Hi All,
I wanted to share my latest build (Silent NAS) as well as my thoughts and choices with this build. I will try to add some pics of the build. Hopefully, this post helps others in some small form. I basically wanted to return the favor to this forum and to many other forums that has been a wealth of information for me personally.
The NAS is up and running for a couple weeks now. Why the NAS? Well like many of you my family has a bunch of external drives with all our media etc. The NAS will be mainly used to store our family albums, music, movies and a central storage area for an upcoming HTPC build. A word of caution, please keep any sensitive information stored elsewhere and disconnected from the Network even if your network is encrypted and firewalled. An example of this would be your Tax forms.
This Silent NAS build is a contradiction in terms when I say it is a Power House machine yet energy efficient. You want to limit power consumption for a home NAS system, since your NAS will be running 24/7. For my build, as is, a 200W PSU/Pico is needed with a recommended 250W if I include a GPU according to the PSU calculator. Also, you would need an OS for your NAS. Here is a sample of the more popular free NAS OS's: FreeNAS, CryptoNAS, OMV, and NAS4Free. I am including a link below that will have a lot more details better than I could ever give.
I will be using Nas4Free (formerly FreeNas 7) just because it has a nice GUI and I had no issues setting it up. Five minutes for installation and another 15 for a basic configuration, 30 minutes if you take the time to read the step by step wiki page. I had issues with the FreeNas 8(the newer version) although others had great success, as well as with OMV. NAS4Free is based on FreeBSD 9.x whereas FreeNAS 8 is based on nanoBSD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage
http://www.nas4free.org/
http://www.freenas.org/
http://www.openmediavault.org/
http://cryptonas.org/
My NAS build will be a bit different to most NAS builds due to some personal key points. For one, I am not recycling any old components. Its not just a NAS, but it can also be flipped into a backup personal working machine. Yet, still minimizes power using WD Green Drives, low voltage low latency RAM and a power efficient Mobo. I also added a Power efficient PSU with lots of future proof support for growth and/or additional GPU's if needed. A NAS only system can be built for a third of the cost of my current build using various other configurations... even less if you recycle components.
My key points
*Absolute must --- needs to be Silent.
*Absolute must Six 6GB/s SATA and USB3.0 support. (This option narrowed my selection list)
*Should not be as big as my Full Tower build (my earlier post in this forum).
*Room for expandability.
*Able to convert/support as a backup work/gaming machine for the latest and upcoming media.
*Looks Good.
Additional links:
Itemized List for Silent NAS and Silent HTPC builds
View attachment SilentNAS_and_SilentHTPC_Itemized_List.xls
The CoolerMaster Xtraflo slim fan is available at the following links:
http://www.cmstore.eu/ (only a few bucks here)
http://www.moddiy.com/ (available here but it is 3x the normal cost)
Here is a all-in-one website I think is an excellent source for anyone wanting/searching for a HTPC beginners build guide.
http://mymediaexperience.com/getting-started-with-my-media-experience/
Online PSU calculator
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
===========================HTPC============================
Case:......LIAN LI PC-TU200B Mini-ITX
Mobo:......ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX
GPU........HIS H657H1G Radeon HD 6570 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready
RAM:.......G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Low Voltage Desktop
CPU:.......Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Quad-Core
Cooler:....CORSAIR CWCH60 Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU
PSU:.......SeaSonic X series SS-400FL Active PFC F3 400W ATX12V Fanless
HD:........Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
SSD:.......OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-128G 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC
Fan:.......(120mm x120mm x 15mm) CoolerMaster Blade Master XtraFlo 120 Slim Case Fan
K & M......Cideko Air Keyboard Conqueror
===========================NAS==================== ========
Case:.....LIAN LI PC-V354B Micro ATX
Mobo:.....ASUS M5A88-M AM3+ AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
RAM:......G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Low Voltage Desktop
CPU:.......AMD FX-8150 FX 8-Core Black Edition Processor Socket AM3+ - FD8150FRGUBOX
Cooler:....CORSAIR CWCH60 Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU
PSU:.......KINGWIN Lazer Platinum Series LZP-550 550W ATX SLI Ready
HD:.........Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s (x4) Raid5
SSD:.......Intel 520 Series Solid-State Drive 120 GB SATA 6 Gb/s 2.5-Inch
Fan:........(120mm x120mm x 15mm) CoolerMaster Blade Master XtraFlo 120 Slim Case Fan
BD-RW:....Home Surplus
====================Full Tower Build - Water Cooled================
Case:.....HAF-X
CPU:......Intel core i7 3960x
Mobo:....Rampage IV Extreme x79
GPU:......EVGA GeForce GTX 580 Classified Hydro Copper (x3)
PSU:......Enermax MaxRevo EVO EMR1350EWT
HD:........WD VelociRaptor 600 GB SATA III 10,000 RPM (x2) in Raid1
SSD:......OCZ 120 GB Vertex 3 SATA III 6.0 Gb-s
Sound:...Asus Xonar Xense Premium Gaming Audio Set
RAM:......G.Skill Ripjaws @ 2133Mhz 32GB RAM
Fan Controller:......Lamptron FC-5 V2 Black Fan Speed Controller
I wanted to share my latest build (Silent NAS) as well as my thoughts and choices with this build. I will try to add some pics of the build. Hopefully, this post helps others in some small form. I basically wanted to return the favor to this forum and to many other forums that has been a wealth of information for me personally.
