Budget photo and video editing server

[JeromeB]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum and would like some help to find the best server for my needs. I am an amateur photograph and I have been storing my photos on direct attach storage. I was using my laptop (macbook pro) to edit photos but now, I would like to use my desktop pc to edit the photos faster. However, the thunderbolt drive that I use with my mac is not compatible with my pc so I figured it would be the right time to switch to a server that I can easily access from both of my computer. Here are what I would need from the server.

- Inexpensive (ideally below 500$ without drive)
- Support for 6 drives (raidz2) that I could upgrade to 12 drives in the future
- Fast enough to edit from the server
-

I confident in building a computer and I think that used parts or server would be the best for my budget. I will probably go 10gbe to be fast enough to edit from the server directly. Would I need an ssd to edit from or would the raidz2 be fast enough (I currently use 3 hdd in raid 0 and I find it a bit slow)?

Thanks

Jerome

 

[Chris Moore]

This server would be a good base for you. All you need to do is take the RAID controller that is in it now out and replace it with an HBA.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SuperMicro...i-F-2x-6-Core-E5-2620-2Ghz-Sleds/192816211745
This would be a good SAS HBA for that:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-H220-6G...9205-8i-P20-IT-Mode-From-US-Ship/192639052923
Also, you would need to add some RAM and this is the correct kind for that server:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Server-RAM...1600-1Rx4-1-35v-RDIMM-Memory-LOT/292949312714
After that, drives....

 

[JeromeB]

This server would be a good base for you. All you need to do is take the RAID controller that is in it now out and replace it with an HBA.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SuperMicro...i-F-2x-6-Core-E5-2620-2Ghz-Sleds/192816211745
This would be a good SAS HBA for that:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-H220-6G...9205-8i-P20-IT-Mode-From-US-Ship/192639052923
Also, you would need to add some RAM and this is the correct kind for that server:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Server-RAM...1600-1Rx4-1-35v-RDIMM-Memory-LOT/292949312714
After that, drives....

Thanks for the suggestion, unfortunately I live in Canada and this server doesn't ship to canada and I can't find this model for a reasonable price here

 

[Chris Moore]

Thanks for the suggestion, unfortunately I live in Canada and this server doesn't ship to canada and I can't find this model for a reasonable price here

You might want to contact the seller and see if they will make special arrangements, it is a really good deal. The next closest system to this on eBay is about $800. I would think it is still worth it even if you need to pay a company for shipping like this:
https://www.shipito.com/en