Spec me a file server please

Snow-Munki

Snow-Munki

Snow-Munki

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Hi,

Looking to upgrade my File Server. Firstly can't get a HP Microserver as planning to have 6 HDD's in it eventually. Current File server has 5 HDD and is running low on space.

Case : BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case

Now just need some suggestions on motherboard / ram / cpu please.

It will mainly be a file server but also downloads, so powerful enough to extract rar's from newsgroups etc.

Ideally have 6 SATA ports but very few do so will probably end up getting a PCI-E sata card.

Thanks,
 
Not sure budget wise but what about an Asus E45M1-I DELUXE AMD Hudson M1 DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard with 8gb ddr3. Fanless so very quiet, 5 sata ports, built in graphics and low power draw for 24/7 use. Plus it has some nice extra's like usb3/wifi etc.

Or to save a few more quid the E350 one. SHould be spot on for server. If you transcode stuff on the fly you might need to check this chipset can handle it.

Or, more powerful with bigger power draw though, something like an AsRock A75M-ITX Motherboard and a AMD A4-3400 2.70GHz (Socket FM1)
 
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Thanks for the reply.

The first option looks good. Just worried the CPU isn't powerful enough to encode movies on the fly to my iPad etc.

Was looking at the i3 motherboards but guess those would use more Power ?
 
I was looking at doing something similar purely as a media server but then the hard drive prices went far too high so waiting on prices to come down again.

Basic idea was an amd e450 motherboard (asus one sugested was my likely pick), 8gb ram (it's cheap), blu ray burner, ssd for os and then a pci express raid card plus hard drives for the raid storage.

The case I was/am going to use was the lian li q08 as it could hold 6 3.5 hd's plus 1 ssd and the optical drive. It's also considerably smaller than the bitfenix and the bitfenix can only take 5x3.5 inch drives if you want to use the optical bay. If you take the size of the bitfenix into account you may as well get a matx tower case...

As to the rar extraction, it will be fine, it just wont be as fast as say a i7 lol

Having said all that I vaguely remember reading some reviews somewhere which basically said the low end lower power intel cpu's could nearly match the e450....
 
Snow-Munki said:
Thanks for the reply.

The first option looks good. Just worried the CPU isn't powerful enough to encode movies on the fly to my iPad etc.

Was looking at the i3 motherboards but guess those would use more Power ?
Click to expand...

Yes I would be concerned too. And I simply don't know, most my googling suggests it would but I dont actually know.

Been looking at it and an i3 would probably be ideal. Very low power on idle and much more grunt than an E450. This mobo has 6 sata ports too: Asus P8H77-I Intel H77. That and a i3 2100 would be a beast I would imagine.
 
Snow-Munki said:
Thanks for the reply.

The first option looks good. Just worried the CPU isn't powerful enough to encode movies on the fly to my iPad etc.

Was looking at the i3 motherboards but guess those would use more Power ?
Click to expand...

You might also consider the Asus F1A75-I as described here
Low power, and good graphics, and with some extra processing power available when needed.
I don't know exactly how this one compares to the i3 2100 , either in term of processor power or powerconsumption.

Alex.



PS: the ASROCK A75M mentioned appears not to be the best choice in this review (see conclusions) :
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/mini-itx-socket-fm1.html
 
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welshdragon said:
I did consider that for the op.

Heres a bench between the A6 3650 and the i3 2100
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/403?vs=289

They are roughly very similar for encoding but the i3 has a lot more all round grunt that will most likely help with transcoding and there is a greater variety of m-itx boards available.
Click to expand...

Ah indeed, I see. Do you know something about the overall power consumption ? I was atracted by the fact that powerconsumption of the Asus F1A75-I was less then 20 W idle, and I didnt find any reviews stating this low power for a similar system.

Asking since I am -still- looking for similar setup: Need both a home/fileserver with some transcoding capabilities and some cpu power for for example server-based Sage-math , and an htpc-frontend
Combining them might also be an option if it can be done relatively silent, by using SSD and passive-cooling.
 
The power draw on the i3 I think depends on mobo used etc but take a look at this article which is interesting This article HERE is also a good read

It would appear the idle power can be reasonably low in comparison to an A6/A8 or even an E350. But has the grunt behind it to ramp up when needed. However, the idle/full power figures seem to vary wildly between reviews. Both good chips I feel, but the i3 in my mind pips it, especially with a wider range of available mitx mobo's.
 
Thanks for those links.

welshdragon said:
However, the idle/full power figures seem to vary wildly between reviews. .
Click to expand...

As far as I can see the 2100's used are different types: one is the 2100T (with a TDP of 35W), the other the 2100 ( with a TDP of 65W); This might explain part of the difference ( although other factors might play a role too).
 
Thanks all for your replies.

Think I'll end up getting:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £99.95
1 x Asus P8H77-I Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MiniITX Motherboard £82.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £59.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £44.99
1 x Antec VP350P 350W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £32.99
Total : £333.50 (includes shipping : £10.50).



But will wait for the case to be in stock. Will probably get an SSD for the boot OS. And my 5 2TB's for storage from my exisiting file server.
 
welshdragon said:
That's one beastly file server - enjoy
Click to expand...

Indeed, looks nice.

Wouldn't you be concerned with the powerconsumption?
You can considers the Intel Core i3-2120T, which runs at only 2.6 GHz but has a TDP of 35W ( while the 2120 runs at 3.3 with 65 W TDP).

Or would you assume that the 2120 has similar low power consumption when running idle/at low frequency.

Interested to hear your experience in performance and powerusage when you build it :-)
 
I would in fairness yes and the 2120t is a btter proposition for a file server. I would imagine though that idle power isnt that much more tbh but every little counts if being left on 24/7
 
Snow-Munki said:
Thanks for the reply.

The first option looks good. Just worried the CPU isn't powerful enough to encode movies on the fly to my iPad etc.

Was looking at the i3 motherboards but guess those would use more Power ?
Click to expand...

My Microserver can encode on the fly to my iPad. Not had any problems myself so I can't imagine any of the AMD mobos listed having issues.
 
Now may be getting the Lian Li PC-Q18 case instead.

Nice that the HDD's are now hot pluggable. And then get a SFX PSU.

Oh and want the extra power, as would also be a downloading / unrar'ing / media sharing etc.

And lastly read on another forum somewhere that the 2120 and 2120t uses pretty much the same power when idle.
 
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