Hey All,

 

So it's time to upgrade my aging setup to something a bit more modern.  I'm currently running dual 2670v1's with 128GB Ram in a Norco-4224.  It has served me well, but my needs are changing so here I am.

 

The new primary use of my server will be storage, Plex, and running two desktops... one a Windows gaming PC and one a Mac.  I'd also like to I'd also like to use a video card to assist with Plex transcoding.  

 

At a high level, my thought is to repurpose the Norco as a DAS, and then build out the rest of the system in a new case with better cooling.  Has anyone done this, and if so, what hardware did you use to connect the systems and power the system's on?  Any gotcha's I should be aware of?

 

The second consideration is what hardware to look at.  I'm good with hitting up Ebay for slightly older server grade hardware, or is Threadripper the way to go?

 

Lastly, I assume that passing through a USB port is dependent on your hardware config, but the safest bet would be to purchase a card.  Are there any cards that support being passed through to two different VM's?

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

~Spritz

Which CPU you choose is your own choice. I'd personally go with ThreadRippers. But use what suits your workload. 

 

In terms of pass through. I'd get two USB cards and just pass 'em through. That's usually pretty simple. Several guides here on how to pass through HW. I just did that with my Intel dual port NIC the other day for running pfSense in a VM.