NOOB - totally overwhelmed on what hardware to choose for my needs.

[wacko37]

I'm sure this topic has been played out to death, but sadly the more I research the more overwhelmed I become, so much so I feel like purchasing another Qnap (even though I promised myself I would never buy Qnap or similar again)

 

I'm very confident in building my own server and getting it up and running, I just need expert advise on what hardware to choose for my use basis.

 

I've been running a Qnap 459 pro ii with 4 x 4tb in raid 5 for 9 years now, it has served me very well but I need more space and this device is no longer supported by Qnap and desperately needs updating both in hardware and software. 

 

I had considered utilizing unraid on this device, but from what I have learnt here, its time to upgrade.

 

My requirements -

 

1 - A system that will last me 8 - 10 years and will run 24/7, so I believe I need server grade to even consider this. (so many system guides with gaming grade components) Would like to be future proofed somewhat, 10gbe LAN etc.

 

2 - My use basis - mainly as a file server for all the families personnel data & entertainment (movies, games, etc). I will definitely be utilising the dockers (10 or so) for Sonarr, Radarr, torrents etc. I would really like to use some VM's (1 or 2) for needs I'm unsure of yet.

 

3 - Space - 8 x H/S drive bays - I'd like to add-on to what I have already in 4tb drive increments (enterprise), reasons for this is time lost in rebuilds if a drive fails and $$$ of drives. I believe it would take me 8 - 10 years to double my space requirements as of now.

 

4 - Would like the headroom to game on the device down the track - It would never be my main gaming rig but would be nice for the kids to play on a LAN as they get older.

 

5 - Power - I want it to be as power efficient as possible, but I'm unsure if this is achievable if I want to game on this.

 

6 - Case / Form Factor - Flexible on form factor - Case is not needed as this will be a custom inbuilt system which I would love to share when completed 

 

7 - $$$ around $1500 USD - like everyone as cheap as possible but not really interested in Used parts for the MB, RAM, CPU, but open to used parts for things like the LSI controller and H/S drive bays

 

I look forward to any replies / advice, not very hopeful I will get any.... lol

Edited August 18, 2021 by wacko37
spelling again!

[whipdancer]

1. Look at my sig. Been running almost non-stop since 2012, with 2 cpu upgrades along the way.  Server grade components are not required. They certainly won't hurt anything (except maybe your wallet).  My oldest drive (retired at least 2 years ago) had 55k power on hours.  I think that's pretty representative of the uptime.
2. I have used up to 14 dockers on my existing setup.  Pared that down to 6 full time, with 2 as needed.
3. H/S is nice, but I removed the 5-into-3 H/W Icy Dock I was using. I personally don't miss it.  If I was starting out new, I would likely include it from the start.

5. I gave up on my system being low-power, but it is relatively speaking, efficient for a server.

7. My 2 parity drives are used (they both showed under 14k power on hours when I got them).  8TB Toshiba is used.  8TB HGST is used.  All the others are shucked.

Edited August 19, 2021 by whipdancer
spelling

[wacko37]

Thanks for your reply  @whipdancer much appreciated. AMD build so many years ago that would have been very experimental on unraid no?

 

Please forgive me in advance as I'm not sure if its to much to ask if you or anyone else has a 2021 recommended parts list you would buy now that would fit my budget / needs.

 

I ask myself if I had such knowledge would I be ok answering / providing said list, and while I feel like it wouldn't bother me to answer, I can see how 1 might consider it to be over stepping or just lazy on my part. 

 

I have literally spent 3 weeks (months to be honest on and off over the last year) trying to choose components etc, Trying to decide between AMD & Intel alone is an absolute nightmare considering how AMD is performing of late.

[whipdancer]

I never considered AMD to be experimental at the time.

Best bet is to just search for new build threads.  I will say that if you need PCI-E lanes, Intel is your answer.  If you want dual CPU's, Intel is your choice. If you want more bang for your single CPU buck, Ryzen/Threadripper is a solid choice (and generally offer better performance).  There are a fraction of the people that run into issues with AMD, but that seems to be mostly chipset/bios related.

So, pick your criteria.

PCI-E lanes - do you want to use a GPU? more than 1 GPU?, 4 port ethernet nic? M2 drives? Multiple add-in cards?  Those all eat up PCI-E lanes (usually).
CPU - Do you want dual CPU's? Great for larger workloads with multi-vm's, dockers, etc that you can spread out.

If either of those is important - then probably Intel.  Maybe you can find a used server that's only a single gen behind for a good price?

[xddebbo]

7 hours ago, whipdancer said:

I never considered AMD to be experimental at the time.

Best bet is to just search for new build threads.  I will say that if you need PCI-E lanes, Intel is your answer.  If you want dual CPU's, Intel is your choice. If you want more bang for your single CPU buck, Ryzen/Threadripper is a solid choice (and generally offer better performance).  There are a fraction of the people that run into issues with AMD, but that seems to be mostly chipset/bios related.

So, pick your criteria.

PCI-E lanes - do you want to use a GPU? more than 1 GPU?, 4 port ethernet nic? M2 drives? Multiple add-in cards?  Those all eat up PCI-E lanes (usually).
CPU - Do you want dual CPU's? Great for larger workloads with multi-vm's, dockers, etc that you can spread out.

If either of those is important - then probably Intel.  Maybe you can find a used server that's only a single gen behind for a good price?

Actually (at the time of writing) AMD has more PCIE lanes than Intel.

[whipdancer]

4 hours ago, xddebbo said:

Actually (at the time of writing) AMD has more PCIE lanes than Intel.

Usable PCIE lanes?  Can you point to a MB or chipset that is available?

The last I read (at least a year ago), was that with the 5000 series CPU's, AMD will finally match Intel in PCIE lane count, but chipset limitations effectively kept the usable bandwidth/lane count below Intel.  I'll have to see if i can dig up the article.  Hopefully, I'm wrong and those issues have been resolved.  I had been waiting on my upgrade specifically for this reason.

Edited August 20, 2021 by whipdancer
more info

[uldise]

35 minutes ago, whipdancer said:

Usable PCIE lanes?

Yes, AMD Epyc have 128 PCIe links for one CPU, but Intel 64.

i'm not about platinium or any other high-end CPUs.. 

[wacko37]

Thanks @whipdancer for the replies, much appreciated. 

 

I've been looking at some old 2nd hand severs being sold locally for reasonable money, very temping but very old 7 to 8years.

I feel like now is not a good time to be buying new computer components with the world being the way it is right now, every used parts can be pretty expensive. So maybe the old severs will tie me over until the world settles down?

 

I might post back here when i find a suitable used server

[whipdancer]

On 8/20/2021 at 10:32 AM, uldise said:

Yes, AMD Epyc have 128 PCIe links for one CPU, but Intel 64.

i'm not about platinium or any other high-end CPUs.. 

Given that most Epyc models + M/B would cost more than the OP's entire budget, I don't see it as being relevant to the discussion.  I will readily concede that in the enterprise server market Epyc is on top.  However, in the consumer market that is not the case.

Edited August 23, 2021 by whipdancer