Hello there! I just discovered unRAID a couple weeks ago in a quest for the ultimate NAS. Then I saw all the ESXi builds and knew I found my favorite solution.

 

I was hoping someone could verify or recommend any changes to my parts list before I pull the final trigger. I've already got a couple parts on the way, but I think they were pretty safe picks. Does everything below look like it should be compatible?

 

 

CPU: Intel Xeon Processor E3-1230 v2

Motherboard: Supermicro X9SCM-IIF-O

Memory: I want 32 gigs, any suggestions? Not familiar with ECC memory which I believe is necessary...

Case: Rosewill RSV-L4411 (already purchased)

Power Supply: What would be a good choice to accomodate 16 drives?

SAS Card: IBM Serveraid M1015 (already purchased)

SAS Cables: 3ware SFF-8087

 

 

I have six 2 TB drives I got a while back when the prices were cheap. Though it looks like they're almost back to normal now. I'll probably start adding/upgrading with 4 TB drives as they go on sale. My plan is to get a second M1015 when I require more than 8 drives.

 

My main goal is to use the machine for unRAID/Plex and all that jazz. After that I'll probably go virtual router with pfsense and whatever else sounds fun to play with! I used to have everything on separate boxes, this is going to be so much more efficient!

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Does everything below look like it should be compatible?

 

 

CPU: Intel Xeon Processor E3-1230 v2

Motherboard: Supermicro X9SCM-IIF-O

Memory: I want 32 gigs, any suggestions? Not familiar with ECC memory which I believe is necessary...

Case: Rosewill RSV-L4411 (already purchased)

Power Supply: What would be a good choice to accomodate 16 drives?

SAS Card: IBM Serveraid M1015 (already purchased)

SAS Cables: 3ware SFF-8087

 

That all looks good.

 

Memory here.

 

For the power supply, the current rating depends on whether you will be using 'green' drives or high-speed drives.  If mainly green, 50+ amps ought to be adequate - get a Seasonic X650 or X660.  If you will be running all high-speed (7200rpm) drives, you'll need a little more current - the X750/X760.  Also consider going even better and get a Seasonic Platinum Series 660 or 760.

Agree with a high quality 650 - 750W single-rail power supply.  I'm also a big fan of Seasonic, although PC Power & Cooling and Corsair are also good units.

 

I'd also suggest a modular unit, which allows neater internal cabling.  If I was buying a PSU today for a 16-drive setup, it would be one of these two:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151107

 

 

 

I'll probably start adding/upgrading with 4 TB drives as they go on sale.

 

You just missed a sale on Newegg for the Seagate 4TB units ... but nevertheless, do yourself a favor and buy ONE now:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178338

 

Since you plan to migrate to 4GB units, it'll be simpler if you start off with a 4GB parity drive ... then you won't have to upgrade the parity drive later when you want to add more of them for data 

 

Memory: I want 32 gigs, any suggestions? Not familiar with ECC memory which I believe is necessary...

 

This will work fine:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239371

 

I just picked up one of these babies to replace my PC Power and Cooling 750 watt. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102

 

I wanted a modular power supply to free up space in my case. Now I only need to have three cables coming off the PSU. Using one molex plug from the PSU cable and a second molex plug on that cable to hook up one of these: http://www.svc.com/fc454-34.html. Enables me to connect all 6 backplanes in my Norco 4224 very neatly.

 

By the way, hybrid mode on this PSU is awesome. Fan only spins up when it needs to and so far I haven't heard it spin up yet. Even with all 18 disks I have across various VMs spun up at the same time. Pretty awesome.

I have an earlier version of the same Seasonic unit => I'm a HUGE fan of Seasonic ... used almost nothing but for nearly a decade (although I have used a few Corsairs for builds when folks didn't want to spend the $$ for Seasonic).

 

Seasonics have always been one of the quietest PSU's you can get -- especially their upper-end units.

