dannycorker

Power -- already answered in this thread: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11585.msg146008#msg146008 Heat -- already answered in this thread: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11585.msg139990#msg139990 The heat posts say it runs fine, they say nothing about whether that is with the lid on or off. But thanks anyway.

For 6 drives (one being 2.5"), you would also need an eSATA to SATA cable. For 6 drives, all being 3.5", you wouldn't use the IB-168SK-B (you'd use an X-Swing or equivalent). I can't remember if it comes with a SATA cable, but that should be listed on the Icy Box or supplier web site. 2GB would be enough to run unRAID plus some add-ons. SABnzbd and cache_dirs can both use a lot of RAM, so I'd put in another 2GB or 4GB myself if you wanted to use both of those. Or try it first. Use an N40L compatible BIOS (I think one has been posted on avforums). Thinking of going for the 6 drive option, all 3.5. For this, I would use the spare sata for one of the drives up top, but what about the other? Still use eSata to Sata for it? And would I have to have the lid removed to fit in the drives and keep them cool enough? All the information you have asked about is in this thread. I'm not going to keep answering the same questions over and over when I've already spent a considerable amount of time writing up how-tos. Someone with more patience than me might want to do that, but I'm going to suggest you read the entire thread. Or at least skim it. Or just look at the pictures. OK I've read the thread for the third or fourth time, and I think I have a good idea now of what I would need. I understand where you're coming from with the annoyance at people like me asking questions, and I'm hoping I'll be done after this. But I do have a couple of things that I don't know for definite after reading everything again, and I would just like to double check. My current plan is to fill the 4 standard bays obviously, then add 2 3.5" drives at the top, and a 2.5" cache drive as well if possible. The microserver as I understand has one extra SATA port, that requires a BIOS mod but is fine for 1 of the 2 3.5" drives at the top. There is an eSATA port, perfect for the 2.5" cache drive, leaving a need for one more SATA port for the 2nd 3.5" drive. For this I aim to buy a Rocket 620 (http://www.scan.co.uk/products/highpoint-rocket-620-(r620)-2-channel-internal-pci-e-v2-x1-to-sata-6gb-s-non-raid-controller-card) and a Nexus Double Twin (http://www.aquatuning.co.uk/product_info.php/info/p6594_Nexus-Double-Twin-HDD-decoupling.html) The next thing I'd have to buy - cables. This is the area I have the loosest grip on at the moment. I'll need 2 SATA cables for the data transfer (although I think one comes with the microserver?) but what about power? Will cables that come with the drives suffice? Or will I need one of these to power the 2 drives up top? (I think I will) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Molex-to-2-SATA-Internal-Power-Splitter-Cable/dp/B0002GRUV4 Finally, the lid. I've read speculation in this thread about whether it would be safe to leave it on with 2 drives up top or not, but no definitive answer. I would rather have it on but obviously won't if it would endanger the components. Sorry again for the questions but I don't want to buy things that I don't need, or not buy enough! Once the build is done I can start getting my hands dirty, and hopefully will learn much quicker then Thanks.

For 6 drives (one being 2.5"), you would also need an eSATA to SATA cable. For 6 drives, all being 3.5", you wouldn't use the IB-168SK-B (you'd use an X-Swing or equivalent). I can't remember if it comes with a SATA cable, but that should be listed on the Icy Box or supplier web site. 2GB would be enough to run unRAID plus some add-ons. SABnzbd and cache_dirs can both use a lot of RAM, so I'd put in another 2GB or 4GB myself if you wanted to use both of those. Or try it first. Use an N40L compatible BIOS (I think one has been posted on avforums). Thinking of going for the 6 drive option, all 3.5. For this, I would use the spare sata for one of the drives up top, but what about the other? Still use eSata to Sata for it? And would I have to have the lid removed to fit in the drives and keep them cool enough?

All your answers are in this thread. All you have to do is read it. Thanks, have now read the whole thread and think I have a decent grip of everything. I would gor for 6 drives I think, 4 data, 1 parity and a cache. As far as I can tell all I would need to buy extra for this is the Icy Box IB-168SK-B and relevant cables? (Or do these cables come with the Icy Box as standard?) Of course I would also need to update the bios - is the original Russian version still the best/easiest bet, or the most recent one from this thread? http://www.avforums.com/forums/networking-nas/1521657-hp-n36l-microserver-updated-ahci-bios-support.html Lastly, the 40 model comes with 2GB ram - worth upgrading in your opinion, or enough to run most add ons comfortably? Thanks!

Looking to buy/build first server and this looks more than ideal - how complex is the process of adding drives? I understand it's possible to add up to 6 with some tweaking? What kind of tweaking are we talking about? Thanks! EDIT: Should probably add, I use SAb and SB etc, can the Micro Server run these comfortably?

Unfortunately that board has the 8111E nic It looks like the motherboard manufacturers are being forced to use that chipset by realtek since that's the current cheap bulk chip they are selling. Possibly only chip they are currently manufacturing. Don't suppose you have an alternate recommendation that would be purchase-able in the UK? EDIT: Managed to find an Asus M4A78LT-M that claimed to be in stock - just hope it actually gets sent and that it isn't the LE version! EDIT 2: No stock after all - back to the drawing board Open to suggestions that are available in the UK!

