Setting the system in your garage is not a good idea. You have a lot more contaminates in the air, temperature swings, and higher humidity. Not a good combination for something that you need to be reliable. If you have a basement, that would be a much better location.
I tend to agree... But... I do spend ALOT more time in the garage than most people, and I tend to keep it more climate controlled and cleaner as such. My garage is also my workshop / benching room. So I'm usually out there a minimum of 4 hours a day with customer stuff or my own tinkering. If you STILL don't think it'll work I'll have to make room for it next to the Home Theatre System or in my Office.
The hardware you have available will be more than enough to run whatever you need. What you choose to do now is mainly going to be decided on your needs in the future. For example, you aren't going to want to do RAID 1 if you are adding more drives, as that will waste a substantial amount of space and won't integrate well with the existing setup. You will also need to know what type of files are going to be stored on the server (media, backups, databases, virtual machines, etc), what the access patterns are (streaming video, audio, etc), and how much storage you will need.
The plan is to have something where I can start with a minimum investment in storage... Say 2x 2TB's for now... But have the ability to add later as budget permits.
As for what type of files will be stored on the NAS... EVERYTHING. I want to get to the point where I'm running a 256GB SSD in each of my machines for OS and Applications / Games... And then have everything else stored on the NAS. Essentially... Anything that isn't an application or application related file I'd love to have on the NAS instead of having them scattered all over all of my different machines.
I suppose this is almost more of a fileserver now that I think about it isn't it?
To help you figure out how much space you will need, here are some averages from my file server:
FLAC (uncompressed) audio file - 32.2 mb
OGG (compressed, like MP3) audio file - 2.82 mb
DVD - 1014 mb (largest is 3.1 gb, smallest is 424 mb)
BluRay - 3654 mb (largest is 9.8 gb, smallest is 1.4 gb)
Wow... Thats ALOT more space than I was figuring on. Good to know.
Eventually... When I can justify adding the storage... I would LOVE to have my wifes entire DVD Collection of over 500 DVD's on the NAS. Probably 75 or 100 Blu-Rays so far.
10-20GB of Audio MP3's... BUT Eventually I want to look into a higher quality solution that will obviously take up more space.
50GB or so of photos and home video.
Lots of downloaded show series... (Completely legally... I swear! 
)
Lots of downloaded applications such as benchmarking software installers, etc.
Backups of each machine would be a plus. 4x Desktops, an HTPC, and 2 laptops.
For RAID, you don't need a RAID card. You could go that route, but it is going to cost a bit more and it isn't necessary. I would highly suggest staying away from cheap RAID cards and on-board RAID solutions, as they are only going to cause you a headache. That leaves you only with (real) hardware and software RAID. NAS-oriented operating systems will have RAID or RAID-like features (ZFS) built into them and their interface is simple. This decision is very important, because once you pick a setup, it is going to be painful (or expensive) to switch. Each option has their pros and cons, but we need more information before we can give suggestions.
I want to do the job "right"... If that means spending some extra cash... So be it.
Questions that you should think about and answer if you can:
What clients will you be using (Windows, XBox, PS3, etc)?
All of the Above, Plus Tablets and Cells.
What software will you be using to play audio/video (XMBC, etc)?
I myself usually stick to VLC, but my wife uses iTunes, Never tried XMBC... Actually need to look into that and see what it is! LOL
Would you rather pay money for a Windows license or save money by going with a free option*?
I don't mind paying for a Windows license... Hopefully we won't need one of the massively expensive server options though.
Windows actually appeals to me since thats what I already know, as opposed to learning Linux in a hurry.
How important are the files on the server?
MOST aren't allllll that important. Very few are SUPER important... As in... My wife would have my manhood if I lost them... Such as the wedding pics I thought I lost when I fried my current storage drive. Luckily... Mother in law had a copy still.
What is your budget?
My budget is whatever it needs to be to do the job "right". Would prefer to keep it under 1K with the first round of storage. However... I do have 2 WD Western Digital Blacks already here that are being used for storage now... Those could be moved to the NAS.
Besides file sharing, do you need this server to do anything else? That could include being a web server, a virtual machine host, etc.
I've never done anything with VM's... So I don't really know what the benefit would be. I wouldn't mind having the ability to access the NAS from anywhere in the world should I need one of the files. Wouldn't mind being able to host some games or a teamspeak server either... BUT... I think a measly 9550 Phenom X4 may not be up to that task. I'm working on a deal for a 955BE that would eventually be able to go in this though.
*A "free option" could include a full blown operating system, such as CentOS or Ubuntu, but I would advise using a NAS-oriented operating system, such as FreeNAS, OpenIndiana, etc.
Free is great... BUT... Only if it's a great solution. As long as it does the job I need it to with little or no compromise... I'm happy.
