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A question that came up recently was how does one setup common applications that work well with NAS systems to write data to network storage versus solid state drives. I decided to take a few snapshots of the test network using Windows 7 libraries, iTunes, Amazon MP3 Downloader, Handbrake and FRAPS which all have highly sequential writes. Another advantage is that once data is written, the data is also read in sequential fashion making great candidates for NAS storage. Finally, for solid state drives that use compression like those based on Sandforce controllers, using network storage provides plenty of performance oftentimes better than the Sandforce SF-1200 controllers. Read the full story

When Intel announced the i3-530 and i5-6xx family, I was full bore on building the Big WHS which included an LGA-1366 i7-920 CPU. The new i3-530 and i5-650 are based on the 32nm Clarkdale core with an integrated, on package GPU. For the home server world, read low power consumption and integrated graphics. To say the least that combination, along with the low cost of the parts + motherboards had me eagerly purchasing a $99 i3-530 from Microcenter and a $99 Intel BOXDH55TC mATX H55 chipset motherboard. To keep with the low power theme, I also ordered some G.SKILL Ripjaw DDR3 that runs at 1.5v.

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