I have been running this server for the past few years with no problem. At the time of the build I wanted it to simply stream media. My needs have changed and I want to do the following. Install the common plugins like PMS,sick,couch,sab, and run time machine backups to 2 mac pros, mac mini and maybe a 4th apple computer. Migrate 3tb drives into the array. Get rid of the cache drive for an ssd or one of those seagate hybrid drives as the cache outside of the array to run the plugins. First things first. The mother board supports am3 cpu's up to 95w, I am assuming I will need a quad core cpu such as an athlon or phenom. which is preferable? Will I be able to keep the mono or do I have to replace it? How can I check to see if the mobo will support 3tb drives?

I can't give you any advice about your CPU but from everything I've seen about the hybrid drives you should stay FAR away.  Apparently they offer very little performance boost for the increased cost. 

 

Newer iMacs offer some sort of hybrid drive that works well, but it's a mix of 2 drives, a smallish SSD that holds frequently used files, with a larger spinning drive for media/less accessed files.  The storage on these devices is handled dynamically by the OS.

Thanks. I am leaning towards ssd outside of the array but was going to post in another thread. I have been looking at those new apple fusion drives and might have one put in my new Mac.

 

Is it worth upgrading to a 4 core cpu rather than a 3 core cpu? Does unraid make use of the cores? Also 2 gb or ram use to be the recommended size, I have 4 gb. Since I am going to upgrade the cpu should I go ahead and switch out ram?

RAM is cheap nowadays, so it's rarely a bad choice to maximize the upgrade.  unRAID itself runs fine on one core (so I read, still assembling my first server).  The plugins though will make full use of the remaining CPU capacity.  Four cores may be overkill, but then again what's the incremental cost compared to frustration of an underpowered server?  Only you can do that math, but if you have the cash then get the most you can afford.

I see nothing in your description that would dictate needing much for CPU power unless you want PMS to transcode video on the fly. Otherwise 4gig of ram and a lower end dual core would do what you're asking. If you want transcoding then make sure you pick at least a dual core 3GHz processor.

 

Any newer motherboard will support 3T drives. Mine is likely a 5+ year old chipset and it supports 3T drives.

 

Thanks I am looking to add PMS and transcode as well as the 3 other most popular apps.