The parts list

SilverStone TJ04-E*

The SilverStone TJ04-E we reviewed was everything we look for in a chassis.  The case is well-built and looks great.  Dust won’t be an issue as each fan rests behind an easy access fan filter.  There is plenty of room inside too; the case has 8 x Internal 3.5″ Drive Bays, 6 x Internal 2.5″ Drive Bays, and 4 x External 5.25″ Drive Bays.  Even though this case can hold a ton of HDDs, it still maintains its Mid-Tower Dimensions.   After all, who wants a rackmount server sitting next to their desk or in their living room?

Alternatives:

• $34.99 – Xigmatek ASGARD 381 CCC-AD38BT-U03 – Newegg
• $39.99 – NZXT Source 210 S210-001 – Newegg
• $64.99 – Rosewill LINE GLOW ATX – Newegg
• $69.99 – BitFenix Shinobi Black – Newegg

SilverStone SST-ST40F-ES 400W PSU*

Every good build needs a good power supply.  Luckily for us, we aren’t going to need anything over the top.  We won’t be running any crazy video cards or some super overclocked CPU.  Instead, we just need clean and constant power to keep our HDDs spinning.  The SilverStone SST-ST40F-ES 400W PSU has enough juice to power this rig without having the elecric meter outside spinning like crazy.  Additionally, the SilverStone SST-ST40F-ES 400W PSU is 80 Plus certified, peaks at 500W, sports a cool and quiet 120mm fan, Over Current Protection, Over Power Protection, Under voltage protection, Short Circuit Protection, 400W 24hour continuous power output with 40°C operating temperature, and a single +12V rail with 25A.

Alternatives:

• Anything on Sale that you are comfortable with.  You don’t need a 750W or 1000W PSU either…

SilverStone CFP51*

Even though the TJ04-E has room for 8 internal 3.5″ drives already, we need more!  Having 4 x 5.25″ external drive bays at our disposal seems like the perfect opportunity to employ a 4 x 3 drive bay converter.  The CFP51 fits the bill perfectly.  SilverStone’s CFP51 takes 3 5.25″ drive bays and converts them to 4 3.5″ drive bays; all while looking spectacular.  To keep things cool and quiet, the HDD rack is fitted behind a 120mm fan and the rack is installed using rubber grommets to reduce noise due to vibration.

Alternatives:

• $28.99 – COOLER MASTER STB-3T4-E3-GP – Newegg
• $89.99 – ICY DOCK FlexCage MB973SP-1B – Newegg
• $103.99 – ICY DOCK MB454SPF-B – Newegg (I have one of these… they are GREAT!)

SilverStone 4 in 1 SATA Power Connectors*

Nothing drives me crazier than a rat’s nest of wires inside my builds.  To alleviate some of the clutter and address the large number of drives in this build we will be using the SATA power connectors that shipped with the TJ-04E.  These power connectors are simply fantastic; they turn one SATA connector into four and do so without a mess.

Alternatives:

• $10.99 – StarTech Model PYO4SATA – Newegg

HighPoint RocketRAID 2720SGL

No NAS would be complete without the ability to connect a few hard drives.  Typically, NAS run variations of Linux and provide some software RAID functionality.  With Software RAID, it is easy to expand arrays.  However, for a few extra dollars you can get a SAS card that is capable of connecting more drives than a SATA controller card and is RAID capable.  With this in mind, the HighPoint RocketRAID 2720SGL 8-Port PCI Express controller card is a perfect fit.  Although we will be utilizing software RAID for the build, the card is capable of RAID 0/1/5/10/50/JBOD.  There are two SFF-8087 mini-SAS connectors and the card is capable of transfer rates of up to 6Gb/s .  When used in conjunction with SFF-8087 breakout cables, you can connect up to four SATA drives to each of these ports.  This will provide functionality for up to eight SATA hard drives on one controller.  If you are a bit more adventurous, you now have the ability to buy a SAS expander to further increase the number of drives to… … a lot of drives.

Monoprice SAS Breakout Cables

In order to take advantage of the SAS controller card, the purchase of some breakout cables is a necessity.  Luckily, with a quick search on Amazon, you can find some Monoprice SAS to SATA breakout cables for $11.42 each.  This takes one SFF-8087 connector and turns it into for SATA connectors.  These cables are long enough (19″ or .5m) for a big chassis, yet small enough for a small build and because one single cable is capable of four SATA connections, you can easily reduce some cable clutter.

Alternatives:

• None… you can spend a lot more on other cables that do the same thing.

Hitachi 0F14681 4TB HDD

Everyone has their own idea on which drives are the best.  For me, it is Hitachi drives only.  I have had nothing but good luck with Hitachi brand drives and for this reason, they are the drives I choose for almost all of my builds; with this build being no exception.  These drives weigh in at 4TB, spin at 7200RPMs, have 64MB Cache, are SATA 6.0Gg/s, 4K, and sport a 3 year warranty. Internally, these drives feature 5 x 800GB platters.  We have 10 of them for this build!

Alternatives:

• Anything on sale!

* SilverStone Sponsored

Additionally, we have plenty of spare parts lying around.  Nothing fancy or over the top.  We have an Intel Q9660, a quad-core processor, and our old bench motherboard (Asus P5e3 Premium).  RAM, SSD, and Video card are leftovers as well.

• Intel Q9660
• Asus P5e3 Premium (this will handle the additional SATA HDD’s we will connect.)
• Patriot 2 x 4GB DDR3 16000
• ATI Radeon HD4350
• Adata S511 SSD
• Various SATA cables