Building a new home server. Any thoughts and advice?

ferryenthusiast

ferryenthusiast

ferryenthusiast

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16 May 2012
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Hello All

Hoping everyone had a good Christmas.

I currently have an HP Ex490 (upgraded to dual core 2.2ghz CPU) which has worked fine for a couple of years now, but the time has come for many reasons including the fact that Microsoft are ditching support for the operating system.

I am looking at building my own this time to give me more scope, not to mention the longer warranty with building rather than buying.

The following is the list of components currently:

Intel Celeron G550 2.6ghz
Gigabyte ITX H61N-D2V
8Gb Ram
Seasonic G Series 360w PSU
Bitfenix Prodigy Black Case

£240 delivered.

Will be running WHS 2011 which I have a CD and license for already.

I have, the following hard drives up and working so initially not looking for extras, however one of the new roles will be storing DVD archives to play through the TV so any advice on new HDDs would be appreciated. I used Samsung in the past as they were excellent drives but they are now part of Seagate:

Three 1Tb drives (2 x Samsung and 1 x Seagate that came with the HP)
One 512Gb drive (Western Digital)

I am thinking that the 360w PSU will be more than ample for the above new build along with 4 or 5 HDD's.

Many thanks for any thoughts and words of wisdom.

Paul
 
Have you seen the massive "Good Cheap Server - HP Proliant Microserver 4 BAY - OWNERS THREAD" in this sub forum?

Tiny box, capable of holding up to 4 drives in bays + up to two in the ODD bay with a 3rd party bracket. Available for similar money you are looking at spending, but has £100 cashback if ordered before December 31st (you need to be quick here!). Brings it down to half the price you're looking at spending, enough for a 3TB drive when the cashback appears.
 
vertica said:
Have you seen the massive "Good Cheap Server - HP Proliant Microserver 4 BAY - OWNERS THREAD" in this sub forum?

Tiny box, capable of holding up to 4 drives in bays + up to two in the ODD bay with a 3rd party bracket. Available for similar money you are looking at spending, but has £100 cashback if ordered before December 31st (you need to be quick here!). Brings it down to half the price you're looking at spending, enough for a 3TB drive when the cashback appears.
Click to expand...

I guess it comes down to whether the OP wants a self build project or OEM solution.
 
Thanks for the responses guys.

I have looked at the Proliant Microserver but am reluctant based upon the processing power of the unit and the various limitations on the ability to upgrade and expand etc. I remember the MediaSmart Ex490 was very sluggish to start with until I upgraded the CPU and the CPU I replaced looks faster than the NEO.

I think I would prefer a self build project as I think it will last longer and support better growth if you know what I mean in the future.

Will take a look at the motherboard mentioned.
 
ferryenthusiast said:
Thanks for the responses guys.

I have looked at the Proliant Microserver but am reluctant based upon the processing power of the unit and the various limitations on the ability to upgrade and expand etc. I remember the MediaSmart Ex490 was very sluggish to start with until I upgraded the CPU and the CPU I replaced looks faster than the NEO.

I think I would prefer a self build project as I think it will last longer and support better growth if you know what I mean in the future.

Will take a look at the motherboard mentioned.
Click to expand...

This is the reason I ultimately ditched my microserver and built up a small i5 system with dedicated raid controller. The extra CPU power gave me more options and speed, especially when I decided to run some VM's.
 
ferryenthusiast said:
Thanks for the responses guys.

I have looked at the Proliant Microserver but am reluctant based upon the processing power of the unit and the various limitations on the ability to upgrade and expand etc. I remember the MediaSmart Ex490 was very sluggish to start with until I upgraded the CPU and the CPU I replaced looks faster than the NEO.

I think I would prefer a self build project as I think it will last longer and support better growth if you know what I mean in the future.

Will take a look at the motherboard mentioned.
Click to expand...

I totally understand where you are coming from with regard to the limited upgrade options offered by the OEM market.

I bought a Tranquil SQA-5H about 4 years ago and it ran WHS v1 reasonably well but was sluggish despite spec’ing the max RAM available at the time (massive 2GB lol), there was no choice of processor other than the stock Intel Atom.

A few months ago I started evaluating WSE 2012, running it on an old test box I have. I was happy with the RTM version and decided to do my own upgrade of the SQA-5H which by now was limping along with WHS 2011.

I can now say my old SQA-5H box is now running WSE 2012, sporting a new custom made front fascia (all of those stupid Tranquil LEDs and buttons which required Tranquil bespoke SW have gone) core i3 processor, 8GB RAM, P8H77-I motherboard, custom cooling (very very quite) without using a valuable drive bay etc.
 
unleashed said:
I can now say my old SQA-5H box is now running WSE 2012, sporting a new custom made front fascia (all of those stupid Tranquil LEDs and buttons which required Tranquil bespoke SW have gone) core i3 processor, 8GB RAM, P8H77-I motherboard, custom cooling (very very quite) without using a valuable drive bay etc.
Click to expand...

