All,
I'm close to pulling the trigger on the following FreeNAS build. Did I miss anything important regarding hardware compatibility or meeting my needs? Thanks!
Needs:
- Store media, pictures and work backups from several Windows 7 PCs reliably. I currently have about 1.5-2TB of data stored; I anticipate needing no more than 8TB of storage over the life of this system. I plan to run 6x 3TB drives in one RAID-Z2 volume and create separate shares on the volume for pictures, music, data, etc. for the Windows PCs to access it. 3TB drives seem to be the best $/GB value right now and would give me ~10TB of available storage (correct?).
- Download media with SABnzbd/Sickbeard/Transmission, then stream it with Plex to 1-2 tablets or HDTVs over 2.4GHz N Wifi at the highest bitrate the network connection will allow.
- Possibly run 1-2 Windows 7 VMs doing some basic office work. This wouldn't overlap with the Plex transcoding.
- A Mini ITX case would be preferable, but it isn't a deal breaker if there's a much better solution using a micro ATX board instead. The server will either live in my office if it's small and quiet, or in a basement if it's not.
Proposed Build:
Intel Core i3-4360 3.7GHz
ASRock E3C224D2I Mini ITX
Crucial 16GB DDR3 1600 ECC 2x8GB Kit - CT2KIT102472BD160B
6x Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" WD30EFRX - one RAID-Z2 volume
Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower
I already have the following hardware from other PC projects to complete the build:
Seasonic X-Series SS-750KM 80+ Gold PSU
Cyberpower 1500AVR UPS
SanDisk Cruzer Fit 32GB USB drive
My biggest question: Do you think 16GB of RAM is enough for that much storage, transcoding, and media plug-ins to run smoothly 99% of the time? If I want a mini ITX system and socketed CPU, I'm tied to the ASRock boards that only support 16GB. If 16GB of RAM won't cut it, the alternatives seem to be:
- Use an ASRock Avoton board (C2750D4I) and have less CPU power, which might make running VMs impractical. It's also more expensive than board and CPU combo I chose.
- Use the ASRock extended Mini ITX board (E3C224D4I-14S) and Lian Li PC-Q26 case, but I can't find the case for sale yet. Haven't done much further digging on larger cases that might be suitable for an office, any suggestions?
- Just pick a larger motherboard and inexpensive case, and stick the NAS out of sight.
TL;DR - Will 16GB RAM be enough to download, store, and stream, or should I go to a bigger motherboard that will support more RAM?
Thank you for your help!
I'm close to pulling the trigger on the following FreeNAS build. Did I miss anything important regarding hardware compatibility or meeting my needs? Thanks!
Needs:
- Store media, pictures and work backups from several Windows 7 PCs reliably. I currently have about 1.5-2TB of data stored; I anticipate needing no more than 8TB of storage over the life of this system. I plan to run 6x 3TB drives in one RAID-Z2 volume and create separate shares on the volume for pictures, music, data, etc. for the Windows PCs to access it. 3TB drives seem to be the best $/GB value right now and would give me ~10TB of available storage (correct?).
- Download media with SABnzbd/Sickbeard/Transmission, then stream it with Plex to 1-2 tablets or HDTVs over 2.4GHz N Wifi at the highest bitrate the network connection will allow.
- Possibly run 1-2 Windows 7 VMs doing some basic office work. This wouldn't overlap with the Plex transcoding.
- A Mini ITX case would be preferable, but it isn't a deal breaker if there's a much better solution using a micro ATX board instead. The server will either live in my office if it's small and quiet, or in a basement if it's not.
Proposed Build:
Intel Core i3-4360 3.7GHz
ASRock E3C224D2I Mini ITX
Crucial 16GB DDR3 1600 ECC 2x8GB Kit - CT2KIT102472BD160B
6x Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" WD30EFRX - one RAID-Z2 volume
Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower
I already have the following hardware from other PC projects to complete the build:
Seasonic X-Series SS-750KM 80+ Gold PSU
Cyberpower 1500AVR UPS
SanDisk Cruzer Fit 32GB USB drive
My biggest question: Do you think 16GB of RAM is enough for that much storage, transcoding, and media plug-ins to run smoothly 99% of the time? If I want a mini ITX system and socketed CPU, I'm tied to the ASRock boards that only support 16GB. If 16GB of RAM won't cut it, the alternatives seem to be:
- Use an ASRock Avoton board (C2750D4I) and have less CPU power, which might make running VMs impractical. It's also more expensive than board and CPU combo I chose.
- Use the ASRock extended Mini ITX board (E3C224D4I-14S) and Lian Li PC-Q26 case, but I can't find the case for sale yet. Haven't done much further digging on larger cases that might be suitable for an office, any suggestions?
- Just pick a larger motherboard and inexpensive case, and stick the NAS out of sight.
TL;DR - Will 16GB RAM be enough to download, store, and stream, or should I go to a bigger motherboard that will support more RAM?
Thank you for your help!