CPU recommendation?

[rjorgenson]

Hey everyone. So I'm working on replacing my Drobo FS with an unRAID server and have been working on a build. Here is what I have so far ...

 

Motherboard  - ASUS M5A88-M                                          - $99.99

CPU                - ??                                                              - ??

Memory          - Kingston ValueRam ECC 2x2GB 1333MHz  - $19.74 x2

Power Supply - Corsair Builder Series CX V2 430              - $43.99

Chassis          - Nexus Prominent 9                                    - $84.95

 

I'm not really tied to anything in particular but I like the 6 onboard sata 3 ports on the motherboard and the expand ability of the case with drive cages. I'd prefer a modular power supply but I'd like to keep the costs at a level I could recoup by selling the Drobo FS once all the data is copied over.

 

As far as uses go the server will be used primarily as media storage and media server via plex(unlikely to have more than two clients streaming simultaneously) as well as time machine backups. Anyone have any sage advice to impart(specifically with CPU selection)? Most of the CPU's that I can find are either too low powered for transcoding or their power rating would require upgrading the power supply. Any and all help is appreciated! Thanks =D

[marcusone]

How many drives do you intend to have? Power supply may be a bit low depending on that number or near future plans.

 

Didn't have a look at the MB and its CPU support. But most people can run pled with a i3 chip.

 

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[BRiT]

It seems people have an easier time with an Intel i3/i5/i7 centered system, so select one of those for the CPU and opt for an appropriate motherboard and memory to support that.

[Frank1940]

BRiT is probably right in this case.  The AMD FX Class of processors is not what unRAID needs.  The GPU is total overkill for this application and that is the only thing that FX class has going for it!  The Phenom II / Athlon II processors will probably work but they are now old technology kept alive by AMD's failures with their last two product line introductions to meet expectations.  The big advantage to the Sempron is its low cost and it does a great job if all you want to run is the unRAID server itself. 

 

Gong to the Intel i3/2100 series of processors will cost a bit more but I think you will be happier in the long run.  (And this is from a guy who currently has four AMD computers in his house!) 

 

 

EDIT: Oh, if you want to save some money, drop the SATA3 requirement.  There isn't a spinning hard drive made that can even come near to saturating a SATA2 bus!  If youare intending to use Green Drives, the last statement is even more true.

[rjorgenson]

Thanks for the advice guys. If I did go with intel are there any chip sets I should avoid and/or look for when picking a motherboard?

 

As far as drives I'll be getting two 3TB drives initially and once all the data is copied over from my Drobo i'll be throwing the 3 2TB drives that are in there into my unRAID system.

 

For the power supply I used the calculator here - http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine configued with a phenom processor, a 4x PCIe card, and 10 sata drives for future expansion, plus fans and it came out to 300 watts. The intel chip is even lower. Will a 430 watt power supply not be enough?

[Frank1940]

Thanks for the advice guys. If I did go with intel are there any chip sets I should avoid and/or look for when picking a motherboard?

 

As far as drives I'll be getting two 3TB drives initially and once all the data is copied over from my Drobo i'll be throwing the 3 2TB drives that are in there into my unRAID system.

 

For the power supply I used the calculator here - http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine configued with a phenom processor, a 4x PCIe card, and 10 sata drives for future expansion, plus fans and it came out to 300 watts. The intel chip is even lower. Will a 430 watt power supply not be enough?

 

If you are only using 5 Hard drives, the Corsair Builder Series CX V2 430 will easily fill the bill.  If you decide on another PS (for whatever reason), be sure that it has a single +12V rail.  There will be no video card so the vast majority of the 12V current will be going only to the hard drives.