Motherboard+CPU for File/NAS/Media Server

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snakyjake

Member
Jan 22, 2014
75
1
8
I'm planning on building a home NAS + Media server.

I'd like to run:
min-itx
low power consumption (24/7)
Open Media Vault
SnapRAID
Torrents
Anti-Virus
Plex Server/DLNA (video transcoding)
Parity RAID (ECC Memory for checksum/parity integrity)
Minimum of 5 drives; more drive expandability the better.
Like to have the fastest SATA (SATA3).

I'm not sure if I require ECC memory for checksum/parity, or if I'm over-engineering with zero benefit, but data/file integrity is thehighest priority.
Not sure if Atom or Intel i3/i5/i7.

Motherboard suggestions?

Thanks,
Jake
 

TangoWhiskey9

Active Member
Jun 28, 2013
402
59
28
Jake - what OS do you want to run?

SATA2 is going to be fine for spinning disks. if you do want ECC memory you need an Intel C2xx chipset or Atom S1260 or Atom C2000 series. No i5 or i7 so your ECC options become i3, Xeon E3 OR Pentium.

Using mini ITX you are going to get limited in expansion options since you only get 1 expansion slot.
 

snakyjake

Member
Jan 22, 2014
75
1
8
For OS, Open Media Vault flavor of Linux. But Windows might be a second option if OMV, SnapRaid, and a pooling solution doesn't work out.

I'm not sure yet if there's an advantage of ECC memory for a 4GB system. I'll be running software RAID/Parity, so the checksums need to be correct to prevent data corruption and bit rot detection.

For the CPU, I want to make sure I have enough performance for streaming ripped BluRay and streaming from the Web via Plex or other options. I also want enough performance for calculating parity. I'm not sure how much the CPU and graphics chipset (Intel's 4600) makes a difference in streaming media.

For expansion, the only thing I would expand is the drives. The case I'm looking at only has 8x3.5" slots, and I'll use 1x2.5" slot for the SDD OS drive. Not many motherboards support more than 6 drives.

For motherboards I've been lead to:
ASUS H87I-PLUS without ECC and only 6 SATA3 ports. But I get more CPU choice, especially if graphic chipsets make a difference and I can upgrade to Intel's newer 5200 Pro in the future.
ASRock C2550D4I/C2750D4I uses Avoton, 8xSATA3 ports, 4xSATA2 ports. It uses multiple SATA controllers, so not too sure how that works for performance.

Jake