adds another 4 hard drives for a total of 12 hard drives in the PC. Speaking of the case, the above case is actually better than your current Antec 300 by a wide margin as:
1) It has significantly more interior space
2) Far far better cable management features
 
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