I'm currently using an HP N40L as my Unraid server which has been working well for over a year but I think I need a little more processing power due to plex transcoding.

 

Current specs

Machine: HP N40L

Ram: 4GB

Drives: 5x 1TB and an esata 450gb for cache

 

Addons

Plex

SabNZBd

Sickbeard

CouchPotato

 

 

Budget: $450

Drive Requirements: 6+ 3.5" with the ability to expand (maybe with a JBOD enclosure?)

 

Case: Lian Li PC-Q25B - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112339

PSU: SILVERSTONE ST45SF - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256063

Motherboard: ASUS H87I-PLUS - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132032

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116950

RAM: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148560

 

 

I'm open to suggestions regarding all the components listed above.

Excellent set of choices.  The Pentium has plenty of "horsepower" for Plex, although if you want to do multiple transcoding streams at once you may want to step up to an i3 just for the added "headroom".

 

Thanks for the feedback. While checking if I could cut the cost back a little bit I found the following:

 

Case: LIAN LI PC-A04B - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112316

Motherboard: ASUS A85XM-A - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131972

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 340 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113330

 

Looks like I can cut back $77 if I go with those, downside is less USB 3.0 slots and a bigger case (4" taller and longer).

Downside is more than just a larger case => the CPU has less than 2/3rds the processing power of the G3220 you initially were looking at, and even less relative to an i3.

 

I would NOT switch to an AMD system => stay with a Socket 1150 Intel board.

 

If you want to cut back a bit on price, you can go with the microATX form factor (larger case); use this motherboard [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157384 ]; and switch to a less expensive ATX power supply.

 

Thanks Gary, I'm still up the air about a case (thinking the LI PC-A04B due to the drive space). I'm also thinking another motherboard that can support 2 expansion cards for esata would be better.

Just depends on your size goals.  I really like mini-ITX builds due to the very compact size.  But that basically means a 6-drive limit (it's actually possible to mount 8 drives in the PC-Q25B, but you also need a controller card to get the final 2 ports, so it's not really worth doing).

 

A 6-drive limit => 20TB protected array with 4TB drives (or 25TB with the forthcoming 5TB drives.

 

If you may need more than that;  or want to use lower-density drives (perhaps because you already have them); then more drive space and room for more controller cards isn't a bad idea.

 

Guess it's just a matter of figuring out what I want. I have a dozen spare drives (1TB/2TB) that I want to put to use eventually.

 

I guess the deciding factor is really how external enclosures will play into this when it comes time to expand. If Unraid plays nice with USB 3.0 then I'll go with the mitx setup, if it doesn't then I'll look into an matx setup for the extra expansion slots so that I can use eSata. The reason I'm concerned about the USB3/esata connection is that I will need to use an external enclosure (towerraid jbod) one day due to capacity (unless drive prices drop considerably).

 

 

Way to many decisions.. I remember why I stopped building computers now...

If you want to use a lot of drives, you may want to look at a full-size ATX Tower enclosure.  While these can be fairly large, it's the best way (outside of a rack-mount unit) to get a lot of space for drives.

 

I don't bother with 1-2 TB drives anymore.  I use those for backups (stored offline) ... but only buy 4TB units for my live servers.  Lets me have much smaller servers, using much less power, etc.