February 23, 201412 yr I'm looking to build my first unRaid after doing a bunch of research on the matter. I'm not new to building PC's, but it's been a while since I moved to Mac many years ago and never looked back. Anyway, let me go over my current setup(s), what I'm trying to accomplish, and then the build that I've put together and hopefully someone can tell me if it's OK or if I need to change it up a bit. In my household there is a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro (which I work from), and a Mac Mini which is currently our HTPC (running Plex server and PHT client connected to 60" plasma, SickBeard, SabNZB). The Mini has a 4 drive RAID array configured as RAID 10, 12TB total with 6TB usable. Other than the drives in the array, there is no backup. MacBook Air backs up to an external whenever we remember. Also have an external drive for iTunes since my wife's library is so huge. MacBook Pro has an external Lacie (RAID 1) for media (ALL our photographs, work files, graphic files) and an external backup array to backup everything, including the Lacie. So a lot of external drives and not a whole heck of a lot protecting my movies/tv collection. Which is what led me to unRaid. My current belief is to use unRaid as backup for my current collection and another level of backup for my other media scattered about. However it is entirely feasible that I would use the unRaid server as my Plex AND backup server and then just back it up to my current drive array for a little more protection. I would probably keep my other array connected to my MBP though. Oh yeah, and I'm probably going to be throwing Crashplan into our backup arrangement. If I went the route of using it as the main server, it would need to be able to run Plex, Sickbeard, SabNZB, and maybe CP. I'm not sure if I would need virtualization, but I put this build together thinking "maybe". I guess my point of the build is to allow me options down the road without having to spend more money and wasting some on now, if you get my meaning. Sorry for the long explanation, but I wanted to provide enough info for you tell me if I'm on the right track or not! So with that, here is what I was thinking: 1 - Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl w/ USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Silent PC Computer Case 1 - CORSAIR CXM series CX500M 500W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply 1 - ASUS A88X-PLUS FM2+ / FM2 AMD A88X (Bolton D4) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard 1 - AMD A8-5500 Trinity 3.2GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 65W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 7560D 1 - SanDisk Cruzer Fit 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive Model SDCZ33-008G-B35 (for unRaid) 1 - SanDisk Ultra Plus SDSSDHP-064G-G26 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for Desktop (flor Plex cache if my research is correct) 1 - StarTech USBMBADAPT 6in USB 2.0 Cable - USB A Female to USB Motherboard 4 Pin Header F/F 1 - WD Green WD40EZRX 4TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Bulk Bare Drive (for parity drive) 3 - Western Digital WD Green WD30EZRX 3TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive - OEM (data - still on the fence on this vs just going 4TB drives. it's a cost saving thing I think) 1 - Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model 997092 Total Cost: $1,056.15 I decided to go the AMD route for cost savings mostly. I've used them in distant past for PC's without any issues, but I'm not sure if they're as good as I remember for compatibility. Which brings me to Virtualization. The CPU supports it, but I have no idea if that translates down to unRaid or not. I certainly can't do the Xeon route as the price just gets up there too much. So this is my "hopefully can do anything" build in the hopes that it can support whatever I decide down the road. Let me know what you think and thanks in advance for taking the time to look it over! AnthonyC
February 23, 201412 yr The R4 is a very nice case. The CX series Corsairs are their bottom-of-the-line PSU's ... I've seen a fair number of issues with these; and would definitely recommend using a higher-end unit [TX, HX, or RM are all fine ... the AX is the top-of-their line but it gets pretty pricey]. I'd go with an Intel board and Haswell CPU for both better processing power and excellent power conservation. There's not much difference, but it's a far better choice. For what you've described, an i3-4330 would have PLENTY of "horsepower", and an i5 would provide a LOT of extra "headroom" that would handle anything you're likely to decide to toss at it. As for the drives ... spend a few extra $$ and get the WD Reds -- and don't bother with anything smaller than 4TB. That maximizes the capacity you can achieve with the bays and SATA ports you have available ... and you'll fill that space a lot faster than you think
February 23, 201412 yr Author Thanks for the advice. Let me price it out again with some changes and I'll post again to make sure CPU/motherboard/PSU are OK.