 

... and of course (as I mentioned earlier) modular is the only way to go 

r.e. my note above to get a 4GB unit for your initial parity drive -- just noticed this thread with an EXCELLENT price today at Amazon ($139):

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=27308.0;topicseen

 

Here's the direct link:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00829THLE/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=the05e-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B00829THLE&adid=14A3WBJVCAFVR9ZAA6QE

 

Note that you'll need 2x M1015's (looks like you currently only have one.)  8 drives on each.

Note that you'll need 2x M1015's (looks like you currently only have one.)  8 drives on each.

 

Looks like the OP is already aware of that  , see

My plan is to get a second M1015 when I require more than 8 drives.

After much deliberation on how much wattage to get on the PSU, I decided I'd be safe and go with 750W. Then I clicked on the 850W unit that mrow had posted only to find that Newegg has it on sale, which makes it cheaper than getting the 750W!! So I might as well right? Comes down to $119.99 shipped after the promo code! And apparently a $20 mail in rebate? This seems too good to be true...

 

Choices for memory and power supply:

 

Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series X-850 SeaSonic X650 (see posts below)

Memory: Kingston 32GB Kit of 4 (4 x 8 GB) DDR3 1600MHz

 

I'm kind of regretting going with that cheap Rosewill case, since I'm not cheapin' out on any other parts. Though I suppose it will get the job done just as well. If anyone stumbles upon this thread in pursuit of their own build, I'd probably recommend thinking about alternative case options...

 

After I get the second M1015 I'll have the connections available for 16 drives, but only 12 hotswap drive bays. My plan is to think of a clever way to mount some 2.5" drives inside the case itself. Are there any solutions for this I could purchase? Why don't they make any 16 bay cases!!!

 

 

 

I'll probably start adding/upgrading with 4 TB drives as they go on sale.

 

You just missed a sale on Newegg for the Seagate 4TB units ... but nevertheless, do yourself a favor and buy ONE now:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178338

 

Since you plan to migrate to 4GB units, it'll be simpler if you start off with a 4GB parity drive ... then you won't have to upgrade the parity drive later when you want to add more of them for data 

 

I've been watching those sales and have been very tempted, but I probably won't need any more space until the end of the year. Is it a big deal to replace the parity drive? Or more of a nice convenience thing you're saying?

 

 

Thank you everyone for the help. I'm going to start getting these parts ordered.

After much deliberation on how much wattage to get on the PSU, I decided I'd be safe and go with 750W. Then I clicked on the 850W unit that mrow had posted only to find that Newegg has it on sale, which makes it cheaper than getting the 750W!! So I might as well right?

 

If the psu is over-rated (ie running at a low percentage of its maximum output) it will be less efficient, so you may well end up spending the money you save on purchase on increased power bills over the coming seven years (the length of warranty on a Seasonic).

After much deliberation on how much wattage to get on the PSU, I decided I'd be safe and go with 750W. Then I clicked on the 850W unit that mrow had posted only to find that Newegg has it on sale, which makes it cheaper than getting the 750W!! So I might as well right?

 

If the psu is over-rated (ie running at a low percentage of its maximum output) it will be less efficient, so you may well end up spending the money you save on purchase on increased power bills over the coming seven years (the length of warranty on a Seasonic).

 

I did not know that would be the case, but I guess it makes sense. I should probably just get the X650. I don't see myself using anything other than lower speed drives. Thank you for pointing that out to me.

After much deliberation on how much wattage to get on the PSU, I decided I'd be safe and go with 750W. Then I clicked on the 850W unit that mrow had posted only to find that Newegg has it on sale, which makes it cheaper than getting the 750W!! So I might as well right?

 

If the psu is over-rated (ie running at a low percentage of its maximum output) it will be less efficient, so you may well end up spending the money you save on purchase on increased power bills over the coming seven years (the length of warranty on a Seasonic).

 

I did not know that would be the case, but I guess it makes sense. I should probably just get the X650. I don't see myself using anything other than lower speed drives. Thank you for pointing that out to me.

 

I'm sure you could trade it out if you found someone or some other use in another machine.

