High end-ish nas

[KTFirst]

Hi. 
i have used Synology but got so angry when thry tried to force me to use their disks. I am moving to unraid (i hope). Buildling my own which is going to be fun (again i hope

would really appreciate some tips. 
Can anyone give some tips? Money is not really an issue (company) so would like high end stable low power amd. I have 12x seagate ironwolf pro 18TB already. 
want a desktop nas not rack. 
would love some tips on good HW combo. 

[Lolight]

 

[Lolight]

7 hours ago, KTFirst said:

would like high end stable low power amd.

An Intel platform might be a better choice for stability.

[KTFirst]

I was thinking of AMD to gett ECC support wo having to go ”all server”. If inte what would you choose?

[Lolight]

1 hour ago, KTFirst said:

I was thinking of AMD to gett ECC support wo having to go ”all server”.

Intel has now enabled ECC on Alder Lake CPUs, but only if paired with a W680 chipset.

It's still too new of a development with just a couple of vendors announcing motherboards based on that chipset (SuperMicro and ASRock).

As a rule an Unraid NAS running on AMD might require troubleshooting or extra research related to the initial BIOS setup and some other issues, more so than on any Intel based systems where the BIOS defaults and the basic architecture are good enough for "set and forget".

If you're fine with that situation then AMD might be a good choice for you.

Edited March 27, 2022 by Lolight

[SirReal63]

I have used 5 different AMD boards and 6 different CPU's and I have had zero issues with any of them. 

[KTFirst]

Hi.

 

Lolight: liked your build

So I have been tinkering and thinking.

 

Hardware thoughts are many. Thinking of: (and please be patient):

 

- Corsair HX Series HX1200 1,200W 80 PLUS Platinum

- LSI Broadcom SAS 9305-24i PCIe 3.0 x8

- Startech1m Internal Mini SAS to SATA Cable1m 36-stifts 4x mini-SAS HD (SFF-8643) Kontakt 7-stifts seriell ATA

- 12x Seagate Ironwolf Pros 18TB (this is the only thing I have already)

- 7000D airflow case (I have xtra drive cages for this one)... but optimally looking for a good case that fits A LOT of drives (R7 maybe, but would prefer a cube)

 

Now, to my issues...

I love AMD, know almost nothing about intel. 

I would like to have this machine as a server and where I place my 4k Atmos movies (play with wired Apple TV and other streamers)... and for backup etc. So a NAS really. Maybe play with some other stuff like surveillance and a VM or two, but nothing heavy, no gaming.

 

I am worried about PCI lanes of a "normal" ryzen, but then a threadripper eats a lot of money (coming close to buying a QNAP)... Would a low end Xeon be better (I can only do new parts as I buy it via my company so no 2nd hand stuff). 

 

Any tips on a good MB and CPU combo would be great (I do not want this devise to be slower than my previous 3622 synology)

 

Tnx

 

 

 

 

[Lolight]

10 hours ago, KTFirst said:

I am worried about PCI lanes of a "normal" ryzen, but then a threadripper eats a lot of money (coming close to buying a QNAP)... Would a low end Xeon be better (I can only do new parts as I buy it via my company so no 2nd hand stuff).

This thread and the referenced thread within might be of interest:

 

 

[KTFirst]

So an update: This is my config so far:

 

- MB: Asrock ROMED8-2T

- CPU: AMD EPYC 7282 2.8GHz Socket SP3 Processor

- RAM: Looking for 128GB, 3200, ECC

- Controller: LSI Broadcom SAS 9305-24i PCIe 3.0 x8

- Cache disks: Samsung 980 PRO 2000GB M.2 2280 PCI Express 4.0 x4 (NVMe) x2 in RAID 1

- Power: Corsair HX Series HX1200 1,200W 80 PLUS Platinum

- UPS: APC Smart-UPS 1500VA LCD 230V With Smartconnect

- Drives: Seagate Ironwolf Pro 18TB x 12 (incl. x2 for parity)

- Case: Corsair 7000D AIRFLOW (will do some modding - but can not find an unugly case that is non-rack that fits ... suggestions welcome) - lots of airflow, quiet build enables with large fans on low rpm)

 

Questions:

for the ROMED8-2T: since I will not be using a GPU, I assume I can (and should use) one of the x16 slots for the LSI controller. Will this be enough band-width for the disks?

Should I use the on-board M2 slots for the cache disks or buy an extension card for best stability/performance? Ideas on which one if so?

The AMD EPYC 7282 is chosen for many PCI lanes and OK performance. Is there any other alternative for lower power consumption but the keeping lanes and performance? (prefer not to venture into older intel) but newish HW that is available new and at the approx price point as for the 7282.

RAM: Looking at the compatibility list ( https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED8-2T#Memory ) and seeing what I can find in stock. Do any of you have an idea if it is better to go with 4 or 8 sticks (does it matter?) and rec would be great here on which to use and where to get hold of it

 

Thank you very much for any input.

[Lolight]

1 hour ago, KTFirst said:

- Case: Corsair 7000D AIRFLOW (will do some modding - but can not find an unugly case that is non-rack that fits ... suggestions welcome) - lots of airflow, quiet build enables with large fans on low rpm)

Steve mentions competitor's cases at 25:50 (don't know based on what criteria though)

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Lolight

[stev067]

Sounds like your needs are similar to mine. My build is the one Lolight linked earlier in the thread. I run a Plex server on mine, and I stream 4k HDR+Atmos content all the time. It's actually overkill for that job. Mostly, I have it continuously running Handbrake on 11 of the 32 cores, as well as Blue Iris surveillance software on a Windows VM running on a couple of the other cores. I've found the Ryzen 5950x to be great, and the system overall has been stable as a rock. I don't use a GPU in my system, so that is saving somewhat on PCIe lanes, but I do use a 10-gig network switch connected to a different PC. What are your specific concerns about lanes?

[suedenimes]

I'm not sure where the OP is located but in the UK there are plenty of business sellers on EBAY that sell second hand equipment and will supply invoices for accounting purposes.