Many people have left comments asking about my progress in building a home server. Thank you all for your concern! Over the past two months, I have changed jobs and cities, adapting to the environment and adjusting my mindset, which has been quite tiring. Today, I took some time to sort out my needs and research, and confirmed my setup.
A home server is essentially a high-performance machine. Many people’s gaming computers can suffice, but the difference lies in my intention to learn about cloud computing, DevOps, and other similar technologies that may arise in the future. I want to deploy virtual machines, containers, and a series of other software to create an experimental environment. This is the key point and the challenge.
There are two reasons for not buying a second-hand server: first, the energy consumption, radiation, and noise are quite high; second, I do not work in networking, so I do not need to pair it with switches, routers, or racks.
The JD DIY Master is primarily used for price comparison and selecting hardware:
https://diy.m.jd.com/index.html#/recomment?utm_source=iosapp&utm_medium=appshare&utm_campaign=t_335139774&utm_term=CopyURL&ad_od=share&utm_user=plusmember&gx=RnAogiIAL2Gbj9FZ_sA9&gxd=RnAolWQKPmbbmJlG-9FwDnpwg1xpMVFMkznhtmSaPH5vftwVUbmKwrMEUY10048
CPU: Following the principle of buying new rather than old, I chose the latest Intel 13th generation, i13900kf. It can be overclocked but does not have integrated graphics, so a GPU cooling fan and discrete graphics card are necessary.
Graphics Card: This entirely depends on how deep your pockets are. I am deploying Stable Diffusion for AI painting, mainly referring to relevant benchmark scores.
Motherboard: Naturally determined by the CPU and graphics card. To fully utilize the CPU’s overclocking capabilities and support high-frequency DDR5 memory, I chose the Z790 series. The specific product depends on your budget.
Memory: Choose high-frequency DDR5 with heat spreaders, aim for full capacity.
Storage: Two 256GB NVMe solid-state drives.
NAS: Choose a cost-effective NAS with high-speed interfaces and SSD support, mainly for system backups, file storage, and hosting virtual machines for experimental environments.
Power Supply: Sufficient wattage, at least the graphics card’s power + 150W.
Cooling: Silent fans or water cooling; be mindful of cost control. Lighting is a personal preference and serves no real purpose; buying a lighting strip separately is definitely super cheap and looks good.
Case: First, it must fit all these components; second, it should be dust-proof and shock-resistant. Excessive dust is detrimental to cooling, and resonance can cause loosening and strange noises.
Installation Service: If you have never built a machine before, it’s best to let a professional handle the installation to prevent damaging the motherboard due to improper operation.