First build: Budget 6 drives (exp. to 12) with Plex/AirVideo Transcoding capabil

[heredago]

Budget: ~700$ without drives (flexible)

Capacity: I'll start with 3 drives and top 6 drives in a short-medium horizon

Long term goal? maybe 10, 12 drives max?

Add Ons: Sab / SB / CP / Transmission / Local Crashplan server / Plex or AirVideo for some transcoding

Usage: Storing movies & tv-shows, distributing them mostly to a single Zotac XBMCbuntu HTPC, expandable to 2 concurrent clients in the LT?

Re-usable spare parts: (full HDs) 1 x WD green 2TB, 1 x WD black 1TB, 1 x WD blue 640GB

 

1 x Azza Helios 910 (9 x 5.25 bays) 

3 x COOLER MASTER STB-3T4-E3-GP 4-in-3 (will remove its dust filter) 

3 x Scythe SY1225SL12M 120mm (replacing CM cage's fan)(69 CFM @ 24 dBA) 

1 x Seasonic X-660 660W 80 Plus Gold ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

1 x SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCM-F-O (6 x SATA) (PCIe x4 & x8)   

1 x Intel Xeon Quad-Core E3-1230 3.2GHz 5GT/s 1155pin 8MB CPU, Retail

2 x Kingston KVR1333D3E9SK2/8G DDR3-1333 8GB (2x4GB) ECC CL9 Memory Kit

2 x HITACHI Deskstar 0S03230 3TB 5400 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" (from different vendors)

1 x APC Power-saving Back-UPS RS BR1000G 1000VA/600W UPS System

1 x Super Talent Pico-C 4GB USB2.0 Flash Drive

1 x Super Talent SM Swivel 4GB USB2.0 Flash Drive, Retail

1 x Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5IN SATA3 Sandforce SF-2281 SSD Solid State Disk Flash Drive (will update firmware)

 

Parts ordered 2012-04-26 !!! 

[BetaQuasi]

That memory will not work in that board - you need ECC UDIMM's like these:

 

https://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=W8GE1333K

 

The motherboard itself is brilliant though, definitely lock that one in!  Not sure if you can find it cheaper.. in the US, it's $169 at superbiiz.com

 

Also, what's the 7200rpm drive for?  Stick with green drives if you want to save power (Which it seems you want to do)

[heredago]

@BetaQuasi: thx for your input!

• I'm pretty sure this RAM will fit too (a tad cheaper  ):
  Super Talent DDR3-1333 8GB (2x 4GB) ECC Memory Kit @ $55.99
  https://www.superbiiz.com/desc.php?name=W1333EX8G
  

• I'm also gonna change the PSU and I'll probably go with either the Seasonic SS-560KM (single rail 12V, 46A, 8 sata, modular, gold) https://www.superbiiz.com/query.php?categry=0&s=560km or the SeaSonic-made Corsair CMPSU-650HX (single rail 12V, 52A, 9 sata, modular) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012
   
  

• I live 65 mins from the US-CAD border so I will probably end up getting everything shipped to a US warehouse from Superbiiz (can't really use multiple suppliers as the warehouses charge per box so it can become expensive if I shopped around everywhere). I did that for car parts in the past and even with gas, tolls and import taxes (13%, you guys in the US are so lucky with like 4% sales taxes lol) (but import taxes shouldn't be that bad with most probably some under-declared values and some photoshop on the invoice!), I should still save between 150$-200$ by buying from a US store.
   
  

 

[heredago]

Also, what's the 7200rpm drive for? 

 

I had kinda chickened-out with all the bad WD green HD ratings on Newegg  I guess I can't do more than buying different brand/model or same model from different suppliers (different batches). I hope I won't have a drive fail on me, but if it happens, I just don't want THAT second drive to fail when rebuilding the array! :'(

[BetaQuasi]

Yeah that memory will be fine - I just prefer to stick with Kingston as their RMA process is very good if you ever need it (and normally you don't!  Very reliable memory.)

 

With green drives, maybe consider the Seagate range.  It's what I use and I've had one drive out 13 or so fail over the years (and it was probably my fault, it fell about a metre!).

 

 

[Johnm]

I just picked up 4x 8 gig sticks for 32gigs of the super tallent ram for my X9SCM.

it was Samsung chips on an OEM PCB.

It seems to work just fine.

 

I would prefer Kingston also.. but it is not available.

 

your build looks quite solid..

 

I do like those azza cases. the only real flaw with them is that damn side fan..

[heredago]

You guys got me (and for the $5 price difference!), I'm probably gonna go with some Kingston ram

 

A guy is challenging my build on Reddit (I like this!):

He's suggesting a normal ATX board ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 ($105) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-157-279 with normal RAM.

 

A. Is there an advantage, for my needs, to have a server micro atx motherboard? anything wrong with the mobo he suggested?

 

B. He's also challenging the modular PSU by saying I will probably end up using most of the cables, what are your thoughts?

[BetaQuasi]

Re: the first argument - a serverboard like the Supermicro is designed with the intent of being on 24x7 for many years.  A desktop board (especially an ASrock, a relative newcomer) doesn't compare imho.  Having things like IPMI, 5x PWM fan headers, on board USB port for flash RAM for ESXi etc etc.. give me a server board any day.

