Debating the QNAP TS-209 II vs building a PC

Filed Under Gadgets & Hardware, Geek on 2008-06-04, 00:42

So I’m at a point where I feel like I need a good solid server in my apartment again. Something that I can use for the following:
- Media storage for serving to PS3/xbox
- Backup storage for photos, files, and whatnot
- Version control system for website development
- ssh server for tunneling back through my network connection
- Download machine for large files and torrents
- General Windows machine for video conversions and and other CPU/harddrive demanding tasks

I have basically two options to go with in my eyes: Build a solution or buy a prebuilt one.

Build a solution:
Pros:
- Completely customizable
- Upgradeable
- Limited only in price
- Can reuse existing IDE drives
- My choice of operating system (dual boot?)
Cons:
- Significant time investment
- If it breaks I have to troubleshoot
- Possibly overkill for what I need
- It’s been awhile (5 years?) since I built a machine

Buy a solution:
Pros:
- No building and only minor configuration needed
- Technical support available
- Minimal time investment
- Cheaper
Cons:
- Limited in hardware
- Not customizable
- Probably stuck with a custom linux distro

As far as building a solution, I quickly spec’d out this setup.
- It has both IDE and SATA ports so I can use old harddrives and new ones
- It’s a pretty decent system as far as CPU is concerned
- It will be large and probably loud
- It will consume a significant amount of power

And for buying, I was thinking of going with the QNAP TS 209 II (feature lists)
- It’s preconfigured with just about everything I need (except version control) and has ipkg to install whatever else I need
- It’s small, quiet, and consumes very little power
- It’s a wimpy machine under the hood
- It seems to do everything I think I’d need and then some, and I don’t have to set everything up manually

For those not following along, my life right now is kind of busy as I juggle a job, a web business, a relationship, and a fire arts group. At this point I’m more willing to spend money than time configuring something, so the QNAP is looking enticing. But the thought of paying a few hundred more, putting in a bunch of hours, and having a much more powerful machine is tempting.

Thoughts/opinions/criticisms? Any other suggestions?

Tagged: Network Storage, QNAP

Comments

View Comments to “Debating the QNAP TS-209 II vs building a PC”

Phill on October 14th, 2008 11:50 pm

I know ive been extremely happy with my TS-209 ||

Another positive points is the QNAP uses far less power
Josh on February 28th, 2009 11:54 am

Funnily enough I just made the exact same decision, went with the QNAP 209 II since it would be new hardware, with a warranty and I wouldnt have to run another full PC and all the troubleshooting that generally goes with it (and old hardware – I forked out for a pair of WD RE3 1Tb's for supported RAID1)

The only thing the 209 lacks is Version Control – I was hoping to be able to install Tortoise SVN server which I'd then make availble remotely. My linux skills are rusty so I'm not sure how much luck i'll have, its not a listed ipkg. If you went this route drop me a line!
edrabbit on March 2nd, 2009 5:55 pm

I ended up going with the full desktop. Surprisingly it’s a lot quieter than I expected, but I have had to setup my own stuff. I have the RAID mirrored, with backups going to Mozy currently. I installed an SVN server, and am using Windows Media Player 11 to share media to my Xbox 360. What is nice about having a full machine is that I have something that can chug away on tasks that can take several hours/days, such as large video encodes and whatnot. But it did take me some setup time.
edrabbit on March 2nd, 2009 12:55 pm

I ended up going with the full desktop. Surprisingly it's a lot quieter than I expected, but I have had to setup my own stuff. I have the RAID mirrored, with backups going to Mozy currently. I installed an SVN server, and am using Windows Media Player 11 to share media to my Xbox 360. What is nice about having a full machine is that I have something that can chug away on tasks that can take several hours/days, such as large video encodes and whatnot. But it did take me some setup time.