Hey All,
I'm a huge fan of Tek Syndicate's FreeNAS series. Prior to even hearing about FreeNAS, I was using a Netgear Readynas 104 for home storage and was soooo disappointed with it. The performance was so terrible, it couldn't even run the aps that came pre-isntalled, tech support was terrible and even after getting it replaced, I still ended up with the same issues.
After finding Tek Syndicate's FreeNAS videos I decided that was the way to go. I had some disposable income from my eBay store so I decided to put in some of that money into building a new NAS. (minus drives that I already had)
Here's the list.
Case: Fractal Design's Node 804 (on sale $90)
MB: ASRock C226M WS Micro ATX Server Motherboard ($170)
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1241 v3 3.5ghz. ($280)
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H100i 240mm, Fans configured in pull, exhaust out the top. (on sale $90)
Memory: Crucial 2 x 8gb DDR3 1600 ECC Memory Pack (2x at $180 each, total 32gb for $360)
SSD: Crucial M550 M.2 256gb SATA 6gb/s SSD for Caching ($155)
HDD: 4x WD Red 4TB Drives ($170 each, Total $680)
PSU: Corsair RM1000 80Plus Gold(I had purchased this on ebay for another project for $135 which fell through, but fits this case fine.)
Cooling: 3x Corsair SP120 PWM Fans (MB side. $30, 17$), 2x SP120 3pin (HDD Side, $28) and 1x Coarsair stock 140mm AF series fan from my main system. (FREE, HDD side)
Video: Onboard video does not work with this CPU so I picked up a cheapo Geforce 210 at Microcenter for 30 bucks. Needed for testing and configuration.
Network: Even though this board has 2x intel nic's built in, I decided to pick up a dual nic anyway for teaming. Intel EXPI9402PTBLK dual gigabit NIC. (Ebay for $15)
MISC: 1x replacement reset switch (Case does not have one) ran out the back. ($3.50)
I liked the design of the Node 302, but I didn't like the options I could get with a server grade mini ITX board and the lack of storage expansion options. I went with the Node 804 because it could meet most of my "wants" list with a Micro ATX board and I have plenty of room to grow the system.
Future Expansion: Expanding this system will only be possible because of the existence of an 8 port PCI Express x2 Sata3 expansion card that I found on Newegg. Adding this to my final slot will allow me to add up to 8 more sata devices. Note that this is NOT a raid controller so should work fine with ZFS. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816124070&cm_re=sata_card-_-16-124-070-_-Product
This gives me the option to add up to 6 more 3.5" drives and 2x SSD's for caching. That will totally max out this case with a total of 10x 3.5" drives, 1 M.2 SSD and 2x Standard size SSD's.
Pics: http://imgur.com/a/gfMTL#7
The best part about this build that I'm super happy with: It only draws 55-60 watts at Idle and maxes at 80w under load. I love it! Overall I'm super happy with how it came out.
Feel free to comment and tell me what you think.