Making a home server

korgtronix · 24 Jan 2013 at 23:15

Hi

I am looking to build a home server to replace my old Qnap 109 II pro.
My goals are for as low a power system as possible whilst still having the ooomph to do everything the Qnap did with more space plus the ability to run a small Minecraft server (4-6 people).

I have a rough idea of what I would need to achieve this but am unsure when it comes to the best processor for the job, I want to be able to upgrade the system in the future if I need to as I am sure I will decide to use the server for more roles than currently envisioned.

My overall budget is around £200 pounds at top end as I already have the hard drives so it removes a lot of the cost now.

I apologise now if this isn't the right section to post this in but any help would be brilliant as I do not want to waste money and be stuck with duff parts.

joelk2 · 25 Jan 2013 at 11:14

korgtronix said:
Hi

I am looking to build a home server to replace my old Qnap 109 II pro.
My goals are for as low a power system as possible whilst still having the ooomph to do everything the Qnap did with more space plus the ability to run a small Minecraft server (4-6 people).

I have a rough idea of what I would need to achieve this but am unsure when it comes to the best processor for the job, I want to be able to upgrade the system in the future if I need to as I am sure I will decide to use the server for more roles than currently envisioned.

My overall budget is around £200 pounds at top end as I already have the hard drives so it removes a lot of the cost now.

I apologise now if this isn't the right section to post this in but any help would be brilliant as I do not want to waste money and be stuck with duff parts.

N40L

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18216324&page=178

korgtronix · 25 Jan 2013 at 12:42

joelk2 said:
N40L

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18216324&page=178

The problems I have with the N40L are that it doesnt leave much room for future upgrades other than the RAM and hasn't the rebate ended? I did look at getting one but the rebate had just ended when I went to buy.

I already have a case and the hard drives so am really looking for recommendations for the rest of the innards to suit my current goals but also allow room for more expansion in the future.

MasterPlan1 · 25 Jan 2013 at 13:39

Try and look around for some second hand parts, but I'd be inclined to go with something like this:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus P8H77-I Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MiniITX Motherboard £83.99
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £83.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £64.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £38.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED34096M1600HC11DC) £23.99
Total : £310.04 (includes shipping : £11.75).

The board has 6 SATA ports, so 4-5 HDD, 1x SSD, or 4 HDD, 1 SSD, 1 Optical for ripping.

korgtronix · 25 Jan 2013 at 13:51

MasterPlan1 said:
Try and look around for some second hand parts, but I'd be inclined to go with something like this:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus P8H77-I Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MiniITX Motherboard £83.99
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £83.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £64.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £38.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED34096M1600HC11DC) £23.99
Total : £310.04 (includes shipping : £11.75).

The board has 6 SATA ports, so 4-5 HDD, 1x SSD, or 4 HDD, 1 SSD, 1 Optical for ripping.

I notice you put a i3 3220 on there, is the extra processing power worth the increased power consumption over the t series of ivy/sandy processors? I had been looking at the 2120T and its ivy bridge equivalent before but I am not really sure whether they are worth the money for the goals

iaind · 25 Jan 2013 at 14:01

Struggling to see the point of that build to be honest when the N40L is £200. Not sure what minecraft servers would need but you might want another 2gb RAM in it, but it's still going to be a good 100 quid cheaper than that build.

MasterPlan1 · 25 Jan 2013 at 14:04

They're £240, might as well splurge the extra £60 (as I'm sure you can find these parts with free shipping on another site) or cheaper if you shop around.

I have a N36L, and I find it struggles with some tasks, so I'm relegating it back down to being a file store and then using a similar build to the above to do what the N36L can't.

The T series chips are just as good, I didn't include one as OCUK didn't have one on offer. IVB i3's are pretty low wattage anyway, they run at 55w, not 77w like the chip states on the page.

tribz · 25 Jan 2013 at 14:07

I found that the N36 that I had wasn't able to keep up when I tried to use it as a minecraft server, even with 8GB's of RAM

iaind · 25 Jan 2013 at 14:17

MasterPlan1 said:
They're £240, might as well splurge the extra £60 (as I'm sure you can find these parts with free shipping on another site) or cheaper if you shop around.

I have a N36L, and I find it struggles with some tasks, so I'm relegating it back down to being a file store and then using a similar build to the above to do what the N36L can't.

The T series chips are just as good, I didn't include one as OCUK didn't have one on offer. IVB i3's are pretty low wattage anyway, they run at 55w, not 77w like the chip states on the page.

Google HP N40L, several sub 200 quid results.

enigmo · 25 Jan 2013 at 15:32

iaind said:
Google HP N40L, several sub 200 quid results.

Or wait until March time when the N54L is meant to be out and the £100 cashback reinstated.

decto · 25 Jan 2013 at 23:25

If you want compact and low energy...

MSI M-ITX @ £42
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-210-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2071

Celeron G530 @ £29
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-401-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=2037

PSU 80Plus Gold Rated @ £49
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-020-SS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2383
Though this is out of stock and I'm currently using a Huntkey 300W Gold.

With the boxed heatsink on fan control it's near silent. Much faster than the N40L (I have one also)

Add in a random case and some memory ... and happy days.

The N40L comes with 2GB which needs an upgrade anyway, N40L case is useful and you can get to 6 HDD but if you want cheap and economical you can do just as well with a low end Intel CPU and H61 mainboard.

