Home Server Build Part 1 – Requirements, Chassis and PSU
Chassis and PSU Choice
So for me I think the easiest way to start is with the Chassis and Power Supply Unit. I don’t need anything too large or powerful though I do want something that is solid and will last for the case and PSU. For the money and the spec the 4 cases I am thinking about are the Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl, the Fractal Design ARC MIDI R2, the Fractal Design Core 3000 and the Cooler Master Silencio RC-550. If you are spotting a trend there then I would agree, it is hard to get away from the Fractals simplicity and design though despite its fan issues the Cooler Master is a good bet too.
The cases I am picking really rule out mITX as that was really only an option if there was a nice small case that could take the rest of my spec without too much of an issue. There are a few but they seem to sacrifice the optical drive, something I need.
I am not going for an external optical drive either, I really don’t like clutter and this would be one more thing to get dusty, in my way and lost or broken. I think for the cost and the fact it will be hidden away I will go for the Cooler Master Silencio RC-550 and possibly sort some good fans for it as I have seen a couple of videos and discussions that point out some poor fans supplied as stock. This may have changed now so I will test the airflow when I am setting up the case and internals.
The Fractal Design cases are very nice and I would have something very cool if I got one, but I cannot justify have such a nice case in a cupboard.
I think its got some nice features and it’s not too tall. There is some isolation for the PSU and it looks like it will have plenty of space for a large CPU cooler without too much of an issue. I will be using on board graphics so there wont be a nVidia Titan heating up the inside and draining the power out of the wall.
More on the case when it arrives.
Next the PSU needs some consideration. I would prefer fan less or at lease a quiet specification of PSU/fan configuration and around 500W. I have lots of web links and as anyone else these days Google is my friend.
There are a few sites that come up constantly though here are a few that I used –
Quietpc.com
Anandtech.com
Silentpcreview.com
Hexus.net
Modders-inc.com
Jonnyguru.com
Overclock3d.net
Guru3d.com
Hardwaresecrets.com
Tomshardware.co.uk
I will pretty mush use these sites and a few more, plus Google for the elements of the build I have no idea about. PSU’s to me are a bit of an unknown, my preferences is just to plug them in, power my gear and look good. I don’t really get involved other than that.
So I will be careful and not pretend I am the usual internet expert that thinks anyone who asks a question has trouble dressing themselves! Any how, on with the choice….
Something else to consider here is the number of SATA connections on the PSU. Most that I have seen around the 500W mark have 5/6 SATA connectors and I need 8. I know I can use splitters and there will be molex connectors but I want to keep the power as straightforward, as adapter free and as clean as possible. Also, the case I have chosen has some sound deadening material that looks pretty prone to rubbing or wearing away so cable mess will be kept to a minimum around the back of the case.
It’s always been a no-no that you split HDD power cables with Optical Drives as they can interfere with each other during load. It is not too much of an issue for the Optical Drive but I wouldn’t want my HDDs to have an interrupt event during a write event. I would suspect the molex will be fine but I have a couple of splitters in case the cables are too short.
However, due to the low power of an SSD, I may split these on to the same power cable. I will think about this during construction and testing if I don’t find a suitable PSU. I don’t have a short list as I did with the case, the features of a PSU (or lack of) rule them out of consideration before they make a short list.
So far the be quiet! BN192 Straight Power E9 500W is the PSU in the frame now. Connectors on this PSU are –
- 1 x 4+4pin CPU +12V
- 1 x 4pin ATX 12V
- 4 x 4pin Molex
- 2 x 6+2pin PCI-E Power
- 1 x FDD Power
- 8 x SATA Power
Looking at the connectors I will be able to use a molex to SATA adapter for the Optical Drive so it’s not really going to be much of an issue. I need to check average/generic Raid Cards and HDD configurations against this PSU before I buy.
There are a few sites that you can use for the rating, I have included 2 below and I used the ASUS site once it worked and the Cooler Master site.
Outervision.com
Asus.com
Cooler Master (Outervision)
I left the 2 SSDs out and the CPU config didn’t seem to work. These will be low power anyway but I will look into it a bit further. I also left the graphics out as I will be using Intel on board for this.
The Cooler Master site rated my build at 325W and that was with a Haswell i5 4670 and a couple of extra add in cards for good measure. Generally my knowledge of power drain is ok, so this is a nice back up and now it seems my choice of PSU will do.
Next time it will be chassis and PSU assembly and the start of the component choice.
