Mini-ITX build for ~900€

[StubbornGarrett]

Hey everyone,

after a long time of frustration, managing and backing up my files on various devices, I want to build a home server.
My main use for it will be NAS (a lot of small files and some larger ones - nothing critical in a commerical sense, but still nothing I want to lose), for sharing with Linux and Windows machines. Also, I may stream movies, use plugins (e.g. Nextcloud, Plex), and want to use small VMs for tinkering.

For the next few years, 4 TB of available storage should be enough for me. But I want to be able to triple the capacity without major hardware changes.

For now it will only be used by myself.
Last but not least, it should be relatively small and quiet when idle, which is why I chose mini-ITX and the case below (relative small and some air to breath).

My starting budget was 800€, but for my applications I made some luxury upgrades that I thought are worth it. Like a bigger case and a better CPU.
After a few days of research, and a lot of frustrating confusion through Intel's chipset information, I came up with the following specs:

Whishlist: https://geizhals.eu/?cat=WL-2052972
Drives (mirrored): 2x WD Red Plus 4 TB 3,5" - 5400 U/min (WD40EFZX) - 2x 100,00 €
Motherboard: Supermicro X11SCL-IF retail (MBD-X11SCL-IF-O) - 184,20 €
Case: SilverStone Case Storage DS380, Mini-ITX (SST-DS380B/71062) - 159,90 €
SSD (for TrueNAS): GIGABYTE NVMe SSD M.2 2280 256GB, M.2 (GP-GSM2NE3256GNTD) - 39,90 €
PSU: Kolink SFX-450 450W SFX12V - 59,90 €
RAM: Kingston Server Premier DIMM 16GB, DDR4-2400, CL17-17-17, ECC (KSM24ED8/16ME) - 113,89
CPU: Intel Core i3-9100, 4C/4T, 3.60-4.20GHz, boxed (BX80684I39100) - 141,43 €

With shipping it comes to pretty much exactly 900 €.

Since this is my first server build of my own, I'm hoping some of you can give me feedback on whether I've chosen components worth investing more or less in.

Thanks for any tips in advance :)

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Some additional thoughts:

PSU capacity
Thanks to @jgreco 's Guide about 'Proper Power Supply Sizing', I came up with this calculation:
"Up to six HDDs" + Motherboard + CPU + "up to two RAM sticks" + "three system + one CPU fan"
35W*6 + 25W + 65W + 6W*2 + 30W*4 = 432W

It's calculated generously on purpose. I won't use this many HDDs soon (have to install a PCIe SATA extension card) and I don't know which fans come with this case.
I chose the Kolink PSU because of good reviews and I prefer no external on/off switch.

RAM
I'd love to double the RAM, but I think 16GB is good enough for my current plans and the motherboard allows me to install 1-2 32GB or an additional 16GB stick in the future.

 

[Etorix]

The case you picked is horrible to work with and not easy to set up to keep drives cool with little fan noise. If you don't mind powering the NAS off and opening the case to change drives, something like a FractalDesign Node 304 is much pleasant to deal with.
There is no obvious overspending, except for the CPU which could be a F version.
Then, of course, second-hand server hardware could be cheaper, especially if it uses RDIMM and/or DDR3.

 

[StubbornGarrett]

Thanks a lot for your suggestions, @Etorix.
It's a shame that the DS380 has such a design flaw, especially for this price. The Node 304 looks very promising. I may miss some features, like the ability to lock the power button and light, but better airflow is definitely worth it. Also it allows me to use a Seasonic ATX PSU.

If you own a Node 304, have you noticed any vibration noice with the hanging drive cages? I have a Node 804 for my desktop PC and sometimes it gets pretty bad.

The CPU is a fair point, but the current price difference between 1900 and 1900F is 10€. So i thought it's nice to have.

 

[ChrisRJ]

Drives (mirrored): 2x WD Red Plus 4 TB 3,5" - 5400 U/min (WD40EFZX) - 2x 100,00 €

Those are 7200 RPM drives, that WD markets as "5400 RPM-class" drives but not as 5400 RPM. This does not invalidate your choice, it just means that you need to deal with more heat than possibly expected.

Depending on the details around Plex (i.e. live transcoding) the CPU may or may not be ideal. But I have only read about this and no personal experience. So perhaps others can add more detail here.

 

[StubbornGarrett]

Thank you for these hints, @ChrisRJ.
You are correct that this CPU may have issues with streams of 1080p or higher, if it has to transcode them. I'll read a bit more into it and try to provide feedback, if it does or does not work for me.

Those are 7200 RPM drives, that WD markets as "5400 RPM-class" drives but not as 5400 RPM.

Are you sure about the 4 TB model? I have read in some articles, that the 8 - 12 TB were/are labled as "5400 RPM-class" but on Geizhals they are labled as 7200 rpm. And the 4 TB model (WD40EFZX) I chose is labeled 5400 rpm (not class) and no data sheet mentioned something about class.

 

[ChrisRJ]

You may be right. I wasn't aware of that difference but had so far assumed that in this regard there are no differences between the various sizes.