Would this board be ok for UNRAID?

I am looking to build my 3rd unraid server and just need help on the motherboard selection since the ones I have in the other 2 servers are no longer made.

 

Thx

Looks like I cannot get it.

I really help choosing a motherboard. I do not need anything too expensive.

 

Just look into what Raj's suggested.  Go to this thread to see some nice setups:

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7998.0

 

I have the A760G you're referring to, and I got it off eBay.

 

That auction ended at the end of April, but you may be able to find others since I know they don't manufacture that motherboard anymore.

All of the setups I would use are using the BIOSTAR A760G M2+

I will be using 12 drives in the tower.

Is there something as good as the BIOSTAR A760G M2+ that I can use instead?

 

I'm not sure.  Better question for Raj.  See if there's something comparable, or keep looking and see if more get posted on eBay.  I only got mine a little over a month ago.

I am wondering if this board would work ok for unraid.

 

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138197&Tpk=TA880GB

 

Ask Rajahal.  He is all-knowing when it comes to builds.  There are many others on this board, also, but he helped me out with my build.

 

But I also just followed one of his prototypes lol.

Rajahal,

Please comment 

Raj will probably find this thread eventually, just give him some time.

 

In the mean time, I took a look at the specs and I don't see anything in particular that would stop this board from working. It is not on the Hardware Compatibility Page but if you look at this post you can see some comments already made by Raj about the board you mention.

The board seems a little on the expensive side as well.

 

The board seems a little on the expensive side as well.

 

 

Expensive is in the eye of the beholder...

 

It is harder than you might think to find a motherboard that will allow you to expand capacity, but has all the other things you need/want on the board.

I'm here, I'm here!

 

The Biostar TA880GB+ looks like a fine board, I see nothing wrong with it.  However, there's a cheaper version that I can personally vouch for as being compatible with unRAID: the Biostar A880G+

 

Newegg.com - $55

Newegg.ca - $80 after shipping

 

Much better deal in the US, I'm afraid.  For a 12 drive or smaller server, this board is perfect.  However, your expandability is limited to 12 drives.

 

For the record, the Biostar TA760G M2+ will also work well for unRAID, but as you found out it is rather hard to find at this point.

Thanks. I appreciate the feedback

I am going to go with the BIOSTAR TA880GB+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard because it has 6 sata ports

 

Good choice.  In Canada the difference is only about $15, so the upgrade is worthwhile.  In the US the Biostar A880G+ is a much better deal, so the difference is about $30, so the upgrade is less worthwhile.

Thanks for the help.

 

One more question for you please

 

I plan on using all WD20EARS drives. Is a green drive suitable for a parity drive? I thought the parity drive should be a 7200 RPM drive. That is what I have in my other 2 towers.

I will be using Unraid 4.7 in the new tower (at least until the newer builds are proven and released) so I think I do not need to jumper pins 7 and 8 on the drives.

Can you confirm that?

 

 

The parity drive speed is ultimately a matter of personal preference.  I prefer to use green drives (and the WD greens are fine) because I also use a cache drive with my server.  The only time in which a 7200 rpm parity drive will be of benefit is if you are using 7200 rpm data drives and no cache drive, or if you are writing to multiple data drives at once and again have no cache drive.

 

Correct, you do not need to jumper any new WD EARS drives when using unRAID 4.7 or newer.  However, before you install the drive you need to go to the 'settings' page and enable the '4k mbr aligned' option.

 

If you have a WD EARS drives that was previously used with a jumper, then it is best to just leave the jumper in place and disable the '4k mbr aligned' option.

I do plan to use green drives for all drives in the array.

So the 4k mbr aligned needs to be set no matter what drives are used.

 

Is there any point to using more than 2GB of RAM in the tower?

I only use the towers for storage and do not use any torrent stuff etc.

 

I do plan to use green drives for all drives in the array.

So the 4k mbr aligned needs to be set no matter what drives are used.

 

 

As long as all your drives are new, then yes.  The only time you ever want to disable the 4k mbr aligned option is if you are adding new WD EARS drives that already have jumpers installed.  Once those drives are installed and working, then you can turn the option on again.

 

Is there any point to using more than 2GB of RAM in the tower?

I only use the towers for storage and do not use any torrent stuff etc.

 

For basic storage and streaming, no, 2 GB is plenty.  Many of the add-ons will benefit from more RAM, but I don't think it is required for any of them.

Does a pre-clear need to be done on all new drives before adding them to the array with unraid 4.7 or above?

 

Does a pre-clear need to be done on all new drives before adding them to the array with unraid 4.7 or above?

 

 

No, but I recommended you do.

Right.  Preclear is never required, but it is highly recommended, especially for new drives that haven't already proven themselves trustworthy.

Raj,

 

Do you have any comments on this board?

 

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_340&item_id=034453

 

I am curious if it would work ok for unraid.

Thx

I actually just finished testing that board and I love it.  Fully compatible with unRAID and all the SATA controller cards I tried (Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 and SIL3132).  The only issue with the board is that it limits your expansion options to 12 drives (before resorting to the slow PCI bus).  If you are OK with that, then I highly recommend that board.

Raj,

I went with the Biostar TA880GB+ and so far it is working great. What a great board. Very easy to setup and very powerful.

I have 3 hard drives running a pre-clear right now.

 

Thx again