Recently, my 10-year old drive that I pulled out of an old computer died. I want to buy another one now. The machine will run Jellyfin (I have an existing collection that I will be transferring from another drive), Immich, and the *arr stack.

I have this motherboard which has one SATA port and one PCIe x1 port. For this reason, I won’t be able to add a second drive for redudancy, unless I add a PCIe to SATA card.

My biggest concern is that I want the drive to last. I don’t want much capacity, I think 1-2 TB is enough. My budget is from 0€ (of course) to 65-70€.

So I have a couple of questions:

  • Should I buy an SSD or an HDD?
  • I live in Greece and ServerPartDeals is not an option because shipping is really high. Do you know a place where I could purchase it? (Preferably in Greece, but not necessary)
  • Do you have any specific drive suggestions?
  • Is there any other way (except for buying a PCIe to SATA card) to add more drives in the motherboard?

Thank you.

  • tychosmooseEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    I would get a cheap PCI M.2 SSD for the OS, and then whatever cheap HD you can get a deal on for storage. Double check the mobo model # and specs, since it’s important to get the right type of SSD, either SATA or PCI.

    Transcend makes good reliable M.2 ssds and you can get a 128GB for around $25 in the US.

    Watch for sales on external USB hard drives. The bulky ones have a 3.5 inch hard drive in the. That is typically “shuckable” to remove the drive and use as an internal.