Sub $1000 USD NAS and Media Center builds

[Tyson Gibby]

A discussion thread for posting sub $1000 USD builds with these concepts:

• Parts are available (not rare) so other people can copy the build
• Build is less than $1000 USD
• Build has basic NAS function
• NAS has basic media center abilities (streaming, etc..)

[Tyson Gibby]

This is a build I put together on PC Part Picker:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Unconquered/saved/#view=ps4TP6

What improvements can be made while still staying under $1000? Or what did I screw up since this is my first x86 NAS build?

Edited 14 hours ago by Tyson Gibby

[PsychoWards]

Hey,

A couple of remarks:

The selected GPU is very week and cannot handle 4k transcoding.

If you are going for Media Center you need a lot more storage (you can get significant more storage with HDDs compared to SSDs for the same price).

You should probably look at an Intel CPU (their CPUs are shit for gaming but man, Intel QuickSync on the on-board GPU is one heck of a power house for transcoding). This way you don't need a dedicated GPU and can still transcode.

Your currently selected Motherboard has a Realtek NIC, Realtek NICs are mostly not supported and/or are not working correctly with Hexos/Truenas so if you choose a MoBo with a Realtek NIC you also need another (preferably Intel NIC) to get any network connections. In combination with the HBA card and a dedicated GPU (if you are going that path) you need to make sure to have enough PCIe slots and PCIe Lanes for those 3 extansion cards to work properly.

[Tyson Gibby]

Thanks for the tips. I think I made the changes you suggested. When you have the chance, let me know what you think.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TPM6xg

 

[Mobius]

51 minutes ago, Tyson Gibby said:

Thanks for the tips. I think I made the changes you suggested. When you have the chance, let me know what you think.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TPM6xg

 

the build in this link doesn't have a gpu in it.

[Tyson Gibby]

I added an Intel CPU with an integrated GPU with QuickSync as suggested. Will it still need a discrete GPU, too?

 

Edited 6 hours ago by Tyson Gibby

[Tyson Gibby]

Or at lest I thought I did. I'll need to fix that. I used the Ark.Intel.com filter and didn't double check the result. It does not have integrated graphics. Thanks for catching that.

Edited 6 hours ago by Tyson Gibby

[Tyson Gibby]

I replaced the CPU. It should have integrated graphics with QuickSync now.

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Unconquered/saved/ps4TP6

[Mobius]

Yes now you have a CPU with a GPU

In general if there is a "f" prefix on a CPU it doesn't have a gpu.

[Tyson Gibby]

Good, to know. thanks. Is this a decent sub $1000 NAS build? Are there any other recommended changes that should be made?

[Mobius]

It has a realtek nic on the motherboard which are problematic and might not work
i would highly recommend picking a motherboard without a realtek nic if you don't plan on adding say a 10gig pcie nic.

[Mobius]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BrkRyW

this is my alternative sub $1000 build for you 

11600 is a stronger cpu and gpu
motherboard only has 1 gb ethernet but its good enough for a hdd build
mobo also has 6 sata ports so you won't really need an hba until you go above that
cheaper boot ssd bc you really don't need to spend much on it
switched to less expensive exos drives. i don't know what they cost so little but in general they are better than ironwolf drives.
added more ram since hexos likes ram
switched to a dedicated nas case with a power supply that fits.

we can do a lot better if you are okay with some used parts too

[Tyson Gibby]

Thanks for putting that together, that is a much better setup.  I am OK with used parts. 

[Mobius]

Glad i could help

You can find new 6tb exos drives on ebay for under $100 from sellers with lots of reviews (i would still check farm data to make sure it is actually new)

Cpu and ram are where i would not hesitate to buy used.
If you search for ram on ebay just make sure you don't purchase ecc or server ram for this build as it is not compatible.
Craigslist and facebook marketplace are also decent places to look for deals on used gear

[Tyson Gibby]

Thanks, I appreciate all the help you gave me.