The original post: /r/datahoarder by /u/kennyj313 on 2025-01-31 17:21:02.
Hi all,
My current NAS build is reaching capacity, and I'm looking to upgrade it soon and add capacity/ performance.
Currently, I'm running a Fractal Define R5 which I've absolutely loved, but I've filled the 8 drive bays and need to expand. Current hardware includes a 6600k passed down from my previous gaming setup, a P400 for transcoding, 16GB RAM, 8x8TB Seagate drives along with a 1TB NVME cache drive and a 512GB SATA SSD for application data, and an LSI 9211-8i for connecting the HDD's. Use case wise, I currently run Unraid (got that lifetime license while it was cheap!), and run Plex, a few game servers, some assorted dockers, and a Windows VM. I also like the idea of setting up a gaming VM in the future to play on low power devices, but that's more aspirational.
First thing I'm debating is rack mount vs. freestanding case - my wife and I were fortunate enough to have bought our first (and hopefully forever) home recently, and we've got a few different spaces that could support a rack, and I think long term that's a solution that I, and perhaps more importantly she, am/is open to. However, I know there are also a few full ATX cases out there that can also support upwards of 18 drives, although I figure adding another rack mount enclosure would be easier/cleaner than adding more freestanding capacity.
Second is drives - I've been opening up to the idea of refurbed enterprise drives, but it looks like a lot of others have too, and the prices/ availability seem to reflect that. I'm also thinking I need to finally make the jump to larger capacity drives now that the price/TB sweet spot seems to be shifting.
Third is the other core hardware - I'm strongly leaning towards 12th gen Intel for the price/performance, core count, and QSV. My understanding is that different tiers of UHD don't offer particularly big differences in transcode performance (most of mine is 4K HDR to 1080p for <5 concurrent users), but I figure the extra CPU cores will be useful for additional dockers/game servers and if I decide to run more VM's in the future. I'm also aware that Unraid doesn't recognize the efficiency cores "intelligently", but I figure I can just pin them manually accordingly.
Thoughts/input? Thank you in advance for any advice or callouts on specific part choices!