BUILD Converting current HTPC to NAS

[Jorge]

I was on here I believe some time last year with the idea of turning a Node 304 into a FreeNAS system. It was more of a challenge than I thought but beyond that, other life events took over. I'd like to revive my idea of building a FreeNAS system, but using my existing HTPC system instead of the mITX box.

My current setup is as follows:

OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W
ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W
4 x WD 500 GB Caviar Blue HDs
3 x WS 3 TB Caviar Red HDs (not all 7 HDs are in use, picked some up scrapping PCs at work)
G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Fractal Design Arc Midi Black ATX Mid Tower

All parts are a little over 2 years old.

I'd like to convert the system to an ECC supported system. Only thing I see that's salvageable would be the PS.

How would this work from a hardware perspective?

Supermicro MBD-X9SCM
Xeon E3-1230v3 Quad Core 85W
Kingston ValueRAM 8GB DDR3 PC8 12800 (x2)


The other piece to this is that I will need to turn the small 304 mITX box into our HTPC. I'll drop the Caviar Blue drives in the HTPC. I'd like to reuse the Sandy Bridge CPU in the small HTPC if at all possible. I think I'd just need to replace the motherboard but be able to repurpose the RAM and CPU. I have a small 400W Antec PS I can use for the mITX. Thoughts on the board?

Gigabyte H77N LGA1155 mITX Board

General thoughts on the proposed build(s)? I think it'll maximize what I already have while minimizing waste. My current mobo would be the only component that wouldn't be re utilized. Thanks!

 

[cyberjock]

There is no X9SCM. There's X9SCM-(bunch of options). The whole series is very good though. But your X9 isn't compatible with E3-1230v3.

Not sure why you linked the H77N.....

 

[Jorge]

My bad. Saw it said Xeon core. This MB should work compatible with the v3 series



Looking at either the MBD X10SLH or the X10SL7. Price difference is about $30 so tempted to go with the cheaper X10SLH.

Server's probably going to be more than just file server. Wouldn't mind transcoding, usenet/torrent, maybe setting up cloud hosting or my own mail server. Mostly transcoding, file hosting, and downloading/PVR.

I linked the H77 for as an aside for the mITX box that I'm turning into my HTPC. Wanted a second set of eyes to make sure it was compatible with the current Sandy Bridge CPU I have on hand. Need to run windows primarily for WMC/CableCard combo.

 

[Ericloewe]

For 30 bucks definitely get the X10SL7-F. 30 bucks for an LSI 2308 is dirt cheap.

I'm not sure I trust the PSU, but I'm biased by the countless horror stories regarding OCZ. In any case, budget allowing, moving to a Seasonic G-450 is a good move.

There were some issues with Kingston 8GB DIMMs some time ago that limited them to two DIMMs, so you might want to check alternatives (Crucial, Samsung).

 

[Z300M]

For 30 bucks definitely get the X10SL7-F. 30 bucks for an LSI 2308 is dirt cheap.

I'm not sure I trust the PSU, but I'm biased by the countless horror stories regarding OCZ. In any case, budget allowing, moving to a Seasonic G-450 is a good move.

There were some issues with Kingston 8GB DIMMs some time ago that limited them to two DIMMs, so you might want to check alternatives (Crucial, Samsung).

Crucial isn't on Supermicro's Tested Memory list, but Hynix is there in addition to Samsung. The Supermicro-labeled Hynix modules are showing up at reasonable prices in a few places online.

 

[Ericloewe]

Crucial isn't on Supermicro's Tested Memory list, but Hynix is there in addition to Samsung. The Supermicro-labeled Hynix modules are showing up at reasonable prices in a few places online.

But for some reason, the Supermicro X10s are on Crucial's tested hardware list. Of course, if the Supermicro stuff is available at reasonable prices, it might be the safest choice.

 

[Z300M]

But for some reason, the Supermicro X10s are on Crucial's tested hardware list. Of course, if the Supermicro stuff is available at reasonable prices, it might be the safest choice.

The Kingston KVR16E11/8EF modules were on Kingston's (supposedly independently verified) recommended list too -- until they weren't and were subsequently even discontinued altogether.

 

[Z300M]

But for some reason, the Supermicro X10s are on Crucial's tested hardware list. Of course, if the Supermicro stuff is available at reasonable prices, it might be the safest choice.

Do check the Google links to the Supermicro modules carefully: some of the ones I have now clicked lead to similar but not identical modules -- in some cases the Registered ones, which will not work. And some show the correct item at a good price but then say "Out of Stock."

 

[Jorge]

Looks like I'll probably run with the X10SL7-F. Interesting how limited the "supported' ram choices are though according to supermicro website. With the MB, the Xeon 1230v3, and 16GB RAM, I should be future proofed for some time. I'm assuming I can run a raidz2 with 4 x 3 TB WD Reds at a bare minimum. Once I get the hardware here, I'll work out the details then.