I want to setup a NAS (mainly for storing games and videos), that I’d also like to use to watch said videos on a WiFi TV and to install games on a separate PC connected via ethernet. This is the part list I came up with (plus whatever GPU I can get for as cheap as possible, I can probably get a GT 730 GTX750 for free). I also don’t need it to be on 24/7, if that’s OK. I can place it in the same room as my main PC and hook it up to the same monitor to turn it on and start it up.
What’s wrong with it?
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 3 3100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor | $50.00 |
| Motherboard | ASRock A520M-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard | $99.40 |
| Memory | Kingston Server Premier 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 CL19 Memory | $36.00 |
| Memory | Kingston Server Premier 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 CL19 Memory | $36.00 |
| Storage | Samsung 860 Evo 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Storage | Seagate IronWolf NAS 4 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive | $118.00 |
| Storage | Seagate IronWolf NAS 4 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive | $118.00 |
| Video Card | Gigabyte GV-N750OC-1GI GeForce GTX 750 1 GB Video Card | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Case | Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case | $117.70 |
| Power Supply | be quiet! Pure Power 11 CM 400 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | $58.10 |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | $633.20 |
PCPP says that R3 3100 isn’t compatible with the RAM I picked (although I can’t find why); it also says MoBo doesn’t support ECC RAM, but on the producer’s website it says it does (https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/A520M-ITXac/index.asp#Specification) , so I think PCPP is wrong.
I tried building around LGA 1150/1151 but motherboard prices are way higher (although CPU prices are lower).
I don’t think I can make it much cheaper than this, since I’m buying everything, but if you can point me in a cheaper direction, feel free to do so!
Thanks in advance
Only thing I see is make sure you get the CMR drives. I got SMR and it really screws you. Check out this.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/15878/western-digital-cleans-up-the-red-smr-nas-hdd-mess
You want something from column 2 or 3 in the image.
The ones I picked are part # WD40EFRX, so CMR according to that image you linked. It’s just that PCPP doesn’t call them WD Red Plus, but they are. In the end I think I’ll go with the IronWolf instead, since they’re not that much more expensive, but more loved by the community! Thanks
I think you could do better with your storage drives. Go to pcpartpicker and look at storage then sort by price/GB ascending. The very first entry is a 6tb drive for $57
Yes, those are cheaper but I also want reliability, so I prefer spending a bit more for the actual storage to get something known to be good!
Then use this: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2ycG3C/seagate-barracuda-compute-8-tb-35-5400rpm-internal-hard-drive-st8000dm004
It’s cheaper, reputable, and double the capacity
edit: forgot to mention that I’m not USA-based, sorry! Wow, US prices are amazing. In my country that one is just a little less expensive, adjusted for capacity (the ones I picked are 4TB and 120, the Barracuda is 8TB and 205)! That’s a bummer haha but thanks for the suggestion! edit: let me check the 4TB though edit2: now that’s better, the 4TB is only 89 compared to 120 needed for the IronWolf
Are you missing a boot drive?
I’d go for more drives but I’m a data slut
Oh, that’s right. Nice catch! I can probably repurpose a 256GB SSD I have, can’t I? Should be enough for OS + utilities
The plan is to get more down the road, this is a starter setup! 4TB are enough for all my data at the moment, and the second drive is for backup; I will add a third drive for redundancy and that should be enough as a starter
This may be a silly question, but why get a whole extra machine just to make 4tb available on the network? I have an old Linksys router with a USB port that allows you add USB storage to your network, that may be a good place to look if your needs are basic.
Additionally, it looks like you are going for a relatively powerful machine to be able to access a minimal amount of data at a slow speed. Have you considered just getting a couple of external hard drives and just hooking them up to a Raspberry Pi?
I don’t know where you’re located, but this seems to be a similar cost $104 (x2): https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-External-Recovery-Services-STKC4000400/dp/B08HMGXTFJ?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ANMDN8YYOK06R
And a Raspberry Pi with 8gb of ram is $75: https://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-4-8gb.html?cid=usd&src=raspberrypi
Going the Raspberry Pi route would cost $288-$333 depending on accessories. This could be a really good route depending on what all you want to do.
Another way to save more would be to just add the drives to an existing desktop, and just setup samba/nfs to run on it. You’d just need to leave the desktop on all the time, or turn it on when you need to access it elsewhere.
Also, for reference, I have a NAS with 40tb of storage that I use as a VPS host. I have several virtual machines running 24/7, including a Plex server. I stream many videos locally, and have many users that access my content regularly. From what I’ve learned over the years of running that machine, I know that as long as you are just directly streaming the files, and not trying to transcode them, you don’t need hardly any processing power. I don’t have a GPU in my server, and don’t see a need to put one in. If your needs are really as simple as your post suggests, the raspberry pi route would be the way to go. It would also allow you to dip your toes into running a NAS, and see where your original build was lacking, and give you a better idea for what you want your next evolution to look like.
There is a red asterisk on the ASRock website regarding ecc ram
Yeah, the only thing they say is “For Ryzen Series APUs (Cezanne and Renoir), ECC is only supported with PRO CPUs.”. That’s why I didn’t pick a Ryzen with integrated GPU (I can’t find PRO models in my country). 2666 speed is supported, so those RAM I picked should work. Thanks!
Personally, I’ve had terrible luck with Seagate drives, and the subsequent warranty process. I sent a 12TB Ironwolf back for bad sectors in July and I still don’t have my replacement. They shipped me one once, but UPS sent it back because it didn’t have clearance to cross the border into Canada. I spent hours on the chat getting bounced around, I could find no phone number to call. The experience has been awful. I’ve had other bad experiences with Seagate in the past but the price on the Ironwolfs was so good, but now I really wish I had just got some WD reds or something. I got 3 left in my QNAP and i am praying another doesn’t fail before I get this replacement or my array is toast.
I’m sorry about your experience! I actually have an IronWolf, a small 2TB one, and it’s been a year without issues. I don’t write big amounts of data daily on it though, so my experience might be different.
Good luck with your replacement though!
