Ask GN 27: Our 20TB NAS, Sandy Bridge Lifespan, VRM Temperatures

Posting a day before we begin our on-site PAX West coverage, Ask GN episode 27 starts off with an introduction to our newly deployed 20TB Synology DS1515+ NAS, then moves on to Sandy Bridge longevity, VRM temperatures, and cooler orientation.

As for the NAS, it's an interesting topic to us. We're new to working with high-quality, network-attached storage solutions, but the move has become necessary. Eating ~100GB/week with video content, it is no longer feasible for GN to store its media production assets, test data, and OS images on a single, shared internal RAID. The Synology unit accommodates five 3.5” disks (and also has upgradeable RAM – something we'll soon benchmark), affording us a RAID5 configuration with ~14.5TB usable space and one redundant disk. The NAS is accessible through a web interface, something we've already used while on the road for the recent London nVidia event and will use for PAX. This helps us manage security without inhibiting access.

Because managing data has become a capstone for the company, we have also begun setting up permissions and user accounts for GN's testers and media producers. This helps isolate read/write permissions so that no one accidentally interferes with another person's work; of course, permissions are also a benefit to security.

Anyway, we'll be back soon with benchmarks on the NAS performance over the network versus our local RAID5 disks. Speed has improved considerably, and we are now bumping against gigabit limitations. That'll be the next obstacle, it looks like.

Here's the episode:

Timestamps

3:09 spork8655: Hey Steve!

I understand there's no way of knowing this for sure, but how long do you estimate Sandy Bridge CPUs like the 3960x / 3930k / 2700k / 2600k will be relevant in high-end gaming PCs? I have a 3930k CPU paired with a gtx1080 and it runs almost all games really well, but I keep wondering how long my CPU will keep up.

You have the best tech channel on youtube, and I will continue to recommend it to anybody interested.?

06:42 VeryRealAmericans: Hi Gamers Nexus! Love the channel!

Quick question, I am upgrading from my 2600k to a 6700k. This means I need to get a new MOBO. Am i good just plugging in my old SSD with all my stuff on it to my new motherboard and boot into the same OS or do i need to do a complete new install?

Thank you and looking forward to many more videos from you guys!?

09:42 Oberscht: Do you know what's an acceptable max temperature for VRMs??

11:34 BigMan7o0: i have a possibly dumb question. what is  the highest temp (celcius) that you would want your cpu to run when under 100% load??

14:12 Tallmios: CPU cooler orientation: Is horizontal (parallel with GPU) worse for thermals than the usual vertical positioning?  I have case fans both at the top and the back.?

Host: Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke
Video: Andre w"ColossalCake" Coleman