BUILD Magic Box

[Ericbo]

One of the things I have the least amount of knowledge when it comes to computers, is hardware. I based a lot of the parts I chose off of the sticky in this thread. The goal of this build was to create a server that could be easily expanded in the future, if ever I need to add more drives/memory, and take up as little space as possible.

Server Hardware:
Most of the parts below can be seen on my Newegg wish list.

Supermicro X9SCL-F
Intel Xeon E3-1230 v2
Kingston 8GB RAM
SeaSonic 360W
Node 304

Server Hardware Cost: $929

Hard Drives:
4x3TB WD Red ( $650)
2x3TB WD Green ($306)

I currently own two WD caviar green 3TB drives, so I can avoid spending $350 by using greens. However I know they aren't designed to be used 24/7 within a raid set up, take longer to spin up, and are rated to last half as long as the reds. If I do use the greens, I will be modifying the intelipark feature to prevent unnecessary stress on the drives. I'm still undecided on the drives I'm going to use.

Other Thoughts: I'm pretty sure the CPU I have chose is a little over kill for a NAS server. However, I wanted to play around with transcoding and read it was CPU intensive, but I couldn't find any more specific details on CPU consumption.

Build Goals:
Encrypted and safe data storage
Very quick transfer speeds (saturate at least one 1Gbs cable)
Easy expandability (mention above)
Streaming/media center capability (would I be better off using xbmc or plex)
Seeding/downloading
Power efficient
Long lasting hardware (this will be running 24/7)

Please don't be afraid to criticize any of my choices or ideas.

 

[cyberjock]

I like (mostly) everything you've listed. I have 24 Greens and they work just fine for me. I'd probably buy Reds if I built a server today, but Greens ahve been good to me. 3 failures in 3 years out of 24 drives. You even mentioned the intellipark! You bring a tear to my eye with the beauty that is your first post!

Ideas: X9SCM-F is the same board with an extra PCIe slot. Might come in handy to have that slot available. (that's the board I have) The price difference is like $5-10

The e3-1230v2 is the CPU I have. If you don't plan to do plex transcoding or encryption, the Pentium G2020 is MUCH cheaper than the Xeon and has been a great success for many users in the forum. The 1230v2 is a VERY powerful CPU. I can't imagine ever loading it enough to slow that thing down.

I'd probably go with 2x8GB with that much storage space.

 

[JohnK]

It has been mentioned on another thread that the Node 304 is a mini case and the Supermicro board will not fit.

 

[cyberjock]

It has been mentioned on another thread that the Node 304 is a mini case and the Supermicro board will not fit.

LOL. I remember that now. If I'm not mistaken, didn't you catch that error on the other thread?

 

[JohnK]

Nope someone else. I am not a big fan of mini cases. Come to think of it I do have one that I use for a OpenElec server. Cost halve the price of my other Zotac AD12s but it is more noisy and it will be the last one. It might actually be replaced and get down graded to a firewall server or something. It tends to run too warm and makes too much noise.

 

[Ericbo]

Ideas: X9SCM-F is the same board with an extra PCIe slot. Might come in handy to have that slot available. (that's the board I have) The price difference is like $5-10

I was going to get the X9CSM-F but it would be quicker for me to get my hands on the Supermicro X9SCL-F. I figured I wouldn't ever need more then two ServeRAID M1015 in order to add more SATA connections. I'm not sure what else would be worth putting in the PCIe slots.

The e3-1230v2 is the CPU I have. If you don't plan to do plex transcoding or encryption, the Pentium G2020 is MUCH cheaper than the Xeon and has been a great success for many users in the forum. The 1230v2 is a VERY powerful CPU. I can't imagine ever loading it enough to slow that thing down.

I was considering the Pentium G2020. However, I plan on putting some sensitive data on the server and wanted at least the capability of using encryption. I don't know of any lower priced, encryption capable CPU's,

I will also definitely be getting 2x8GB of ram, and I'll start looking for another case. Thanks for the input and suggestions guys!

 

[MtK]

LOL. I remember that now. If I'm not mistaken, didn't you catch that error on the other thread?

I wonder who was it... ;-)

I think the confusion among new builders is the fact that the 304 is mentioned (not to say recommended) on that hardware recommendation sticky, where an mATX is mentioned in one same breath with a miniITX case.