Skepsis builds

[Skepsis]

My intention is to use this thread to post all my current and future builds, any advice is welcome

[Skepsis]

Hey guys, I am building a storage server with windows 8 and storage spaces this Christmas.

I'm looking for at least 5 drives in addition to the boot drive, most likely WD greens, can anyone give me advice on hardware or just in general. One of my main concerns is psu size, I don't have any intention of throwing a graphics card in there but the option couldn't hurt. I may want to use this pc as well so I'm going with the z77 platform.

[TriniXaeno]

Why not a nas?

Considering if its going to be used as storage, this machine will end up being on 24/7

A NAS would be exponentially more energy efficient and reliable (no reboots for windows updates / driver updates/ etc...)

[Skepsis]

I already have a couple of nas units and I will be getting more but going up to the raid units with 5 drives running around $600, I feel if I build a pc with the same relative capabilities I'll get more usage out of it, granted at a higher power draw

[Skepsis]

With storage spaces you get a couple different redundancy options for the drives and if the system fails you can drop the drives in a different system and it'll work.

Since it'll be on all the time I was thinking of letting it run SETI@home something like folding @home

[TriniXaeno]

very noble of you. not everyone is as willing to run up their light bill for a good cause.

which nas units do you have currently?

[W1nTry]

He could go for 35-65W CPUs, and the green drive should keep power a little lower... Thus could probably be done within a 300W envelope. If CPU power isn't an issue... What is the core purpose of this build?

Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk 2

[Skepsis]

very noble of you. not everyone is as willing to run up their light bill for a good cause.

which nas units do you have currently?

2 wd my book live 2tb units

[Skepsis]

He could go for 35-65W CPUs, and the green drive should keep power a little lower... Thus could probably be done within a 300W envelope. If CPU power isn't an issue... What is the core purpose of this build?

Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk 2

Core purpose is for networked storage of media and multiple pc backups.
Secondary purpose is to run various streaming services and possibly to run webcam powered home security

If I go for a CPU around 100w will a 300 to 400 w psu handle the system and 5 to 6 drives?

[W1nTry]

That's questionable especially if you intend to run f@h and other apps that can push utilization up to 100%. Also having a higher rating on the psu versus trying to reach close to the power cap means running hotter which reduces efficiency and increases power draw. Considering you're need, there's no reason a 65W CPU couldn't do the job, a Core i3 out maybe an AMD trinity based APU. Dual core even on the Intel side with hypertheading.

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[Skepsis]

Something on the i3 side could fit my bill, I will post a spec list to see what you guys think when I pick the parts

[Skepsis]

I am thinking of picking this up

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CCS3UA/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_7?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

It is a mixer so I just need one set of speakers/ headphone and I can listen to all my pc's/ devices for notifications etc

[Skepsis]

The additional cost of a raid card is kind of killing me value wise, I'm most likely going to go with a Synology Ds1812+ can anyone recommend something else or offer any advice?

[Spazosaurus]

Why not just get a board with decent on board raid?

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[Skepsis]

I was looking into that but I have come to the realization that this setup will be a lot simpler, only a 50 to 70 w power draw and easy raid setup with 8 drives and simple expansion to an additional 10 drives. When dealing with the large amount of drives the DIY option is falling short on price ( shipping and hardware costs as well as long term power consumption)