Your motherboard looks fine, as do the rest of your components. Hot swap cages are a tricky thing. In one sense, they are just a luxury - they allow you to swap and add drives faster and more easily. However, in another sense they are necessary to make your server less of a pet project and more of an appliance. When swapping drives in a non-hot swap drive cage, there is ample opportunity to knock other cables loose, mix up the order of your drives, and potentially cause other problems. Since you are on a tight budget (I built my first server as a student as well, so I can relate), I suggest starting with just one or two of the non-hot swap cages now just to get you started, and then saving up money over time and replacing them with the hot swap cages when you can afford it. You'll truly appreciate the hot swap cages after using the non-hot swap cages for a while. As I don't live in the UK or keep tabs on the availability of components there, I can't answer your last question, sorry. The motherboard takes the most time to research, so I would suggest that being your first purchase since you've found a good one. Well, already struggling to find the motherboard again Out of stock on the link I gave. There is an LE version available, am I right in thinking that this would not be suitable? Or, alternately, what I assume was designed as the upgrade, the Asus M5A78L-M LX? http://www.ebuyer.com/269070-asus-m5a78l-m-lx-amd-socket-am3-8-channel-hd-audio-matx-motherboard-m5a78l-m-lx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products

Have been mixing and matching from the UK budget build on the wiki and previous advice from on here and come up with this list: CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 240e - http://www.ebuyer.com/264382-amd-athlon-ii-x2-240e-2-8ghz-socket-am3-2mb-l2-cache-retail-ad240ehdgmbox MOBO: Asus M4A78L-M - http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php?products_id=123788&source=froogle RAM: Kingston ValueRAM 2GB 240-PIN DDR2 800MHz CL6 - http://www.dabs.com/products/kingston-valueram-2gb-240-pin-ddr2-800mhz-cl6-5JWS.html?q=ddr2%20gb%202%20kingston PSU: Corsair 430W V2 CX Series PSU - http://www.ebuyer.com/271798-corsair-430w-v2-cx-series-psu-cmpsu-430cxv2uk SWAP: Coolermaster Full Alloy 4 in 3 Devices Module - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-full-alloy-4-in-3-devices-module-ideal-for-most-cases CASE: Antec Three Hundred Gaming Tower Case - http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php?products_id=72693&source=froogle I do have a couple of questions about everything. Firstly, the MOBO is a slightly different model to what I was previously after I think, does the one listed look alright? Secondly, the swap currently isn't a hot swap. Is there a reason this would be a problem when I don't plan to change the drives other than adding new ones, and this would only be every few months or so? Most importantly, I'm a student at the moment so don't have much money (naturally). Therefore, if something is likely to be discontinued or hard to find between now and Christmas (about how long it will take me to buy everything) I would be best off buying it first! So if anyone has any advice about which products to buy (in the UK) and what order to go after them in, I'd be very grateful! Thanks, Danny

OK this is how it's looking now.... MOBO: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/200981 CPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/237554 RAM: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-(2x2gb)-corsair-ddr3-xms3-classic-pc3-10666-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-150v PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/271798?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products SWAP: http://www.xcase.co.uk/hotswap-stoarge-kit-p/hddkit-xx-500.htm CASE: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sharkoon-Rebel-Economy-tower-supply/dp/B000LIASA8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311524236&sr=8-1 All look alright? And the only other thing I'd need would be hard drives?

You'll want to upgrade to a cheap dual core CPU, and potentially 4 GB of RAM as well. Everything else will work as stated. The Recommended Builds section of the wiki has a UK section, but those builds are pretty outdated so some of the parts may be difficult to find. I haven't been able to log into the wiki for a while now (some forum login glitch), so I haven't been able to update anything there, even the US builds. Check out this thread for some recommended UK vendors. Thanks for the input! Here's what I have so far based on what you've said: MOBO: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/255207?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products CPU: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-celeron-dual-core-e3400-wolfdale-3m-core-socket-775-26ghz-1mb-cache-65w-retail RAM: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-(2x2gb)-corsair-ddr3-xms3-classic-pc3-10666-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-150v PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/271798?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products These 4 look ok? After this is where I start to struggle. The case you use (AZZA Helios 910) doesn't seem to exist in the UK. Could you recommend a similar one from Scan or eBuyer that is known to be suitable? Or any UK vendor really as long as they're reputable. Also struggling to find UK matches for your suggested Expansion Card and Hot Swap Bay (working off the 5 bay budget build at the moment.) I just don't want to spend money on something and it turn out useless! So any suggestions/help would be much appreciated Thanks!

Hi guys. Looking to build a first NAS box, and very new to it all. I like the look of the suggested expansions, as I don't need anything like 20 disks! But are they capable of running sabnzb and SickBeard for instance or would I need more power? Also, I'm in the UK. Is there any list of where to get these components (or alternatives) from UK stores? Some are easy enough to find, others not so much!