February 23, 201412 yr Author Ok. Here are my next choices based on the advice. Certainly bumped the price up a bit, but if it's more stable than that's OK. Same case. 1 - MSI Z87-G55 LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard 1 - Intel Core i5-4570 Haswell 3.2GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 1 - G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAO 4 - WD Red WD40EFRX 4TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" NAS Internal Hard Drive -Bulk 1 - SanDisk Cruzer Fit 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive Model SDCZ33-008G-B35 (for unRaid) 1 - SanDisk Ultra Plus SDSSDHP-064G-G26 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for Desktop (flor Plex cache if my research is correct) 1 - StarTech USBMBADAPT 6in USB 2.0 Cable - USB A Female to USB Motherboard 4 Pin Header F/F 1 - ENERMAX TRIATHLOR ETA650AWT-M 650W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready Total: $1,500.11 My only reservations with this are the HD's. Man the reviews of the Red's are horrible with a ton of DOA's. Are you sure it's better to go with them? Granted, if they work then they are probably rock solid, but wow… what a lot of bad reviews! Let me know if this combo looks OK. Thanks again!
February 23, 201412 yr This looks fine. A few thoughts ... You can shave a few $$ off the cost by using an H87 board instead of the Z87 one you listed. MSI has a nice micro-ATX H87 board for about 1/3rd less than the board you listed: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130743 This board has 6 SATA ports, and a PCIe x16 slot you could add an 8-port controller in ... so if 14 ports is enough for your ultimate plans, it would work nicely [You could also add additional ports in the x1 slots, but only 2 ports/slot if you want to maintain full speed SATA performance -- so an absolute max of 18 disks]. The WD Reds do indeed have a disappointing infant mortality rate. Of perhaps 30 that I've bought, I've had 3 DOA I had to return. I always run a full complement of WD's Data Lifeguard on the drives when they arrive [Quick test; Extended text; full Write Zeroes; then repeat the Quick & Extended tests]. If the drives pass that, they've been 100% reliable -- and many have now been running 24/7 for well over a year. But it is disappointing that some don't pass. My supplier (Newegg) is very good at replacing the bad drives -- they've always paid for the return shipment and replaced them very promptly. I've also used the Seagate NAS drives, which are also very good. I've also had a bad one of those, however -- out of about 15 I've bought. By the way, I've had a far worse DOA rate with WD Greens than with the Reds. I think DOA drives are just a fact of life ... the manufacturers find it easier to let the customers be the testers than to test all of the drives. I'm sure they test a sampling, but not enough to eliminate the relatively high DOA rates.
February 23, 201412 yr Author Thanks again for the advise. Honestly I don't know which manufacturer of MB is best for this application. I found that MSI and the specs sounded ok and the price wasn't too outrageous, all things considered. However if that "military grade" moniker is bunk, then why pay extra. I dunno. That's why I'm asking here. It's been far too long since I built any kind of system. And I here you about the drives. I've purchased 8 drives for my 2 arrays and none of them were DOA. I always run an erase with writing zeros before I put any data on any drives anyway. Thanks again. I'll be purchasing shortly!
February 23, 201412 yr MSI boards are very well built. The board I've been using lately is the very nice Asus H87M-Pro [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131994 ] It has 2 PCIe x16 slots plus 2 x1 slots, all in a uATX form-factor. But the MSI boards you're looking at are just as nice ... as long as you're using a well-know manufacturer, it's largely a matter of preference r.e. the specific features they've chosen to incorporate.
February 23, 201412 yr 1 - ENERMAX TRIATHLOR ETA650AWT-M 650W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready I noticed the link to it's Newegg page is bad. But this looks like a 2 rail PS. Generally speaking here in unRAID-land, power supplies should be single rail. Silverstone is usually the recommended brand; but there are others. Best of luck with unRAID!
February 24, 201412 yr Author 1 - ENERMAX TRIATHLOR ETA650AWT-M 650W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready I noticed the link to it's Newegg page is bad. But this looks like a 2 rail PS. Generally speaking here in unRAID-land, power supplies should be single rail. Silverstone is usually the recommended brand; but there are others. Best of luck with unRAID! Ughhh... Here is the link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194109 And yes, it says 2 rails. Back to the drawing board on a PSU. I was trying to find something modular, but maybe not.