 

Re: the 2nd argument, I don't care if it's more expensive.  Modular is better any day of the week.. only use the cables you need to use and easily switch them out.  For the minor extra expense, I think it's 100% worth it.

 

Another thumbs up for modular is if for example you need lots of Molex power connectors, most vendors can supply extra modular cables so you can add them, rather than being stuck with a bundle of SATA power connectors you can't use and having to use Y-adapters etc to get more Molex going on.

 

I think his arguments are crap (in case you hadn't already guessed )

[Johnm]

The advantage of the Server board...

24x7 continuous operation under full load for years. Most old supermicro servers are recycled after years of abuse because they are just to old, not because they fail.

 

the IPMI is a huge advantage.

 

It just works.... you can put any Operating System on it and it is just solid. no second guessing, no messing with third party drivers or weird bios settings or wondering if my raid card will actually work in  video slot (many times they don't)....

 

No extra garbage like sound cards to cause hardware conflicts.

 

ECC RAM. That is a hug bonus on a server. Unfortunately, the I3 does not support ECC. You gain nothing here.  If you ever upgrade to a Xeon, you will gain the advantage.

 

It is an enterprise level server board.. it is for business use. It uses top of the line parts. If they fail in service, It would be be bad and expensive to a company. if that happens, people would not buy them for their server farms....

 

Yes you pay a few dollars more, but in the end you might save days of hair pulling trying to make a desktop board do the same job and still have it not work in the end.

PSU:

That's just a personal opinion.

On some cases you need modular due to limited space in the case  and preventing restricted the airflow.

if you can tuck the cable out of the way. it is not a problem.

 

Some vendors will sell you extra modular cables for what you need. like more molex, sata  or video card connectors.

 

I guess you can get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing you cables are pretty inside your case on those rare times you open it up....

You can argue either way on that one...

[heredago]

thanks for all the advices, I will for sure go with the supermicro server board

 

one more question:

Can I run unRAID on ESXi on a i3-2120 or it's not just possible?

 

If it's just not possible, I see most people going for E3-1230s, is there a reason to get something better than an E3-1220 if it's really just for fun / testing purpose?

 

And supern00b question: if I go the ESXi + unRAID route, I "loose" one HD to host the different VMs like the unRAID one, right?

[Johnm]

thanks for all the advices, I will for sure go with the supermicro server board

 

one more question:

Can I run unRAID on ESXi on a i3-2120 or it's not just possible?

 

If you are going to go the ESXi route, you need a CPU that supports VT-d. The I3 does not have that support.

 

If it's just not possible, I see most people going for E3-1230s, is there a reason to get something better than an E3-1220 if it's really just for fun / testing purpose?

 

 

It depends on what you're server load would be.

For most home servers. the E3-1230 is fine.

The E3-1220 is nerfed. It does not have hyperthreading. Something that would help your ESXi server out if you plan to have more then a few VM's. the few dollar price difference makes most people just get the beefier CPU.

But it would work.....

 

And supern00b question: if I go the ESXi + unRAID route, I "loose" one HD to host the different VMs like the unRAID one, right?

 

Yes. You must have a datastore drive.

it could be a much smaller drive. like a 160GB drive. you could use smaller, but it would make adding more VM's difficult.

unRAID does need a VM on the datastore (would be only a few GB), unRAID would still boot from the USB (assuming you use plop and not a VMDK). Any other VM's like windows would then use virtual drives on the datastore drive.

[heredago]

Oh, just realized that when I had searched for VT-d CPU compatibility list, I was in fact on the VT-x Intel's compatibility page :\ I also hadn't realized that the E3-1220 didn't have HT, E3-1230 it is!

 

I just ordered all my parts (2012-04-26), I realize this must be way overkill for my needs but I want something that will last me for a long time and that I will have fun with it!

 

1 x Azza Helios 910 (9 x 5.25 bays)

3 x COOLER MASTER STB-3T4-E3-GP 4-in-3 (will remove its dust filter)

3 x Scythe SY1225SL12M 120mm (replacing CM cage's fan)(69 CFM @ 24 dBA)

1 x Seasonic X-660 660W 80 Plus Gold ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

1 x SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCM-F-O (6 x SATA) (PCIe x4 & x8)

1 x Intel Xeon Quad-Core E3-1230 3.2GHz 5GT/s 1155pin 8MB CPU, Retail

2 x Kingston KVR1333D3E9SK2/8G DDR3-1333 8GB (2x4GB) ECC CL9 Memory Kit

2 x HITACHI Deskstar 0S03230 3TB 5400 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" (from different vendors)

1 x APC Power-saving Back-UPS RS BR1000G 1000VA/600W UPS System

1 x Super Talent Pico-C 4GB USB2.0 Flash Drive

1 x Super Talent SM Swivel 4GB USB2.0 Flash Drive, Retail

1 x Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5IN SATA3 Sandforce SF-2281 SSD Solid State Disk Flash Drive (will update firmware)

 

I added a SSD for use as a Datastore, I understand it's a basic consumer one without any "advanced garbage collection" or "auto trim", but for my needs, I hope it's gonna be fine. The ESXi part is a lot more for fun and testing than for real use, but maybe that will change when I have my system up and running, who knows!