Hey,

 

I'm confused on my upgrade decision.  I'm not sure whether to change just my mobo, CPU and RAM or do a full 24 bay case I upgrade.  I currently have 12Tb File Server: Fractal Design Array R2, Intel D510MO / D510 Intel MN10, 4Gb DDR2 800Mhz.

 

 

I have been talking it over with my Bro and I am thinking of purchasing a 24 bay server case as it means I never have to buy/upgrade the server case again, unless it breaks!

 

Proposed build:

Processor: Core i5-3320M (Mobile G2 Socket)/Opteron 3350/3320/G1610 or AMD X2150. Do you have any suggestions?

Motherboard: No idea

Memory: 4GB or 8GB

HD Controller: 3x M1050's but I will be looking to swap for a single card

Enclosure: Norco RPC-4224 (£200-£300) or X-Case RM424s Home Server 550mm (£358.80) as the enclosure. Either way, this means SAS.

 

The server will be eight hard drives to start with and then eventually increase.  The primary uses of the new server will be:

 

 

- Computer backups (rsync); computer & laptop - UnRAID

- Web server (to test my websites before they go live) - UnRAID

- Virtual machine (so I can use Windows at university as it is all Macs) and any other ideas - ESXi (If I can login)

- Film, TV, Music Storage - UnRAID

- XBMC server/streaming in my flat - UnRAID

- Run the usual add-ons to source content for XBMC (Media Center) - UnRAID

 

Do you think I actually need this? What would you do/change? The build must be energy efficient.

 

Updated 9/9/13

...with the list of usecases you published and virtualization with ESXi being a greater part of these,

I'd think going for an intel based system with a XEON is the right option (and you want a vt-d capable system - CPU and mobo).

The use of a mobile CPU is not adding to energy efficiency anyway, as idle power draw is the same for all V3, V4 V2/V3 CPUs from Intel but with ESXi you'll want headroom.

Speaking of headroom, you should be prepared to start at least with 8GB and then add more RAM later.

 

For a V3V2 CPU, the SM X9SCM-iiF is a good mobo choice.

A cheaper V3 V2 mobo, but fully ESxi capable is the ASRock B75 Pro3-M...no ECC support as being a desktop model, but besides that, it should work with vt-d as well.

 

Edit: I messed up the model-lines of processors....V2 is IvyBridge, Socket 1155 and V3 is Haswell, Socket 1150, of course.

Intel's C2750 with A1SAM-2750F look great but no word on release date or price

 

AMD have a few good offers from what I can see:

AMD Opteron X1150 - looks good @ 2000Mhz //  17W

AMD Opteron  4310 - Looks good as well @ 2200Mhz // 35W

 

Sent from my Nexus 4

 

 

...TDP doesn't count, really.

Only if you have heat issues...a CPU with lower TDP will just take longer for the task at hand, if full speed ahead is required....and consume possibly more energy than a high-TDP, faster CPU for the same task.

 

What you want for a 24x7 scenario, is a system that idles at low power...intel S1155 or S1150 is in the frontline here.

What about the new Asrock board?

 

Sent from my Nexus 4

 

 

Given your virtualization focus and desire to run ESXi, you should definitely focus on an Intel Xeon-based board.  I'd go with a Haswell-based v3 Xeon.

 

Perhaps this board:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132003

 

... and your choice of processor:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008494%20600438351&IsNodeId=1&name=LGA%201150

 

Pop in 32GB of ECC RAM and you're ready to go 

..right.

For 40+bucks you can get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182821 ...has got a LSI2308 on board.

Although adding two more M1015 cards might be an issue...go for one 16-port controller or use an expander.

Agree with the Supermicro board => I selected the Asus based on its higher complement of PCIe x4 or above slots (for add-in controllers) .. but the Supermicro board has 2 slots;  a built-in extra controller; and IPMI ... a very nice feature set for what's needed here.

 

I just upgraded my server with a AsRock Z77M, i5 3570, and 8 GB of DDR3 2133 RAM.  It took me about an hour to get the BIOS correct, and it has been working well for over 2 hours.