DIY NAS/HomeServer.... Help in picking parts....

[Memmento Mori]

Long story short - my synology 212+ is stilli alive but is not up to date anymore for the tasks i would like to do have/do/test/playwith... So i was looking at some options and decided the best would be to DIY.... More cost efffective, better expansion/upgrade options and i could reuse some older HW which would give me better performance for less money.. Just a upfront infomation, its a project with not an urge and will take some time, but i thought i would be nice to have a thred where i can put my questions and get some advice... Hope you dont mind to share some opinions..

 

First Question would be Case related... 

 

Found a local deal for a  used Fractal Design Torrent Compact White TG Clear in a mint condition,  for about 66,66 EUR (epic number after conversion - is it a sign? ) It has good airflow, and i like the looks but is it any good for a NAS? were thinking to buy some drive cages and mount them on the botom as there will be anyway no big VGA...  Any thoughs?  Y/N? pull the triger?

[StrunkenCap]

66 Euros for Fractal Design Torrent Compact White TG Clear is really good price. But I don't think It will be really good for NAS. Since It's lacking 3.5 Drive slots and for NAS you will want atleast 6x of them If not +10x.

 

I don't know your local market but you should be able to buy old cases which should have more 3.5 Drive slots and be cheaper.

Edited July 20, 2023 by StrunkenCap

[Memmento Mori]

29 minutes ago, StrunkenCap said:

66 Euros for Fractal Design Torrent Compact White TG Clear is really good price. But I don't think It will be really good for NAS. Since It's lacking 3.5 Drive slots and for NAS you will want atleast 6x of them If not +10x.

 

I don't know your local market but you should be able to buy old cases which should have more 3.5 Drive slots and be cheaper.

 

yes wight, but my idea is that for relative cheap and some time invested you can build in the cages.. eighter 3D printed adapter (Fan/HDD cage) and stock it up and you get a nice vented NAS which is as well visually appealing   Or am i missing here something?

 

 

[The Pook]

my server was in a P400S with a bunch of added HDD cages but they just made the case/cabinet rattle. but if you can do it right then go for it

 

but no 5.25 would be my biggest beef 

[Memmento Mori]

30 minutes ago, The Pook said:

my server was in a P400S with a bunch of added HDD cages but they just made the case/cabinet rattle. but if you can do it right then go for it

 

but no 5.25 would be my biggest beef 

 

Ok, now you made me interested….Why do you need a 5.25 today? (Besides hotswap hdd cage)…

[The Pook]

2 minutes ago, Memmento Mori said:

Ok, now you made me interested….Why do you need a 5.25 today? (Besides hotswap hdd cage)…

 

Originally wanted it for my WH14NS40 with rip-friendly-firmware so I could rip BluRays directly to my NAS for Plex, then I got tired of doing that. Now just acquire the media from elsewhere 

 

I moved from 6x4 to 2x14 when I changed cases and now I just use them for backups to external drives ~weekly. But there is a bunch of neat 5.25 bay stuff depending on what you want to do. Icy Dock makes a bunch. 

 

[Memmento Mori]

1 hour ago, The Pook said:

 

Originally wanted it for my WH14NS40 with rip-friendly-firmware so I could rip BluRays directly to my NAS for Plex, then I got tired of doing that. Now just acquire the media from elsewhere 

 

I moved from 6x4 to 2x14 when I changed cases and now I just use them for backups to external drives ~weekly. But there is a bunch of neat 5.25 bay stuff depending on what you want to do. Icy Dock makes a bunch. 

 

true but not my case. 8 years ago i god an external dvd-drive and used it 2x since then… all is  asi ally oneline and the biggest problem is a storage now whre i can run backups of any devices …  

 

will take a look at icy Dock saw already some addons they do.. thaks for the thougts and info 

[Memmento Mori]

I was thinking about something like this...

 

3.5" Vertical HDD Mount - Fan-Mounted

 

 

[tictoc]

How many drives slots do you need/want, 2.5" or 3.5"? 