For reference, with a single SSD the H61 G530 is idle 19W from the mains, Full load, prime 95 heat and power 41W in either XP or Win 8

Better consumption than the N40L which idles at just over 30W regardless and peaks at over 50W with a single drive.

AD

InQ · 28 Jan 2013 at 10:42

Would this celeron setup be ok to run as a htpc as well as a fileserver? I'm looking to use xbmc to play back bluray disc rips along with using the box as a file server with drivebender or similar, this would be on win7pro 64 bit as i have a copy spare.

korgtronix · 28 Jan 2013 at 11:01

Hi

Thanks for your help I have decided to go with the homebuilt route.

So far I have the CPU and some ram sorted although now I have I am shopping around for a H61 motherboard and a different case (space has just become a priority, bye bye Antec 1100

)

unleashed · 28 Jan 2013 at 14:02

The Asus P8H77-I is an ideal board with six SATA ports and USB 3.0.

decto · 28 Jan 2013 at 18:55

The Asus does look a nice compact board and 6 SATA ports is good.

If you're looking for more than 4 drives you'll probably in a case that supports mATX which should be cheaper and give a few more options.

I'm just playing with the Celeron G530 in a media center, has been OK so far with netflix, iplayer and 4OD but I'm getting stutter with mediaportal streaming live TV or playback. I'm not convinced this is the CPU fault as usage is low and it's only rendering @ 1280x768, could be a network driver issue or similar but I'm mid testing. I'm planning to use a couple more around the house or I'll have to rethink! Then again ... could be the joy of win8

AD

Edit

Discovered the streaming issue was down to a failing switch .... the Celeron is now running great. Will try a bluray rip when I get a few mins.....

korgtronix · 28 Jan 2013 at 23:20

I have gone with the following so far

Intel Pentium 630T (Low power usage with reasonable power)
8gb Corsair XMS 1333mhz
3x 1.5tb Seagate Barracuda Green Drives
CFI 2 hot swap bay NAS chassis, with a 220W PSU

Still need

Motherboard, Currently looking at the Gigabyte GA-H61N-DS3 as its cheap and Gigabyte are quite reliable (based on my experience)
Solid State Drive - Small going to use it for the boot to save more power (Although this piec isnt really needed)

Grand Total so far: £118 (Had the hard drives already) so I am on target for the build.

decto · 29 Jan 2013 at 20:34

Hi,

If you haven't ordered the 630T then consider skipping the T version. It's a good CPU for thermally limited units, eg passive cooling or really tight spaces where you can't rely on the cooling.

It's actually clocked slower than the celeron and has the same graphics, the only real difference is an extra MB of L3 cache. If you want the poke a standard chip would be fine, they idle around the same usage and the cut down intel chips use nothing like the stated TDP. My Celeron uses about 20W running prime @ 100% despite a 65W TDP

For the mainboard consider something like Asus P8H77-I Intel H77. While you only have three drives + SSD now the H61 is limited to 4 total which including the small SSD means you'll be relying on an add in card. The Asus offers 6 ports keeping the single slot free for a TV tuner etc should you go down that route.

Even in a cramped case you can squeeze two drives in a 5.25 slot and hide an SSD somewhere....

AD

korgtronix · 29 Jan 2013 at 22:08

Im afraid I already have, still guarantees me the lowest power use I suppose. I did look at the Celerons but couldn't find any in a reasonable price range in comparison.

The case I have maxes at 4 bays I think I haven't looked to see if I can squeeze anything else in yet as I still dont have my MB yet

InQ · 31 Jan 2013 at 01:28

decto said:
Hi,

If you haven't ordered the 630T then consider skipping the T version. It's a good CPU for thermally limited units, eg passive cooling or really tight spaces where you can't rely on the cooling.

It's actually clocked slower than the celeron and has the same graphics, the only real difference is an extra MB of L3 cache. If you want the poke a standard chip would be fine, they idle around the same usage and the cut down intel chips use nothing like the stated TDP. My Celeron uses about 20W running prime @ 100% despite a 65W TDP

For the mainboard consider something like Asus P8H77-I Intel H77. While you only have three drives + SSD now the H61 is limited to 4 total which including the small SSD means you'll be relying on an add in card. The Asus offers 6 ports keeping the single slot free for a TV tuner etc should you go down that route.

Even in a cramped case you can squeeze two drives in a 5.25 slot and hide an SSD somewhere....

AD

How did you get on with the bluray rip?
These Celerons play back 1080p (full unaltered BD rip) on the stock onboard gfx ok?

decto · 3 Feb 2013 at 21:18

InQ said:
How did you get on with the bluray rip?
These Celerons play back 1080p (full unaltered BD rip) on the stock onboard gfx ok?

The 40GB AVCHD file plays ok from a remote location. I can't see any dropped frames with my eyes and CPU usage is around 25-30%.

There were some lip sync issues with media player on windows 8, this seemed to be due to where I started the file as I skipped back and forth.

In some places the video would freeze for 5-8 seconds until a key frame came up and the audio was out of sync. Other places I skipped to the video started near instantly and the audio was in sync and remained in sync.

I assume this is some type of codec / player issue as once I skip to the correct place it's fine.

Unfortunately the unit only has a 60GB SSD so I can't copy the file to local to play so all testing was done across a Gbit network

AD