Home Server getting old : Is my upgrade route worth it ?

[bertie40]

Hiya.
My Home Server.
A big case holding 10 hard drives, plus a small SSD which holds the operating system.
The OS is Amahi (a Linux system).

Total drive capacity of 12 TB.
Ive got 120Gb left

(All the important files are duplicated (really important stuff is triplicated, if there is a word), across separate drives, which i select from a menu, so there is protection from drive failure, but duplicate 1080p MKVs do eat up the space ).

It's starting to show its age, so I've put together a list of replacement components, which include a skt 1150 motherboard (£130 / $215) with 8 SATA's, plus a dual core Pentium chip (£50 / $80) and a whopping OCZ power supply (£150 / $250).
Plus a couple of additional 2TB drives (£120 / $220).

I've gone for the cheaper MB plus chip, as it's usage is hardly intensive.

Question.
Am I going about this the wrong way ?

Alternatives ?

I've seen blade server units, which can hold multiple drives, but I've never had any experience with them. Is this an alternative ?
I've been happy with my existing server, including the OS. And it works well with my Duo2 satellite receiver, which acts as a front end for playback.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Wow...an Amahi user! Rare breed!

This for home use? What I'd go for is low power consumption, low noise.
Lower desktop CPU, probably select HDDs designed for DVRs, small form factor chassis.

 

[AndyM]

I recently purchased a refurbished machine for a client - I've decided to keep it for myself. You'll see why.... And this may be an option for you Bertie....

HP XW8600 Workstation, 8GB ECC RAM, Single Intel Xeon CPU, 250GB SATA HD.

Stripped out the 250GB SATA, and replaced with 4 bigger drives, in 2 RAID 1 configurations. Was thinking about using the onboard SAS connectors (it has 8 SAS, and 8 SATA connectors!). Chucked in an internal RDX drive that was hanging around. Also chucked in a BD-RW drive. Still have the option for putting in another Intel XEON CPU (it takes 2 CPU's). It also has 2 NICs as well.

My question is:
Why go for brand new components for a PC, when you can get a damn good workstation, with workstation specs, plenty of space inside.

Your socket 1150 motherboard cost more than my workstation.... Got the workstation for £128 + Del & VAT. Bargain or what?!?!?

Andy

 

[SpaceSquad]

This for home use? What I'd go for is low power consumption, low noise.
Lower desktop CPU, probably select HDDs designed for DVRs, small form factor chassis.

Yessir

My home NAS/server is an AMD E350 dual-core embedded system. Just a little mini-itx MSI SOC board with 8GB of RAM, an extra NIC, and 4 hard disks. Runs everything I need. If I need to test a bunch of, say, 2008 VMs then I will use my desktop. The server is the only PC that runs 24/7 in the house...all for just 25watts

 

[bertie40]

Thanks for the replies guys. It all revolves around the number of drives I'll be running, hence the need for a SATA socket rich MB, plus a PSU to power it.

I was also looking into a rack type system, but I think I'll just bite the bullet and just go for it.