I've been running an HP N40L microserver for the past 5 years as my home server, and while this has been ideal, it's getting pretty old now and is underpowered for my PostgreSQL usage in particular (supporting PokerTracker 4). The successor (Gen8) is 3+ years old, the CPU options available are pretty underwhelming, and I can’t find any indication that HPE are bringing out a replacement. So on the assumption there isn't a viable off the shelf option, I don't think for my purposes I need specialist server hardware so I'm thinking of a build based on desktop hardware instead (don’t really think I need ECC memory?).
The uses are as a headless home server running Ubuntu server: PostgreSQL database, file server, media server for audio (DLNA) and video (NFS/SMB), very light use non-public web server/MediaWiki/MySQL, and I'd like to investigate Plex at some point in the near future as well - single transcode, LAN only, mainly to iPad. One key criteria is I need a small form factor case - the current server lives under a side table in the lounge so I'm limited to a max height of 28cm. I need to accommodate 3 x 3.5" HDDs (I already bought 3 x WD Reds a couple of months ago) and will add an SSD for OS and databases. The only other criteria I can think of is it would be helpful to have HDMI output for emergencies, and the server runs 24/7 so lower power consumption would be desirable. The HDDs are ZFS/raidz so I don't need a RAID card.
I've put together a potential spec as follows:
Case: Silverstone Sugo SST-SG11B
A lot of the SFF cases are Mini-ITX but MB options seem to be limited and I think Mini-ITX is also limited to 2 DIMM slots which restricts future upgrades? This case supports MicroATX and has enough space for my HDDs/SSD, and the dimensions work.
PSU: 450W Seasonic G Series, 80PLUS Gold
MB: Asus PRIME B250M-A
Several other very similar B250M options are available. Key criteria I've looked for are 4 DIMM slots, 6 SATA, and M.2 support for potential future upgrade paths, along with HDMI out.
CPU: Intel Core i3 7100
A bit unsure on the right choice for this - would I be better with 7100T or would one of the Kaby Lake Pentiums be sufficient? Or a faster i3? PostgreSQL is single-threaded, and I think any of these should be fine for it. Plex may be the deciding factor, I know less about its resource needs for best performance?
RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX (2400) 14-16-16-31
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB
250GB should be more than enough, (in fact 120GB would possibly be enough, but 250GB leaves plenty of headroom).
So my main questions are:
1. Does this look viable for my purposes?
2. Which CPU should I go for? Low TDP or not?
3. Any and all comments on the rest of the components are welcome too. Looking to build in the next few weeks, and I'm buying in the UK. Overall budget ceiling is about 600 GBP, and with a bit of shopping around the above is at around 500 GBP, so there's some scope to upgrade e.g. CPU if necessary, but I'm happy to make savings as well.
The uses are as a headless home server running Ubuntu server: PostgreSQL database, file server, media server for audio (DLNA) and video (NFS/SMB), very light use non-public web server/MediaWiki/MySQL, and I'd like to investigate Plex at some point in the near future as well - single transcode, LAN only, mainly to iPad. One key criteria is I need a small form factor case - the current server lives under a side table in the lounge so I'm limited to a max height of 28cm. I need to accommodate 3 x 3.5" HDDs (I already bought 3 x WD Reds a couple of months ago) and will add an SSD for OS and databases. The only other criteria I can think of is it would be helpful to have HDMI output for emergencies, and the server runs 24/7 so lower power consumption would be desirable. The HDDs are ZFS/raidz so I don't need a RAID card.
I've put together a potential spec as follows:
Case: Silverstone Sugo SST-SG11B
A lot of the SFF cases are Mini-ITX but MB options seem to be limited and I think Mini-ITX is also limited to 2 DIMM slots which restricts future upgrades? This case supports MicroATX and has enough space for my HDDs/SSD, and the dimensions work.
PSU: 450W Seasonic G Series, 80PLUS Gold
MB: Asus PRIME B250M-A
Several other very similar B250M options are available. Key criteria I've looked for are 4 DIMM slots, 6 SATA, and M.2 support for potential future upgrade paths, along with HDMI out.
CPU: Intel Core i3 7100
A bit unsure on the right choice for this - would I be better with 7100T or would one of the Kaby Lake Pentiums be sufficient? Or a faster i3? PostgreSQL is single-threaded, and I think any of these should be fine for it. Plex may be the deciding factor, I know less about its resource needs for best performance?
RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX (2400) 14-16-16-31
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB
250GB should be more than enough, (in fact 120GB would possibly be enough, but 250GB leaves plenty of headroom).
So my main questions are:
1. Does this look viable for my purposes?
2. Which CPU should I go for? Low TDP or not?
3. Any and all comments on the rest of the components are welcome too. Looking to build in the next few weeks, and I'm buying in the UK. Overall budget ceiling is about 600 GBP, and with a bit of shopping around the above is at around 500 GBP, so there's some scope to upgrade e.g. CPU if necessary, but I'm happy to make savings as well.
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