Want to build a low powered NAS. What to look for?
Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2014 8:29 am
So for a REALLY long time I've wanted to build my own nas to replace my Qnap which is too slow and not enough storage space. I know I wont get the same low power consumption as my qnap, but I still want to go as low as I can without sacrificing speed.
I tried figuring out parts myself but its just really confusing. Now I usually just search through google "low powered nas" and try to find builds that other people are making. Tech advances so fast tho that when I find a build someone made some of its parts are normally disco or dated.. as well usually no idea approx power it uses. So it doesn't really help my part choosing. (for example, Vicotnik's build says Idle 24W which I would be really happy with but it uses Intel DH77DF, and thats discontinued)
Not 100% sure what OS I'll use. Probably freenas since that's what I see people talking about the most. I wanted at least 4 drives with room to expand. Size of case and noise is no concern.
When picking parts how do I calculate or guesstimate what power consumption will be? Approx 5 watts/drive is all I know.
What should I look for when picking a motherboard? I see CPUs say TDP, and I thought that would tell me power consumption then I read that figure doesnt.
For Power supply should I be grabbing a picoPSU for low power use, or are they just mainly used when space is a concern? Really the only nas builds Ive seen that use a picoPSU are in this forum. But builds in here are also lower powered then most Ive seen too. For regular power supplies I always thought before that higher watt means more power consumption, but I would need to look for rating value instead, right? 90 plus GOLD being the most energy efficient?
This is one "low power - moderate cost" build I just found today that on found FreeNAS that people say looks good.
- Supermicro X9SCL-F-O motherboard
- Intel Core i3 3220T 35W CPU
- 2x Crucial 8GB 240-pin DDR3 1600 ECC Unbuffered SDRAM (PC 12800)
- 6x Western Digital Red 2TB NAS hard drives WD20EFRX (already owned)
- SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Then someone suggested
Supermicro X10SLM+-F with G3220 or G3240 cpu instead
Can anyone offer build suggestions, or guide me on what to look for? sorry for being a huge noob about all this it just seems like im going around in circles. Only thing I know for sure right now is Im going to be buying Red WD drives, just havent decided how many yet.
Any comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I tried figuring out parts myself but its just really confusing. Now I usually just search through google "low powered nas" and try to find builds that other people are making. Tech advances so fast tho that when I find a build someone made some of its parts are normally disco or dated.. as well usually no idea approx power it uses. So it doesn't really help my part choosing. (for example, Vicotnik's build says Idle 24W which I would be really happy with but it uses Intel DH77DF, and thats discontinued)
Not 100% sure what OS I'll use. Probably freenas since that's what I see people talking about the most. I wanted at least 4 drives with room to expand. Size of case and noise is no concern.
When picking parts how do I calculate or guesstimate what power consumption will be? Approx 5 watts/drive is all I know.
What should I look for when picking a motherboard? I see CPUs say TDP, and I thought that would tell me power consumption then I read that figure doesnt.
For Power supply should I be grabbing a picoPSU for low power use, or are they just mainly used when space is a concern? Really the only nas builds Ive seen that use a picoPSU are in this forum. But builds in here are also lower powered then most Ive seen too. For regular power supplies I always thought before that higher watt means more power consumption, but I would need to look for rating value instead, right? 90 plus GOLD being the most energy efficient?
This is one "low power - moderate cost" build I just found today that on found FreeNAS that people say looks good.
- Supermicro X9SCL-F-O motherboard
- Intel Core i3 3220T 35W CPU
- 2x Crucial 8GB 240-pin DDR3 1600 ECC Unbuffered SDRAM (PC 12800)
- 6x Western Digital Red 2TB NAS hard drives WD20EFRX (already owned)
- SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Then someone suggested
Supermicro X10SLM+-F with G3220 or G3240 cpu instead
Can anyone offer build suggestions, or guide me on what to look for? sorry for being a huge noob about all this it just seems like im going around in circles. Only thing I know for sure right now is Im going to be buying Red WD drives, just havent decided how many yet.
Any comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!