January 7, 201313 yr I'm about to start building my unRaid server and htpc. My question right now is if any of these parts from a computer I built in 2004 will work. Or if I should just buy all new for better energy, noise and faster parts. The computer from what I remember was pretty noisy so not sure if I can use the case from before. But here is the shopping list for the computer: Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3400+ ClawHammer 2.2GHz Socket 754 Processor ADA3400BOX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819103426 Motherboard:ASUS K8N-E DELUXE 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb ATX AMD Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813131498 Heat sink:Thermaltake VENUS 12 80mm Ball CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6835106038 Case:Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811133132 Memory:2 of these CORSAIR XMS 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory Model CMX512-3200C2PT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820145420 Power supply: Thermaltake Silent Purepower W0020 480W ATX Active PFC Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6817153013 Not sure if this mobo has the requirements to run multiple hard drives, appears the case has about 7 3.5" bays. But thank you who ever takes a minute to look and help me out. Hope to start buying parts this week.
January 7, 201313 yr I think you should scrap the MB and CPU as the MB has no PCIe slots. Only PCI & AGP slots which will reduce your parity checks to a very abysmal speed. At least if you are using anything but the free version of unRAID. If the free version is all you intend to use then it should work but if it doesn't boot from a USB thumb drive you may have to boot unRAID from a HDD similar to how I'm booting my unRAID VMs on ESXi.
January 8, 201313 yr Author Should the case, power supply and memory be good or will memory not be compatible with newer boards? If I want to replace the rear case fan and front bottom for something quieter any recommendations? Is it better to go with a micro board or full size? Thanks again.
January 8, 201313 yr Should the case, power supply and memory be good or will memory not be compatible with newer boards?The case will likely be ok but if you plan on more than the 7 drives you say it supports you may want to get a new one. If the powersupply has a single rail (sorry didn't check that - your links don't work) it will be fine for unRAID but don't overload it. Memory most likely will need to be replaced. If I want to replace the rear case fan and front bottom for something quieter any recommendations?Someone else will need to answer that but I've seen many recomendations for noctua fans posted on these forums. Is it better to go with a micro board or full size? Thanks again. That is up to you. If it is for unRAID only then you only need a couple/three slots for HDD controllers so a micro is fine and may simplify cable management. I have an ESXi server and my VMs needed as many slots as possible for Tuner cards so I went with full ATX boards.
January 8, 201313 yr expanding on bobs thoughts.. Yes the board is pretty outdated.. But. if you can boot it from USB... a board of this vintage might not. once you get past that. it does have gigabit NIC and 6 sata (150) ports. I am assuming you already have an agp or pci video card.. that would be enough to get you started with a 3 drive test system. using the pci slots for expansion will bog the system down pretty quick. you could use it for a test machine to see if unRaid is right for you before you invest money into a new PC. download the free copy of unRaid, toss some spare drives on it, and give it a test drive. (keep in mind that it will not perform as fast the newest hardware). there is one other possible issue, it is an nforce board. nforce boards are their own standard and can have oddities. as i recall some nforce chipsets are not compatible with unRaid. they can cause data corruption. I believe a partial list is in the wiki? I would see if the nforce 3 boards are on this list. as far as reusing your parts in an upgrade. i would throw everything into a an electronics recycling bin except the tower. that is still useable. chances are nothing on that list is compatible with any current hardware. If that PSU is 10 years old, it is most likely is degraded and not a true 480watts anymore. it might also have older oil filled caps. likely to pop. but, you might be able to reuse it for a small build with just a few drives until you can get a new one.
January 8, 201313 yr Author Thanks for the updates! Will prob build new system, that's what was always thinking. Just trying to save few bucks but not worth all that hassle. Least case is good ha!
January 9, 201313 yr Author I'm looking to do a micro board. Mainly being used to serve data to one htpc for now and laptop, ipad, and few other things. Would like room to grow so dont want to skimp. Any good recommendations on CPU and board? Looking to spend $150-$300, will use same case so need all else. Still have to build the htpc next.
January 11, 201313 yr Author CORSAIR CX430M 430W http://slickdeals.net/f/5793322-CORSAIR-CX430M-430W-ATX12V-v2-3-80-PLUS-BRONZE-Certified-Modular-Active-PFC-Power-Supply-3pm-PT-24-99After-20-MIR?p=56781986#post56781986 is supposed to go on sale for $25 this afternoon. Is this a good psu for a unRaid setup? Will this also be enough power for htpc you think? Server: not sure on specs but doing the 3 hard drives for now. Htpc: i3 3225, mobo tbd, 8gb ram, blu ray, ssd. Thanks
January 11, 201313 yr Author This powerful enough for server? Or would it be better for something a lil more? Not sure good board option for this either. http://www.frys.com/product/6887716
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