[nycbug-talk] Specifying hardware for a freenas setup???

[Joshua S. Freeman]

Hi everyone,

I apologize if this has been addressed multiple times.

It's time for me to get a home NAS setup for backups and media center....

I'm looking at Drobos and Promise Technology NASes and so on.. I can get a
4-bay setup with RAID 5, hot swappable, etc. for somewhere between $750 -
$950 all wrapped up in a little box.

I don't particularly have a lot of old kit laying around.. At least nothing
with 4 bays...   

I'm decidedly *not* a hardware guy, in terms of knowing what's current or a
good deal, etc.

I'd like some advice on what I'd need to pull this off... I have a
monitor... I reckon I need:

1) enclosure for at least 4 drives, fan(s), mobo, video, RAM, PCI RAID card,
usb port, ethernet

2) I know which drives I'm planning to get.. But I could use advice on the
mobo, video, RAM, pci RAID and USB port... I figure I'll install freenas via
the USB port from usb drive?

Anyway... If anyone can recommend a components list I could price out that
would get me where I want to go, that'd be brilliant!

Thanks in advance!

Joshua