Built when Netflix first took away password sharing. Thanks for the heads up Netflix! Would not want to start this project now 😂
Edit: adding temp and specs
I9 11900k Z590I Vision D ITX mobo 64gb memory The 16x lane is bifurcated to run: Intel a310 & Lsi 9305 16e into a hp dl380
Drives are 10x 14 tb wdd in raidz1, 6 256gb sata ssds in a pair of 3 wide mirrors for special vdev metadata, a 512gb nvme for read cache, and a 64gb optane for slog
I am guessing the egg-shell foamed enclosure is for the sound, but you probably have a bunch of sound coming from the fan port, nessisary for ventilation. You can cut a lot of the sound but maintain the airflow by cutting an s-shaped ducting spanning the width of the enclosure. The shape will drop the sound, while then ducting keeps the air flowing. I would not recommend any sorts of filters to block the sound because they are a bit too restrictive for an enclosure in your style.
I get about the same affect by placing a layer of the foam on the wall behind the fans. But you’re totally right. Without that lil bit the fan noise from the intake and exhaust was a lil noticeable
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters NAS Network-Attached Storage Plex Brand of media server package SSD Solid State Drive mass storage VPN Virtual Private Network
5 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 14 acronyms.
[Thread #138 for this comm, first seen 17th Oct 2026, 20:50] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
Are the spinning disks for Linux ISOs? If so, why raidz1 instead if snapraid?
Was just what I was experimenting with when I built it a few years ago. Never gave may issues so I’ve just stayed with it. Would be nice to be able to mismatch my drive size though
Makes sense. Might as well wait for the zfs anyraid coming out “soon”
Two of the drives are 18tb I got cheap 😂 so maybe in a decade I’ll get that 8tb of space
An…interesting approach to noise-proofing your system :D
Still rocking my fractal R3 nothing beats it for disk space and sound proofing
Raid z1 with 10 14tb disks? That’s a bold move cotton, let’s see how it plays out.
Yea, I definitely would have gone z2, but this all started with the drives, and slowly expanded into this monster. But so far it’s been running smooth. The drives were added at different times to so they shouldn’t fail at the same time (hopefully 😂)
Hey, I’ve been upgrading the same freenas (now trunas) for 15 years. I need 40tb of space to redo the raid lmao. It’s striped and mirrored, so I’m losing 18tb. It is what it is for now, works great for my files and Plex.
Here’s mine : )
Oooo, cute mini system! I’ve always wanted to start a cluster with tiny towers like that
For anybody not doing generative AI with it and not running massive loads on it, if you’re going to use an old gaming PC as a home server, at least replace the graphics card with a cheap one with no fans or use the integrated graphics on your CPU (something I believe pretty much all consumer CPUs of the last two decades have) and underclock the CPU if you don’t need full processing power since even small reductions in clock speed can significantly reduce the maximum temperature.
I want to point out that for a media server, OP’s GPU is excellent.
Sparkle ARC cards are the way to go for sure. The fans are a pain in the ass on Linux, though. They like to start and stop a lot.
I actually have a Mini-PC with an N100 CPU and no dedicated GPU as media server and it uses very little CPU (less than 20%) whilst playing 1080p video even with a torrent server over a wireguard VPN running on the background.
You don’t really need much CPU or GPU for playing or streaming videos from compress video files as long as you have hardware decoding on either processing unit (just make sure it implements all the way up to the AV1 coded).
You only need lots of CPU or GPU power if the codec you’re decoding from or encoding to is not implemented in hardware since in that case it will use software decoding or encoding so it’s down to raw CPU or GPU power.
In fact if all you want is a media server that solution I have is probably one of the best ones, mainly because it uses very little power (tops at 25W, usually much less) and runs silent, which is why I can have it in my living room using it as a media player connected to my TV, and with a wireless remote people can’t really tell it’s a PC since it just looks and works like a store bought media player rather than one I put together myself.
However that option means buying new stuff, and I can see the value in using old hardware if you have it around, plus the old hardware will still likely be more powerful so you can also use it for more demanding stuff or just more stuff at the same time, which is why I didn’t suggest it and instead just suggested some tweaks to make that old hardware consume less and make less noise.
or use the integrated graphics on your CPU (something I believe pretty much all consumer CPUs of the last two decades have)
many ryzen CPUs don’t have integrated graphics. I think it might have become baseline from just ryzen 6000? but plenty of very still good chips were released before that. I wouldn’t trade them for an intel.
and underclock the CPU if you don’t need full processing power
underclock and undervolt
I posted specs and temps if you were curious 😊
The CPU usage looks high, mines usually around 3% per core. 🤔
What app are you using to see that chart, looks like mobile?
It’s in the middle of rencoding my library, should finish at some point and return to low usage
underclock and undervolt
If I’m not mistake only hobbyist level motherboards let you control the voltages and if one knows enough to get one of those they probably don’t need the advice I gave.
Also it’s hard to end up with a non-working or unstable configuration with underclocking, whilst it’s pretty easy to do so with undervoltage.
That said, for those who know what they’re doing, your suggestion definitely delivers lowers temperatures than underclocking alone though at the risk of a less stable system (which can be ameliorated with proper stress testing).
Looks like with the doors closed its going to be smokin.
The one fan in the left will do the trick
Plus the other fan hiding behind the system 😉 posted temps in a comment of you eye curious
i love the toxic kiddies on selfhost these days “its too hot the fans wrong” op explains and gets downvoted. whats the saying?, “not my circus not my monkeys”. if this is the energy your going to bring to this community go back to reddit and be a toxic pos there.
I mean… Look at the setup, though.
Nobody is trying to be mean, it’s just a pretty rough setup where thermals are concerned. And OP appears to be dismissing every joke about it and claiming it’s not an issue.