 

It looks like the torrent compact is wide enough that you could stack hdd cages up in the the front of the case. You would just need to make sure that whatever cages you use/print allow for airflow from the side.  I would definitely suggest using rubber dampers at all attachment points, but other than that, if you are willing to do a bit of modding you can stuff quite a few drives into most cases.

 

My backup server is about to be transplanted into a 22L case (about half the volume of the Torrent Compact), and that machine will have 6x16TB HDDs, mitx board, 10Gb nic, and an HBA.

[neurotix]

Look into a Corsair Vengeance C70. I have one empty and unused but it is missing some of the drive cages. From factory though I think it could fit 6 3.5" drives and a 5.25" drive (stick a 3.5" in). It is fairly plain but has really good airflow. Two fans on the side panel up to 140mm and fans on the back of the drive cages (they are supposed to blow towards the rear but if you turn them around they can cool the drives...) If you want visual appeal, stick some RGB fans on the side panel and throw in a light strip or something.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited July 23, 2023 by neurotix

[Sir Beregond]

On 20/07/2023 at 08:57, The Pook said:

 

Now just acquire the media from elsewhere 

 

[The Pook]

13 minutes ago, Sir Beregond said:

 

 

[neurotix]

1 hour ago, Sir Beregond said:

 

Isn't it like picking your nose, where everyone just does it but lies about it?

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[ozlay]

If you haven't chosen a CPU/motherboard yet. I'd recommend looking at used Eypc motherboard/CPU/Ram combos. Ebay is flooded with them. You can get a 32c/64t with a good motherboard and a bunch of ram for under $500. 

[Memmento Mori]

On 24/07/2023 at 19:16, ozlay said:

If you haven't chosen a CPU/motherboard yet. I'd recommend looking at used Eypc motherboard/CPU/Ram combos. Ebay is flooded with them. You can get a 32c/64t with a good motherboard and a bunch of ram for under $500. 

 

well im a not even a casual user with a Synology DS211+, for this reason this combo what you recommend has 3x more cores then i use now on my 10900K  and would be waste of power basically, too much overkill for my user scenario... 

 

Im looking more into deals like 9600K with MSI Mortat mobo and 16 gig Memory for like 150 USD?  Not sure if eve that would be not to much overkill.... 

 

took a look at this guy here... 

 

 

 

 

  

On 23/07/2023 at 22:35, neurotix said:

Look into a Corsair Vengeance C70. I have one empty and unused but it is missing some of the drive cages. From factory though I think it could fit 6 3.5" drives and a 5.25" drive (stick a 3.5" in). It is fairly plain but has really good airflow. Two fans on the side panel up to 140mm and fans on the back of the drive cages (they are supposed to blow towards the rear but if you turn them around they can cool the drives...) If you want visual appeal, stick some RGB fans on the side panel and throw in a light strip or something.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I like the military look of the case.. But idk - i probably got bewitched by fractal design and the Torrent model ...  cant help my self... 

 

  

On 22/07/2023 at 03:45, tictoc said:

How many drives slots do you need/want, 2.5" or 3.5"? 

 

It looks like the torrent compact is wide enough that you could stack hdd cages up in the the front of the case. You would just need to make sure that whatever cages you use/print allow for airflow from the side.  I would definitely suggest using rubber dampers at all attachment points, but other than that, if you are willing to do a bit of modding you can stuff quite a few drives into most cases.

 

My backup server is about to be transplanted into a 22L case (about half the volume of the Torrent Compact), and that machine will have 6x16TB HDDs, mitx board, 10Gb nic, and an HBA.

 

hmmm that way to small as i want to reuse my Thermalright cooler... and i need a CPU cooler height of 170mm  

 

 

 

But hey im just getting in to the whole topic  But its very interesting, so i take m time and just gathering info i can.. If any other advice, please just share it  

 

Thank you very much.

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2023 by Memmento Mori

[The Pook]

7 minutes ago, Memmento Mori said:

 

Im looking more into deals like 9600K with MSI Mortat mobo and 16 gig Memory for like 150 USD?  Not sure if eve that would be not to much overkill.... 

 

overkill for what? what specifically are you going to use it for? 

