[Official] serverbuilds.net CARE PACKAGE GIVEAWAY (pfSense + more) - ends 1/1/21

[QuickSilver]

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[Guide] Hardware Transcoding: The JDM way! QuickSync and NVENC

Introduction The purpose of this guide is to give an overview of hardware transcoding with Plex. The guide will also provide recommendations for adding hardware transcoding to your existing setup. Ultimately, the recommendation will be to add a dedicated transcoding box that uses Intel QuickSync. The hardware portion of this guide assumes: You have an existing NAS with all of your media on it (this guide will use Unraid as an example) You run Plex Media Server You’re looking for more transcod…

The Plex transcoding guide was quite formative for my own HP290 build and has outperformed my expectations for what a mini PC can do.

[snowe]

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definitely [Guide] NAS Killer 4.0 - fast, quiet, power efficient, and flexible - starting at $125

I just finished building my NAS Killer and am incredibly happy with it. I got through it with help from the discord, and am amazed at how helpful and kind this community is. I love how the guide was setup in order to allow mixing and matching and it worked incredibly well. The layout, the links, everything. Thanks for it!

Prize preference: Package 1, I prefer ortho split keyboards

[rickypaipie]

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[Official] NAS Killer 4.2 supplemental - MicroATX mobo w/ Xeon E3-1220L, Dual NIC, 8GB DDR3 - $79.99 OBO

For those that want to buy their own RAM…

I’ve been lurking on this forum and doing research on building a new NAS. the NAS Killer series of posts have been extremely helpful. Thank you everyone who contributed to these guides.

[drunkwater]

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[Guide] "Lego" 8-bay, dual Xeon, ultra-quiet build (2019 updated)

This is not a replacement for the Anniversary build. This is an option in between the NK 1.0 and Anniversary build, more like the NK 2.0 and NK 3.0. Objective: Build a sub-$300 ATX dual-CPU server with lots of room for expansion, and provide options for a variety of different build paths. Outline options for upgrades and expansion. Main Components Type Item Price Shipping Motherboard Supermicro X8DTL-IF ATX Dual LGA1366 $95 $0 CPU Cooler 2 x Arctic Freezer 12 92mm PWM $44 $…

This is where it started for me. Now I’ve run out of drive slots, am looking for upgrades or DAS, have built a pfSense box, and am building a miniITX NK4. The addiction is real!

[laxnover]

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[Guide] Anniversary 2.0 "SNAFU" - Server Needs a Friggin' Upgrade

[JOIN THE DISCORD] Special thank-you to all of the moderators, trustworthy, and Patreon supporters who provide valuable feedback and put up with me on a daily basis. [image] Objective & Overview Create the end-all guide for LGA2011. Update the Anniversary NSFW build to include many more options and avenues, including but not limited to: vendor direct deals, pre-built systems, add-in cards, storage, and sample builds. Following in the wake of the very popular NAS Killer 4.0 build guide, ut…

I found this guide, along with the linked CPU list, to be extremely useful when I was planning on what the next steps for my home setup were. I had been using my old desktop (i5-2500k) but was getting very invested in all of the other things I could be running on my server and was constantly running at near CPU capacity. This guide helped me make a much better, cheaper and more informed decision when I purchased some parts to make a better server.

[Quank]

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pfSense 1U Rack Build Complete

Since my prev post was one of those lost to the “rollback” I’ll repost. This is a 1U rack mount build based on JDM’s and COZisBack’s parts. I will list what I used with price and where I sourced it from. Build pics will follow. The WiFi network card is optional if you already have AP’s or just want to re-purpose your existing router. Type Part Price Source CPU INTEL i5-3470T 2.90GHz $22.99 eBay Motherboard Intel DQ77KB Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard w/ IO Shield $50.00 eBay CPU Coole…

Oh this one is easy! Yes, it’s inspired by your JDM’s Mini-ATX pfSense Build thread, but I love the fact that your post directly inspired another post which inspired me. Almost exactly a year later, I have a nearly identical 1U build that is ready to go… if only USPS would deliver my dang Pentium! Other than that, same case, same motherboard, same CPU and case fans. My nic is different, but that’s because of other posts that I’ve learned from.

