Looking to build an inexpensive (but not really budget) unraid server to replace my aging WHS v1. WHS is 12TB and looking to copy all the data currently there(everything is duplicated so only about 6tb of data), and then expand the server later to accommodate up to 20 drives. The WHS has served me fine, but the esata port to a 4 cage jbod enclosure has become intermittent with this last round of thunderstorms here in the midwest. I can get it to recognize the cage for about 30 mins, then it goes nuts backup errors etc etc.

 

currently have the following earmarked for the build:

supermicro x9scm mobo  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WKRDA4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

not exactly inexpensive, but every time I have build a computer in the past I have always regretted going cheap on a mobo. This board gets me 2 intel NIC's, the PCIE x4 slots for sas cards and IMPI.

 

Kingston Tech 2x4gb ram  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0083M3D0G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

probably overkill on ram, but its cheap and ECC

 

intel g620 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050W1Z3E/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

should be plenty of horsepower for this box, and i can always upgrade to a i3 later.

 

a mix of seagate 2tb and WD 3tb green drives. Economically speaking it makes sense to get all 3TB drives, but I have been bit in the rear end ordering all from the same batch before, probably get 2 of each to start and use a 3tb for parity

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CCS266/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RORMF6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

now for my main question; going with an antec 1200 case http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004INH0FS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

can i start off using the internal drive cages and upgrade to norco 5 in 3 cages later? or will it be more pain and suffering than its worth and should i just shell out the $400 for 4 cages upfront?

 

any other comments on this build are appreciated.

Id use the cases drive cages until you need more space. Cages keep dropping in price as new and or better ones come out.

 

Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2

The.caged are imo your preference. If you know you'll be expanding and just want to get it all together, get them now.

 

If you don't mind pulling the server to upgrade, it won't hurt to wait. The biggest concern then is making sure you dont accidentally make a data drive parity when moving the.discs to a drive cage, but I believe this is a non-issue with the version 5 builds.

 

8 gb of ram could be put to good use if you plan to run add-ons that require more ram. And like you said, its cheap so why not. I put 8 gb low voltage ram in mine, got it for ~$35. At that price there's no reason to get less!

 

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+1 for 8GB of RAM. I run a lot of plugins and going from 4 to 8GB solved some issues I was having.

 

Also, do you know for sure that board supports that processor? Supermicro's website only lists the Xeon E3 and the Core i3. I'd say spend the extra money on an i3. I have an i3-2120 and it's awesome.