Spec me a file server

[Boycie]

Hey Guys,

I'm on the quest for a file server for the house which will hold video, HD video, music, pictures documents the usual stuff and require a spec for it, my only requirement is that the spec doesnt include hard drives but it must include a SATA Raid controller capable of raiding 4 drives or more, also a 1gbit network interface would also be good. Oh and it must be fairly quiet.

Cheers

Luke

EDIT: Also onboard gfx would be a plus

 

[Cyber Hamster]

If you have any old gear you could use that for a file server ie P3 P4 etc.. if you want some thing new heres a few bits :-

OcUK 1GB (2x512MB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit
Asus M2NPV-VM Micro ATX (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Antec NSK6500 Super Midi Tower Case - 430W PSU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ 2.00GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail

total cost £226.67 including P&P and Vat

the motherboard dose have Gb Lan and 4 sata ports and the chipset allows RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5. Although it might be worth looking into a separate raid card as Im not sure mobo raid setups are as good as separate ones.

As a side note as well it might be worth looking into getting a better CPU fan as well if you want ultra quiet.

Mobo also includes onboard graphics&sound

 

[BillytheImpaler]

If you cannot find an older rig that can be recruited (P3, Athlon, VIA), this would be a good start:

Add to it the RAID card of your choice and a case with an appropriate capacity for hard disks. the processor here is about five times what is necessary to do the job. Though OcUK does not sell them you might look into VIA's C3 lineup. They're ultra-low power CPUs that can be easily passively cooled and will save you money on electricity bills. This is also way more RAM than is necessary but OcUK does not sell DDR2 for any less.

Once you are done setting it up you can remove the graphics crd and put it in another rig to support a second monitor if you like.