Next part (for me) is that this venture was driven by so many Redditors nudging me to ditch by Unifi USG for pfSense. A bit of Googling led me here, where others have the same story. Learning about pfSense has convinced me to finally get my CompTIA Network+ cert. Testing in February.

Thank you so much to all of you!

Prize? THAT KEYBOARD! But honestly, I need to be donating to this community, not the other way around. Thank you.

[lingo]

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[Guide] NAS Killer 4.0 - fast, quiet, power efficient, and flexible - starting at $125

Sample builds Featured build This is the core NAS Killer 4.0 build. It’s almost as cheap as you can go in every category, with some considerations for efficiency (i.e. case with included PSU + 6 bays is a good value, but not the cheapest option). This build will absolutely steamroll any off the shelf NAS. Type Part (link) Expected Price Case Cooler Master Elite 350 $85.00 Motherboard ACER/ECS Q77H2-AM $24.38 CPU Intel Core i5-3570S $32.00 RAM 8GB DDR3 Non-ECC UDIMM $15.00 CPU …

This has been my favourite comment so far!

I’m specifically looking for a MicroATX or Mini ITX build, with as few components as possible, and as inexpensively as I can get it.
After my ASRock rack hosting my FreeNAS died today, I frantically got to searching, and stumbled across this fantastic website.

I’m hoping that within the next few days, I’ll have found what I need!

Thanks for doing this awesome giveaway / care package!

[DDriggs00]

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COVID Budget Anniversary 2.0 Build

I want to first say thank you for all the great information provided on the website that guided my component selection for my budget build. Unfortunately due to the current COVID pandemic, the selection of some components has become few and far between, especially for newer items (case and PSU specifically). The purpose of my build was to create a virtualization server to host either Hyper-V server, or Proxmox, as cheap as possible, and still leave room for future upgrades. Type Part Cost …

I needed an upgrade to my Nas Killer 1.0-based build, and this is the build I ended up basing mine off of, albeit loosely. It was very useful, despite half the parts on his list being sold out.

[wblank]

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[Guide] NAS Killer 4.0 - fast, quiet, power efficient, and flexible - starting at $125

[NAS KILLER 4.0 BUILD GUIDE] [JOIN THE DISCORD] [image] Objective Update the NAS Killer line of builds to iteration 4.0. Moving on to socket 1155, we should be able to see much better performance and power usage, while maintaining the expected low price targets. This guide will feature not only Xeon processors, but also consumer Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors. Market pricing for 1155 CPUs has dropped significantly in the past year, bringing it in line with where 1156 was a yea…

The venerable NK4.0 guide led me to serverbuilds and has been of tremendous help as I piece together my home server — although I’ve got to say that seeing in this thread what other users find valuable is giving me many more rabbit holes to dive down…

[mangocrysis]

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[Guide] NAS Killer 4.0 - fast, quiet, power efficient, and flexible - starting at $125

Hi Looking at a server, looking at using VM for: plex cloud, to upload to from holidays etc for videos, pics nas Ubiquiti cloud key sickbeard couchpotato etc programing testing maybe ability to VR game with on another VM, not required if it makes the build more expensive, but realize the graphics card is where the main cost will come into play

The NAS Killer 4.0 build inspired to build my first home lab. I’ve relied on the SB discord for all my homelab related questions and I’ve always been answered by someone who has been there done that before. It is an amazing community and I hope it keeps getting better every day.

