First-time server build -- Looking for some advice, please

I just rebuilt my PC again (downsized to an SFFPC), so I have parts left over I’d love to fashion into a NAS/Plex box/etc. “Extra” parts include:

  • Maximus X Hero mobo
  • 16gb RAM
  • 650W PSU
  • 1TB SSD (for caching now, presumably)
  • 8TB Ironwolf HDD (unused and purchased cuz I knew I was going this route eventually)
  • Phanteks Enthoo Pro M TG

Obviously, I’d need another CPU and cooler. If I’m trying to dual purpose this, would I need to try to find another 8700? Could I downgrade to a 7700 as that’d be a bit more fiscally responsible? I think I’d probably need a SAS card, as well? Or should I build this as just a storage box and buy one of the tiny HP rigs off eBay to use as a Plex box?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

With any CPU of this gen, including a 7700, you’ll have QuickSync that won’t be too far off in quality from the Celeron in the HP290, so a separate box wouldn’t be necessary in this case. Just make sure not to get the F-series chips that don’t have iGPU. Lower power would make sense for a 24/7 NAS.

I would get another HDD for parity, e.g., WD shuck. IronWolf are solid but expensive. Once you get more drives than your board has SATA ports for, you can pick up a SAS controller (links in the build guides, e.g., LSI 9201-8i) and cables.

Awesome, thank you for the advice @seanho! Definitely getting another HDD for parity when I find a good deal on a shuckable 8+TB. Looks like I’m gonna be up and running much faster than I anticipated.

@seanho I just realized I have an old Z170 board with an i5-6600K in it. Would that offer similar performance (or manageable performance)? I found the QuickSync page and it looks like that should be pretty doable, or at least crutchable til I want to put some more dollars into it.

Thanks again!

Yes, the QS guide links to a table from the Wikipedia page on QS detailing how codec support has evolved over the CPU gens. Threads, PassMark, etc. are useful for everything else that might be running on the box, but QS is a distinct function within the iGPU, so transcoding capacity is not really linked at all with PassMark.

Oh and I realized that your board is 1151-2 for 8th/9th gen CPUs, the 7700 won’t work.