 

if's 95% NAS and you're only going to have Portainer or a few VMs then it's likely fine. 

[tictoc]

4 hours ago, Memmento Mori said:

I like the military look of the case.. But idk - i probably got bewitched by fractal design and the Torrent model ...  cant help my self...

 

hmmm that way to small as i want to reuse my Thermalright cooler... and i need a CPU cooler height of 170mm  

 

But hey im just getting in to the whole topic  But its very interesting, so i take m time and just gathering info i can.. If any other advice, please just share it  

 

Thank you very much.

 

It is a pretty small case.  I was just using it as refernece to show that if you are going to do a bit of custom work, most any desktop case will work just fine.

 

If you go with the torrent you could get some of these rubber stackers: https://www.amazon.com/SEDNA-Hard-Disk-Rubber-Stand/dp/B07XYBKGWN/ref=sr_1_3?crid=20N040NWGAQVW&keywords=hard+drive+stacker&qid=1690330434&sprefix=hard+drive+stacker%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-3#customerReviews

 

Those require a bit of additional work if you are going to stack a bunch of drives, but in a situation like the torrent, you can install the drives with the cabling facing the motherboard tray.  That will make for a nice and clean look, allow the lower front intake fan to cool the drives, and dampen the vibrations from the mechanical drives.

Edited July 26, 2023 by tictoc

[Memmento Mori]

9 hours ago, The Pook said:

 

overkill for what? what specifically are you going to use it for? 

 

if's 95% NAS and you're only going to have Portainer or a few VMs then it's likely fine. 

 

for the beginning it will be for sure just a nas and "Media" server..  Maybee later to hook up on it some cameras, but not expecting to run any sites, or hosting anything.. 

 

And i have to discover the world of True NAS and the other platforms what they offer and what i could do with it...  This here will be a bit of a sleeper thread as im slow progressing and its not urgent...

 

5 hours ago, tictoc said:

 

It is a pretty small case.  I was just using it as refernece to show that if you are going to do a bit of custom work, most any desktop case will work just fine.

 

If you go with the torrent you could get some of these rubber stackers: https://www.amazon.com/SEDNA-Hard-Disk-Rubber-Stand/dp/B07XYBKGWN/ref=sr_1_3?crid=20N040NWGAQVW&keywords=hard+drive+stacker&qid=1690330434&sprefix=hard+drive+stacker%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-3#customerReviews

 

Those require a bit of additional work if you are going to stack a bunch of drives, but in a situation like the torrent, you can install the drives with the cabling facing the motherboard tray.  That will make for a nice and clean look, allow the lower front intake fan to cool the drives, and dampen the vibrations from the mechanical drives.

 

i like this..  having some experience how good they damping the vibrations?  I saw soe "silencer" trays for 3,5 HDD but from the informations i found it also increases the temps of an HDD by like 10 degrees..   and then i found as well some 3,5 HDD coolers but dont know what to think about it..  I want it as wel to be silent... 

 

but yeah many things to discover for me in here  

 

 

 

 

[The Pook]

On 26/07/2023 at 02:18, Memmento Mori said:

for the beginning it will be for sure just a nas and "Media" server..  Maybee later to hook up on it some cameras, but not expecting to run any sites, or hosting anything.. 

 

And i have to discover the world of True NAS and the other platforms what they offer and what i could do with it...  This here will be a bit of a sleeper thread as im slow progressing and its not urgent...

 

any chance on moving away from TrueNAS and moving to a "true" Hypervisor like ESXi or Proxmox? Then you might want to look for a board with good IOMMU groups.

 

Doesn't really matter for TrueNAS + a few simple containers but if you want to virtualize all the things then it will. I tried moving my server to Proxmox but my board puts everything useful in one group

 

consumer boards are all over the place and price doesn't really effect how good/bad the groups are (there are ~$120 boards with better groups than >$200) so it might be worth considering at least 

Edited October 31, 2023 by The Pook

[Fluxmaven]

Since you like Fractal cases, the Define 7 in storage mode holds up to 14 3.5" + 4 2.5" drives. The XL version bumps that to 18 3.5 + 5 2.5" drives.  (you do need to buy extra drive trays to max out capacity)

 

I have a regular Define 7 with 8 drives currently. Fits big coolers as well. My Thermalright True Spirit 140 Power fits with room to spare. 

