So this will be my first build - pretty excited. I'd like to build a 10 bay unit that can support 3TB drives (and maybe 4TB drives in the future), and have enough horsepower to run Plex Media Server.

 

I started by reading Raj's prototype for 10 bay budget box:

 

10 Drive Budget Box

Mobo: ASUS M4A78LT-M (more info; be careful when shopping around, as there is an LE version and a non-LE version of this motherboard. You want the non-LE version!) new budget board testing underway!

CPU: AMD Sempron 145

RAM: Kingston 2GB DDR3 1333

PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W

Case: Xigmatek Utgard Window CPC-T90DB-U02

SATA Expansion Card: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-Port SAS/SATA Add-on Card

Cables:

0.5m 30AWG Internal Mini SAS 36pin (SFF-8087) Male w/ Latch to SATA 7pin Female (x4) Forward Breakout Cable x 1

non-locking SATA x 4 (2 included with motherboard)

Hot Swap Drive Bays: Norco SS-500 x 2 (The Norco SS-500 drive cages are currently unavailable in the US.  I list two replacement options below. Both have their pros and cons. You can read my review of all three cages here.)

 

    * Icy Dock MB455SPF-B x 2 (replacement option 1)

    * Supermicro CSE-M35T-1B x 2 (replacement option 2)

 

Fans:

 

    * Coolink SWiF2-801 80mm x 2 *optional (Norco SS-500/Icy Dock MB455SPF-B fan upgrade if quieter performance is desired)

    * GELID Solutions FN-PX09-20 92mm x 2 *optional (Supermicro CSE-M35T-1B fan upgrade if quieter performance is desired)

 

Hard Drives: Green drives (5400 rpm or 5900 rpm), such as WD Green, Hitachi CoolSpin, Samsung EcoGreen, and Seagate LP

Cost: $520 + shipping + cost of hard drives (price is obsolete due to Norco SS-500 drive cage unavailability)

Capacity: 18 TB

Expandability: Expandable to the 15 Drive Budget Box with replacement of the power supply.

 

But I realize the CPU is lacking. I'm going to add more ram (4GB) but I'm looking for suggestions for a CPU/Motherboard combo I could replace in this setup that would be powerful enough to support Plex (dual core is a must - I know that the i3 2100 is a popular choice but I don't know what motherboard to choose with and and if it'll fit the case in Raj's setup).

 

I'd also like to transfer files from my existing drives to the unit through means faster than over the network. Am I able to just stick my HFS+ drives into the unit and then use a program to copy files over - or can I even setup a method where I could attach a single eSata external drive to the unit and transfer files over eSata?

 

Thanks for any help. I realize that to use 3TB drives I have to use the newest Betas of unRaid, I'm assuming I can still run Plex using these Betas.

I have a very similar setup.

 

Except with ASRock 880GM LE  mobo and 4GB ram.

 

I was able to unlock the second core on my sempron 145, which turned it into an Athlon II X2 4450e, which scores a 1908 on the Passmark cpu benchmark. It is comparable to Core 2 Duo's and significantly faster than my Dell XPS 1330, which handles ffmpeg transcoding (Plex uses that also) under Vista without breaking a sweat.

 

On my unraid server I am running virtualbox with an XP client with 512MB ram, sab/cp/sickbeard, mysql for xbmc and digiKam, and Airvideo server for Mirage Beta on android.

 

Airvideo has no problems, so I am assuming Plex will work fine as well. (The reason I didn't set up Plex is because it doesn't run on 4.7)

 

With the second core unlocked, this processor is unbeatable at that price point and TDP.

Unlocking a core is always a gamble, I would recommend just buying a low-level dual core Athlon.