Preference: Package 1

[Amelios]

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Lenovo M720q Tiny - Pentium Gold G5400T, 4GB DDR4, no HDD, with PSU - $149.99

[image] This is a really, REALLY good deal. It has a better CPU than the HP 290 (2C/4T instead of 2C/2T) and has a much smaller form factor. Just add your own storage (which you would have done to the HP 290 anyway) More info on the G5400T and QuickSync here: [Guide] OTiS 1.0 - Build your own Intel QSV HW transcoder! - #7 by JDM_WAAAT [Guide] Hardware Transcoding: The JDM way! QuickSync and NVENC Lenovo M720q Tiny - Pentium Gold G5400T (8th gen/Coffee Lake), 4GB DDR4, no HDD, with PSU - $1…

This little box is awesome, and I only regret I didn’t pick up another (or two). I’ve since upgraded it with an i5-9400T, some more RAM, and an SSD, and it’s a screaming little machine.

[Veriwind]

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[Official] U-NAS 8-bay Mini-ITX NAS (OTiS - 8th/9th gen Intel)

Join the Discord! [IMG_5123 2] Overview This guide is an extension of the OTiS build guide. Basically, it’s an off-the-shelf NAS using (mostly) brand new parts, with the latest technology like Intel QuickSync and native NVMe support. It’s centered around the U-NAS NSC-800 8-bay enclosure. It’s normally pretty expensive at $210 + shipping (without PSU!), but there’s quite a few available in brand new condition from an ebay seller for almost half that cost (with PSU!). Using the model off …

This would be officially my second build on this site as my first one was the NK4 turned into a Unraid gaming PC. The BLU-NAS was my favorite so far in builds as it really challenged me this time since not all the parts fit, some parts were bad, and I actually really liked the blue case I ended up with. Looking forward to posting more photos on that and onto my next project (pfsense box). If I won my preference would be the HP 290 (Package 1) so I could get that project underway :D.

[pantsman]

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[Closed] Seagate/Toshiba/WD 3TB SAS, HGST 6TB SAS Drives

Bitdeals is happy to work with the Serverbuilds.net community to give you a Vendor Direct Deal. We have the follow drives available as a direct deal. Please Note that items may not ship for up to 2 weeks. Seagate 3TB Constellation ES.2 ST33000650SS SAS2 6Gbps 7200RPM 64MB cache 512e sector format $18 ST33000650SS Toshiba MG03SCA300 3TB MG03SCA300 SAS2 6Gbps 7200RPM 64MB cache 512e sector format $18 MG03SCA300 Western Digital Re WD3001FYYG 3TB WD3001FYYG SAS2 6Gbps …

I want to call out BitDeals for their killer disk deals. I had always balked at the deals with 5+ disks as I’m not quite ready to sign up for that (yet) but it was great that they also had single disk deals like this. I hope they can recover from the fire.

[obhank]

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[Guide] Direct Attached Storage (DAS) - Add up to 16 3.5" drive bays to an existing server for less than $300

Update Another good option for the large DAS is the NZXT Source 210, with 8 bays native. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146077&cm_re=nzxt_source_210--11-146-077--Product Objective: Add up to 16 3.5" / 2.5" bays to an existing storage server, directly attached to the server through SAS->SATA connections. This allows for increased bandwidth compared to NAS solutions, and decreased complexity. In theory, you can add up to 16 drives for each x8 PCI-E slot available in y…

I was following JDM_WAAAT on Reddit for awhile. He turned me on to using an HP z420 for a Plex server. Did that. Now have 60+TB in the box and used this DAS guide for the future. Still running great. on 24/7 even using as a gaming computer. Time for a backup rig though. Thanks for the opportunity to take these off your hands. Here’s to a better 2021!