February 24, 201412 yr Author I dunno how I missed this one in my search, but this should it yes? CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Compatible with New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
February 24, 201412 yr I use a Corsair and it's been very, very good to me But, consider: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256058 (it was a quick Newegg search). Garycase is a big fan of Silverstone but he might have a better model in mind. The PSU is an important part of the build so it's not a bad idea to spend a few extra bucks. Modular supplies are very hip!
February 24, 201412 yr Author I use a Corsair and it's been very, very good to me But, consider: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256058 (it was a quick Newegg search). Garycase is a big fan of Silverstone but he might have a better model in mind. The PSU is an important part of the build so it's not a bad idea to spend a few extra bucks. Modular supplies are very hip! Honestly PSUs are a mystery to me when reading the specs. That's one reason I posted. There was a post on the Plex forums touting modular as the way to go which is why I steered that way. No idea if it's relevant or not. The problem I have is the Wiki is terribly outdated and trying to figure out what's best on newegg is a crapshoot when you don't 100% what to look for. I see several TX series and RM series that look OK and are 100-110, but whether or not they're powerful enough is another story. I was thinking 500-650, but hadn't been considering 750ish. Based on what I've given as a parts list and thinking of filling it in the future, which PSU would be best? I'm not going to sweat 30-50 bucks more to get this right now And thanks again for contributing to this discussion.
February 24, 201412 yr The Corsair TX unit you found is excellent. I tend to only buy power supplies from Corsair (TX, HX, or RM series only, unless there's a really good sale on an AX unit); Seasonic (X series); or, Silverstone (for the SFX units -- they have two excellent SFX power supplies ... a 300w and 450w).
February 24, 201412 yr Just to recap what I think your build looks like now ... Case: Fractal Define R4 Motherboard: MSI Z87-G55 (unless you decided to change to an H87 board, which is still fine) CPU: Core i5-4570 [Definite overkill ... but you know that; and a bit of extra "headroom" is always nice to have !!] Hard Drives: 4 4TB WD Reds Memory: 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 modules [You may want to consider using 2 x 8GB modules, although 8GB is plenty unless you're planning to run a hypervisor and some VMs] Power Supply: Corsair TX750 SSD: 64GB SanDisk [Probably fine, although I'd go with a larger unit -- you can get a nice 120GB Crucial M500 for $81.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148693 ] Flash Drive: Cruzer Fit 8GB Plus an internal cable for the flash drive. This will be a VERY nice build
February 24, 201412 yr One thing to note about modular supplies, there is NO cable connector wiring standard. There was a thread on here some time ago where a user was changing out a modular supply for another brand....got in a hurry and used the old cables on the new supply and smoked his drives.
February 24, 201412 yr There's a modular version of the TX750 that's got a nice rebate right now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139030 ... net cost $94.99 I've used this exact unit on several builds, and it's very nice.
February 24, 201412 yr One thing to note about modular supplies, there is NO cable connector wiring standard. There was a thread on here some time ago where a user was changing out a modular supply for another brand....got in a hurry and used the old cables on the new supply and smoked his drives. Here is a fast way to make any PS modular. Its called wire snips and electrical tape. I bought a modular PS on sale once. Wish now I didn't have it. Standards is only one problem. The modular connection is another point of failure. Better to wait for the standards.
February 24, 201412 yr Here is a fast way to make any PS modular. Its called wire snips and electrical tape. I bought a modular PS on sale once. ... :) I've also simply cut off the unused cables on a few non-modular supplies. That is NOT, of course, "making it modular" -- if you later need to use those cables it's a lot more complex than just plugging in a connector I agree modular supplies add one more potential failure point (every connector does that). But the significantly improved internal wire management is really nice. I basically only buy modular units these days, except for SFX units; which usually only have one extra cable I wouldn't want to use (typically a PCIe power cable for video cards) ... which I just cut off.
