a_n_d_y

Very useful thread! A 9.6 plugin would be awesome.

Its too bad I had ordered parts before reading that. Thanks for the link.

Another quick update. Server has been running fine over the weekend from what I can tell on v5.0 RC4. I just noticed RC5 was released over the weekend, so I may try upgrading to see what that brings. Currently using Plex 9.6.4 beta plugin with just a couple of minor bugs with the GUI in the Plex web interface. BTW, I figured out that my Plex Library and Temp files were pointed to the flash drive causing it to reset every reboot, which must've been flushing out the previous configurations. Pointing those folders to a user share resolved the issue. I am definitely registering for unRAID Plus to get the disk Cache feature. System is running cool and quiet. I'll have to order a kill-o-watt to see how much power its actually sucking. Thanks to everyone that has thrown in input on this build.

Real quick update (running out the door). Everything is working great. My only complaint is that Plex Media Server loses settings after reboots... but thats a Plex issue that I'll have to dive deeper into later.

Been extremely busy this week and I've got a small music fest to attend this weekend, so time has been and is limited for right now. However, I had an hour or two last night to throw together the hardware. The Lian case is nice. Everything seems very well laid out. Like reviews on Newegg suggests, the right-angle SATA cables do not fit because of where the Molex plugs are located. The straight and left-angle SATA cables work just fine. 12" to 18" probably will be the cleanest layout. The Corsair CX430 power supply fits fine as well. However, remove the side stickers, otherwise its difficult sliding in/out the unit. There are only 3-molex plugs available. The case's 5 drive cage requires 3 power plugs (2 for 3 hard drives, 1 for 2 hard drives, so 3 for 5 hard drives total). You will need Y-adaptors (or SATA to Molex adaptors) dependent on if your motherboard supports only 1 chassis fan if you're using 4-5 3.5" hard drives. Is pretty quiet outside of initial start up. Outside of that, I downloaded the free version of unRAID, installed it on a San Disk Cruzar Mini USB stick and the unit seems to boot just fine (booted to the Linux without any BIOS configuration), however I have not actually had time to connect to the web management utility. Memtest ran overnight without issue. The ASUS BIOS is really easy to use... however wish it had more features, but for the purpose of this build, it should work just fine. Anyways, I'll report back once I get connected to web management, hopefully tonight with a few pics of the system build.

The NIC is not supported? ... that's just gonna make your build even more expensive grobbes! Dang, my CPU is not gonna arrive until Monday! I guess that's just what it takes to save a couple of bucks.

I found what I think is a good deal on 2 TB green hard drives: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148681&Tpk=ST2000DL003 http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST2000DL003/dp/B004CCS266/ I ordered 2 for right now. Anyways, I'll report back once I get things setup and tested out.

I've decided to go with my current selection of parts to keep the cost down at this time. I'd like to toy around with ESXi, but realistically I don't have much use for it around the house at this time. Plus, the Intel i3 2120T processor does not look to be compatible. Parts should hopefully be here by the weekend!

Not at all. Post away. I believe the ASUS P8H61-M LE is a similar board in Micro ATX format. http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8H61M_LE/#overview The Micro ATX version seems to be working fine. http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=15792.msg146945#msg146945 Hmm... ESXi... I don't need it... or do I? Everything is currently on order, except the case. I may need to re-think the motherboard.

Apparently the site I was going to order the processor and motherboard from DID want to charge for shipping. New vendors found! Parts (updated) Intel Core i3 2120T Processor = $122.99 http://www.ecost.com/p/6898307 ASUS P8H61-I Motherboard = $79.99 http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-3-0-SATA-Intel-Mini/dp/B004W8EFWK Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC3 10666 RAM = $21.99 w/Rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145251 Lian Li PC-Q25B Case = $129.98 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112339 Corsair CX430 V2 PSU = $19.99 w/Rebate and Promo Code http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026 Total $374.94

Sweet! I'll have to order the power supply today for sure. Now if only they'd have a sale on those Lian Li cases... Anyways, that brings my build cost down to around $367.

Parts (updated) Intel Core i3 2120T Processor = $116.32 http://www.amuras.com/ssproduct.asp?pf_id=1020568638 ASUS P8H61-I Motherboard = $78.47 http://www.amuras.com/ssproduct.asp?pf_id=1019703345 Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC3 10666 RAM = $21.99 w/Rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145251 Lian Li PC-Q25B Case = $129.98 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112339 Corsair CX430 V2 PSU = $36.98 w/Rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026 Total $383.74

marcusone, question for you. What makes the Super Micro boards so good? Is it mainly the IPMI feature?

My build requires a Mini ITX. If they had a Mini ITX board that didn't have a dedicated Atom processor, I would be all over it. Thanks for the suggestion.

If you happen to find out anymore about that ASUS board and if it will be compatible, post back or PM me! Since an onboard video card is not a requirement with the i3 chip, that should open up a few doors for keeping the budget inline. Otherwise, I will hopefully have an hour tonight to scour web for less expensive boards and report back here.

That HP looks nice, but like grobbes suggest, I highly doubt that will satisfy stutter free 1080P transcoding on the fly. The i3 2120T gets good reviews and looks to be very similar specs to the 2100T. I'm under the assumption that the 2120T will have very similar power usage as the 2100T. I used this article as a reference point: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i3-2100t_11.html From what I've read, the i3 should handle 1080P transcoding just fine, but I guess you never know without trying. The ASUS motherboard you recommend does not have an onboard video card. I've been out of the BYO PC world for a while, but if there is no onboard video card, will the HDMI, D-SUB or DVI work to hook up to a monitor for initial setup? Or would I need to need to get video card? If I don't need a video card, I will definitely consider that motherboard to cut down on cost. If I can get down to $400 shipped for everything (minus the drives), I would be happier. grobbes, have you put together your system yet? I'm just curious on how well it transcodes.

First time build! What is your budget? Under $500 without the hard drives. The cheaper the better! How many drives do you want your server to be able to support and how much capacity do you need? Looking to run up to 4-6 max, but I'm gonna start with 2 drives + parity to keep costs down. Is expandability important to you? If so, what's your long term goal? As long as I can add a card for additional drives when the motherboard ports are filled up. Are you interested in running any unRAID Add Ons (see here)? Plex Media Server, Transmission, iTunes Server, and possibly APC UPS D. I want the system to be able to handle 1080P transcoding. Do you want to run green/low power drives or faster 7200 rpm drives? Green drives is ideal. Do you have any spare parts laying around that you would like to apply towards your build? A USB stick. I'm looking to build a power efficient Mini ITX unRAID server running the above mentioned plugins. I don't need a ton of storage right now, just mainly for TV shows I'm currently catching up on and a few of my favorite movies. Who knows in a couple of years... Parts Intel Core i3 2120T Processor = $135 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115094 ASRock H77M-ITX Motherboard = $107 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157311&Tpk=h77 Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC3 10666 RAM = $22 w/Rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145251 Lian Li PC-Q25B Case = $130 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112339 Corsair CX430 V2 PSU = $37 w/Rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026 Total $431 shipped I will probably shop around for cheaper prices to shave off a few dollars. The motherboard should work with the latest release candidate, but otherwise, does everything look good? Questions? Suggestions? Concerns? Fears?

This looks compatible: ASRock H77M-ITX Thoughts?

Working on a first time unRAID build. Looking at an intel 2120T processor to transcode video with Plex Media Server and to run other random things that please me. However, I'm concerned about motherboard compatibility. Can anyone recommend a Mini ITX mobo with a 1155 socket (i3 compatible) that works well? Only looking to run 4-6 hard drives. Thanks, @ndy