June 24, 201313 yr Hello! I have been a netgear ultra 4 user for some time now, but the storage space is starting to run low. So i wanted to look into building a unRAID sever with the capacity for 10+ drives which i also can expand in the future. I have looked on the hardware compatible list and looked around the forums for information. Now i want to try starting gathering components for the sever and want some input information on my current build/parts. Here is what im considering buying for the server; Build: Components: CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 Processor Motherboard: ASRock 1155 B75 PRO3-M M-ATX RAM: Corsair Dominator DHX DDR3 1333MHz 8GB Power Supply:Corsair TX 750W PSU (old psu from my old computer) Case: Antec Nine Hundred Midi Tower Hard Drive Bays: Ideas appreciated ! Hard Drives: -Samsung SpinPoint F4EG 2TB (Got four of these from my old rig) -Seagate Barracuda® 2TB Flash Drive: SanDisk Cruzer® Fit 8GB Expansion Card: Ideas appreciated! So theres what i've found in the norwegian computer hardware stores, which is within my budget. I have not looked at amazon yet but im sure theres other alternatives that is cheaper. Like i said i want a to build a sever to store my bluray movies/TV Shows and stream to my HTPC. Also it would be nice to have the option to expand the server size when i need to. At the moment im thinking of using about 8 drives., but want the option to expand further to 15 drives. Does this look like a good build for a unRAID server? Any input, ideas, thoughts are really appreciated ! Im new to this but im really looking forward to use unRAID for the future! - niv
June 24, 201313 yr Hardware all looks good. Not sure if you can find it in Norway but here in the US the ASRock B75 PRO3-M is the same price as the board you listed and includes an additional 2 SATA ports on board.
June 25, 201313 yr Your hardware selection looks fine. I'd suggest you use one of the CoolerMaster 4-in-3 drive cages to expand the drive capacity to 10 drives. These have a 120mm fan in front, and provide superb cooling for the drives -- exactly like that case does for the internal drive bays. http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Module-Device-STB-3T4-E3-GP/dp/B00129CDGC Then I'd add a SuperMicro SASLP-MV8 card to provide extra SATA support. http://www.amazon.com/Supermicro-Express-Profile-Controller-AOC-SASLP-MV8/dp/B002KGLDXU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1372129794&sr=1-1&keywords=saslp-mv8 If you could find one, the Adapter 1430SA would also work well, since you only need 4 extra ports; but these have been discontinued and aren't generally available. Finally, I'd buy a 4TB drive to use as your parity drive. That will allow you to use 3-4TB drives as you build up your array ... which will let your 10-drive setup expand to 36TB before you need to consider a higher-capacity case.
June 25, 201313 yr Author Hi and thanks for the response/ tips guys Not sure if you can find it in Norway but here in the US the ASRock B75 PRO3-M is the same price as the board you listed and includes an additional 2 SATA ports on board. I found that motherboard! it was about the same price as the one i listed, so I will choose that one instead. Yep the +2 SATA ports will come in handy! I'd suggest you use one of the CoolerMaster 4-in-3 drive cages to expand the drive capacity to 10 drives. These have a 120mm fan in front, and provide superb cooling for the drives -- exactly like that case does for the internal drive bays. Nice! thanks for the suggestion! I will check them out Then I'd add a SuperMicro SASLP-MV8 card to provide extra SATA support. If you could find one, the Adapter 1430SA would also work well, since you only need 4 extra ports; but these have been discontinued and aren't generally available. Thanks! i found this card in the Norwegian store as well! Finally, I'd buy a 4TB drive to use as your parity drive. That will allow you to use 3-4TB drives as you build up your array ... which will let your 10-drive setup expand to 36TB before you need to consider a higher-capacity case. That's a really good idea. I wanted to use some of my old drives, but was also considering buying a larger parity drive (4TB). Like you said then it will be some time until i need to consider a higher capacity case hehe Really appreciate the help/tip/info guys! Thanks! - niv
June 26, 201313 yr Author I found out that i can't order the CoolerMaster 4-in-3 drive cages to norway... but i found this NORCO SS-500 5 Bay SATA(I, II or III)/SAS 6G Hot Swap Drive Storage Module Server Enclosure . Is this a good choice for a Enclosure? and im also wondering if it will fit my Antec 900 case. Is there any other options that's better/cheaper please let me know
June 26, 201313 yr I found out that i can't order the CoolerMaster 4-in-3 drive cages to norway... but i found this NORCO SS-500 5 Bay SATA(I, II or III)/SAS 6G Hot Swap Drive Storage Module Server Enclosure . Is this a good choice for a Enclosure? and im also wondering if it will fit my Antec 900 case. Is there any other options that's better/cheaper please let me know I personally like the Supermicro 5 in 3 drive cages over the Norco because it has a bigger fan but the Norco unit is nice too. It will fit in your Antec 900 just fine.
June 26, 201313 yr Author I personally like the Supermicro 5 in 3 drive cages over the Norco because it has a bigger fan but the Norco unit is nice too. I have looked at Supermicro cages, but there isn't any that can be shipped to norway. it seems almost every 5 -3 drive cages only ships to USA. atleast what i have seen on amazon
June 26, 201313 yr Obviously you have to use what's available there. The various 5-in-3 cages work well ... they just don't cool as well as the 120mm front fans of the CoolerMaster units. There IS one other very nice front-fan unit -- see if you can find the Lian-Li EX-34NB units. This outfit says "International Shipping" ... not sure how much that would be for the unit, however. http://www.coolerguys.com/840556088998.html?productid=840556088998&channelid=FROOG&gclid=CJiYjZbigLgCFWho7Aod8yUAhA
June 26, 201313 yr ...how many RAM modules are you going to employ? For 8GB, I'd go with 2x 4GB modules in order to use/activate dual-channel mode. ...also this i3 supports DDR3-1600 memory. Depending on the CAS latency, you could opt for that in order to improve performance. The commodity DDR3-1600-CL11 does not offer a significant benefit over the DDR3-1333-CL9 version, but DDR3-1600 with CL9 does....if you can find a good deal, I'd go for that. AFAIR that mobo does offer some undervolting features. You could go for LV Ram modules in order to save some energy. Your UseCase does not indicate that you'll be in need for high CPU power. For streaming/serving files alone, even a Celeron 16x0 or Pentium G 2xx0 would be up to the task.
June 26, 201313 yr Author ...how many RAM modules are you going to employ? For 8GB, I'd go with 2x 4GB modules in order to use/activate dual-channel mode. I went with 2x4GB modules like you suggested. ...also this i3 supports DDR3-1600 memory. Depending on the CAS latency, you could opt for that in order to improve performance. The commodity DDR3-1600-CL11 does not offer a significant benefit over the DDR3-1333-CL9 version, but DDR3-1600 with CL9 does....if you can find a good deal, I'd go for that. Yes i changed my mind about the RAM, and went with these; Corsair Dominator DHX DDR3 1600MHz 8GB with CL9. About the drive enclosures i found the cooler master 4-in-3 drive cages in a Norwegian store so im awaiting their reply if they are still available. the price was also cheap. There IS one other very nice front-fan unit -- see if you can find the Lian-Li EX-34NB units. This outfit says "International Shipping" ... not sure how much that would be for the unit, however. http://www.coolerguys.com/840556088998.html?productid=840556088998&channelid=FROOG&gclid=CJiYjZbigLgCFWho7Aod8yUAhA Thanks! I'll have a look and see what i can find
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