Hi all,

 

I’m finally looking to replace my old HP Mediasmart. It died a couple of months ago and I’ve been looking around to make an upgrade. All of the data on the Mediasmart is safe but the hardware is dead and it’s time to move on.

 

I’ve been reading a lot about unRAID and it seems like it will fit my needs of mass storage and media streaming.

 

Budget:

~$500

 

I have parts from an old gaming computer that I’d like to reuse if possible.

 

Motherboard:

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

 

CPU:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80570E8400

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

 

RAM:

Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2K2/4GR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134730

 

Case (New):

Reading around the forums the Lian-Li PC-Q25B seems to be the case to buy. I really like the form factor and would like to make that work.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112339

 

Power Supply (New):

SILVERSTONE ST45SF 450W SFX12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256063

 

Hard Drives:

2 TB WD Red

2 TB  WD Green

1 TB WD Green

 

What does everyone think? Will these parts work or do I need to buy a new motherboard/CPU/Ram?

 

Thanks!

You're certainly not going to put an ATX motherboard in a mini-ITX case !! 

 

So Yes, if you want to use that case, you'll need a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM.    Otherwise, buy an ATX case and the motherboard, CPU, and RAM you have will work fine.    You'll need to check the BIOS in the Gigabyte board to see if it has a "save BIOS to hard drive" option => if so DISABLE that.  [Do that check BEFORE you install any hard drives]

 

But except for the case, everything sounds okay.  [but you don't need an SFX power supply if you use an ATX case]

 

Thanks for the reply. I didn't even realize there was a difference! I figured it was worth a shot but was prepared to buy everything new.

 

I think I'm going to go with buying all new parts then as I want a small case/form factor.

 

Most of the parts are based on recommendations you've made in other posts.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/ryanth/saved/2BuQ

 

 

That's an excellent set of choices => it will make a VERY nice system :-)

 

There are several users (myself included) who have eventually moved to a virtual ESXI based system (vmware) with unraid running without any plugins in one VM and all the other stuff in another one..

 

This might sound a big far fetched to you right now but should you find somewhere along the road you want to do that, then you will find that your processor will not be able to cope.. You would need one with VT-D possibility.. You would also need some extra memory at that point.. Unraid is moving to a 64 bit platform which will make it possible to use more memory, to keep up with the future I would advise going to 2 * 4GB memory instead of 2*2gb.. With 8 gigs you have the option to move to 16gigs which will even be enough for a virtual setup somewhere along the road..

 

HOWEVER... Unraid itself will work find with what you propose !

Thanks! One remaining question I had...

 

Should I purchase a 4TB Red to use as the parity drive? Is it necessary to help future proof as I expand/upgrade the other drives?

Thanks! One remaining question I had...

 

Should I purchase a 4TB Red to use as the parity drive? Is it necessary to help future proof as I expand/upgrade the other drives?

 

I would.  In fact, if you haven't already purchased the other drives, I'd not only buy a 4TB parity drive; but also use 4TB data drives.  If you already have the other drives, use them -- but as you expand I'd only use 4TB drives.

 

Thanks again.

 

My plan is to use the drives I have since I have them. I'll buy a 4tb to use as my parity then as drives die or I need more space expand to 4tb drives.

Well.. as far as parity disk size is concerned:

 

Your parity disk needs to be at least as big as your biggest data drive.. That means that if your largest data disk is 2TB then a parity drive above 2TB will be "waist" at that time.. The larger space will not give you any benefit -at that time-.

 

HOWEVER... As soon as you add a new data drive it will most probably be a bigger data drive then the ones you have right now.. Any data drive you add that is bigger then your parity drive will not give you any more space... In other words: If your parity drive is 2 TB you can add  a 4TB data drive but it will only give you 2 TB..

 

So you have two choices:

 

- Go for a cheap drive now that will just work, but know that if you expand you will need to expand with smaller drives OR add a new parity drive at the same time.. Sounds ok but you might run into trouble whenever you need to replace a drive because of a failure, that would not be the time you want to change 2 drives (because that will effectively make the time longer that your array runs without parity protection..

 

- Go for a 4TB for your parity, that way you can easily add any drive you want..

 

The second one is a bit more expensive but will save you troubles in the future.. If you are first of all "trying unraid out", then I would go for the first one, try it out, and if you come to the conclusion you want to keep it I would then change your smaller 2TB parity drive for a new 4TB and use that older parity drive to make your  array bigger.. Its no regret that way..

Thanks for the reply. I didn't even realize there was a difference! I figured it was worth a shot but was prepared to buy everything new.

 

I think I'm going to go with buying all new parts then as I want a small case/form factor.

 

Most of the parts are based on recommendations you've made in other posts.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/ryanth/saved/2BuQ

 

That link showed that the power supply is not compatible with the case.

 

try adding this PS and see what happens. CORSAIR CX500M 500W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139050.

Could be the dimensions of the power supply or needs the ATX bracket that comes with it. Also the corsair power supply is modular which will help with the clutter in such a small case.

 

 

Lian-Li PC-Q25B Mini ITX Tower Case and Silverstone 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified SFX12V Power Supply are not compatible.

Lian-Li PC-Q25B Mini ITX Tower Case does not have front panel USB 3.0 ports.(not a big deal..)

 

 

That link showed that the power supply is not compatible with the case.

 

The link is VERY wrong => an SFX unit fits FAR better than an ATX PSU in the PC-Q25B 

That link showed that the power supply is not compatible with the case.

 

The link is VERY wrong => an SFX unit fits FAR better than an ATX PSU in the PC-Q25B 

 

Thanks Gary .. Would you say a 80+ gold power supply would be better if this system is on 24/7 or is lower then 20% power consumption on idle?

The modular version of the Silverstone SFX unit is indeed an 80+ Gold ... and yes, it's a bit more efficient, so you'll save a few watts.  I've used this version on my most recent builds.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256084