Spec me a home server

selven · 2 Apr 2009 at 22:04

I was going to buy a NAS but thought I'd go the full wack and build a home server. I'm a little stuck on parts, I want it to use as little power as possible, be quite small and as quiet as possible. Case should have at least 3 hard drive slots

Any help is appreciated

fobose · 2 Apr 2009 at 22:09

Well, this motherboard with BUILT IN 1.6GHz Intel Atom at £65 seems like good value:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-186-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=326

However, it only has 2 SATA ports, so you will need a PCI SATA controller to host more hard drives.

MattU · 2 Apr 2009 at 22:12

Why would they build a CPU into the motherboard?

fobose · 2 Apr 2009 at 22:25

Gigabyte GA-GC230D Intel 945GC Atom 230 1.60GHz Integrated Motherboard
OcUK 2GB (1 X 2GB) PC2-5300C5 667MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit
Antec Basic 350W Power Supply
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM

Total : £141.19 Inc delivery

Plus you will need a case, so depending how much you want to spend, or how much you care for looks is up to you. Not to mention hard drive, I left that out as you might want to RAID 1 a couple of drives. You will also need a PCI sata controller, and depending how much you want to spend, and how many ports it has is up to you.

I would buy 2x 1.5TB drives and run them in RAID 1 on the motherboards SATA ports, which might be a problem with regards to install an OS without a DVDRW

craptakular · 2 Apr 2009 at 22:34

Haven't u got old junk the loft you can use?

selven · 2 Apr 2009 at 22:38

I have always given away my computers once I have upgraded, so I don't really have any old parts

fobose · 2 Apr 2009 at 22:43

Gigabyte GA-GC230D Intel 945GC Atom 230 1.60GHz Integrated Motherboard
OcUK 2GB (1 X 2GB) PC2-5300C5 667MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit
Antec Basic 350W Power Supply
Samsung SH-S204N/EUBN 20x DVD±RW External Dual Layer LightScribe ReWriter (Black) - Retail
Asus TA-D31 Midi-ATX Case - Black (No PSU)
x2 Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.B 1TB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (0A38016)

Total : £333.49

Quite a lot of money for a file server really, but £144 of that is for "new" storage space. I also added an external DVDRW instead of an internal one, as SATA ports are limited as it is, and once you have installed an OS, I think everything else could be done with a USB pen drive, leaving you to disconnect the DVDRW and put it in a draw.