BUILD Purchased a fractal node 304 and need advice on hardware. "Mid-Budget Build"

[Estropelic]

I'm looking to build a medium size Freenas box and maybe leave some room for a future upgrade. My budget is around 800 and I could use a hand with this build. Any help with the build will be greatly appreciated.

Mini-Itx:
Board:??????
Drives: Planning on running 4 or 5 2tb drives????
Purpose:Home file server and occasional plex streaming
Case: Fractal node 304 "already purchased"
PSU:??????

Thanks

 

[Sir_Slappy]

Board: ASRock miniITX w/ Atom C2750 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157475
HDD: 4x Western Digital Red http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236343
RAM: 16GB (8GBx2 ) Crucial ECC http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148770
PSU: Seasonic G-360 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151117

Total cost: $902 + tax/shipping on Newegg
Pretty close to what I just bought and also planning to use it for file sharing/plex server

 

[anodos]

A larger case with a uATX board gives more room for upgrade. The above recommendations don't give you much PSU headroom for expanding the number of drives you have. Spend a bit more and get your upgrades up-front.

X10sl7-f motherboard $220
i3 Processor $120
16GB Crucial RAM - $120
550W Seasonic PSU - $80
6 * 4TB WD Red - $900
Some chassis that fits 6 drives - $110

Total cost: ~$1,550

Man, it's so easy to spend other people's money.

 

[Mirfster]

My budget is around 800

Total cost: ~$1,550

Man, it's so easy to spend other people's money.

Wow, remind me to never ask you to "work within a budget"... :p

 

[anodos]

Wow, remind me to never ask you to "work within a budget"... :p

I'm used to "budgets" being arbitrary numbers that are the beginning point of negotiation. Always push back against the budget. I'd rather give an overall better solution. :p

A 6-disk RAIDZ2 vdev with 4TB drives is in all ways superior to something you could build with 4 *2TB drives. Eventually 2TB drives will not be enough then you'll be forced to take some nasty upgrade path that will be somewhat hamstrung by the decision to use 4 disks.

 

[gpsguy]

Even at twice the price, it's cheap, compared to what that amount of storage would cost from a SAN vendor.

Total cost: ~$1,550

 

[Estropelic]

I bit the bullet on sir slappys request and went with 6 drives. Should 16 Gigs Ram be an issue? Will report back with build pics and more late. :)

 

[Estropelic]

Ordered an additional Molex to 2 sata connector to account for additional drives.

 

[TheKiwi]

Ordered an additional Molex to 2 sata connector to account for additional drives.

 

[Mirfster]

lol

 

[JJT211]

Good call, I have same system as well

 

[anodos]

Ordered an additional Molex to 2 sata connector to account for additional drives.

Make sure you carefully inspect it before installation. I've seen several that were improperly assembled and fell apart when handled.

 

[Estropelic]

so the processor does not have a fan and only a heatsink. Is the fan within the fractal sufficient for cooling needs? What setting on the fan and temp range should I be aiming for? All thanks for kiwis post, im scared of heat issues now LOL.

 

[ChriZ]

Well, I believe that @TheKiwi was referring to the Molex to sata connector...

 

[MrToddsFriends]

so the processor does not have a fan and only a heatsink. Is the fan within the fractal sufficient for cooling needs? What setting on the fan and temp range should I be aiming for?

The airflow behind the power supply in the Node 304 is limited. I fixed a 60mm FAN --- Noctua NF-A6x25 FLX --- onto the heatsink of my Supermicro A1SAi-2750F using cable ties (substantially smaller than the heatsink of the AsRock C2750D4I).

http://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a6x25-flx.html

This way the CPU reaches never temperatures much higher than 30 degrees, even when running prime95. And this fan is nearly silent running at 1600RPM, using the provided Ultra-Low-Noise Adapter.

 

[ethereal]

i am no longer a fan of molex to sata adapters. i just had one that melted and melted my ssd.

i am now buying proper sata cables. $5 for 4 satas. Better than buying a new ssd.

 

[ChriZ]

What do you mean you buy sata cables? Getting an additional cable for your modular power supply from a respectable seller is indeed the best thing.
But if you mean buying a female sata to 4 male sata, is actually considered worse than buying molex to sata....

 

[ethereal]

i meant buying a modular sata cable for my seasonic psu

 

[TheKiwi]

i meant buying a modular sata cable for my seasonic psu

Where did you find these? My Seasonic only has 8 SATA connectors, I'd like to find a few more SATA chains to replace the useless molex ones it includes.

 

[Fuganater]

Where did you find these? My Seasonic only has 8 SATA connectors, I'd like to find a few more SATA chains to replace the useless molex ones it includes.

Make them?