want to build a new quiet, low power unraid server

[bdee1]

I currently have a very old, very large Unraid server with a bunch of old drives in it.  It works great but it is big and loud and draws a lot of power. Its one of the original Lime Tech towers with 15 drive bays.

 

I would like to downsize a to a much smaller case and replace the drives with a fewer number of larger drives.  

 

I ordered the Fractal Design Node 304 case and I am looking for recommendations on what mobo/cpu/ram to use.

 

I would be using the server primarily for file storage and light Plex usage.

 

any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

 

[bdee1]

I was looking at something like this for the motherboard:

https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-A520I-AC-Interfaces-Motherboard/dp/B08F7BHDLY/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=mini+itx+motherboard&qid=1629163444&s=electronics&sr=1-7

 

and it only has 4 SATA ports so I was thinking I would get a PCIe data card like this:

https://www.amazon.com/JESOT-Controller-Express-Expression-Profile/dp/B07VZZ11GB/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwmeiIBhA6EiwA-uaeFSgi2wz760Rdt8b53t1Xa9VEpVgghQ5quVzY-GgEfKc54Sxt1Fp-2xoCwh8QAvD_BwE&hvadid=241901348089&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9004717&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1772256487205598045&hvtargid=kwd-2934085525&hydadcr=24633_10399729&keywords=pci+express+sata+card&qid=1629163353&sr=8-5

 

not sure about which CPU and ram to get yet - any thoughts or feedback would be welcome.  

[Vr2Io]

Pls avoid those Marvell 9215 controller card. Best keep disk count under 4, i.e. 1 parity + 3 data disk for ITX build.

 

or : founding some ITX board have more SATA.

or : use m2 SATA card ( i.e. JMB585 m2 ) if you don't use m2 SSD

 

The only PCIe slot should keep for other purpose.

[bdee1]

I would love to find a miniOTX board with 6+ Data ports but haven’t had much luck there.  Any body know of one?

 

I would really like the ability to have 6 drives. 

[Vr2Io]

For low power part, in general you will got some low TDP CPU, but I also won't agree, because this just waste $$ and limit system in rather lowend result.

 

Intel CPU have power control feature, you can set the power usage in full power i.e. 28s then limit to 65w, so the concept likely a time limit turbo mode. The only need is you found a mobo BIOS support this.

 

My desktop was ITX with 9700K, it will run in 28s Turbo ( > 200w ) then limit to 65w, average power usage was 60w.

 

My 7x24 Unraid ITX build was AMD Ryzen 1700, nothing power control, but keep in low CPU usage, average power usage was 50w. ( stock cooler + one 10GNIC + two 3.5 disk + one 2.5 SSD )

 

And both system also quiet enough.

 

Edited August 17, 2021 by Vr2Io

[trurl]

59 minutes ago, bdee1 said:

I would love to find a miniOTX board with 6+ Data ports but haven’t had much luck there.  Any body know of one?

 

I would really like the ability to have 6 drives. 

 

[ChatNoir]

As mentioned by @Vr2Io, Marvell controllers are not recommended.

 

 

[bdee1]

On 8/17/2021 at 2:53 AM, ChatNoir said:

As mentioned by @Vr2Io, Marvell controllers are not recommended.

 

Thank you for that great info!

 

So based on that, if I chose a motherboard with only 4 ports then  it seems that this one might be a good choice?

https://www.amazon.com/FebSmart-Expansion-System-Marvell-Controller-FS-S4-Pro/dp/B08LW3XXYG/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=ASM1064&qid=1629383363&sr=8-2

 

[ChatNoir]

Looks fine.

your Amazon link got me worried with "Marvell" at the beginning   😀

[bdee1]

Great - thank you - that i opens up my motherboard options then

 

So does anyone have any recommendations for a good CPU/mono combo?  I have been doing a lot of googling but the choices seem to be kind of overwhelming.

[CS01-HS]

How "low power" and how many disks? If you're really "Watt-pinching" and don't mind the older chipset/CPUs:

 

Quote

Gigabyte C246N-WU2 7.36 watts (defaut BIOS = CEC 2019 disabled 10.29W)

 

And its bigger mATX brother:

https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/C246M-WU4-rev-1x#kf

 

Both have 8 SATA on board. A dedicated HBA will add 5W minimum.

[bdee1]

I will be using 6 drives and not super worried about watt-pinching.   Really just looking for something that is relatively low powered compared to my current setup (an old lime-tech md-100? Tower with 15 drives.).

 

what CPU would you recommend for use with the Gigabyte C246N-WU2?

Edited August 19, 2021 by bdee1

[CS01-HS]

That board is (I believe) limited to 9th and 8th Intel CPUs so if the 5W HBA savings isn't valuable it probably makes sense to go with a newer board and CPU. I don't know enough about them to make recommendations.

[Vr2Io]

1 hour ago, bdee1 said:

 

Thank you for that great info!

 

So based on that, if I chose a motherboard with only 4 ports then  it seems that this one might be a good choice?

https://www.amazon.com/FebSmart-Expansion-System-Marvell-Controller-FS-S4-Pro/dp/B08LW3XXYG/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=ASM1064&qid=1629383363&sr=8-2

 

 

ASM1064 should be a good choice.

Not sure you need storage expansion or not, LSI 9212-4i4e also a good solution if you can found in your market, it have 4 common SATA port internal and you can expand storage by external enclosure.

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Vr2Io

[bdee1]

6 minutes ago, CS01-HS said:

That board is (I believe) limited to 9th and 8th Intel CPUs so if the 5W HBA savings isn't valuable it probably makes sense to go with a newer board and CPU. I don't know enough about them to make recommendations.

Gotcha.  Thank you!  From the sound of it I may go with something newer. Unfortunately I don’t think I k ow enough about them either   so many options!

