Super EconoCheapNAS (attempt)

[Bo Doe]

I've used FreeNAS for about a year for my personal home use. It's primary use is to store media and stream from it to devices throughout my house. My initial build did not use ECC RAM or suggested parts, so I figure I'll attempt to make the switch to a FreeNAS system that is a little more compliant with recommendations. Also, I would like the new build to be sufficient enough to setup OwnCloud and other plugins I've neglected to play with. Keep in mind this initial build was mostly as a fun project that evolved into a convenient place to store my media, so I'm fully aware there are several components that are far from recommended. :D

Current build:
-Biostar J1900MH2 Ver6.x Motherboard/Intel Celeron J1900 (embedded)
-Team Dark 8GB DDR3 SDRAM (non-ECC)
-CORSAIR CX430 80 Plus Bronze PSU
-Seagate Desktop HDD ST1000DM003 1TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s (quantity 5)
-Case about the size of my fridge: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower
-SYBA SY-PEX40008 SATA II Software RAID Controller Card
-and some USB drive I had laying around

I have an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 laying around I figured would work well enough for the new build; PassMark's benchmark shows 3209 which I would think would be more than enough (eh?). As far as the new mobo, I was wondering what your guys' advice would be regarding a SuperMicro X7SBL-LN1 LGA775 Motherboard with 8 GB of DDR2 667 (unbuffered ECC). Do you think this CPU would suffice, and do you think this mobo would also suffice? Depending on the form factor of the mobo, I will either get the FD Node 304 or 804 case to replace the refrigerator of a case I currently use. Eventually I'll replace the RAID controller card with one of the recommended cards when I'm not feeling so poor :(

 

[Jailer]

That RAID card is going to cause you grief. And I wouldn't waste my money on hardware that old, it's just not worth it.

Save up your money for something like a cheap Lenovo or Dell entry level server.

 

[Bo Doe]

What if I went with the Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 i3-4150? I wouldn't need a RAID card then, since it has 5 SATA ports (according to a post on Reddit). Although I can't find the form factor of the motherboard.

 

[Jailer]

That would be an excellent option. Just make sure you add some RAM as 8GB is the minimum spec for FreeNAS.

 

[Ericloewe]

I'll point out, for future reference, that besides being horribly underpowered in its own right, J1900 is always paired with crap Realtek NICs which will only exacerbate the lack of performance.

 

[nightshade00013]

I have to agree with getting something used. May also want to troll ebay for a decommissioned rack server that will fit your needs. The bad thing about the lenovo you linked is it has 3 HDD bays so you will have a limited storage amount unless you transplant into a different case.

 

[JohnDigital]

If you are in the market for an X7 and or cheap used, Im going to be selling my old X8SIL-F mobo. MicroATX, It has 6 sata ports, 32gb DDR3 ECC ram, a Xeon X3400 series processor/stock cooler, rear shield. Its hella solid bro. Works like a dream for FreeNASin' Shoot me an offer on it, otherwise its going on eBay in the next day or four. I also have an old LSI SAS3081E-R ill throw in with it (2TB limit), should work great for those 1TB drives, however the board does support larger drives x6. Just a matter of pulling your old board out and throwing this one in and booting. LMK.

 

[nightshade00013]

If you are in the market for an X7 and or cheap used, Im going to be selling my old X8SIL-F mobo. MicroATX, It has 6 sata ports, 32gb DDR3 ECC ram, a Xeon X3400 series processor/stock cooler, rear shield. Its hella solid bro. Works like a dream for FreeNASin' Shoot me an offer on it, otherwise its going on eBay in the next day or four. I also have an old LSI SAS3081E-R ill throw in with it (2TB limit), should work great for those 1TB drives, however the board does support larger drives x6. Just a matter of pulling your old board out and throwing this one in and booting. LMK.

If he doesn't take you up on it I may be interested. My step daughter has a crap system setup so she can have some movies synced. Would love to put something together and give her a regular FreeNAS system if the price is too good to beat.

 

[JohnDigital]

Absolutely, it matters not to me.