February 24, 201412 yr Author Just to recap what I think your build looks like now ... Case: Fractal Define R4 Motherboard: MSI Z87-G55 (unless you decided to change to an H87 board, which is still fine) CPU: Core i5-4570 [Definite overkill ... but you know that; and a bit of extra "headroom" is always nice to have !!] Hard Drives: 4 4TB WD Reds Memory: 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 modules [You may want to consider using 2 x 8GB modules, although 8GB is plenty unless you're planning to run a hypervisor and some VMs] Power Supply: Corsair TX750 SSD: 64GB SanDisk [Probably fine, although I'd go with a larger unit -- you can get a nice 120GB Crucial M500 for $81.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148693 ] Flash Drive: Cruzer Fit 8GB Plus an internal cable for the flash drive. This will be a VERY nice build I'm going to go with the H87 board you suggested and may just go with the i3 instead of the i5. I think you're right that it will be overkill. Thanks again for the assist and info! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
February 24, 201412 yr Author Alright. I think I've finalized this build (I hope). Based on all the suggestions and also looking at a few other threads, like the PSU thread, I've come up with this: 1 - Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl w/ USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Silent PC Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352020) 1 - MSI H87M-E35 LGA 1150 Intel H87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130743) 1 - CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V (it's on sale making it pretty reasonable) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010) 1 - Intel Core i3-4330 Haswell 3.5GHz 1 - Crucial M500 120GB SATA 2.5" 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148693) 1 - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233246) 4 - WD Red WD40EFRX 4TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" NAS Internal Hard Drive -Bulk 1 - SanDisk Cruzer Fit 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive Model SDCZ33-008G-B35 1 - StarTech USBMBADAPT 6in USB 2.0 Cable - USB A Female to USB Motherboard 4 Pin Header F/F Total: $1,428.65 (or there about, depending on where I source everything) I decided to bump up the memory on this version as suggested, but I had the worst time finding compatible memory. In fact, I'm not even sure the memory I had selected before was going to be compatible according to MSI's compatibility list for this board. Not sure how much stock I should put into that list, but it sure made me cautious. Not a whole lot of dual-channel stuff listed in that speed actually. Anyway... Please take one last look and a great big thanks to all that have helped me out with this. AnthonyC
February 24, 201412 yr Looks very good. That will be an excellent system. [FWIW the i3-4330 has plenty of "oomph" for anything you're likely to do. The i5 you had listed before has about 1/3rd more power, but as I noted earlier, that's likely a lot of headroom you don't really need. I understand doing that, however -- my last few systems I've just stuck in i7-4770's "just because"] By the way ... r.e. Not a whole lot of dual-channel stuff listed in that speed actually. ... ... There's no such thing as "dual-channel" memory. That's simply a marketing gimmick to sell modules packaged in pairs. Dual channel refers to the memory controller's method of operation, which provides double the bandwidth when there are pairs of modules installed. The memory you selected should work fine, however ... Corsair's a good choice, and they're standard 1.5v modules (many high-performance modules require non-standard higher voltages). Note that your system is likely to run these at 1333MHz until you enable XMP support in the BIOS ... then it will switch them to 1600MHz operation.
February 24, 201412 yr ... by the way, that's a REALLY good power supply The HX series units are my first choice these days, especially when they're on sale -- and you got that unit for a really good price.
February 24, 201412 yr Author Looks very good. That will be an excellent system. [FWIW the i3-4330 has plenty of "oomph" for anything you're likely to do. The i5 you had listed before has about 1/3rd more power, but as I noted earlier, that's likely a lot of headroom you don't really need. I understand doing that, however -- my last few systems I've just stuck in i7-4770's "just because"] By the way ... r.e. Not a whole lot of dual-channel stuff listed in that speed actually. ... ... There's no such thing as "dual-channel" memory. That's simply a marketing gimmick to sell modules packaged in pairs. Dual channel refers to the memory controller's method of operation, which provides double the bandwidth when there are pairs of modules installed. The memory you selected should work fine, however ... Corsair's a good choice, and they're standard 1.5v modules (many high-performance modules require non-standard higher voltages). Note that your system is likely to run these at 1333MHz until you enable XMP support in the BIOS ... then it will switch them to 1600MHz operation. Thanks man. I'm so out of touch with PC stuff since I've been a Mac guy for quite a while. Memory is pretty simple for them since you can only use a fairly select few! What you said makes a lot more sense now and with that in mind I can probably save a little money by getting corsair value modules. If that's even recommended for this application. One last question - Do I need to buy another CPU cooler or is the one that comes with it OK for this? The last system I built I was OCing it so I had a beefy cooler, but I'm not doing any such thing with this. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
February 24, 201412 yr Do I need to buy another CPU cooler or is the one that comes with it OK for this? The stock Intel cooler is fine. Runs quiet, and does a very good job. The Haswell chips are very power-efficient, so there's not a lot of heat to be concerned about anyway
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