Thanks Gary!  I went with the SeaSonic SSR-650RM. 

 

Hi guys,

 

I wonder if someone would be able to help me with the consumption calculations for hopefully my first unRaid rig.

 

The board and chip are the integrated ASUS C60m1-i mini-itx board with 4gb of ram.

 

The data drives to begin with will be 4 assorted external desktop drive pulls (2*3TB and 2*2TB).

 

The max the system will be is UnRaid Plus (6 drives + 1 SSD) and any new drives (and the eventual replacements for the above drives) will be Red/NAS.

 

A local supplier has the Silverstone ST30ST 300w SFX PSU (going with a Lian-Li PC-Q25 box for this build), but is this still going to be inefficient due to the low power draw? could I go for an even lower wattage PSU? maybe to picoPSU?

 

M0zz

 

A Pico PSU is almost certainly enough -- the only real question is spin-up current for 6 drives ... but with such a low power CPU the 160w Pico version should be plenty.

 

On the other hand, the 300w Silverstone SFX unit is a very nice unit -- and although you'd likely be below its 80+ certification level (20% of 300w = 60w, which is likely more than you'll draw), it should still be reasonably efficient.    I'd be inclined to use it just for the extra "headroom."  But if you want the absolute lowest power draw, use the Pico unit.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Gary, I think I'll stick with the Silverstone SFX unit.

 

To begin with this will be an 'always on' server. But it will eventually become the backup UnRaid when I  buy my next build that can to handle v6 and Xen (Just don't tell the wife). So the inefficiencies of the PSU won't be long term.

 

Also the picoPSU will be a lot more expensive, and incur more postage costs (which are absurd in Oz anyway).

 

M0zz

Hi all .... i'm putting a new build together and have a new Corsair HX520w boxed up, unused. I'm not sure if this is worth using. Is it single or multi rail? Opinions differ. I'm aiming for around the 12 drive mark (4TB Seagate). Firstly will a 520w be sufficient and secobdly should i go with this psu or another?

 

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

 

Hi all .... i'm putting a new build together and have a new Corsair HX520w boxed up, unused. I'm not sure if this is worth using. Is it single or multi rail? Opinions differ. I'm aiming for around the 12 drive mark (4TB Seagate). Firstly will a 520w be sufficient and secobdly should i go with this psu or another?

 

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

According to both Newegg and Corsair this PSU has 3 rails.

So ... single rail needed? My mobo is a SM X9SIA-F with a xeon 3460 cpu. Am i right in saying that i need around the 30amps for the drives? How much roughly for the mobo? Am thinking maybe a corsair hx620?

 

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

 

 

So ... single rail needed? My mobo is a SM X9SIA-F with a xeon 3460 cpu. Am i right in saying that i need around the 30amps for the drives? How much roughly for the mobo? Am thinking maybe a corsair hx620?

 

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

 

Single rail is highly recommended since multiple rails are more difficult to budget power across, and often capacity is stranded.

 

30 amp is dependent on the drive types, not just quantity.

So ... single rail needed? My mobo is a SM X9SIA-F with a xeon 3460 cpu. Am i right in saying that i need around the 30amps for the drives? How much roughly for the mobo? Am thinking maybe a corsair hx620?

 

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

hx620 also triple rail. I think these must be aimed at people that need a lot of power for video. They are also very expensive. Where are you planning to buy?

Sorry ... hx650 not hx620. I'm based uk.

 

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

 

 

What PSU should i purchase for a full Silverstone SST-DS380B ?

Sorry ... hx650 not hx620. I'm based uk.

 

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

 

Just to tidy things up .... went with a Corsair HX650 Gold in the end. Apparently a rebadged Seasonic G-650. Should be up to my needs

Hello, seeking some advice here.

 

I currently have a Sempron 145 running 7 drives that are a mix of green, red and black. My current power supply is an Antec High Current Gamer 400 watt with the following specs

 

  +3.3V@20A, +5V@20A, +12V@30A, [email protected], [email protected]

 

It works great right now but I am going to upgrade so I can start running a Plex server to transcode video. I have been given a Sabertooth X58 with an i7 920 processor (130 watt) for the task but not installed it yet.

 

Do you think I should upgrade the PS to handle the increased power draw from the proc and if so what would you recommend? As of right now I don’t have plans to increase the array but it would be nice to be able to bump it up to 8 drives if necessary.

 

THANKS!

 

Hi,

 

for a new unRAID build (based on an i3 + about 8 drives) I am currently looking for a power supply. I am currently undecided between

 

Corsair CX Series Modular CX500M 500W ATX 2.3 (CP-9020059)

Sea Sonic M12II-520 Bronze EVO Edition 520W ATX 2.3 (SS-520GM2)

 

but leaning toward the SeaSonic because it already brings enough SATA connectors with it. Is it the right choice?

Hi,

 

for a new unRAID build (based on an i3 + about 8 drives) I am currently looking for a power supply. I am currently undecided between

 

Corsair CX Series Modular CX500M 500W ATX 2.3 (CP-9020059)

Sea Sonic M12II-520 Bronze EVO Edition 520W ATX 2.3 (SS-520GM2)

 

but leaning toward the SeaSonic because it already brings enough SATA connectors with it. Is it the right choice?