[Memmento Mori]

6 hours ago, The Pook said:

 

any chance on moving away from TrueNAS and moving to a "true" Hypervisor like ESXi or Proxmox? Then you might want to look for a board with good IMMOU groups.

 

Doesn't really matter for TrueNAS + a few simple containers but if you want to virtualize all the things then it will. I tried moving my server to Proxmox but my board puts everything useful in one group

 

consumer boards are all over the place and price doesn't really effect how good/bad the groups are (there are ~$120 boards with better groups than >$200) so it might be worth considering at least 

 

to be honest with you, first i have to take a look what Proxmox is and educate my self a bit..  But thank you for the hint! I will for sure consider it before i buy any HW (besides the case)... 

 

4 hours ago, Fluxmaven said:

Since you like Fractal cases, the Define 7 in storage mode holds up to 14 3.5" + 4 2.5" drives. The XL version bumps that to 18 3.5 + 5 2.5" drives.  (you do need to buy extra drive trays to max out capacity)

 

I have a regular Define 7 with 8 drives currently. Fits big coolers as well. My Thermalright True Spirit 140 Power fits with room to spare. 

 

Well i was to slow with the Torrent case and before i decided i was sold.... But im as well found another guy selling a Fractal Design Define 7 XL Black TG Light Tint for approx. 140 USD and as well a ventilated front cover approx. 46 USD..  Im tempted but on the other hand the case is too big for my use - not having the space for it as its a bit bigger then the "Compact" Torrent and for this price i could buy directly a new torrent...  And in the end i would not use the capabilities of the case to the max which means waste of resources.... Im looking to have around 6-8 HDD , which is plenty space for my personal use....   As told - a "Pre"Basic user here  

[The Pook]

Fractal Design Node 804 is still the goat for a small NAS case. it only officially supports 6 3.5s but you can squeeze in 8+ with some ingenuity and/or a 3D printer

 

mATX though 

[Memmento Mori]

7 minutes ago, The Pook said:

Fractal Design Node 804 is still the goat for a small NAS case. it only officially supports 6 3.5s but you can squeeze in 8+ with some ingenuity and/or a 3D printer

 

mATX though 

 True, even the guy in the video I posted earlier made it in this case and as well moded it a bit..  (3D printed front with a 200mm fan opening :D) 

 

Anyway, i have true spirit power which is collecting just dust and would like to reuse it, for this reason i need a CPU cooler clearance of 171 mm ... For thi reason the torrent were looking ideal with the PSU in the upper area leaving the space for some HDD at the bottom.  Here as well a small inspiration ... 

 

Link

 

Interesting to see the chipset cooler as this.. first time i see something like that but OK.... 

 

Anyway, if there is any other case having good Airflow with a PSU in the upper position, 171 mm CPU cooler headroom and the bottom free then please let me know... 

[The Pook]

have you already tried PCPartPicker?

 

you aren't able to set a CPU cooler height requirement on the case page, but if you add your CPU cooler to your parts list and then go back to cases and enable the compatibility filter then it'll filter out cases that won't fit your cooler. 

 

Just a moment...

PCPARTPICKER.COM

 

or you could buy a new CPU cooler 

[Memmento Mori]

12 hours ago, The Pook said:

have you already tried PCPartPicker?

 

you aren't able to set a CPU cooler height requirement on the case page, but if you add your CPU cooler to your parts list and then go back to cases and enable the compatibility filter then it'll filter out cases that won't fit your cooler. 

 

Just a moment...

PCPARTPICKER.COM

 

or you could buy a new CPU cooler 

 

thanks for the TIP... will take a look, but there are no cooler with a 170mm height.. anyway lets see what i will find   As told im not ahving any time pressure and i have to gather some infomations about the toppic of choosing the right platform for the NAS..   Thanks for the guidance