Hi all,
I have been reading myself several headaches for the past few weeks, and finally have found something that would be good for me.
At present, I have Buffalo Linkstation 250GB. That was a rather expensive thing (about 300 euro), and only has one disk. I want something a bit more powerful, and - above all - transparent and upgradable.
I essentially need a box that is sufficiently future-proof, able to do streaming (which I will want to do in the future), and has enough "umph" to do some jobs on its own (such as uploading to Flickr, ripping dvd's and cd's, maybe some editing...).
The whole thing will be connected to our router and will serve two windows laptops and a linux netbook (and maybe some sort of streambox in the future).
Other things I want are a good understanding of what is in the box, software RAID (so I don't run into trouble when the thing dies), and the flexibility to try out different OS's. From the functionality side, online access and automated backup (but that I will sort out after the build).
I plan 2 SATA disks for storage (with the possibility to add two more), and one HDD for the OS.
Here in Estonia, hardware is relatively expensive and hard to get (it is difficult to find online shops that will ship to here at a reasonable price), so I went to a local builder and asked advice. Here is what the 2-hour chat resulted into:
- MATX Intel Cube Cove DQ45CB (4xDDR2 800, 5 SATA, 1 e-SATA, 10/100/1000)
- Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200 2.5 Ghz FSB800 processor
- 2 x 2GB RAM
- PSU: Zalman 500W ATX2.2, active PFC, 12x12 fan, 24+8 pin, 2xSATA, 2x6pin PCI-express
- Zalman fan ZM-F3 120x120mm (with regulator)
- a DVD drive, so I can add and burn from the box
The case remains a question. It will be getting the nicest one that is available locally, I guess. Which, I'm afraid to say, will probably be a normal tower box.
The whole set-up will make me ditch out around 400 euro (not including the build which I may tempt myself, the disks, thermal paste, a UPS, and the odd cable here and there).
For storage, I intend to find WD Green (Caviar?) 1TB disks. And a "small" 320 GB SATAII 16MB for the OS and anything that doesn't belong on the storage disks.
No decision on the OS yet. I think I will have a look at Windows XP professional, but I am unsure how that works with the perpetual update, virus and firewall issues.
That way I hope to have a good box that can be a NAS, server, and may even be upgraded to serve as a pc should I require that. It is certainly not the most beautiful or economic thing, but I do hope it will be functional.
First off, thanks for all the wonderful information on these pages. They helped me a lot to decide what I do not want, and to get closer to what I want .
And second, of course, I would love to hear your thoughts!
I have been reading myself several headaches for the past few weeks, and finally have found something that would be good for me.
At present, I have Buffalo Linkstation 250GB. That was a rather expensive thing (about 300 euro), and only has one disk. I want something a bit more powerful, and - above all - transparent and upgradable.
I essentially need a box that is sufficiently future-proof, able to do streaming (which I will want to do in the future), and has enough "umph" to do some jobs on its own (such as uploading to Flickr, ripping dvd's and cd's, maybe some editing...).
The whole thing will be connected to our router and will serve two windows laptops and a linux netbook (and maybe some sort of streambox in the future).
Other things I want are a good understanding of what is in the box, software RAID (so I don't run into trouble when the thing dies), and the flexibility to try out different OS's. From the functionality side, online access and automated backup (but that I will sort out after the build).
I plan 2 SATA disks for storage (with the possibility to add two more), and one HDD for the OS.
Here in Estonia, hardware is relatively expensive and hard to get (it is difficult to find online shops that will ship to here at a reasonable price), so I went to a local builder and asked advice. Here is what the 2-hour chat resulted into:
- MATX Intel Cube Cove DQ45CB (4xDDR2 800, 5 SATA, 1 e-SATA, 10/100/1000)
- Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200 2.5 Ghz FSB800 processor
- 2 x 2GB RAM
- PSU: Zalman 500W ATX2.2, active PFC, 12x12 fan, 24+8 pin, 2xSATA, 2x6pin PCI-express
- Zalman fan ZM-F3 120x120mm (with regulator)
- a DVD drive, so I can add and burn from the box
The case remains a question. It will be getting the nicest one that is available locally, I guess. Which, I'm afraid to say, will probably be a normal tower box.
The whole set-up will make me ditch out around 400 euro (not including the build which I may tempt myself, the disks, thermal paste, a UPS, and the odd cable here and there).
For storage, I intend to find WD Green (Caviar?) 1TB disks. And a "small" 320 GB SATAII 16MB for the OS and anything that doesn't belong on the storage disks.
No decision on the OS yet. I think I will have a look at Windows XP professional, but I am unsure how that works with the perpetual update, virus and firewall issues.
That way I hope to have a good box that can be a NAS, server, and may even be upgraded to serve as a pc should I require that. It is certainly not the most beautiful or economic thing, but I do hope it will be functional.
First off, thanks for all the wonderful information on these pages. They helped me a lot to decide what I do not want, and to get closer to what I want .
And second, of course, I would love to hear your thoughts!
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