Folks,
I'm a newbie to the server world, but not a newbie to assembling a computer (did it 25 yrs ago). Anyhow, I have a Synology ds1512+ unit for my file server duties. Plex is installed on the synology and it serves movies for the kids daily (indespensible).
So, the reason I'm here is to figure out an upgrade to my existing system. I don't need much HDD space as I have just about 2TB of files, music and movies on the Synology now. What I do need is processing power. My existing synology ds1512+ has an Intel Atom 2700 dual core. A new ds1517+ has a quad core C2538. I think it can transcode a stream of 1080p. Most of my movies are directplay as they are encoded in the correct format. It evens streams 4k movies to my 4k TV w/o any problems as long as I don't enable subtitles. Enabling subtitles requires transcoding.
So, I've been reading this forum for the past few days and have come to the following options.
1. Get a new Synology DS1817+ ~$900
2. DIY nas/media player. ~$600
Currently leaning towards option 2A and 3. Option 3 (prebuilt Dell T330) seems easy and upgrade-able. DIY NAS seems just as easy also, I get to choose my own case. The fractal is smaller, but does not have any hotswap bays. What does everyone here think?
I'm a newbie to the server world, but not a newbie to assembling a computer (did it 25 yrs ago). Anyhow, I have a Synology ds1512+ unit for my file server duties. Plex is installed on the synology and it serves movies for the kids daily (indespensible).
So, the reason I'm here is to figure out an upgrade to my existing system. I don't need much HDD space as I have just about 2TB of files, music and movies on the Synology now. What I do need is processing power. My existing synology ds1512+ has an Intel Atom 2700 dual core. A new ds1517+ has a quad core C2538. I think it can transcode a stream of 1080p. Most of my movies are directplay as they are encoded in the correct format. It evens streams 4k movies to my 4k TV w/o any problems as long as I don't enable subtitles. Enabling subtitles requires transcoding.
So, I've been reading this forum for the past few days and have come to the following options.
1. Get a new Synology DS1817+ ~$900
2. DIY nas/media player. ~$600
A. Asrock C236 itx motherboard $200, Intel Pentium G4560 $60, Case fractal 304 ~$80, RAM 16gb ~$130, PSU ~$80, HDD recycled from current system.
B. Supermicro X10SDV-TLN4F, maybe a little overkill
3. Dell T330 ~$500, brand-new as configured from Dell right now.B. Supermicro X10SDV-TLN4F, maybe a little overkill
Specs: intel C236 chipset, Pentium G4600, 8gb ECC RAM, 4 hotswap bays, 2x Gbe
500Gb HDD included, remainder of HDD recycled from current system.
500Gb HDD included, remainder of HDD recycled from current system.
Currently leaning towards option 2A and 3. Option 3 (prebuilt Dell T330) seems easy and upgrade-able. DIY NAS seems just as easy also, I get to choose my own case. The fractal is smaller, but does not have any hotswap bays. What does everyone here think?
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