Wanted to keep it around 1000 EUR. Performance is not a huge issue … key points are:
-volume (QUIET please)
-reliability (within reason)
-8x 3.5" bays, 2x 2.5" bays.
I will use this box mainly as a NAS (TrueNAS Scale), only running Plex/Jellyfin type stuff serving mostly music. If I need more power for VMs I’d build a dedicated machine, or at least get a NUC for transcoding if the need arises. I have no hardware lying around (this is my first ever build lol) so everything needs to be bought new or used.
Case: Fractal Define R5
PSU: BeQuiet! Straight Power 12 750W (overkill, but quiet…)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M PG Riptide (don’t need any of extras from the ATX version and mATX is cheaper/more airflow)
CPU: Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G (ECC support and onboard GFX)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S (…quiet)
RAM: 2x Micron VLP DIMM 16GB, DDR4-3200, CL22-22-22, ECC (VLP is a bit cheaper where I am)
Boot Pool: 2x Transcend SSD370S 32GB
SSDs for VMs: 2x Lexar NM620 256GB (also to be mirrored)
HBA: LSI 9207-8i based (e.g., Fujitsu)
HBA Fan: Noctua NF-A6x25 (either gonna zip-tie it down or use HVAC tape)
Case Fans: 3x NF-A14x25 G2 (if the 2x Fractal Define GP-14 that come with the case are too loud, then 5x NF-A14x25 G2).
Sanity check on the HW would be appreciated…it took me awhile to make sense of all the bits and pieces and compatibility. Not intimidated by the building or configuration aspects, I’ve upgraded PCs before and run some Linux VMs in the cloud. Thanks yall.
Not a critique, just an observation: in 2025 I would not buy a SSD that is 250 GB in size. The last time I bought SSDs was a couple of years ago and they were 2 TB, the last 500 GB I bought more than 5 years ago, the way prices work for SSDs you get better value and better performance per dollar from larger sizes. I have an old 500 GB drive in my NAS just because it was sitting in a drawer, but the nVME is 2 TB and it is already half full with VMs storage.
Nothing wrong with the list, but I’d suggest an AsRock Rack E3C246D4U2-2T instead, with a Core i3-9100: True server MB, with BMC, 8 SATA ports (drop the HBA!), Intel iGPU for transcoding if need be, and a 10G NIC that should be compatible with 2.5G.
@AdrianB1 yeah I was just being cheap … it’s 30 bucks more to go 512 for the mirrored pair…but I really don’t need the space or any more performance for this box. We’ll see how spendy I feel on purchase day
@etorix Thanks for the suggestions, I feel you, however:
The cooler is ridiculous, I know, but the system has to be as quiet as possible…I looked at several other options but they were all louder. Plus, I don’t have aircon and amb temps can reach 30C easily in summer…might have to add more case fans if anything. I could go with an NH-L9x65 but it’s a bit louder and only 20 bucks cheaper…
10G would go totally unused for what I’m doing and for the foreseeable future…
I need 10 SATA ports for 8 HDDs + 2 SSDs for the handful of VMs I’ll run.
The MB would push me solidly 200 bucks over budget after I manage to import the thing , there are definitely good deals to be had locally on the i3-9100 though!
It’s food for thought but I’ll probably stick with the plan, although get a tiny bit more spendy with an LSI 9305-16i instead for future-proofing.
Do not confuse noise under maximal load with actual noise in operation (or TDP with actual power use, etc.).
Anyway this was a comment rather than a critique.
Er… “bucks” and feared import issues but “1000 EUR” in title? In which area are you building???
Put these on NVMe if you have any option. SATA SSDs are a dying breed.
, there are definitely good deals to be had locally on the i3-9100 though!