Mate, I'd love to see some pics, and maybe a bit more detail on how you did this. I have a Tranquil BBS2 (very similar to the SQA-5H) sitting in its box that I wouldn't mind upgrading.
 
My WHS v1 box is full of mainly WD Green drives (5 out of the 6 HDDs I have) and I have had no issues with them. I run all 6 from a 300W PSU too. This is streaming ripped DVD content to my media PC. WD Green drives are also usually the cheapest, which helps.
 
My only changes would be motherboard for more sata ports and an i3/i5 to allow for more powerful applications to be run, should you want too (it gives you the option).
 
rotor said:
Mate, I'd love to see some pics, and maybe a bit more detail on how you did this. I have a Tranquil BBS2 (very similar to the SQA-5H) sitting in its box that I wouldn't mind upgrading.
Click to expand...

I'm working away from home until the end of next week - I'll gladly take some pics and do a bit of a write up when i get back. You should be able to do similar with the BBS2. :D
 
unleashed said:
I'm working away from home until the end of next week - I'll gladly take some pics and do a bit of a write up when i get back. You should be able to do similar with the BBS2. :D
Click to expand...

I would very much appreciate a guide on how you upgraded this box. I too have one of the Series 1 SQA-5H boxes, and although it will run a trial of WS2012e it seems a bit slow even on an SSD.

So I'd like to upgrade the hardware to something more recent, and have actually taken the SQA-5H apart a few months back, down to getting the heatsink off the CPU & chipset, then replacing the thermal paste and putting it back together. It runs quieter now, but maybe that coz I also cleaned out all the dust in it too.

Anyway, On the one hand Tranquil seem to make a big deal of how they have to re-structure the box to allow for extra cooling, but on the other hand it seems to me that the spec of the upgrade they're offering could be better for the money they want. Its almost as if they want me to buy the thing all over again.

If someone could post photos of the rebuild with that motherboard, or a guide on how to get it all to fit around the available space in the box, I'm sure that I'm not the only user that would appreciate this.

I also have a couple of questions though - It seems to me that the cooler suggested only acts on the CPU, but the passive heatsink built into the SQA-5H connects to a couple of chips on the motherboard as well. Do they also need to be cooled actively, as it doesn't seem that there's a lot of room for air to circulate (or flow for that matter) from what I remember.

Has anyone thought of trying water cooling - not a full set up, just one of those Corsair Hyrdo type thingies, to save on space inside this compact case?

Avon.
 
Hi All,

Sorry to reply to my own post, but I've been doing a bit more research on this, and I'm wondering if I need to replace the power board in the SQA-5h if I'm to upgrade to a P8H77-I and an i5-3470t (for example).

The reason for this is that the existing power board doesn't have the 4pin 12vATX connector, and the 20 pin ATX power connector for the motherboard appears to have only some of the connectors wired up. From what I've read, a PC won't start without the 4pin 12vATX plugged into the PSU as well as the main ATX power connector.

Having taken it apart again, I can see that for the existing Atom D945GCLF2 motherboard, Tranquil have wired a connection between a couple of the 20pin ATX sockets connection points on the rear of the motherboard, via a big capacitor, to one of the connector points on the reverse of the motherboard behind the 4pin 12vATX connector.

Although Tranquil have not used a normal ATX internal PSU, I've managed to find products that look similar called Pico PSUs, a small circuit board that plugs directly into the main ATX power connector, relies on an external transformer brick that you might get for a laptop, and which then trails PATA, SATA and the 12v connectors from other connectors on the circuit board.

I also wonder about cooling the CPU, and the rest of the motherboard. There's only about 40mm of clearance once the passive heat-sink block is removed, so it looks as though even some of the low profile coolers would struggle to either draw in or expel enough airflow to cool an active heat-sink.

Would replacing the case fan behind the drive bays with the fan and radiator of a self contained CPU water-cooler fulfill both functions, or would other parts of the motherboard might also require some air flow for cooling?

Avon
 
KerguelanAvon said:
Hi All,

Sorry to reply to my own post, but I've been doing a bit more research on this, and I'm wondering if I need to replace the power board in the SQA-5h if I'm to upgrade to a P8H77-I and an i5-3470t (for example).

The reason for this is that the existing power board doesn't have the 4pin 12vATX connector, and the 20 pin ATX power connector for the motherboard appears to have only some of the connectors wired up. From what I've read, a PC won't start without the 4pin 12vATX plugged into the PSU as well as the main ATX power connector.

