Please spec me a cheap Server PC

[Jed Shields]

Hello all,

My current server is long due an overhaul... AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200, 4Gb RAM. I've got 8 HDDs plus an SSD for the OS. The additional SATA ports are from a couple of old RAID cards.

I'll probably keep the case, but looking for the following:

CPU
Mobo
RAM
HBA card? - Am I right in thinking that this is the best was to get multiple SATA ports? I'll be looking for at least 10, as I'd like to add a Bluray drive as well.
PSU - what size should I be looking at? 650W? More?

Budget ideally no more than £200, but willing to spend more.

It's a media server, so mainly music, music vids, TV and film. Music through Sonos and the rest through Kodi on my HTPC downstairs.

I'm getting fed up of transfer speeds across the network, generally no more than 3MB/s. The HDDs are mainly 5400s, some 7200s... what read write speeds could I expect with a better mobo and HBA card with decent bandwidth?

 

[Tetras]

HBA card? - Am I right in thinking that this is the best was to get multiple SATA ports? I'll be looking for at least 10, as I'd like to add a Bluray drive as well.

Modern boards usually have 4, 6 if you're lucky. There are some with 8 from the last gen (e.g. Z790 ASrock Pro RS), though that'd mean going 12th gen (or CPUs which can use earlier dies, like 13400/14400) unless you want to chance the long-term reliability of 13th-14th gen. You'd also have to be careful of lane/port sharing issues.

PSU - what size should I be looking at? 650W? More?

Not because you 'need' it, just because PSUs ranges usually start at 650 or 750 now.

 

[Threepwood]

what size case is it?, and what model? is it new enough to take new PSUs?

 

[sastusbulbas]

Remember with PSU's to take a look at the actual Sata cables you can connect.

Seasonic Snow Prime 650w vs 750w as an example, that is 6 Sata connections v 10 Sata connections. Yet a different brand may again vary, NZXT C750 Series only had eight Sata connections.

Sometimes the price difference is marginal, so worth simply going for more watts than you need if you want clean cabling.

 

[Quartz]

With regards to SATA ports you can get NVME to SATA adapters with 4-6 ports. Do take the opportunity to refresh your HDDs. Add in a SSD / NVME cache drive. You can get SATA power adapters for your PSU which will convert a 6 pin or 8 pin PCIe or a molex cable to a chain of SATA ports.

 

[Jed Shields]

Modern boards usually have 4, 6 if you're lucky. There are some with 8 from the last gen (e.g. Z790 ASrock Pro RS), though that'd mean going 12th gen (or CPUs which can use earlier dies, like 13400/14400) unless you want to chance the long-term reliability of 13th-14th gen. You'd also have to be careful of lane/port sharing issues.


Not because you 'need' it, just because PSUs ranges usually start at 650 or 750 now.

With regards to SATA ports you can get NVME to SATA adapters with 4-6 ports. Do take the opportunity to refresh your HDDs. Add in a SSD / NVME cache drive. You can get SATA power adapters for your PSU which will convert a 6 pin or 8 pin PCIe or a molex cable to a chain of SATA ports.

The Rainforest has some of these cards for £50ish, would they not fit the bill better? I won't post a link, but the description is below:

LSI SAS 9300-16I 16 Port Controller HBA Card with PCIe Slot, 12Gb/s SAS​

 

[Quartz]

Since you’re buying a new motherboard I suggest you go to Asrockrack.com and see if any suit. There are boards with over 12 SATA ports - and each Oculink port can become 8x SATA ports. I’m sure OCUK’s business side will help you purchase.