The NAS is up and running for a couple weeks now. Why the NAS? Well like many of you my family has a bunch of external drives with all our media etc. The NAS will be mainly used to store our family albums, music, movies and a central storage area for an upcoming HTPC build. A word of caution, please keep any sensitive information stored elsewhere and disconnected from the Network even if your network is encrypted and firewalled. An example of this would be your Tax forms.
This Silent NAS build is a contradiction in terms when I say it is a Power House machine yet energy efficient. You want to limit power consumption for a home NAS system, since your NAS will be running 24/7. For my build, as is, a 200W PSU/Pico is needed with a recommended 250W if I include a GPU according to the PSU calculator. Also, you would need an OS for your NAS. Here is a sample of the more popular free NAS OS's: FreeNAS, CryptoNAS, OMV, and NAS4Free. I am including a link below that will have a lot more details better than I could ever give.
I will be using Nas4Free (formerly FreeNas 7) just because it has a nice GUI and I had no issues setting it up. Five minutes for installation and another 15 for a basic configuration, 30 minutes if you take the time to read the step by step wiki page. I had issues with the FreeNas 8(the newer version) although others had great success, as well as with OMV. NAS4Free is based on FreeBSD 9.x whereas FreeNAS 8 is based on nanoBSD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage
http://www.nas4free.org/
http://www.freenas.org/
http://www.openmediavault.org/
http://cryptonas.org/
My NAS build will be a bit different to most NAS builds due to some personal key points. For one, I am not recycling any old components. Its not just a NAS, but it can also be flipped into a backup personal working machine. Yet, still minimizes power using WD Green Drives, low voltage low latency RAM and a power efficient Mobo. I also added a Power efficient PSU with lots of future proof support for growth and/or additional GPU's if needed. A NAS only system can be built for a third of the cost of my current build using various other configurations... even less if you recycle components.
My key points
*Absolute must --- needs to be Silent.
*Absolute must Six 6GB/s SATA and USB3.0 support. (This option narrowed my selection list)
*Should not be as big as my Full Tower build (my earlier post in this forum).
*Room for expandability.
*Able to convert/support as a backup work/gaming machine for the latest and upcoming media.
*Looks Good.
Additional links:
Itemized List for Silent NAS and Silent HTPC builds
View attachment SilentNAS_and_SilentHTPC_Itemized_List.xls
The CoolerMaster Xtraflo slim fan is available at the following links:
http://www.cmstore.eu/ (only a few bucks here)
http://www.moddiy.com/ (available here but it is 3x the normal cost)
Here is a all-in-one website I think is an excellent source for anyone wanting/searching for a HTPC beginners build guide.
http://mymediaexperience.com/getting-started-with-my-media-experience/
Online PSU calculator
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
===========================HTPC============================
Case:......LIAN LI PC-TU200B Mini-ITX
Mobo:......ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX
GPU........HIS H657H1G Radeon HD 6570 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready
RAM:.......G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Low Voltage Desktop
CPU:.......Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Quad-Core
Cooler:....CORSAIR CWCH60 Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU
PSU:.......SeaSonic X series SS-400FL Active PFC F3 400W ATX12V Fanless
HD:........Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
SSD:.......OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-128G 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC
Fan:.......(120mm x120mm x 15mm) CoolerMaster Blade Master XtraFlo 120 Slim Case Fan
K & M......Cideko Air Keyboard Conqueror
===========================NAS==================== ========
Case:.....LIAN LI PC-V354B Micro ATX
Mobo:.....ASUS M5A88-M AM3+ AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
RAM:......G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Low Voltage Desktop
CPU:.......AMD FX-8150 FX 8-Core Black Edition Processor Socket AM3+ - FD8150FRGUBOX
Cooler:....CORSAIR CWCH60 Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU
PSU:.......KINGWIN Lazer Platinum Series LZP-550 550W ATX SLI Ready
HD:.........Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s (x4) Raid5
SSD:.......Intel 520 Series Solid-State Drive 120 GB SATA 6 Gb/s 2.5-Inch
Fan:........(120mm x120mm x 15mm) CoolerMaster Blade Master XtraFlo 120 Slim Case Fan
BD-RW:....Home Surplus
====================Full Tower Build - Water Cooled================
Case:.....HAF-X
CPU:......Intel core i7 3960x
Mobo:....Rampage IV Extreme x79
GPU:......EVGA GeForce GTX 580 Classified Hydro Copper (x3)
PSU:......Enermax MaxRevo EVO EMR1350EWT
HD:........WD VelociRaptor 600 GB SATA III 10,000 RPM (x2) in Raid1
SSD:......OCZ 120 GB Vertex 3 SATA III 6.0 Gb-s
Sound:...Asus Xonar Xense Premium Gaming Audio Set
RAM:......G.Skill Ripjaws @ 2133Mhz 32GB RAM
Fan Controller:......Lamptron FC-5 V2 Black Fan Speed Controller
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