July 28, 20178 yr Hi everyone, this is what I was looking at so far. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/zXnyPs The case was selected for being cheap and supported more 3.5 slots than I would most likely ever need, and the G4560 seems to be a fan favorite. However, I could probably do with a less powerful PSU and potentially a cheaper MoBo. I don't plan to do any PLEX or anything on this, and if I do it would be at 1080p at absolute most. I am debating dropping one of the WD Reds for the time being and just upgrading as I need the space. Not pictured in the part list is a 120 GB Samsung Evo 840 that I have lying around to use as a cache drive.
July 28, 20178 yr Hello and welcome. This looks like a solid build for a basic NAS box with a few Dockers and even a transcoded Plex stream or two. Just a few comments. 3 HD's is a nice starting point, 2 data and one parity - but one data and one parity is fine - you can add drives at any time. The PSU makes sense if you plan to add more drives later but you could downsize it if you only plan to ever have a few drives. I'd recommend a motherboard with an Intel LAN chipset over the Realtek. You might also find one with more SATA ports, if you plan for more drives. The case you've selected is spacious and inexpensive, so I assume you're going after a budget build. There's a great argument to be made for a case with hot swap cages if you can afford it, though.
July 28, 20178 yr Author I'll look into a different motherboard. I selected that one initially due to the raid support but from what I researched after linking that list, it isn't relevant. I considered a hot swap case but I couldn't quite squeeze it into my budget for now. I may change over later if I feel it is a needed addition. Thank you for the advice!
July 28, 20178 yr With 2-3 drives, this is fine. But you need the cages when the drive count is hitting 4 or 5. Look a the CSE-M35T-1Bs. They can be had for about $50 on eBay, but you have to watch for them as the cheaper ones go fast and the normal pricing is $70-$100 (including shipping). But I just saw a brand new one go for $50 shipped. So keep an eye out and buy one when the price is right. Well worth having to avoiding the myriad of issues unRAID users (especially new unRAID users) have with adding / replacing disks. I understand the budget constraint, but would recommend something like an Antec 900 (which can scale to 3 hot-swap cages = 15 drive slots) for a longer term option. HERE is a new one for $85 shipped. 8T drives are an amazing value right now. Recently you could buy WD Reds for $160 each at Best Buy (in an external "easystore" enclosure that is easy to open). Not sure if sale still on. If so, I'd get two of those and call it a day on drives.
July 28, 20178 yr A Z270 motherboard is overkill in my opinion (not overclocking needed). A Asrock b250M pro4 give you 2 M.2 slots and intel lan, with a better price tag ($75).
July 28, 20178 yr Author Good call on the 8 TB externals. Those look far easier to shuck than a few externals I've done in the past so I would say those are the best option for me. I made the adjustments to the motherboard and case as well. If you wouldn't mind, what would be the reasoning that I would need hotswap cages after that number of drives? Will it reach the point that the drives put out too much heat for the case fans to handle on their own, or just simply convenience/reduced headache when it does come to be time to add more storage?
July 28, 20178 yr 1 hour ago, dwillis21 said: what would be the reasoning that I would need hotswap cages after that number of drives? Drives fail. It isn't a question of if they will fail, but when. So project a few years (hopefully) out into the future when a drive is failing, or it's time to add a new one... You take your server out of the closet, put it on a table, and take the cover off. You try to rationalize the rat's nest of cabling that you installed in an inexpensive case with marginal cable management features years ago. The more drives, the more cables. You finally untangle things and replace the failing drive or add the new one, and put everything back together. You boot the server - and one of your existing drives fails to be recognized. You inadvertently knocked a cable loose, or worse, you damaged a connector. Now your array is degraded and you need to figure out multiple problems. Does it sound like this has happened to me before, lol ?. In comparison, especially with externally accessible hot swap cages - remove old drive, insert new drive, power up server... Classic example of pay me now or pay me later.
July 28, 20178 yr Author Understandable. Would that Antec case have any issue with cooling that many hotswap bays though? It looks like the SM ones linked above have a reasonable sized fan on them, but I wasn't sure if that would be enough.
July 28, 20178 yr 2 hours ago, dwillis21 said: Understandable. Would that Antec case have any issue with cooling that many hotswap bays though? It looks like the SM ones linked above have a reasonable sized fan on them, but I wasn't sure if that would be enough. I have that case for my backup array - full w/ 15 drives. The CSE-M35T-1Bs have 92mm fans that cool the drives nicely. With a couple of exhaust fans, the drives stay in the upper 20s to mid-30s when spinning, depending on ambient and level of activity.
July 28, 20178 yr Author Just now, bjp999 said: I have that case for my backup array - full w/ 15 drives. The CSE-M35T-1Bs have 92mm fans that cool the drives nicely. With a couple of exhaust fans, the drives stay in the upper 20s to mid-30s when spinning, depending on ambient and level of activity. That sounds good to me. I think I'll pull the trigger on the recommended parts. Thanks for the help everyone!
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