[sturgeon]

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[Guide] NAS Killer 4.0 - fast, quiet, power efficient, and flexible - starting at $125

[NAS KILLER 4.0 BUILD GUIDE] [JOIN THE DISCORD] [image] Objective Update the NAS Killer line of builds to iteration 4.0. Moving on to socket 1155, we should be able to see much better performance and power usage, while maintaining the expected low price targets. This guide will feature not only Xeon processors, but also consumer Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors. Market pricing for 1155 CPUs has dropped significantly in the past year, bringing it in line with where 1156 was a yea…

I was close to spending an arm and a leg on a Synology NAS when I stumbled on a reddit post mentioning this guide. It’s lead me down a big, fun rabbit hole exploring all the guides and resources in this community. I have really enjoyed reading through things here and putting together my first server. Excited to finish the build soon and share. Thank you!

[Ephemeral]

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[Official] NAS Killer 4.2 supplemental - MicroATX mobo w/ Xeon E3-1220L, Dual NIC, 8GB DDR3 - $79.99 OBO

AAEON CMB-A9SC2 w/Xeon E3-1220L 2.3GHz CPU/Heatsink & 8GB DDR3 1600MHz ECC new! Ran across this board on ebay…looks interesting. I didn’t need one but thought I would share it here. Seller never got back to me on my “offer” which was $70. [image] $79.99 OBO >>>LINK<<< poll

Just wishing I’d actually come and found this site before I went and foolishly built my own rather badly.

[7u5k3n]

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im going to say its this one.

I was featured on the Self-Hosted Podcast!

@JDM_WAAAT was on the Self-Hosted Podcast! Follow the link below to listen.

i love listening to the selfhosted podcast… I built my home server with help from the subreddit and from ironicbadgers howto over on linuxserver.io several years ago.

So with this podcast, two separate folks that had a huge impact on my life and many of my close family and friends came together to spread the gospel of selfhosting and server building.

[Rip_Reddit]

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[Guide] Anniversary 2.0 "SNAFU" - Server Needs a Friggin' Upgrade

Just be careful, the x9drd I bought doesn’t support v2 cpus so I have a v1 on the way to allow me to flash the bios. Cheapest v1 is like $5 so not a big deal.

Thank you for this guide. I used it to build a monster in my basement and learn a ton! Which has helped me tremendously professionally. I have referred so many people to this site and these guides it’s a huge help. Also the comment section on this post and the community is very helpful. If you want to learn how to build your own server and want to source powerful parts and don’t want to buy off the rack - this is your guide. The best part is, the hardware is just the start. Once you stand up your machine, there is so much you can do with it. I went unraid and I’m having a blast moving to the self hosted web. Thank you everyone for the help

Prize package #1 please, I would not have use for 2

[getndl]

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1.3TB PCI-E SSD - $130 free shipping

Edit* These drives are not bootable. The drive won’t work on Linux kernel 5 so you have to stay with 4. This means proxmox 6.0 and newer versions of most distros won’t work. Windows 10 is easy to install with the dell files. On windows, it can run a local web server for a GUI interface to interact with the drive or command line. On Linux, I believe it is command-line only. Also, they are pcie 2.0 x4 but take x8 electrical. To get the full performance you’ll have to change the power limit from …

Honestly, there isn’t much there yet, but it was super helpful in directing me toward finding details on getting these cards up and running in Unraid. I haven’t gotten it all set up just yet, but at the very least I know it’s doable. @Juchong on the Unraid forums is making awesome headway, and hopefully, someone can create a plugin similar to the Nvidia/DVB one for the drivers.

[kinghat]

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[Guide] Direct Attached Storage (DAS) - Add up to 16 3.5" drive bays to an existing server for less than $300

Update Another good option for the large DAS is the NZXT Source 210, with 8 bays native. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146077&cm_re=nzxt_source_210--11-146-077--Product Objective: Add up to 16 3.5" / 2.5" bays to an existing storage server, directly attached to the server through SAS->SATA connections. This allows for increased bandwidth compared to NAS solutions, and decreased complexity. In theory, you can add up to 16 drives for each x8 PCI-E slot available in y…

learning about DAS to cheaply and efficiently expand my local storage has been amazing. the efficient part of the equation is where it gets interesting because you can tailor things to your needs instead of throwing everything at a problem. thanks for the advice!