Vertecs
Cadet
- Joined
- May 20, 2017
- Messages
- 6
Hi,
Id like to start off by saying im not new to building pc's or networking, What i am new to is Server Hardware.
So let me begin by saying what im wanting to do with a DIY Freenas box, i currently have a 3tb (seagate barracuda 7200rpm) drive along with a 500gb nvme drive and a 1tb ssd. I want to remove the spinning drive and put it into a NAS along with 2 more 3tb Drives (WD Red). Due to other members of my family running out of storage on their mobile devices and laptops i figure now is a good time to look into building a NAS and give each member their own respective area on the NAS. Another requirement is to use it as a Plex server, some of the files i have are .MKV and i stream them to my chromecast etc so it would need to do transcoding for at least 1 1080p stream but preferably 2-3 or maybe even 4k for future proofing so i would pressume i would need a strong cpu.
i have a budget of around £300 - £370 to get a motherboard, CPU and 16gb of ECC memory. the less i
When it comes to motherboard specs i think ECC is the way to go as well as needing at least 4 sata ports on the motherboard (more is a bonus). I would also like it to have a Intel NIC on as i dont really want to have to go and buy a NIC due to a semi tight budget and it also HAS to be able to fit inside a NODE 304 from fractal (so probably mini ITX) as it will be going inside a desk unit
Some of the boards i have been looking at.
ASROCK RACK C2750D4I with the Avaton 8 core (I dont seem to be able to get one in the UK for a reasonable price - Around £370-£450 depending on where it is bought and after import taxes) - this is out of my budget
ASROCK RACK C2550D4I with the Avaton Quad Core (This one i can get for around £290 so is at the very top end of my budget but would still need to get ECC memory)
ASROCK RACK E3C226D2I paired with an Xeon or maybe even an I3 (I dont mind buying a second hand xeon off ebay to save some money, i know i can pick up a E3-1220 v3 for around £70)
ASROCK RACK E3C236D2I paired with a i3 6100 (cant really afford any xeons on the skylake/kabylake platform new or second hand)
Most of these i found while browsing through ebay but i have seen mentioned in a few posts on the forums and on reddit to avoid the ASROCK RACK products due to flaky behaviour and instability, I know supermicro seems to be recommended but i cant seem to find any boards that fit my needs.
Ive also seen a few people post not to run freenas off of a usb stick, which was my plan so im not unsure about wether to buy a cheap SSD for OS, (i was looking at buy a 120gb as a cache but im not sure if it will be of any benefit to me)
As you can see im quite unsure what hardware to buy as i want it to be something that i can use for the next 5-6 years without really having to upgrade it.
So to sumarise my Usage/requirements.
A couple questions i have
Id like to start off by saying im not new to building pc's or networking, What i am new to is Server Hardware.
So let me begin by saying what im wanting to do with a DIY Freenas box, i currently have a 3tb (seagate barracuda 7200rpm) drive along with a 500gb nvme drive and a 1tb ssd. I want to remove the spinning drive and put it into a NAS along with 2 more 3tb Drives (WD Red). Due to other members of my family running out of storage on their mobile devices and laptops i figure now is a good time to look into building a NAS and give each member their own respective area on the NAS. Another requirement is to use it as a Plex server, some of the files i have are .MKV and i stream them to my chromecast etc so it would need to do transcoding for at least 1 1080p stream but preferably 2-3 or maybe even 4k for future proofing so i would pressume i would need a strong cpu.
i have a budget of around £300 - £370 to get a motherboard, CPU and 16gb of ECC memory. the less i
When it comes to motherboard specs i think ECC is the way to go as well as needing at least 4 sata ports on the motherboard (more is a bonus). I would also like it to have a Intel NIC on as i dont really want to have to go and buy a NIC due to a semi tight budget and it also HAS to be able to fit inside a NODE 304 from fractal (so probably mini ITX) as it will be going inside a desk unit
Some of the boards i have been looking at.
ASROCK RACK C2750D4I with the Avaton 8 core (I dont seem to be able to get one in the UK for a reasonable price - Around £370-£450 depending on where it is bought and after import taxes) - this is out of my budget
ASROCK RACK C2550D4I with the Avaton Quad Core (This one i can get for around £290 so is at the very top end of my budget but would still need to get ECC memory)
ASROCK RACK E3C226D2I paired with an Xeon or maybe even an I3 (I dont mind buying a second hand xeon off ebay to save some money, i know i can pick up a E3-1220 v3 for around £70)
ASROCK RACK E3C236D2I paired with a i3 6100 (cant really afford any xeons on the skylake/kabylake platform new or second hand)
Most of these i found while browsing through ebay but i have seen mentioned in a few posts on the forums and on reddit to avoid the ASROCK RACK products due to flaky behaviour and instability, I know supermicro seems to be recommended but i cant seem to find any boards that fit my needs.
Ive also seen a few people post not to run freenas off of a usb stick, which was my plan so im not unsure about wether to buy a cheap SSD for OS, (i was looking at buy a 120gb as a cache but im not sure if it will be of any benefit to me)
As you can see im quite unsure what hardware to buy as i want it to be something that i can use for the next 5-6 years without really having to upgrade it.
So to sumarise my Usage/requirements.
- Centralised storage (typical family use)
- Plex Server - And be able to transcode (1080p - 4k futureproofing)
- Has to fit into a Fractal Node 304 (Mini ITX)
- Has to have ECC Memory (16gb)
- Has to have at least 4 Sata III ports on board (preferably more for future proofing)
- CPU, Motherboard and Memory fit in a budget of £300 - £370
A couple questions i have
- should i look at older perhaps slower xeons over a faster skylake I3,
- Should i bother with a SDD Cache Disk
- What are the ASROCK Rack products like reliabilty wise
- Should i run free Nas of a USB Drive