Nas htpc

[Ostap]

Hi guys

I'd like to share my latest project ...well latest by build but it was planned for the last 5 years
I've spent numerous hours...days, weeks ... researching - to find the best configuration

The goal was to create LOW POWER NAS (Network Attached Storage) but a bit beyond that - one that could also play videos
So basically two in one ... NAS + HTPC (Home Theater PC)

My first attempts were to find some server type motherboard (assuming that it would not be one bloated with bunch of unneeded options)
first version was this :

Memory	Kingston ValueRAM ECC SODIMM DDR3L 1600 CL11 - 8 GB
Motherboard	Supermicro A1SAi-2750F
Disk	Samsung 850 EVO 1TB 2.5" SATA3
Case	Lian Li PC-TU200, mITX, Zilver
PSU	picoPSU-160-XT + 192W Adapter Power Kit

Supermicro mobo - promised to have low power - while providing over 6 SATA connections ...
it had Atom CPU onboard ...i thought ...it should suffice ..
Then I bought new Kitchen computer that had this CPU ....and I was sorry
My electronic watch from 1985 - was faster than this CPU ... kidding ... anyway .it was VERY slow


So... the search went on .................................

At some point i've stumbled upon a blog ...where dude simply used "T" version of Intel CPUs and just standard mobo B85M) - his latest build clames to be 10Watt
I've sure never heard of it before - but after checking - it was desktop CPU with power usage close to the laptop - just 35Watt

so i've started digging - cpu, mobo , cooling , psu ....
And quickly came down with the price - that was just a bit too high at that moment - (over 2k)
...had to include new disks for replacement

Time passed ... new CPUs came out ... larger disks were introduced ..
and this year i've finally finished the project

Here is the current configuration :

CPU	Intel Core i5-8500T
Motherboard	ASRock H370M-ITX/ac
Memory	Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB
Disk (System)	Intel Solid-State Drive 660p - M.2 - 2TB
Cooler	Alpine 11 - Passive
PSU	picoPSU-160-XT + 192W Adapter Power Kit
Case	Fractal Design Node 304
Main Storage	WD Red 10TB
Sound (optional)	Creative Sound Blaster Z (optional)

That weird copper cooler - was nice idea ...but I got cheaper one ...and it does the job
CPU - is another story - originally I aimed at i3 ... (4 cores) but due to shortage of Intel CPUs in europe - bumped up to i5 (6 cores) to get (any kind of cpu) sooner ...and not sorry !!! CPU is marvelous !!! it finishes task twice as fast due to core count ....all within 35watt...then shuts it self down to 0.9Ghz ... of coz one would suggest i7 ....but thats x2 the price of i5 ... (T) version

so ...here is the build
Target power usage was 15Watt idle !!!!



The whole shebang (ignore the potatos)





White ...there were no other choice ... eventually it will end-up in the darkness of "under table" space







Have not paid much attention to it ...but there are 2 LAN adapters ..nice ...
It will be a server !!!







Huge MF ... and yep ...works ...CPU is @ 33C ..idle have not stress tested it yet







Case is surprisingly well made - they thought about everything
I still would prefer the one with handle ...but they were discontinued in 2019 .... could not find any



This is the whole PSU - specially designed to have maximal officiency (up to 95%) at lower power consumption
There are PSUs like Silver, Gold, Platinum ... but those are efficient when you draw over 200 watt ...
anything below - efficiency drops below 70-60%



Very tiny





My first NVMe ... - amazing !!! and its x4 times faster than any SATA2 SSD









Just standard ... screw the latency ....they all the same after all



Don't worry ... memory were eventually pressed deeper into the slot





Nice and officient PSU ...right ? But ...i couldn't use it.
New mobo has 2 power connectors (one standard ...plus 8p one like on some graphic cards)
I had no cable available ...
So - plan B - use normal PSU (for now)





Main storage ... I'm set for the next 5 years !!!













Plan B in action :/ .... for now



Internal connections support block power supply as well standart PSU ...nize !!!



Up to 6 disks ...well done !!!



Yea... spaghetti of cables ... - there will be more ...



Disks are flipped ...so are the cables ... no worry though ...



Who cares - all will be under the table ...i'll test the case with fan switched off later...
should do fine...(another 1-2watts off for single fan)



Once system went ON - power was .... 30 watt ... damn it ..



And after adding 4 Hard Disks - it of coz jumped to 50+...




This is of coz not the end ...I've found all the necessary cables ..(where to get them) ...
And will replace 700Watt ...PSU with the one I intended to use...hopping to drop power usage down to at least 20 watt (no disks) idle
As well - onboard Bluetooth, onboard WiFi, onboard sound (replaced by external - I needed IN and OUT for SPDIF - glass cable to connect second computer) - all those could be disabled ... (or ...even more crazy idea - physically cut off from power ...( ..I'm considering this option)


I'll let you know about progress


Talking about progress
My old comp ... Phenom II 1100t (6 disks + SSD)... pulls 250Watt idle (benchmark - 5,709) ..yep ..its over 8 years old
This one - pulls 53Watt (4 disks + NVMe) - (benchmark - 10,006)


By Dutch prices for electricity : 0.25euro / KWatt
Old one (24/7 ON) - eats ((250Watt * 24) * 30)) * 0.25e/KWatt = 45euro /month
New one (24/7 ON) - will eat ((53Watt * 24) * 30)) * 0.25e/KWatt = 9.5euro / month

I'm saving about 2 crates of beer every month !!! Prost !