Scold and show the right way to a person for iron for home use?

Question

Iron

Good afternoon!
Interested in a hint on the organization of home iron.
Specifically: At the moment there is an ATX system unit, 5 hard drives 3.5 "and 2 2.5", 2 monitors, 1 router.
I would like to: replace ATX with mATX to minimize the space occupied and reduce power consumption + noise reduction. As well as self-training in system administration and virtualization (at the moment on virtualbox, but it seems that kvm will be better). Also, replace the router with a Mikrotik, with installation near the front door and organizing the entire home network via wi-fi, to refuse wires.
I would like to get advice and a hint from you - how best to organize this venture?
What would you do in this or a similar situation?
Is it worth it, in your opinion, to arrange such a replacement? (I understand that I need it, and decide accordingly too).

Answer 1

I recently solved a similar problem. Upgrading from ATX to mATX or mini-ITX.
1. Iron. If we use the old hardware to the maximum, then we run into the fact that the old mother and the body must be sold. There are 2 vectors, if sold separately, then as a rule it is long, tedious, cheap, and if you sell an old PC and buy a new one, then you need to pay the difference between the old and new config.
2. Hulls. I liked the convenience, capacity and practicality of the case from Fractal, namely
Node 304 - mini-ITX up to 6 HDD 2.5 "/3.5"
Node 804 - mATX up to 12 HDDs, of which up to 12 2.5" or up to 10 3.5"
In both cases, the maximum number of disks can be accommodated if (Node 304) refuses to use (the second Node 804) a discrete video card.
3. Quiet case - these are quiet but powerful coolers. I don't see the point in saving money.
4. In my case, the temperature of the hard drives is 35-42 degrees Celsius with a reserve for cooler revolutions.
5. If it becomes more hard, you will need to buy a raid controller. This entails both pluses and minuses.
6. As for WiFi - despite the emerging AC standard, the network card + cable bundle works faster, here HDDs are really the weakest link in terms of speed, especially if they are SATA 1.
Is it worth replacing? The PC is just a tool. A nail is hammered with a hammer, not with a scalpel, choose a system according to your tasks, but at the same time, the better the specialist, the better the tool he should have so that he grows and progresses.
I sold my old gaming PC on i7 4790k\32Gb\gtx980 4Gb and took a similar one, but already based on i7 6700k, for gaming and virtualization. In my case, a new one (based on Node 804) cost me 2 times more than I sold the old PC. Without a discrete graphics card (NVidia Pascal comes out in May)

Answer 2

Also, replace the router with a Mikrotik, with installation near the front door and organizing the entire home network via wi-fi, to refuse wires.

Do not do it this way. Well, only if you want to work in "combat" conditions, when communication channels are slow and clogged. At home, on the contrary, my computer and my wife's computer are connected to the home server with a gigabit network, so as not to waste time waiting for file operations.
As already mentioned, changing the motherboard will not help you much. But a good case, installation of hard drives on shock absorbers and good ventilation inside the case will help to remove noise. Ideally, you can pick up hard drives "quieter". And it will reduce power consumption or switch to another platform. And then you will either lose in computer performance or in the remaining money in your account.

Answer 3

Replacing ATX with mATX will not affect power consumption and noise in any way. Even on mITX. The motherboard consumes such a trifle that it is not serious.
If you mean replacing the entire platform, then another question.
What for?
For the purpose of self-study - the flag in hand. Many IT people have something server-like at home.
If the goal is not to play around with homemade products, then look at the HP microserver, an interesting piece of iron.

Answer 4

Is there anything inside the SB other than screws? )

Answer 5

At one time, it was not possible to abandon the ATX case ...
but So I advise you
1) virtualization as an option, install a Xen server
2) Wi-Fi for everything - it’s bad if you store backups there, etc. (actively use the Internet channel, Wi-Fi is not an option)
3) mikrotik itself is good
ZY I was able to get rid of 3 system units in the pantry only when I put my server on the collocation.

Answer 6

1.Uh, well, everyone’s work tasks are different, but personally I have a family file storage with tons of family videos in FullHD 3D MVC and 4K, and I also work with uncompressed cinema, but oh well, I’m all this to the fact that if in there is more than one potential consumer of video content in the house, even without any 4k and 3D, wi-fi does not take long to
install :-) from below and from the house opposite, in general, it won’t seem enough, and clearing the air from them, chasing them from their channels, is a separate song.
3. And there are also reflections and interference, which you can give a shit to yourself if you don’t understand the topic.
And that's all, just about Wi-Fi :-) About how five hard drives will feel in mATX with the appropriate power supply, I will not fantasize, but I strongly suggest that the questioner practice mathematics on their own.
PS. In general, the idea to play a system administrator is a good one, it all started with me once ...