jdk972003

Great deal...but wish I could get the $10 off the WD Green's instead. Not sure about the 16mb buffer and Hitachi

Thanks for the feedback. I had to put this on hold due to some home issues requiring me stealing from the computer fund. I will update the post once I decide.

Ok down to two boards, both Gigabyte. One has 8 sata connections and (2) Gig-LAN and the other has 10 SATA ports and (3) Gig-LAN. Otherwise they are very similiar. Any opinions? Brand GIGABYTE Model GA-EP45-DQ6 Supported CPU CPU Socket Type LGA 775 CPU Type Quad-core / Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Duo / Pentium FSB 1600/1333MHz Chipsets North Bridge Intel P45 South Bridge Intel ICH10R Memory Number of Memory Slots 4×240pin Memory Standard DDR2 1200 Maximum Memory Supported 16GB Channel Supported Dual Channel Expansion Slots PCI Express 2.0 x16 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x8 slot PCI Express x4 2 PCI Express x1 1 PCI Slots 2 Storage Devices PATA 1 x ATA100 2 Dev. Max SATA 3Gb/s 10 SATA RAID 0/1/5/10 Additional RAID Controller SiI5723 Onboard Audio Audio Chipset Realtek ALC889A Audio Channels 8 Channels Onboard LAN LAN Chipset 4 x Realtek 8111C Max LAN Speed Quad 10/100/1000Mbps Rear Panel Ports PS/2 2 USB 8 x USB 2.0 S/PDIF Out 1 x Optical, 1 x Coaxial Audio Ports 6 Ports Onboard USB Onboard USB 4 x USB 2.0 Onboard 1394 Onboard 1394 3x 1394a Physical Spec Form Factor ATX Dimensions 12.0" x 9.6" Power Pin 24 Pin --------------------------------------------------OR-------------------------------------------- Brand GIGABYTE Model GA-EP45-UD3P Supported CPU CPU Socket Type LGA 775 CPU Type Quad-core / Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Duo / Pentium FSB 1600/1333MHz Chipsets North Bridge Intel P45 South Bridge Intel ICH10R Memory Number of Memory Slots 4×240pin Memory Standard DDR2 1333 Maximum Memory Supported 16GB Channel Supported Dual Channel Expansion Slots PCI Express 2.0 x16 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 (one running at x16 model, another one running at x8 model) PCI Express x1 3 PCI Slots 2 Storage Devices PATA 1 x ATA100 2 Dev. Max SATA 3Gb/s 8 SATA RAID 0/1/5/10 Onboard Video Onboard Video Chipset None Onboard Audio Audio Chipset Realtek ALC889A Audio Channels 8 Channels Onboard LAN LAN Chipset Realtek 8111C Second LAN Chipset Realtek 8111C Max LAN Speed Dual 10/100/1000Mbps Rear Panel Ports PS/2 2 USB 8 x USB 2.0 IEEE 1394 2 x IEEE 1394a S/PDIF Out 1 x Optical, 1 x Coaxial Audio Ports 6 Ports Onboard USB Onboard USB 4 x USB 2.0 Onboard 1394 Onboard 1394 1x 1394a Physical Spec Form Factor ATX Dimensions 12.0" x 9.6" Power Pin 24 Pin

You have to laugh at how thee things work... I want a server so start researching serves which lead to WHS, UnRaid, Linux, etc Which leads me to WHS or UnRaid Which leads to educating myself on which hardware does both Which leads to educating myself on processors and motherboards and memory and chipsets Which leads to learning how to wiki! I learn more on these hobbies in a week then I did in an engineering class in college in a semester!

I wasn't necessarily volunteering ...but with that said...I will at least think on the layout or approach that might assist. Then if I can learn wiki I can help. Also, please note I was not meaning to complain. It was supposed to be constructive feedback! UnRaid wouldn't rank near as high as it does without the community support. You guys are incredible, as you are what takes a core product and elevates it to a whole new level. That in turn allows the developers/owners to bring around a more robust product next go around. I did notice the links, they are a god send. Those links are how I researched each board to determine its availability (if its not on newegg i considered it out of date). I can not imagine what i would have done without the table. I love the evaluation column as well, I think that will be very usefull as it gets rounded out. I was supposed to order my stuff today but I ain't got it in me. Have to wait until tomorrow!

Yep, been referencing that back a lot. It is very cumbersome to use though. Being out of the chipset scene for a while, it requires me to go back and look up what each chipset supports, which processors that chipset supports, and then I have to check newegg to determine if its a current or old board. The sight REALLY needs to find a way to get that information across in that table, or a second table. Ideally you would want a noob like myself to be able to go to the sight and pick his equipment he wants without having to research each board individually. Basically though I am aiming at a Norco 4020 with a GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX with 8 sata ports. I then plan to expand with pci-e 8xSATA cards at some point. Processor powere is in question since I am not sure which server implementation I will end up with long term.

Fair enough! That was actually my curent plan. I was going to buy hardwre that runs unraid. I could then set up the UnRaid server to start (since media is priority 1 and needed now). Then if i get to the other items on my list I can then transition to WHS or use the new UnRaid version. I think I will be posting my hardware list soon to get approval.

Any more results from this board?

Fair enough. I should have listed that initially! By end of year i am going to have the server do the following in order of priority Media Server Backup of 3 other windows computers regularly Home automation Monitoring system Torrents the media server is needed now. hence I am attempting to choose a choice that allows me to perform the above on a single box. I know it CAN be done on the UnRaid server, I have seen a LOT of BubbaQ posts , but the self education it requires to get all those done on UnRaid from my starting point (knowing nothing) makes it a very daunting task. Its taken me a week just to understand my choices for a media server, and what those limitations may be of each choice. If ll I was doing was storing information, I would go UnRaid without a second thought. Its what it does and it does it superbly from what I have seen. Its the other parts that make things get really complicated. Especially considering the other choices on the market. Whats crazy to me is none of these choices have incorporated all the options since most compliment each other more than compete.

I have been researching this a lot to determine my best path forward. I currently have no spare parts lying around and no current server. I really like WHS for the features already mentioned as well as the ability to easily combine other purpose server boxes to run on the same environment. I like the JBOD ease of use for expansion as well, very similar to UnRaid in that respect. But as everyone has mentioned, the mirror backup is ludicrous. And the no op system backup seems very shortsighted. My primary goal is a single box. With this in mind (and the fact i know NO Linux), it makes Unraid a difficult choice. Difficult because it does EVERYTHING right, except the inability to easily do more than just be an array. I have read all the threads out there on VM ware and running these within Unraid or UnRaid inside a VM. On top of all that, i could still have to learn all bout utilizing a VM and the shortcomings with that software. Right now, i am leaning towred WHS utilizing FlexRaid to parity every disk. This is the closest i can come to a workable solution. I would LOVE if you UnRaid experts could provide more information and discussion on these.