Pare Down My Build

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kronik8

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 16, 2002
Messages
167
Specs:
Lian-Li PC-A71B
Abit IP35
Crucial Ballistix 2GB
Intel E6600
Lite-On 20X DVD+/-RW
EVGA 8600GT
Areca 1220
PCP&C 750W
Ultimately, 8x1TB in Raid 6

So.. yea.. pricy. Trying to get it down without sacrificing the main functionality at all, which will be a fileserver for 5-6 household PCs. The 8600GT isn't really necessary but I suppose some capability (mostly just to move the graphics processing off of the CPU) would be nice.
 
If all you're going to be doing is fileserving, then you can trim a lot of fat off that. For starters ditch the video card and go for the cheapest PCIe card you can find (bonus - you can get something with passive cooling, less noise and power consumption). You could go integrated graphics, but those are mainly mATX boards, so you give up some expansion possibility.

The main question is what level of performance are you looking for? If you're doing is serving files, then you can go with whatever the cheapest cpu/mobo combination you can find is. Anything selling today is overkill for a home server, particularly if you're going to be using a hardware RAID controller. If you're going to be using it for periodic DVD encoding or similar, then an e6600 makes some sense, otherwise just a waste. Similarly, 2GB is overkill. 1GB will do you fine (although at current memory prices there may not be a huge amount of savings there).

Rather than spend all this money on a fileserver, upgrade one of your existing PCs that will make better use of the power, and use the older hardware to base your server on. Far more cost-effective and efficient.

Finally, think about stripping out the Areca card and using Linux software raid (aka md or mdadm). Lots of articles out there about how to set it up, and it's highly flexible - it's completely hardware agnostic. You can mix and match drives, controllers, motherboards - you can even pull the drives and put them into a different machine and get your array up and running easily. It'll do a raid6 for you no problem, even allows online expansion. And just about any processor you can find (even several years old) will handle the power needed for a home server with no sweat, unless you have some seriously extreme needs.

*The above is all predicated on the assumption you're not doing much other than serving files. If there's a major secondary function you haven't mentioned, all bets are off.
 
The big question I asked people who want a home storage system is why do you need more than 3TB of shared/mirrored data? Most times I cannot get a simple answer for that.

My crurent recommendation is to get a motherboard with 6 SATA ports (less than $60) and get a chassis with hotswap bays (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811165097). A mobo, RAM, CPU should need no more than 80W, then 6 drives spin up is 120W (60W normal). Therefore a 300W PSU is way more than enough. Install WHS and call it a day.

Chassis = $160
Mobo = $60
RAM = $20
CPU = $40
OS = Free (a Linux based one) to $160 (WHS)
PSU = $40 or less (watch for rebates)

Total w/o drives = $320 - $480

IMO, once you go beyond this, the costs start to SPIRAL out of control.
 
Trepidati0n said:
IMO, once you go beyond this, the costs start to SPIRAL out of control.
Click to expand...

And they do spiral quickly.
-$170 each for my PSUs
-$260 each for my Raid Cards (Plus one spare, still in original box)
-$180 each for my case + hotswaps


The Dell Perc 5/i goes for around $130 on ebay, plus cables you are looking at under $180 for the setup. But, it will not give you Raid6.

The processor does not play a large in this configuration(5/i is an actual Raid Controller, not CPU based), my Athlon64 3000+ (Single Core, 1.8GHz) can saturate gigabit running my RR2320 (Pseudo-Hardware Raid5, so the CPU does all the heavy lifting).

So, we pretty much need to know EXACTLY what ALL the uses you want are in order to make an informed call.
 
Fair enough -

Scheduled backups
Encoding/ripping
Print Server
Will be repository for recorded content though will not do the recording..

That's all I can come up with for now. I can fill up 2TB pretty fast so the 8x1TB is mostly just wishful thinking.. though expandability is important. Raid6 isn't so much mandatory as it is nice to have. I am not opposed to the idea of having it possible for some light gaming be done on the machine as well, for when people visit - of course, no streaming would be taking place while this is ongoing.

Dew - what drives are you using?
 
Like the rest have said, you are in "overkill" territory with what you have specced in my opinion. For a simple FileServer for 5-6 people you don't need an Intel E6600. 230 dollar CPU to serve up files? If you want to stick with Intel go with their Celeron line. Those CPU's make great cheap CPUs for this sort of work.

Try to find something with onboard graphics and upgrade later via the PCI-E or PCI ports. Most likely you will be using this computer for the sole purpose of a File server so why even have it. Same for the Burner -- Just get a cheap DVD Player instead. Use your gaming rig for ripping your dvds, take the saved money and invest in a gig network so you can transfer your files faster. I'd say dump the Areca 1220 as well, and try to find something with onboard Raid (they work fairly well), or go with Software Raid.

Lastly, same for the Ram (since you didn't supply links), you can probably get 2Gigs of RAM much cheaper than what you have picked out. I personally love the Corsair line of memory and their ValueRam is Great and cheap!

In the end you can build a similar system for ~200 bucks (I should know I just did :) -- minus the HD's and Case) )

Best of Luck.
 
kronik8 said:
Encoding/ripping

Dew - what drives are you using?
Click to expand...

The encoding is the only task you have that would benefit from a high end CPU.
Also, I would drop the DVD drive all together. That is what I have done with my fileservers. I just hook up the one from my desktop when needed (Which has been zero times since install).

If you can keep the encoding/ripping on your desktop, you can drop a $64 E1400 in and it will be more than enough CPU and a Perc 5/i will do the R5 task with ease.

Gigabit is vital when dealing with the amounts of data you are talking.

Use any old video card (I bought 2x $15 PCI ATi RageXL for my fileservers).

Any old speed RAM will be fine for what you are doing. But, since even the Crucial Ballistix 2GB is only $45, might as well keep it.

The one place I would not skimp is the PSU.


So lets see,
Code: 
Original                 |         Dew's Suggestion
$230 Intel E6600         |         $63 Intel Celeron E1400
$24 Lite-On 20X DVD+/-RW |         $0 None
$88 EVGA 8600GT          |         $0-$20 Any old video card
$435 Areca 1220          |         $180 Dell Perc 5/i
----------------------------------------------------------------------
$777                     |         $263

Well, there is $500 off your build and you sacrificed nothing except for media encoding/ripping on the server.


As for which drives I use. I have 8x WD10EACS in R5 on a Highpoint RR2320. 6.36TB formatted(and getting close to full).

Edit:
DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT do onboard Raid5. They are slow and unreliable. The only onboard Raid I would ever recommend is Raid1. As for pure software R5, only if it was ZFS.
 
Another question...why does your file server have to do media encoding. Are the rest of the machines in your household running that hard 24/7 that you have no CPU power left?
 
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