HughesNet Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I am looking to build an UnRaid server for home where I qwill put all the family stuff and play a bit with the feasibility of digitizing my dvd and bluray collection. I am having a very hard time picking out a MB and CPU as I want to make sure that this unit will be capable of any transcoding I may need to do if that need comes up. I was thinking of getting a NZXT H2 for a case as I really like the features it has and probably a Seasonic X Series SS-400FL PS. I had not decided yet on WD Green or Red for the drives but there will probably be 3 drives to start with. Maybe a 4th added at some point but I doubt I would ever go with more then that. Never know right? thinking the 3tb drives. I really need some suggestions on the MB and CPU to grab that would get this done without going overboard on them. It would be nice to have remote KVM ability but not sure I can get that feature outside of a server board and those may be more expensive then that single feature would be worth. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment
garycase Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 If you want to be "transcoding ready", use a Haswell Core i5 and you'll have plenty of "horsepower" for anything you may choose to do ... and it'll run at very low power in "normal" use when you're not taxing the CPU. An i3 would be "okay" ... but the i5 will give you plenty of extra headroom. For drives -- use WD Reds ... they're definitely worth the extra cost for the longer warranty and higher quality design. And get the 4TB units -- the cost/TB is roughly the same (depends on current sales ... but in any event it's less than $10/TB difference) ... and you'll have 33% more capability/slot. Quote Link to comment
garycase Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 A couple of specific suggestions ... Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131990 CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116896 Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148466 Quote Link to comment
garycase Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Note: The 4TB WD Reds are $174.99 at Newegg for the next three days. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236599 Promo Code: EMCPWHW25 At this price, they're actually slightly less expensive than the 3TB units ... $44.33/TB for the 3TB; $43.75/TB for the 4TB Quote Link to comment
HughesNet Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Thanks Gary! I was actually thinking of the Seagate NAS drives as they are the same price but the WD Red drives seem to have a rather high fail rate from everything I am reading. Rather surprising how many seem DOA. Quote Link to comment
HughesNet Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 One other thing. I was reading the thread over on page 2 where you were helping a guy build something similar but in a ITX case. The smaller case size seems attractive. Any draw back to taking what you suggested and using that case/PS/MB instead but with the memory and CPU you suggested here? Is there a ITX case I should consider over this one? Case: LIAN LI PC-Q2B MB: ASUS H87I-PLUS LGA PS: SILVERSTONE ST45SF 450W CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) HDs: Seagate NAS HDD ST4000VN000 4TB Quote Link to comment
dirtysanchez Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 One other thing. I was reading the thread over on page 2 where you were helping a guy build something similar but in a ITX case. The smaller case size seems attractive. Any draw back to taking what you suggested and using that case/PS/MB instead but with the memory and CPU you suggested here? Is there a ITX case I should consider over this one? Case: LIAN LI PC-Q2B MB: ASUS H87I-PLUS LGA PS: SILVERSTONE ST45SF 450W CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) HDs: Seagate NAS HDD ST4000VN000 4TB No drawback at all. That would be a great build if you want to go mini-ITX. Assuming you don't intend to go over 7 drives, the Lian Li PC-Q25B can't be beat. It's an EXCELLENT case. Quote Link to comment
HughesNet Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 I can't imagine going over 7 drives. That would be 24+tb and I don't even have enough to fill 1tb right now. Quote Link to comment
garycase Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 One other thing. I was reading the thread over on page 2 where you were helping a guy build something similar but in a ITX case. The smaller case size seems attractive. Any draw back to taking what you suggested and using that case/PS/MB instead but with the memory and CPU you suggested here? Is there a ITX case I should consider over this one? Case: LIAN LI PC-Q2B MB: ASUS H87I-PLUS LGA PS: SILVERSTONE ST45SF 450W CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) HDs: Seagate NAS HDD ST4000VN000 4TB As you probably know from my other posts on this, I consider the Q25B essentially the "perfect" case for a build of 7 drives or less What you listed here would be a SUPERB system -- and I agree that 24TB is a potential capacity that is likely to be all (or more than) you need for years to come. The Seagate NAS drives are also excellent units -- I've built a couple of systems with them as well. In fact, they're slightly faster than the WD Reds. FWIW the last system I built (last month) for a friend used almost exactly what you listed above -- the only difference was we used a Core i7-4771 instead of an i5, and a Lian-Li PC-Q08B case, as we needed an external 5.25" bay for an optical drive [it wasn't for UnRAID ] Same power supply, same motherboard, same memory, and a pair of the Seagate 4TB NAS drives (along with a 240GB SSD). There is one other alternative that's attractive, but a bit pricier => the AsRock E3C226D2I with a Xeon E3-1200 v3 series CPU. This provides IPMI, supports ECC memory, and still has 6 SATA ports. It's a REALLY attractive board for an UnRAID setup -- ECC memory adds yet-another layer of reliability to the system; and IPMI makes it trivial to run completely headless. This is most likely the combo I'll use for my next UnRAID server. Quote Link to comment
