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Critique my planned build

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brain615

New Around Here
The theory guiding my build: a rack-mount NAS to fit into my 21" deep cabinet, which has at least 8 hot swap drive bays, running FreeNAS. It will be used to back up some documents from my laptop, stream HD movies to a Boxee Box, and down the line, record from a couple of IP security cameras.

From there, I found this case: NORCO RPC-450TH

And then picked these components:

ECS A890GXM-A2(2.0) Motherboard - $120 - Key requirements for me here were dual gig LAN ports and SATA III connections

AMD Athlon II X4 645 Propus 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor - $80 - Only a few dollars more to go from dual core to quad core, so why not?

(x2) Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory - $42 - Seems like a good compromise in terms of speed and capacity

COOLMAX CUL-750B 750W Modular Power Supply - $56 - Key requirements here were the proper connections for the MB, and at least 4 +12v rails to power the hot swap drive bays in the case, so they aren't all powered through a single rail

Transcend JetFlash 700 4GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Model TS4GJF700 - $11 - To run FreeNAS; want to go USB 3.0, since I understand FreeNAS is compatible with it now, and to be best positioned for future software upgrades

Key questions I have:
(1) Does anyone see any compatability issues with any of these components? I think it should all work together, but I'd like someone to take a second look in case I missed anything!
(2) Is anything here dramatic overkill? I definitely want to err on the side of performance, so a little overkill is ok, but if anything is just ridiculously unnecessary, I'd like to know.
(3) If there is a choke point in this system, where is it?

Thanks for your help in advance! :)
 
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I just glanced at the list. I and others would advise against ECS for motherboards. Read up on them.

For what you say you want to do, seems like these costs add up to way more than need be. The 4U chassis alone is almost as much as a dual drive NAS product!

But then, it's just for fun.
 
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...almost as much as a dual drive NAS product!

My video collection is already pushing 5 TB, and I want a rackmount solution to fit in with all my other rackmounted equipment.

Will do a search for ECS to see what issues others have had; can you suggest a replacement that meets my dual gig LAN and SATA III requirement? Thanks!
 
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Dual NIC built in leads you to expensive server motherboards.
Do you truly need that?
You can simply plug in a 2nd NIC for $15 to a less costly motherboard.

The only ATX/mATX motherboard brands I'll buy, based on long experience, are
ASUS
Gigabyte

The new mini-ITX motherboards with an i3/5/7 socket are pretty amazing. If not them, then surely a mATX will do.


(I'm cheap and get a kick out of pick/choose to get a bargain and not overbuild).

5GB of videos? You mean 5TB?
One HD video is often 5GB!
 
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