How to build a NAS out of an old PC?

sastusbulbas · 14 Sep 2015 at 21:01

Not sure if this is the correct sub section of the forum.

I was wondering how difficult it would be to build a NAS out of an old PC? I am guessing Synology software is easy to navigate, simple to operate, and therefor wondering if there is any easy to use software that would do the same sort of duties with an old PC?

This is the old PC I was considering.

Asus P5QL-VM EPU motherboard
Intel Q9550 CPU.
Corsair XMS2-8500 8GB (4x2) 1066MHz DDR2
Corsair VS350w PSU
Samsung DVD/RW optic drive
Fractal Core 1000 Micro ATX case

I have sitting spare,

Two Samsung F3 500gb HDD's
Two Samsung F3 1tb HDD's
One WD Green 1.5tb HDD

Any tips, opinions, or guidance would be appreciated thankyou.

The idea is to see how much use this gets, how handy it will be, how simple to operate. I would like to be able to have the ability to share music etc throughout the PC's and mobile devices the family owns.

It will be mainly to trial the functionality and convenience of a NAS, before spending money on a Synology.

Smit · 15 Sep 2015 at 08:52

Take a look at FreeNAS but I wouldn't say it's very simple but it's not too difficult to setup and configure/maintain

bledd · 15 Sep 2015 at 09:04

Just go Synology / QNAP and use WD Red drives.

Armageus · 15 Sep 2015 at 09:23

Have a look into XPEnology, as you can run the Synology software on normal PC Hardware (e.g. your existing kit)

http://xpenology.me/

Some OcUK threads here as well:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18528018&highlight=xpenology
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18688830&highlight=xpenology

randal · 15 Sep 2015 at 09:34

I'd trade that CPU in for something less powerful, FreeNAS or similar won't need that much grunt.

Armageus · 15 Sep 2015 at 10:06

randal said:
I'd trade that CPU in for something less powerful, FreeNAS or similar won't need that much grunt.

Or underclock / undervolt it for lower power usage / less noise (depending on cooling etc)

sastusbulbas · 15 Sep 2015 at 19:47

Thankyou guys, I will look those up.

I have a lot of old hardware, Core2Duo E6300 dual core, Pentium 6300 dual core, Core2Duo E8500 dual core, 2x2gb of DDR2 PC6400, 2x2 gb of DDR2 Dominator GT.

So using a different CPU/memory or even a 450w or higher PSU should not be an issue, but what areas of performance should I be focusing on?

Case wise a Fractal Core 1000 or Silverstone TJ08B-E are available.