Upgrading: Always-on PC vs dedicated NAS

[fhrosty]

Hi. I'm looking to upgrade my PC and have a few high level questions:

1. My PC doubles as a NAS and my regular usage PC. I usually leave my PC on when I'm home and in sleep mod when I'm not (however, I just got a SSD and with the boot times people get, I'm wondering if this may change). That is fine for my usage, since the NAS is on when I need it. I'm in need of more HHDs, and my case (CM 690II Advance) is running out of space. This is where I need your advice. Do I keep the habit of keeping the PC on and buy a bigger case (there are two questions here: 1. Will a SSD change my habit of keeping the PC on always and 2. what case should I get) or build a NAS? Is there any way to calculate the cost of electricity?

2. Are there any major hardware upgrades (ie: better RAM, new HDMI/display port version, etc.) coming that would make me wait a few months? I'd like to upgrade in the next month, but I'll be patient if there is a purpose (I have a GTI570. If I lived this long, I can wait a bit more). My current plan is to resolve the PC vs NAS issue, install the SSD, and add more fans within the next month, wait for the 800 series Nvidias.


~~Sticky Questions~~~
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc:
Gaming, media (hence NAS), some photoshop.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$300-400 for NAS, if I get one. $450 for 2 monitors.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
US. Not looking for specific parts, so not applicable for my questions
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.
Not looking for specific parts, so not applicable for my questions
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I have 16GB of RAM. Do current builds use that much or more?
6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
I have 1 1080p. Looking to get 1 more and a 1440p / 21xxp.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
~1mo, but see question #2 for details
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.
Something appropriate to the conclusion of the PC vs NAS question.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
N/A to my needs

EDIT: Update question #2 per tiraides response.

 

[tiraides]

I believe you need a dedicated storage server, regardless of whether you buy a new NAS off the shelf or build your own, so you could offload non-essential files from your gaming desktop. So you need to answer sticky question 2 as that answer helps us determine your best options.

What does your current storage setup look like? What hard drives (brand/model/age) do you currently have? How close to full capacity is each drive? What's the brand and model of the SSD (out of curiosity)?

When are you planning to buy the new monitor(s)? Which monitor are you considering right now?

The beauty of the NAS is that you don't need to buy new hardware for it, but with the recent technology improvements in hard drives, I recommend a couple of newer, larger capacity (3TB or 4TB) drives to help alleviate your current load.

 

[Dangman]

1)
a) A SSD may not change your habit of keeping the PC on. I still keep my PC on all day even with the SSD installed. A SSD is stupid fast but there are people out there that are impatient no matter what.
b) Build a NAS
c) Kinda. It's not even 50% accurate but you could use a Kill-A-Watt to measure your PC's power draw and look at your electric bill to sorta get an idea of the electrical usage. With that said, what are the specs of your current PC?

2) Nothing really.

I agree with tiraides that you need a separate NAS/file server.

 

[fhrosty]

...whether you buy a new NAS off the shelf or build your own...answer sticky question 2...

I prefer to build. I'll update question #2. I'll say $300-400 for the NAS, not including HDDs. I'm flexible, but I prefer extra spending to be for quality parts. I'm not familiar with building a NAS, so let me know if the $ is way off.

What does your current storage setup look like?

Drive   Make & Model        Size     Age     Space Left     Use
1     Seagate Barracuda     3TB      0.5yr     0.4TB     Video
2     Seagate Barracuda     3TB      1.5yr     1.4TB     Everything else
3     Crucial M500         240GB     0.1yr     240GB      OS

Backup of 1 and 2 are mirrors of each drive to an external Seagate expansion. As much as I'd like a RAID5/6 setup, I think I prefer the safety to physically locate the backup somewhere else in the house and be on a separate power circuit (or disconnected), which is why they aren't internal. However, I'm not against a RAID if you think its that valuable. I'm running out of space for video, which is prompting this upgrade.

When are you planning to buy the new monitor(s)? Which monitor are you considering right now?

When: within the next month, two max. For a good monitor to get:
1080p: ASUS Px2xxQ - not sure if I want the 23 or 24 inch IPS (pa248q / pb238q).
1440p: Some Korean 1440p.
If I go 4K: ???

And an extra ~$150 monitor for more real estate for web browsing, misc stuff. The reason I'd chose a 1080p over 1440p/4K is:

1. Connecting video game consoles to the monitor (biggest issue, since I don't have a good TV)
2. concerns about running games - even on a nVidia 800 - since I don't want to buy 2x cards and water cool. Of course, I'm speculating I'd need to do that since we don't know details of the 800 series.

I want to connect consoles to the monitor, but I'm concerned about that want holding me back from the value of 1440p/4K.

With that said, what are the specs of your current PC?

i5-2500K CPU, 16GB DDR3 1600 RAM, GTX570, see table above for storage currently 2x monitors, 2 case fans (I need more, and a controller), 1x sound card (Audiophile here), 750HX power supply.




Thanks guys for the answers so far.

 

[MrGuvernment]

what OS you using for storage? of NFS or ZFS = get ECC memory.

 

[Dangman]

A good expandable DIY NAS is going to cost a bit more:
$105 - AMD A8-6600K Quad-Core APU
$75 - Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H FM2+ AMD A88X mATX Motherboard
$65 - Kingston HyperX Blu KHX1600C10D3B1/8G 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$155 - Seagate Barracuda ST4000DM000 4TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$70 - XFX TS Series XFX TS 550W PSU
$56 - NZXT Source 220 Black ATX Case
---
Total: $526 shipped.

That case + PSU + mobo setup will support 8 hard rives right off the bat. So that's a potential 32TB of raw space later on. Considering that this NAS will be holding a lot of data, the need for a good PSU is even higher. Hence that XFX PSU.

 

[Cube]

I'm in need of more HHDs, and my case (CM 690II Advance)



http://www.anandtech.com/show/7540/...-120gb-ssd-1tb-hd-dualdrive-in-25-form-factor