DIY NAS: Looking for advice

[jschenk]

Hi everyone

I've got a squeezebox boom, so I'm looking for a NAS to run the squeezecenter on.
And while I'm already at it I could also use it to stream my movies (to the XBMC), do some emule/bittorrent downloads, act as a print server, maybe run a webserver, etc.
The squeezecenter already pretty much requires 128MB and a 500MHZ CPU.

Now I guess I could just buy a Synology DS207+ (for example).
But I have the feeling that I'd overpay.

I don't care that much about small size, extreme quietness or extremely low power consumption and more about price, (relative) performance and upgrade possibilities (ok, maybe it's more a server I'm thinking of than a traditional NAS).

Now this is the hardware I've been thinking of:
ASUS V3-P5G31 barebone 130.-
Kingston ValueRAM, 2x2GB Kit, DDR2-800, CL5 50.-
Intel Celeron 430, 1.8GHz BOX, 800MHz FSB, Socket LGA775 50.- (35 W TDP)
2x Samsung HD103UJ, F1, 7200rpm, 32MB, 1TB, SATA-II 200.-

Am I doing it completely wrong? Is this somewhat reasonable?

Please be aware that I'm not from the US (but from Switzerland), where the prices are generally a bit higher and choice more limited.

Thanks!

 

[Madwand]

You're doing fine. However, I'd probably want a slightly bigger box and power supply for growth options. Here are a couple of similar devices for example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129045
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121323

 

[sphere.ch]

you might check one of the recent (german) c't magazine issues for some suggestions/reviews of a diy nas including comparations between atom-based, celeron and amd systems. your planned system might have trouble to saturate a gigE, if that's a must.

i assume - being from ch myself - you know toppreise.ch for checking the best offers for your parts....

btw, i just bought several parts for an amd based replacement for my outdated via based homeserver ("nas", router, slimserver.pl, mlnet, probably mail/webserver using vmware)

hth und grüess us bärn

 

[jschenk]

Thanks a lot for your replies!

@ Madwand

I guess you're right about the case being rather small...
I didn't know there were that inexpensive cases with integrated power supply!

@ sphere.ch

I guess this is article you're referring to:
http://www.heise.de/kiosk/archiv/ct/2008/26/196_kiosk
I'll check it out! Merci!

Yeah, I do know toppreise. Mostly I order from digitec. Still no comparison to for example newegg, imo (when it comes to parts).

 

[ninevah]

There are actually some really inexpensive cases with power supplies out there if you don't care about the look or trying to use it to play games. In situations like yours, the case requirements are quite simple and case construction has gotten cheaper and cheaper over the years as manufacturers and resellers have been targeting the home desktop/gaming rig more and more.

 

[Madwand]

Really cheap case -> really cheap power supply, which is not recommended for a storage server. You'd want your storage server to be stable, and not be stressed if you add a number of hard drives. Hard drives aren't high-end 3D video cards, but they still have significant power requirements on startup, and this adds up if you have many of them.

 

[jschenk]

I made my order:
Antec NSK6580B
(thanks again for recommending that case!)
Asus P5KPL-AM
(they don't sell the suggested intel mainboard here, but this is extremely similar)
Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
(overkill?)
Samsung HD103UJ, F1, 7200rpm, 32MB, 1TB, SATA-II
Kingston ValueRAM, 2x2GB Kit, DDR2-800, CL5

 

[9lives]

Asus P5KPL-AM
(they don't sell the suggested intel mainboard here, but this is extremely similar)

Only 10/100 LAN... I have built a HD media centre PC which has gigabit but is currently connected via a 10/100 switch. The performance is noticeably degraded compared to gigabit.

My current NAS has crappy Marvell gigabit LAN controller, which is connected via the PCI bus. It's a £21 ($15) Foxcon mobo, but it's surprisingly good. I can reach HDD speed (80MB/sec) when doing file transfers over ordinary Windows network shares. I only wish it had more SATA ports (4 on-board).

If possible get a mobo with gigabit LAN connected by the PCI-e bus. I'd suggest a 780g or nForce 8200 based board. Both have gigabit and six SATA ports. Or, just get a really cheap mobo like I did and spend the money you saved on a better quality PSU or more HDDs.

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
(overkill?)

Probably overkill. My NAS has a Pentium Dual Core 2140 (Core 2 architecture) and I don't have any performance issues at all. Having dual core is worth it I'd say, especially as I use Truecrypt on everything now.

 

[sphere.ch]

I guess this is article you're referring to:
http://www.heise.de/kiosk/archiv/ct/2008/26/196_kiosk

that's the one i was referring to...

Yeah, I do know toppreise. Mostly I order from digitec. Still no comparison to for example newegg, imo (when it comes to parts).

never checked newegg. but digitec delivered some parts for my new server, i'm a longtime customer of them. for the rest of the parts i tested techmania for the first time, they seem to stock a greater selection of mo/bo's including the gigabyte/780g i chose and the pci-e intel nic i wanted...

happy building and äs schöns weekend

ps: you might have checked shuttle's K48 as well...

 

[jschenk]

Only 10/100 LAN...

Damn, missed that...

Or, just get a really cheap mobo like I did and spend the money you saved on a better quality PSU or more HDDs.

Yes.

Probably overkill. My NAS has a Pentium Dual Core 2140 (Core 2 architecture) and I don't have any performance issues at all. Having dual core is worth it I'd say, especially as I use Truecrypt on everything now.

The E5200 replaces all E2*** at same wattage, same price and much better performance.