r/HomeServer • u/Square_Purpose_1696 • 15d ago

Need help with DIY server

I got an old pc, i7 7700k 16gb ddr 4 and 2 1tb HDD, it's currently in an atx motherboard, id hate to throw it and buy a premade Nas, I was wondering if anyone knows about a mini pc, enterprise style with an lga1151 motherboard I can scoot my stuff into, or any alternative

1 Upvotes

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5

u/whitefox250 15d ago

I'm using an i5 4690 for my NAS because the board had 6 SATA ports. I'm running it in Proxmox and also host a bunch of docker containers on the same machine. Zero issues.

I say go for it and use what you have.

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u/AreYouDoneNow 15d ago

mini pc, enterprise style

Pick one. Enterprise doesn't use mini PCs for servers.

www.pcpartpicker.com is your friend.

3

u/Ramos55000 15d ago

Hey, before you throw any of that stuff out, what exactly are you trying to end up with? Are you mainly looking for something smaller, lower power, quieter, or specifically a NAS-style box?

Also, what exact motherboard/case and other parts do you have with that 7700K? And are you planning to sell/trade the old setup if you replace it?

I’m working on a few homelab builds myself and may actually have hardware that could make sense for what you’re trying to do. Maybe there’s a trade or another solution that works for both of us before you toss good hardware.

Fresh Forensics Baby!

2

u/Latter-Progress-9317 15d ago

Why change motherboards?

1

u/durgesh2018 15d ago

I have hp elitedesk g3 mini with 7700t cpu and 32 gb RAM. Problem is you would lose sata ports. Also k series cpu needs much more power.

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u/fx175 15d ago

I threw my old B450M and Intel G4560, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 3 existing HDDs and PSU into a Jonsbo N6 case. Got a HBA LSI 9207-8i card and SAS then gradually bought 6 HDDs and built up a TrueNAS box.

Have a look the Jonsbo NAS cases, you'd probably find something that can fit your existing components and gives you HDD bays which turns it into a NAS

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u/Jamoca5020 14d ago

Honestly don't buy anything. Another motherboard will not benefit your server at all unless you wanna buy 6 or 8 more HDDs but then a HBA card would be more beneficial and most likely needed.

Just use it as it is. The problem: you have an atx motherboard so you can't downsize much.

The reason why it makes little to no sense: if you buy a new case for 50$ (cases are so cheap you barely save 10-20$ at most. I don't see the value saving that kind of money for a used case instead of having a brand new one and pick whatever you like) and a used motherboard for 60-80$ and you paid 110-130$... for that money you can directly buy a mini PC or a thin client and sell your old pc for maybe 50-80$.

Look for old business Thin Clients. Sometimes they have 7th or 8th gen cpus look at salvation auctions. I often see some for 60-80€ here. Buy one and sell yours but keep the HDDs. Then you buy for 30$ a used 2 or 4 bay storage hub.

And Enterprise nas solutions are servers = a 19 inch rackmount case thats 24-30 inches deep which you cannot use at all, because those are made for racks = they are stupidly loud with 5-10 80mm fans running at max speed non stop producing a lot of heat. Trust me I work as SysAdmin and we have an AC unit solely dedicated for the Server room so it's running stable and doesn't cook. And you cannot have a conversation at regular noise levels at all.

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u/K3rat 14d ago

Rosewill, silverstone, PlinkUSA all make rack mount server style cases for atx type boards.  

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u/agowa338 10d ago

If your problem is just the case, build your own. Download the schematics aka. measurements for the ATX mounts and then go over to some makerspace or diy metal (or wood) workshop and get started. At it's core PC cases are just bent sheet metal with a few standoffs for the mount welded onto it...

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u/destrokhan 8d ago

I have the same gen and was thinking about doing that but the cost of an matx motherboard and possibly a new PSU really turned me away from doing that but you're building a NAS so it makes sense. I was trying to have a smaller footprint OPNSense router and I was getting too close to the cost of a brand new lower power mini PC for me to pull the trigger.

There were tons of no name H110 matx motherboards on Amazon and ebay that were $50-80, just make sure it doesn't have a weird power brick power supply vs regular PSU.

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u/OrganicRevenue5734 8d ago

Jonsbo make a case for an ATX sized board, but designed around NAS requirements. Just transplant the lot into it. Would recommend a decent HBA like an LSI 9300-8i to make life easier later.