Storage server plan, need advice

[thehawk]

I currently have an old Pentium 4, 2000 MHz with 1GB of RAM and would like to upgrade as I want to turn this system into a storage server with 3xSATA HDD. Of course the current configuration doesn't support SATA so I would appreciate advice on the cheapest possible upgrade (PSU/MB/CPU?) which would allow me to make use of SATA.

I don't care whether it will be AMD or Intel, but it should be as powerful as my current system or of course better.

PS: Other advice on the best configuration for storage(RAID, etc.) would be appreciated as well :P

PS2: Sorry if posted in wrong section.

Thanks in advance.

[Serra]

Likely your cheapest upgrade that would allow you to run SATA drives would be the simple addition of a PCI SATA card. Looking just at NewEgg, for $59 you can get a basic 4-port adapter... though if you want RAID prices will go up (not a lot if you don't mind using your CPU for RAID functions, quite a bit if you do).

[nn_step]

the cheapest path would be to get this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16816132006

[uOpt]

If it doesn't have to be fast and/or safe for the data then a controller is in fact the best option.

To do really better in a fileserver, you need more RAM, and a new system with lots of RAM costs lots of money right now, unfortunately.

If it doesn't have to be fast I'd wait until RAM prices go down before getting a new system.

[thehawk]

If it doesn't have to be fast and/or safe for the data then a controller is in fact the best option.
Thank guys for the quick replies. Indeed, I'm not after a fast/safe solution. Apologies for maybe a stupid question but would I still need an SATA-ready PSU?

Also, by googling around I found that there are boot order compatibility issues that may occur in systems that have drives attached to both the motherboard and a controller card. How serious as an issue is this?

[nn_step]

Thank guys for the quick replies. Indeed, I'm not after a fast/safe solution. Apologies for maybe a stupid question but would I still need an SATA-ready PSU?

Also, by googling around I found that there are boot order compatibility issues that may occur in systems that have drives attached to both the motherboard and a controller card. How serious as an issue is this?
you don't need a SATA ready PSU since there are adapters.
The boot compatibility issues will only happen if you are a noob with booting the OS, if you take about 15 mins reading the manual for the Mobo, you shouldn't have any problems.

[Gunlance]

I ran into that issue with my last server build that uses 1 PCI sata card, a pci ide card, the onboard IDE, and the onboard sata. I had to reset my bios to defaults and it has worked since then. The funny thing is that I didn't have these issues when I had 2 servers running. When I consolidated it into 1 computer these issues popped up.

As far as power goes. You can just get sata to 4 pin molex adapters. Thats how all my sata drives are powered by my old thermaltake.

[thehawk]

Very kind guys. So just a couple of last questions :)

Would this be ok?
Adaptec AAR-1420SA 4-Port SATA-II RAID Controller
http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/products/sata_tech/entry/AAR-1420SA/

Also, how much do you recommend to put the drives in an enclosure such as the:
http://www.icydock.com/product/mb453spf.html

Thank you.

[nn_step]

Very kind guys. So just a couple of last questions :)

Would this be ok?
Adaptec AAR-1420SA 4-Port SATA-II RAID Controller
http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/products/sata_tech/entry/AAR-1420SA/

Also, how much do you recommend to put the drives in an enclosure such as the:
http://www.icydock.com/product/mb453spf.html

Thank you.
that raid card is an over kill but it'll work fine
you don't need an Enclosure but as always it is an option

[thehawk]

Thank you my friend

[thehawk]

Apologies for bringing this up but with the PCI SATA card I mentioned, will I be forced to opt for a RAID-setup or I can go without RAID?

[uOpt]

Apologies for bringing this up but with the PCI SATA card I mentioned, will I be forced to opt for a RAID-setup or I can go without RAID?

I have never seen a RAID card that would not allow you to just use the disks "plain".

In fact, I am very likely to use that in the future: use a cheap RAID controller just for the disk controller part and use software RAID on top.