Having taken it apart again, I can see that for the existing Atom D945GCLF2 motherboard, Tranquil have wired a connection between a couple of the 20pin ATX sockets connection points on the rear of the motherboard, via a big capacitor, to one of the connector points on the reverse of the motherboard behind the 4pin 12vATX connector.

Although Tranquil have not used a normal ATX internal PSU, I've managed to find products that look similar called Pico PSUs, a small circuit board that plugs directly into the main ATX power connector, relies on an external transformer brick that you might get for a laptop, and which then trails PATA, SATA and the 12v connectors from other connectors on the circuit board.

I also wonder about cooling the CPU, and the rest of the motherboard. There's only about 40mm of clearance once the passive heat-sink block is removed, so it looks as though even some of the low profile coolers would struggle to either draw in or expel enough airflow to cool an active heat-sink.

Would replacing the case fan behind the drive bays with the fan and radiator of a self contained CPU water-cooler fulfill both functions, or would other parts of the motherboard might also require some air flow for cooling?

Avon
Click to expand...

From memory the power board in a Tranquil SQA-5H is only good for 90W so needs to replaced. I replaced mine with a PICO 150W but reckon I could have gotten away with a 120W.

I upgraded mine using a P8H77-I Mboard, core i3t cpu with a low profile cooler http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-085-AK&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat= :)

I replaced the internal 80mm fan with a 120mm fan mounted externally on a back panel I fabricated out of 2mm aluminium sheet. To further increase the to cooling I cut an aperture on the underside beneath the motherboard and fitted a magnetic filter.

I will post some pictures when I get home but that could be in a couple of weeks, I work away.
 
KerguelanAvon said:
Hi All,

Sorry to reply to my own post, but I've been doing a bit more research on this, and I'm wondering if I need to replace the power board in the SQA-5h if I'm to upgrade to a P8H77-I and an i5-3470t (for example).

The reason for this is that the existing power board doesn't have the 4pin 12vATX connector, and the 20 pin ATX power connector for the motherboard appears to have only some of the connectors wired up. From what I've read, a PC won't start without the 4pin 12vATX plugged into the PSU as well as the main ATX power connector.

Having taken it apart again, I can see that for the existing Atom D945GCLF2 motherboard, Tranquil have wired a connection between a couple of the 20pin ATX sockets connection points on the rear of the motherboard, via a big capacitor, to one of the connector points on the reverse of the motherboard behind the 4pin 12vATX connector.

Although Tranquil have not used a normal ATX internal PSU, I've managed to find products that look similar called Pico PSUs, a small circuit board that plugs directly into the main ATX power connector, relies on an external transformer brick that you might get for a laptop, and which then trails PATA, SATA and the 12v connectors from other connectors on the circuit board.

I also wonder about cooling the CPU, and the rest of the motherboard. There's only about 40mm of clearance once the passive heat-sink block is removed, so it looks as though even some of the low profile coolers would struggle to either draw in or expel enough airflow to cool an active heat-sink.

Would replacing the case fan behind the drive bays with the fan and radiator of a self contained CPU water-cooler fulfill both functions, or would other parts of the motherboard might also require some air flow for cooling?

Avon
Click to expand...

From memory the power board in a Tranquil SQA-5H is only good for 90W so needs to replaced. I replaced mine with a PICO 150W but reckon I could have gotten away with a 120W.

I upgraded mine using a P8H77-I Mboard, core i3t cpu with a low profile cooler http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-085-AK&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat= :)

I replaced the internal 80mm fan with a 120mm fan mounted externally on a back panel I fabricated out of 2mm aluminium sheet. To further increase the to cooling I cut an aperture on the underside beneath the motherboard and fitted a magnetic filter. Also fitted taller feet (appox. 15mm) to improve air flow.

I mocked up the whole setup using cardboard and tape before I starrted cutting holes etc. you may wish to do the same.

I will post some pictures when I get home but that could be in a couple of weeks, I work away.
 
I keep wondering the same. My BBS2 has been sitting in a box for the past couple of years. It would be handy as a router, but I can't be bothered going through the process of getting a smaller case, etc.
 
ferryenthusiast said:
I have looked at the Proliant Microserver but am reluctant based upon the processing power of the unit and the various limitations on the ability to upgrade and expand etc. I remember the MediaSmart Ex490 was very sluggish to start with until I upgraded the CPU and the CPU I replaced looks faster than the NEO.
Click to expand...

Having owned both I can categorically state that the later Mediasmart and Datavault (same machine, different name) units are superior machines to the Microservers (hence the higher price) they were very ahead of their time and would still be one of the best solutions available if on sale today.


Skeeter said:
My WHS v1 box is full of mainly WD Green drives (5 out of the 6 HDDs I have) and I have had no issues with them.
Click to expand...

It should be noted to anyone reading this that the current generation of WD Green drives on sale today are incompatible with WHS v1.
 
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