 

After much deliberation on how much wattage to get on the PSU, I decided I'd be safe and go with 750W. Then I clicked on the 850W unit that mrow had posted only to find that Newegg has it on sale, which makes it cheaper than getting the 750W!! So I might as well right? Comes down to $119.99 shipped after the promo code! And apparently a $20 mail in rebate? This seems too good to be true...

 

Choices for memory and power supply:

 

Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series X-850

Memory: Kingston 32GB Kit of 4 (4 x 8 GB) DDR3 1600MHz

 

I'm kind of regretting going with that cheap Rosewill case, since I'm not cheapin' out on any other parts. Though I suppose it will get the job done just as well. If anyone stumbles upon this thread in pursuit of their own build, I'd probably recommend thinking about alternative case options...

 

After I get the second M1015 I'll have the connections available for 16 drives, but only 12 hotswap drive bays. My plan is to think of a clever way to mount some 2.5" drives inside the case itself. Are there any solutions for this I could purchase? Why don't they make any 16 bay cases!!!

 

 

 

I'll probably start adding/upgrading with 4 TB drives as they go on sale.

 

You just missed a sale on Newegg for the Seagate 4TB units ... but nevertheless, do yourself a favor and buy ONE now:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178338

 

Since you plan to migrate to 4GB units, it'll be simpler if you start off with a 4GB parity drive ... then you won't have to upgrade the parity drive later when you want to add more of them for data 

 

I've been watching those sales and have been very tempted, but I probably won't need any more space until the end of the year. Is it a big deal to replace the parity drive? Or more of a nice convenience thing you're saying?

 

 

Thank you everyone for the help. I'm going to start getting these parts ordered.

 

 

Yeah really sucks! I paid $160 for it from Amazon. I'm going to buy this one from Newegg and turn around and send it right to Amazon as a return. That way I still have the proof of purchase from Newegg and can get the rebate as well as the other $40 bucks in savings. It'll cost me to ship it but I'll still come out around $50 bucks ahead.

r.e. PSU efficiency:  The 80+ certifications for power supplies are done at 20%, 50%, and 100% of their rated load.    If you're using less than 20%, the efficiency drops off quite rapidly -- and buying too large of a power supply can easily put you in this area.  For example, with an 850w unit, that's anything less than 170w ... and almost all UnRAID systems use far less than that [One of mine idles at ~ 20w, and uses a max of 45w;  my other idles at ~ 65w and uses a max of ~ 130w]    So yes, 850w is indeed too large -- a high-quality 650w is the largest I'd use.

 

r.e. parity drive => while it's not all-that-hard to swap out parity, there's also no reason to build a new system using anything smaller than the largest drive you are likely to want to use ... and with today's drives I'd think that's 4TB.    They simply aren't that much more ... so WHY would you want to use anything else??

 

Decided to go with the SeaSonic X650 for PSU. All parts have been ordered!

 

r.e. parity drive => while it's not all-that-hard to swap out parity, there's also no reason to build a new system using anything smaller than the largest drive you are likely to want to use ... and with today's drives I'd think that's 4TB.    They simply aren't that much more ... so WHY would you want to use anything else??

 

Okay you got me thinking... Gonna put everything together and then see what sales are going on, my wallet is feeling a little light at this point though...

 

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Clearly one of your 2TB drives would be fine for now -- but based on your original comment that "... I'll probably start adding/upgrading with 4 TB drives as they go on sale ..." it sure seems like it'd be worth an extra $20 - $30 now (the amount you'd likely save in a sale) to just go ahead and start with a 4TB parity drive.

 

Check the "Good Deals" section on this forum to see what sales folks have noticed -- the 4TB deal at Amazon I mentioned earlier is no longer quite as good, but it's still only ~ $150.

 

Note that you'll need 2x M1015's (looks like you currently only have one.)  8 drives on each.

 

Looks like the OP is already aware of that  , see

My plan is to get a second M1015 when I require more than 8 drives.

 

That's what you get for skimming threads! lol