Newbie considering Unraid build

[Avngl]

Hello guys,

 

Just last year, i built my first system with an i5 2500k processor.

 

Now I am considering of building an Unraid server which would serve as a media storage server so I could stream my tv shows and movies from my devices at home.

 

What is your budget?

Below $600 (without drives)

 

How many drives do you want your server to be able to support and how much capacity do you need?

At the moment 6  (12TB)

 

Is expandability important to you?

Yes, however, it might take 6 - 12 months for me to add more drives assuming that the space gets used up within that time period

 

Are you interested in running any unRAID Add Ons (see here)?

At the moment, No. The server is meant for streaming my media contents which I'd view via XBMC

 

Do you want to run green/low power drives or faster 7200 rpm drives?

Green and Low powered drives are fine.

 

Do you have any spare parts laying around that you would like to apply towards your build?

Yes, 1 x 1TB Western Digital Black , 1 x 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM, 1 x 1TBSamsung F3

 

Questions / Requirements

 

1) At the moment, most of my blu-rays are compressed down to 720P. With this build, I plan to go full 1080P as space might not be a big issue by then.

2) I am using a Linksys WRT54GL 100MBPS wired / 54MBPS wireless router. I don't think this would be sufficient for me to stream 1080P content so this would have to be upgraded as well. I am considering the Asus RT-N15U router

3)The Unraid server will be running in my room, which is 1 room away from the router. If I were to connect it using a Cat5 cable, it would look really messy. Would a homeplug ethernet powerline help in this situation?

4) The server would run usually 2 - 3 days a week, and the rest of the week it would be turned off as I wouldn't be at home unless I decide to turn it on so I could stream it from elsewhere.

5) There will only be 1 or 2 devices at home utilizing the throughput of the server. On some rare occasion, it will go up to 4 devices.

6) The server's job is to stream movies and that is about it. XBMC will run on the client computer and thus the server doesn't have to be a powerhorse.

7) I would prefer a mobo with 6GBPS sata as it would be future proof.

I would want to mess with the server initially, but after that it should run quietly in the background without needing any further adjustments.

9) I want the system to run as silent as possible as it would be in my room.

 

What I want in my Build

 

1) A low powered processor

2) 1GBPS of NIC capability

3) A case that would be able to contain 6 x 3.5" HDDs. Perhaps it would be able to hold up to 10 x 3.5" HDDs since I might be upgrading / adding HDDs in the future.

4) A PSU that is both efficient and silent. Enough to provide power to my build.

5) My parity drive would be the 3TB Drive

 

I am in Malaysia, so some parts like Rosewell are not sold here. However, there is http://www.facebook.com/NeweggMalaysia?fref=ts which brings in stuff to Malaysia from Newegg. All we have to do is order from Newegg and they'll ship it to us.

 

Here's hoping that I'd be able to find something that fit my needs.

 

** The HDDs will not be purchased from Newegg / America. They'll be bought from Malaysia as it would be easier to RMA should they malfunction**

[Avngl]

Guys?