First DIY 6-8-10 HDDs XPEnology Build - need advice

Builds [LGA1151,LGA1200] NAS Killer 6.0, Plex QSV Builds
1

Hi guys!

After a long and succefull use of my good old HP Gen8 XPEnology box I’ve decided to build a new and DIY XPEnology machine with more HDD bays and more processing power. I want to host on it not only a file server and personal cloud solution but also to use it for PhotoStation, Survellance Station and Plex server to say the least. I’m gonna go with Intel since I want QuickSync Video.

I want it build as cheap as possible so I need some advice in order to not make a noob mistakes and waste money.

CPU >> i3-10100
At the moment for XPEnology I’m stuck with Intel Gen 8,9 or 10 processors and since i3-10100 costs as much or less as 9th gen where I live - about 100 euro - I prefer to go this route. In addition it seems to me more future proof with LGA1200 socket except it’s cheaper.

MoBo
The other thing is the MoBo itself.
Should I go with some cheap motherboard like

ASRock H470M-HDV/M.2

which is ~65 euro here or should I buy something pricier like

ASRock H570 Phantom Gaming 4

which will cost me something ~110 euro?
Or even something more expensive?
What are your thoughts on that one?
Will be there any additional benefits of a more costly MoBo in such a project?

SAS
My plan is to stick some LSI based SAS controler in IT/HBA mode into one of the PCIe slots of the MoBo in order to provide 8 SATA ports for the HDDs. These LSI’s are easily found in eBay for 20-30-40 euros each. A SAS’ 8 SATA ports combined with the 4 to 6 on the MoBo itself will be more than enough even in the long run I think.

RAM
Most of the MoBo’s that will fit my need support 64GB = 2 x 32GB RAM. Althogh I’m pretty sure it’s an overkill I want to populate one of the two slots to capacity. So I’ll buy 32GB RAM module. It’s not so pricey anyway. Some 50 euros or so.

I have an old PC in a ATX case wich will be my donor for a case and a PSU.
May be at a later moment I’ll buy some new and pretty mATX case - a Fractal Design Node 804 or alike - and will transplant everything in it.

That’s all that comes to my mind at the moment.
Please give me a hand here since it’s my first PC build ever.
Any input will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

2

For Xpenology, go cheap. You get function over power with the OS. I cringed when I saw that you’re using Xpenology for a personal cloud. I put every single block and safeguard from allowing my Xpenology VM touch the WWW. QNAP and Synology are targeted so often, and Xpenology updates seem too distant.

3

What would be a safer and preferable personal cloud solution than?

4

It’s much more complicated than xpenology, but the whole Nextcloud setups or something with proxmox.

There are plenty of sites and YouTube clips of people setting these types of things up.

Xpenology is as easy as synology, but also has the security stench of Synology/QNAP.

And maybe I’m wrong, maybe the synology hacks are due to people opening things up and securing them with passwords like password1234

5

You should look at Unraid. Xpenology is not legal, and in my mind uses much worse software than Unraid does.

6

Well…
Surely I will take a look at Unraid.
How exactly the build I described satisfies Unraid’s requirements? Should I need to make any changes if I go with Unraid?

7

Unraid is more forgiving for hardware than practically anything else