Good luck, OP. Hope this is the hottest your place ever gets, in which case you might be alright. Just keep an eye on those temps since servers need to run very cool to avoid long term damage and wear and tear. Be extra cautious of your large array of HDD’s. Those can get hot and people don’t always think about that.
Edit: OP mentioned lower in the thread that they are pulling 300-350 watts from the wall. That is a lot of heat. Maybe they live in Alaska and keep their place at 55 degrees, though. We don’t know… But for those looking on and considering their own setup, a lot of red flags are here for those who have higher temps in their homes.
I keep my place at 74, and basically have a per room heat pump to never have the temp be an issue even on a 108 day. I’ve been running the setup for over two years now and have monitored thermals the whole time and have never had an issue. I understand the concern, and had the same concerns at first too, but the results don’t lie. It’s just very well tuned for it’s environment
I’m choosing to focus on the positive comments, and giving info to those who doubt. In the end I know there’s a few people at least who saw this and got some inspiration for a fun project
I hate hearing fans and computers and have always wanted to do a project like this, but have always been concerned about heat buildup, like anyone would be. And while it LOOKS like it would be an issue… If it works, it works.
You are a bigger person than I <3 what youre doing is a great solution to noise in a living space and if you have no thermal throttling its designed exactly for what its intended for. Thanks for sharing you have given me some ideas for managing my own noise issues regarding homelabbing.
I just think no one’s really coming at it in a way they think it’s rude, and most had been out of concern, just worded rough. I definitely can be rough with my words sometime so I can’t be too mad. Also thanks for engaging ❤️ love you and all the lurkers following along
lolz that’s wayyyy too much emotional maturity for the internet. we need more of it :)
For those worried about temps. The cpu never goes past the 80s when being ran hard, and drive temps are comfortably in the 40s
A little bit of airflow can make a huge difference. If it works it works. I think the doubters have just never experimented.
You left in your IP no0b! Now I’m gonna pwn your server with my super hacker skillz xoxoxoxo
P.S. That’s is one hell of a setup! I am surprised how well ventilated it is
I just sent a ddos attack to his ip. In an unrelated event my doorbell camera has stopped working?
Means you got the wrong ip…the correct one is 127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1 sweet 127.0.0.1
Oh, and if anyone is curious on specs. This is my old gaming rig but it’s: I9 11900k Z590I Vision D ITX mobo 64gb memory The 16x lane is bifurcated to run: Intel a310 & Lsi 9305 16e into a hp dl380
Bet it’s quiet as fuck tho
Super quiet, and had been running non stop for over a year no with no problems 😊 also that i9 runs super hot. When it was in my lil gaming rig it was always running up near 90. So retiring to the server had been much more gentle on it, lol
And it isn’t thermally throttling? If not, that’s awesome. Have you ever taken a sound meter with a spectrum analyzer and seen if there’s any frequencies you can try to kill?
With the big tower cooler it now has in the server it barely touches 80c under load. As for sound, I can take a recording when I get home later this week if anyone’s are still interested
The reason I bring that up, is I have a little knowledge in acoustics and just wondered if your pc was putting out more lower frequency noise than that wood is realistically able to absorb. So, not personally interested, as all projects like this are case by case (ha, no pun intended), and moreso just if you wanted to fiddle with it more, like adding a piece of slate or sheet of rubber to the exterior or something.
I’m CURIOUS what it sounds like, but I doubt a phone recording or speaker is gonna be worth much to satisfy my dirty nerdy needs.
Always in 90s? Did you remember the thermal paste on reinstall? Lol
It just had a very undersized cooler at the time (pics of case are hiding here somewhere lol). It would idle normally, but load put it near throttle. Moved to the 9800x3d though in the same case and that performs like a dream
Seems cozy
How are the temps?
Added them in another comment, but I’ll put them here to. This is while I have plex and frigate running with tdarr rencoding 8 files into av1 at a time
*hella
Yeah, seems a second fan would help with air flow into/out of the case. Depending on how air tight everything is when it’s closed.
There are actuality two fans. There’s an intake on the bottom full cold air, and the top is exhaust. I posted temps if you wanna see how it is at full tilt
Makes sense, looks like a good build then.
Thanks! Has been alot of fun playing with
If it’s just a media server that spends 99.5% of its life idling, temps might not actually be that bad.
But enclosed in a box without much airflow and those temps are going to creep up over time. And take even longer to cool down. Hopefully there’s fans in the bottom or side. Because one exhaust is not great for even just the heat from those hard drives.
I think the best way to handle airflow out is to have a turn or two on the intake/exhausts for the noise to get trapped. I personally just put mine in my basement though. That limits the sound pretty well.
I personally built a server house a couple hundred feet away from my mansion.
I’d also put mine in the basement, but I live in a flat.
All of those hard drives will produce quite a bit of heat just sitting idle.
They won’t really produce any heat if they sleep properly. Also that should help them last quite a bit longer.
They usually do transcoding when you watch a movie or so. Depending on hardware that may heat it up a bit. I guess if it would have heating problems then OP would have resolved that already though.
Yes
There are two fans built into the cabinet. Temps stay nice and cool
I love that you’ve got this explanation because my first reaction was… Hot! Too… Hot!
It was a common comment after a few hours 😂 also looking forward to spaceballs the sequel!!
Me too! I hope they reference “the search for more money!”
Or spaceballs 3, the search for spaceballs 2
Ever just throw a hot pocket in there for a couple minutes?
Lol, it’s warm. Though thanks to the intake and exhaust built into the cabinet the temps are great. I added what they currently are while it’s rencoding by library.
Not sure if stroke or just above my head.
I think “tennis” was supposed to be “temps” but got autocorrected.
This post here. I fixed it on most replies, but SwiftKey did not like me using the word temp