HughesNet Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 There is one other alternative that's attractive, but a bit pricier => the AsRock E3C226D2I with a Xeon E3-1200 v3 series CPU. This provides IPMI, supports ECC memory, and still has 6 SATA ports. It's a REALLY attractive board for an UnRAID setup -- ECC memory adds yet-another layer of reliability to the system; and IPMI makes it trivial to run completely headless. This is most likely the combo I'll use for my next UnRAID server. Thanks again How about this CPU? Intel Intel Xeon E3-1220V3 Haswell 3.1GHz LGA 1150 80W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80646E31220V3. Think that would give me all the potential transcoding ability I would need? Quote Link to comment
garycase Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 How about this CPU? Intel Intel Xeon E3-1220V3 Haswell 3.1GHz LGA 1150 80W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80646E31220V3. Think that would give me all the potential transcoding ability I would need? Absolutely. That's almost identical in processing power to the i5-4570 CPU I had suggested earlier (Passmark 7022 vs 7057). Quote Link to comment
HughesNet Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 How about this CPU? Intel Intel Xeon E3-1220V3 Haswell 3.1GHz LGA 1150 80W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80646E31220V3. Think that would give me all the potential transcoding ability I would need? Absolutely. That's almost identical in processing power to the i5-4570 CPU I had suggested earlier (Passmark 7022 vs 7057). Great All ordered. Will be a fun introduction to UnRaid I am sure. Quote Link to comment
garycase Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Great All ordered. Will be a fun introduction to UnRaid I am sure. I presume that means you bought the AsRock board & ECC memory modules ... right? Just want to be sure you didn't order the memory I had suggested for the Asus board You want ECC modules for that board ... e.g. something like these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139979 Quote Link to comment
HughesNet Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 I presume that means you bought the AsRock board & ECC memory modules ... right? Just want to be sure you didn't order the memory I had suggested for the Asus board You want ECC modules for that board ... e.g. something like these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139979 Correct. I ordered http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239117 though it is still marked as mackaging and is now out of stock on Newegg... Hmm hope I don't have to pick a different one. It isn't easy finding a good deal on ECC memory! Gonna cancel the memory part of the NewEgg order and get http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-10600-Unbuffered-240-Pin-CT2CP102472BD1339/dp/B006YG90RI/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1390934512&sr=8-12&keywords=ddr3+16+gb+ecc instead. Then I can be sure I get it the same day as all my other stuff with no odd stock issue. Quote Link to comment
garycase Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 ECC does cost a bit more ... but it adds a nice layer of extra reliability to your system. I actually prefer buffered RAM, but that adds a lot to the cost, as you need a higher-end motherboard; higher-end Xeon; and much more expensive memory. Unbuffered ECC is a good compromise -- especially if you don't install more than 2 modules (to keep the bus loading relatively low -- 18 loads is still a lot more than the 2 loads you'd have with buffered RAM, but it's a lot better than 36 !!). That's going to be a VERY nice server :) Quote Link to comment
HughesNet Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 ECC does cost a bit more ... but it adds a nice layer of extra reliability to your system. I actually prefer buffered RAM, but that adds a lot to the cost, as you need a higher-end motherboard; higher-end Xeon; and much more expensive memory. Unbuffered ECC is a good compromise -- especially if you don't install more than 2 modules (to keep the bus loading relatively low -- 18 loads is still a lot more than the 2 loads you'd have with buffered RAM, but it's a lot better than 36 !!). That's going to be a VERY nice server :) Everything should arrive tomorrow so I will be building it once I get home from work. I doubt I will get to play with it till the next day though given the break in time on the HDs. 2 to start with and will add more as I need them. Quote Link to comment
HughesNet Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 Been going great so far. I have used MakeMKV to digitize all of my BluRays and will start on my DVD's soon. Also put all 5 seasons of Boston Legal on it and it is working awesome. I am referring to use within Plex BTW. I also put my other forms of media on it including home movies, pictures and music and that is of course basic and doing fine. I started with 2 drives, 1 Parity and 1 standard. Each the 4TB Raid. I added another 4TB Raid to the box a few days ago for use as a cache drive to install the apps directly to as well as cache and use as a hot spare. It just finished pre clear and I am waiting on my Pro license to process so I can attach it. All of the drives hover at 30 degrees C never going over 31 in heavy use. During Pre-Clear even so the case rocks for cooling. Quote Link to comment
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