 

 

[mgutt]

21 minutes ago, bdee1 said:

what CPU would you recommend for use with the Gigabyte C246N-WU2?

If you consider used hardware, I would buy an i3 8xxx (ECC RAM supported!). In my country they are really cheap as "old". But I would buy the C246M-WU4 as it is cheaper, does not need an Mini SAS adapter for SATA and it has 2x M.2 Slots. Another great board is the W480M Vision. Really similar to the WU4, 10th gen CPU (only Xeon supports ECC RAM!) and 2.5G LAN. But the WU4 is king regarding power consumption (7.7W):

 

To reach such a low power consumption you need a Corsair RM550x (2021). It has a new low power technology to be compatible to the new ATX12VO standard. Another option could be the Be Quiet Pure Power FM 11 550W. It costs less then the Corsair and adds only 1W.

 

Note: Do not buy 11th or 12th gen. High power consumption and no Intel GVT-g support.

[Vr2Io]

12 minutes ago, mgutt said:

If you consider used hardware, I would buy an i3 8xxx (ECC RAM supported!). In my country they are really cheap as "old". But I would buy the C246M-WU4 as it is cheaper, does not need an Mini SAS adapter for SATA and it has 2x M.2 Slots. Another great board is the W480M Vision. Really similar to the WU4, 10th gen CPU (only Xeon supports ECC RAM!) and 2.5G LAN. But the WU4 is king regarding power consumption (7.7W):

 

To reach such a low power consumption you need a Corsair RM550x (2021). It has a new low power technology to be compatible to the new ATX12VO standard. Another option could be the Be Quiet Pure Power FM 11 550W. It costs less then the Corsair and adds only 1W.

 

Note: Do not buy 11th or 12th gen. High power consumption and no Intel GVT-g support.

Does C246N-WU2 SAS port support native SATA disk ? So 8 SATA easy to got.

Edited August 19, 2021 by Vr2Io

[bdee1]

1 hour ago, mgutt said:

If you consider used hardware, I would buy an i3 8xxx (ECC RAM supported!). In my country they are really cheap as "old". But I would buy the C246M-WU4 as it is cheaper, does not need an Mini SAS adapter for SATA and it has 2x M.2 Slots. Another great board is the W480M Vision. Really similar to the WU4, 10th gen CPU (only Xeon supports ECC RAM!) and 2.5G LAN. But the WU4 is king regarding power consumption (7.7W):

 

To reach such a low power consumption you need a Corsair RM550x (2021). It has a new low power technology to be compatible to the new ATX12VO standard. Another option could be the Be Quiet Pure Power FM 11 550W. It costs less then the Corsair and adds only 1W.

 

Note: Do not buy 11th or 12th gen. High power consumption and no Intel GVT-g support.

 

Thanks for this!  I do prefer to buy new parts if possible.  But it if fits the bill I could always look at eBay.

 

one question though - it looks like both of the boards you recommended are microATX, but the case I have (fractal Node 304) is MiniITX.

 

Any recommendations for similar boards in the miniITX form factor?

 

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by bdee1

[Vr2Io]

9 minutes ago, bdee1 said:

 

Thanks for this!  I do prefer to buy new parts if possible.  But it if fits the bill I could always look at eBay.

 

one question though - it looks like both of the boards you recommended are microATX, but the case I have (fractal Node 304) is MiniITX.

 

Any recommendations for similar boards in the miniITX form factor?

 

 

The attach photo should be C246N-WU2, a ITX mobo.

[bdee1]

Gotcha - thanks.  Unfortunately after a bit of searching I haven’t been able to find that one available anywhere

 

Any other recommendations for a miniITX board/CPU combo?

Edited August 19, 2021 by bdee1

[mgutt]

1 hour ago, bdee1 said:

Unfortunately after a bit of searching I haven’t been able to find that one available anywhere

 

Any other recommendations for a miniITX board/CPU combo?

That's the reason. It's very popular as it's the only one with 8 SATA ports and ECC support and low power consumption. I don't know why, but there doesn't exist any W480 with an ITX form factor.

 

2 hours ago, Vr2Io said:

So 8 SATA easy to got.

Easy = 20 - 30 € extra costs and this board is already expensive. But depends on how much is too much ^^

 

 

[bdee1]

Yea i can see why that is in demand.   Wish I could get my hands on one.

 

Since I can’t seem to get one - any other recommendations?

 

I would like to start getting the parts ordered and get the build underway but I cant seem to pin down a mono/cpu combo.

 

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by bdee1

[bdee1]

How about something like this?

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-H510I-PRO-ProSeries-Motherboard/dp/B08WC7Q1H5/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=MSI+H510I+PRO+WiFi+ProSeries+Motherboard+(Mini-ITX%2C+11th%2F10th+Gen+Intel+Core%2C+LGA+1200+Socket%2C+DDR4%2C+PCIe+4%2C+M.2+Slot%2C+USB+3.2+Gen+2%2C+2.5G+LAN%2C+HDMI%2FDP%2C+WiFi+6E)&qid=1629402453&s=electronics&sr=1-1

 

[mgutt]

1 hour ago, bdee1 said:

How about something like this?

Are 4 SATA ports enough?

 

I like those:

- Gigabyte C246N-WU2 8x SATA

- ASRock Fatal1ty Z370 ITX 6x SATA

- Supermicro C7Z370-CG-IW 4x SATA, but 2x M.2 (9x SATA through IO Crest Adapter)

- ASRock C246 WSI 8x SATA

[bdee1]

Yea I think if I use the above referenced SATA card in the PCIe port then I should have enough with 4 on the mobo. 
 

with that said, the ASRock C246 WSI looks interesting, if a bit pricey.  What would be a good CPU to use with that one?

Edited August 19, 2021 by bdee1