Maddhin

sorry for the slow response, I didn't get "to play" for some days;) The Supermicro board looks very nice indeed - the 2 x M.2 slots and ECC support seem ideal to have all options. This is a serious candidate for my build! What I actually intend is to have this build run as a 24/7 file server where I just pop in one or more new disks if capacity becomes an issue. So a place where all data can be dumped and be accessible if needed. So this thing should be energy efficient and (as) silent (as possible) - for me this means that the HDDs should stay off as often as possible. In terms of speed, I personally think it would be "funny" to build such a server if it cannot support at very least 1 x 1 GbE connection at full speed. ECC is a great option but I am currently considering to use larger cache drives which would allow to store often accessed data (e.g. user folders) in the cache which would keep the HDDs off longer. So, cache drives could serve two purposes here. For all other things such as Radarr, Sonarr, Plex etc pp I indend to run a beefy, smaller form factor (potentially FreeNAS) server which uses SSDs in RAID for fast access and silent/quiet operation. As especially those 3 mentioned programs always seem to do something, chances are slim this server/SSDs gets to standby often. That build will be a headache in terms of energy efficiency because I want to have a fast CPU for all the fun (and serious!) stuff that I come up with to run on a server haha But having a - say - i7 and maybe even a graphic card (Plex transcoding) running 24/7 just to run home automatisation, watch downloads and the occasional movie/show seems decadent... RE cases: I do think the Norco case is basically too big (I will have to make sure my wife is in a good mood when the delivery comes! LOL). But the big fans are great and once it runs, it should be able to run for years without any capacity worries. If anybody knows similar but slightly smaller cases (preferably rack mountable), I am happy to check It just need to be able to run quietly (with some pimping). Cheers y'all for your input, this is helping me quite a lot!

@bobkart as usual thanks a bunch for your highly useful comments/tips! Highly appreciated! NVMe cache drives will be probably an overkill for my application case but I actually didn't have this solution on my radar. For my use case as file server, backup location, archive, etc. the smartest and most economical solution would probably to connect it with 2-4 x 1 GbE - that should give a reasonable access speed up to what the SSD's can deliver. I actually need to think more carefully now what I need now. The ECC option is new to me but quite like it. NVMe seems the best option but I need to see whether I can afford that as I'd also have to mirror those drives. It seems like an overkill but with 10 GbE becoming more popular and affordable, in 2-3 years I might have wished I'd gone for the NVMe option haha One (newbie) question re motherboard: you recommend the ASrock workstation MBs and not the server ones. Why?

@bobkart Thanks a bunch for this input, this is helping me a lot. As I understand, a T-version of a recent i3/5 is the best choice and I think a passive cooler is a must for this setup. I would also love to see the MB switching off (part) the fans if temps allow as my case will have 5 fans (3x12mm and 2x8mm - probably Noctua), which should not be necessary to run if the system idles. I will also only use a handful of HDDs in the beginning, so one fan in the front and one in the back should be fine. As far as I understand the case, the cache SSDs are installed on top of the hot-swap trays and therefore not in the direct cooling flow anyway... Although with the passive CPU cooling, a more or less constant air flow seems advisable. The ASRock Rack C236 MB looks pretty good, I just need to do more research and understand what are the key features important for me. Low power consumption (and noise level to a degree) are most important as the box is supposed to serve 24/7 and should be idle most of the time - to the degree that I am thinking whether it would make sense to use WOL instead of 24/7 operation. But when I use the server, I want to have fast access. Maybe not in the beginning (as I need to upgrade my network switch first) but later I want to run 10 Gb/s network. That's also the key reason for the cache SSDs. As I understand, you are using ECC RAM for caching. For 10 GbE this seems to make even more sense than for 1 GbE as RAM should be a lot faster than SSDs. I will have to study this further and see how to setup, etc. But seems very interesting, especially in terms of cost and power consumption! I don't know whether there is something else to consider in terms of 10GbE when buying a MB.

@bobkart: many thanks for your input, this is helping me! The backup server is something I also seriously consider and will surely do. I probably won't do it now and mirror the built 1:1 but it's on the list:) Your 2U solution is pretty neat. Which case do you use? I saw the Norco 4220 case and think it is a ideal case to have plenty of space to expand. For me the most difficult is to find the right MB. The C236 looks good but it seems it will almost lost in the huge case LOL My idea was to take a MB and CPU that are not a complete overkill for a file server but still have potential to do more if I want to run a couple of applications on it or need to add some RAM/cards (which are most likely 10 GB ethernet as well as SATA controller for all the HDDs). I do not know whether the power demand is necessarily increased by bigger MBs. For the CPU, I think a low power i3 is a rational choice in terms of economics and performance. My main concern is a situation where 20 HDDs are working in the case. Is there a significant change in performance requirements if a couple more HDDs are working? The money aside, would it make sense to have a i5 in such a system? The i5-8600T seems fancy but I do not know how what and e.g. i3-6100T compare on idle power consumption. I will have to study your hardware more but at least on the HDDs we are on the same page, I also looked at the Seagate archive drives and hope they are not too loud in operation (and don't break if switch on/off regularly!). PSU is another of my headaches in terms of dimension (for 20 HDDs) and noise level (I'd prefer as silent as economically possible;) ) Cheers!

Hi everybody, I am pretty much a noob in terms of UnRaid and server builds. I am planning my first proper UnRaid server build now and wanted to use the power of this forum to get feedback on which motherboard/CPU and hardware in general to get. So far, I am planning to use Norco's RPC-4220 (http://www.norcotek.com/product/rpc-4220/) case which has 20 HDD bays which should be plenty of space for years to come (the build will be populated with 4-5 data HDDs at first). I am also planning to use 2 SSDs as cache and a parity drive. My primary target is to build a file server which might or might not run other software but it should really only serve as file server / archive. So it should be powerful enough to run smooth for years and have enough reserves to run some software (e.g. a Plex server and all those HDDs!) IF I change my mind. I am thinking i3 perhaps. But for things like Plex and pretty much all other NAS applications I want to build a dedicated, fast server. So this build should be: very power efficient as it will be idling a lot - so motherboard / CPU / PSU should be able to use minimal energy when idling be "future-proof" (I am planning to add e.g. 10 GB networking once the new powerful NAS server goes into operation) quiet - I am planning at least using Noctua fans, so CPU (cooling) and PSU should be accordingly. I hope you get an idea of what I have in mind and am grateful for any comment! CHEERS!