That SeaSonic has two 12V rails. A single 12V rail is the usual recommendation for unRAID (see first post of this thread).

Hi,

 

for a new unRAID build (based on an i3 + about 8 drives) I am currently looking for a power supply. I am currently undecided between

 

Corsair CX Series Modular CX500M 500W ATX 2.3 (CP-9020059)

Sea Sonic M12II-520 Bronze EVO Edition 520W ATX 2.3 (SS-520GM2)

 

but leaning toward the SeaSonic because it already brings enough SATA connectors with it. Is it the right choice?

 

 

Stay away from the CX series Corsair units ... these are their lowest-end units and can have compatibility issues with many motherboards (especially Ivy Bridge and Haswell units).

 

As noted above, the Seasonic unit you listed has 2 12v rails, and it's preferable to use a single-rail unit for UnRAID, since most of the 12v load is from the disks.    The Seasonic SSR-550RM would be an excellent choice:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119

 

Obviously one needs to stay away from higher end Corsair (RM) series as well.

I was using CX series (430) when the HDDs in my system were less. Then upgraded the power supply to a RM. it is deadly silent, that's true, but the extensive tests are showing poor results.

Here is the review I've read today:

http://m.hardocp.com/article/2013/11/13/corsair_rm750_750w_power_supply_review/1#.U-fFlmthiK0

 

The price of this model in my country is not low and all we need to be aware that nowadays the price is not always a proof for a quality.

 

The CX series was working great for my setup last three years with a total of 9 disks in the system without a single issue. Moreover it is still in the recommendation list. Probably it is high time to revise it.

Interesting that the RM series have issues as well.    The only Corsairs I recommend are the HX and AX series, although many have good luck with the TX units as well.

 

Most of my personal systems have Seasonic X series units or Silverstone SFX supplies (an excellent choice for mini-ITX cases with no more than 8 drives).

 

 

Stay away from the CX series Corsair units ... these are their lowest-end units and can have compatibility issues with many motherboards (especially Ivy Bridge and Haswell units).

 

As noted above, the Seasonic unit you listed has 2 12v rails, and it's preferable to use a single-rail unit for UnRAID, since most of the 12v load is from the disks.    The Seasonic SSR-550RM would be an excellent choice:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119

 

I looked up the SSR-550RM and it seems like a great choice, what do you normally do for the missing SATA connectors? Just use IDE to SATA converters or does SeaSonic offer extension kits for their modular PSUs (since this one only has 6 SATA connectors)? Or should I go for the 650 with 8 SATA connectors included?

You can either use Molex-SATA adapters, or SATA Y-adapters ... whichever is more convenient, based on where you need the power and what connections are most easily available there.

 

A typical computer PSU is the most economical way of providing power to 12 volt swimming pool lights.

 

Swimming pool lighting manufacturers haven't worked out that a switching power supply is by far the cheapest way of providing 12 volts at high current.  They are still selling huge, expensive transformers.

 

 

 

 

A typical computer PSU is the most economical way of providing power to 12 volt swimming pool lights.

 

Swimming pool lighting manufacturers haven't worked out that a switching power supply is by far the cheapest way of providing 12 volts at high current.  They are still selling huge, expensive transformers.

 

While that's technically true, don't forget that for an application where the powered devices are in water there's something to be said for good isolation transformers and ground-fault breakers.  A PC power supply doesn't provide this level of protection.    You could, of course plug it in to a ground-fault breaker, but it still wouldn't have the isolation a transformer provides.

 

A typical computer PSU is the most economical way of providing power to 12 volt swimming pool lights.

 

Swimming pool lighting manufacturers haven't worked out that a switching power supply is by far the cheapest way of providing 12 volts at high current.  They are still selling huge, expensive transformers.

 

While that's technically true, don't forget that for an application where the powered devices are in water there's something to be said for good isolation transformers and ground-fault breakers.  A PC power supply doesn't provide this level of protection.    You could, of course plug it in to a ground-fault breaker, but it still wouldn't have the isolation a transformer provides.

 

Every computer PSU is isolated from the mains, there is a transformer in there, it's just not being used the same way.  Of course, it's not certified for the purpose of a swimming pool, but it's probably going to be equally as safe (the design of all legally sold switching PSU's in Western countries will fail "safe") and they are typically only 20% of the price.  It's what I have been using for a couple of years.  Your lights should be well insulated too, you'll get quite a kick off 12 volts in a swimming pool.  I guess the problem comes when both your PSU and your wiring in the pool fail.  I am with you 100% on a specialised breaker.

Is this Cooler Master V850 overkill?  I currently only have 5 drives all at 7200rpm, but I'm looking to future proof my box.  It shows a single +12v70A rail.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171079

Is this Cooler Master V850 overkill?  I currently only have 5 drives all at 7200rpm, but I'm looking to future proof my box.  It shows a single +12v70A rail.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171079

 

Definitely overkill => and in addition it will be running well below the 80+ certification levels, so will be relatively inefficient.

With only 5 drives I'd probably buy a 450w unit, which would easily support 3-5 more drives.  If you want some "future proofing" I'd go with about 650w.