Hello all,

 

I need to replace my MB, CPU, RAM and PSU.  On top of unraid I run unmenu, sabnzbd+ (download, unpar, unrar), sickbeard, and am looking to run some streaming solution for XBOX 360 that I don't have worked out yet.

 

This is what I am thinking about purchasing:

 

Motherboard

BIOSTAR A870 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD.  This is after being unable to find the recommended Biostar A760G M2+.

 

CPU

AMD Sempron 145 Sargas 2.8GHz Socket AM3 45W Single-Core Desktop Processor SDX145HBGMBOX

 

PSU

Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power ATX12V 2.3

or

CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W

 

My existing build contains the follow elements that will carry over to the new build

RAM: (left over from a different PC) Patriot 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

Controller Card: Rosewill RC-218

Hard Drive Array: 2 X Supermicro CSE-M35T-1B 5x3

Case: AZZA Helios 910

6 X WD Green drives between 1TB & 2TB

1 X Maxtor non-green cache drive 300GB

 

*For anyone reading this, no the AZZA case and the Supermicro 5x3 bays do not work together naturally.  You have to grind out the case rails, and even then it is a PITA.

 

I see the MB does come with the Realtek 8111E, so I know I would need a different NIC card, but I have a few of those laying around anyways.  Are there better options since the Biostar A760G M2+ seems to be unavailable?  Also, does anyone prefer one of those two power supplies?  I have a 350W PSU at home, but it only has a 20 plug power for the MB, no +4.  I'm not sure if that would continue to work on a new board.

 

Thanks for the help all!

The motherboard doesn't have onboard video, so now you're talking about adding a video card as well as a NIC.  The ECS A885GM-A2 (V1.1) AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD Motherboard could be an option if an ATX motherboard will work.

That looks like a great option.  I originally limited my search to 6+ SATA ports which is why it didn't come up.  That one is cheaper, has a better NIC and onboard video.  Thanks for the heads up!

I placed my order.  I ended up with the Corsair PSU, due to a $20 MIR currently at Newegg.  Actually this purchase is going to end up being really inexpensive.

 

MB: $69.99 - $30 MIR

PSU: $44.99 - $20 MIR

CPU: $39.99

 

$20 for $40 google offer at Newegg

Use ShopRunner code for free 2 day shipping

 

Total $154.97 - $30 MIR - $20 MIR - $20 Offer + free shipping = $84.97 shipped

 

Thank you for the help.  After a while I will come back and let everyone know how it went.

I am having some problems with either some of my drives, or some of the sata ports, or some of my sata cables.  One to two of my drives are responding painfully slowly while the rest seem to be fast.  What do you guys to to gauge the hard drive r/w speed and optimize your configuration?

 

Thanks!!

I think i narrowed it to my sumermicro backplane.  Regardless, I wanted to leave a note of two things.

 

1) I had to go back and buy this to have enough molex power plugs to power my supermicro backplanes: Power Adapter

2) Newegg is running a special on the PSU right now.  I called in and they issued me a $15 credit, so now my total cost was only $69.97 shipped.