So I've been lurking around and reading for a while, and for my first post I wanted to see if I could get a build check (original, I know). First, use:

 

I have been using XBMC/Plex/Sab/CP/SB for several years, and since I've moved into a new house my crappy little HTPC has been relegated to server duty. 2 2TB externals and 1 1TB external with all my media on it. As you might guess, my thru-put is crap and I have no backup in case of drive failure. So, time for a real server.

 

My use is XBMC, Sab, CP, SB and Plex (2 1080P steams transcoded at the most at a time) and this is what I'm thinking:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2Mb2Bm

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2Mb2Bm/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130T 2.9GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($127.98 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Asus H87I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($97.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: Kingston Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($99.74 @ Amazon)

Storage: Sandisk X110 64GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($60.29 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($104.93 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($104.93 @ OutletPC)

Case: Lian-Li PC-Q25B Mini ITX Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply  ($59.36 @ NCIX US)

Total: $745.21

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-06 15:10 EST-0500

 

SanDisk Cruzer Fit USB drive - 8GB - $7.99 Tiger Direct

 

 

Opinions? The plan is to use the first 3TB as parity, and migrate my 2TB to the second 3TB. Then pull that 2TB drive out of the USB enclosure, add it to the array. Keep doing that till all my drives are in the NAS.

Hi, I'll start with some feedback:

 

• I'd spend a little more on the processor if you want several apps and two transcoding streams, maybe the i3-4360.  The 4130 might be Ok, but planning for 2,000 Passmarks per 1080p transcoding stream doesn't give you much headroom.  I don't think there is any need for the T processor, you may be able to save a few $ there.
  
• 8GB of memory is a good starting point, but the speed of that memory is probably overkill for that board - it only supports 1600.  You could potentially save a little there.  Another approach is to get ECC memory, which some i3 boards support and isn't a bad idea for an always-on server.
  
• A 64GB SSD is small if you want to use it for caching, but probably fine if you just want to use it for Plex.
  
• You only have two disks listed?  That will result in 3TB usable space if you enable Parity, which it sounds like you want to do.  Most folks would start with a minimum of 3 disks for unRAID - two data and 1 parity. Nevermind, didn't read fully.  I use Red drives, but people are using Green successfully.
  
• People here love that case.
  

 

Good luck with your build.

Thanks for the feedback. I was a little concerned about the processor, and totally missed the memory. And what size would be a good drive for cache/apps? Maybe this is a better build:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gXxfD3

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gXxfD3/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4360 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($148.98 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Asus H87I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($96.24 @ Amazon)

Memory: Kingston Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($86.74 @ Amazon)

Storage: Sandisk X110 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($75.85 @ Amazon)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($104.93 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($104.93 @ OutletPC)

Case: Lian-Li PC-Q25B Mini ITX Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply  ($59.36 @ NCIX US)

Total: $777.02

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-07 13:44 EST-0500

 

SanDisk Cruzer Fit USB drive - 8GB - $7.99 Tiger Direct

You might give some thought to getting a 4 TB drive for your parity drive.  When you next add or replace drives 4 TB will probably be the sweet spot for cost vs capacity.

 

Edit to add: And make sure that if you go with ECC memory that both the motherboard and CPU expressly support it.  I've read that you need all three for it to work.

I am not sure if you have any MicroCenter store close by but that have good deal for Processor + MOBO

 

I ordered both of them today for 269.00 - 20 Rebate = 249.00 AR

 

CPU : Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

MOBO : Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

Good call on the Micro Center...I have one right down the road. I'll check it out and see if I can't save a couple of bucks!

Your cache drive serves several purposes. 

 

First, it optionally stores data at full write speeds without updating Parity.  Your data is at risk until the Mover runs and moves your data from the cache drive to the array.  Why use it?  It's faster than writing to the array and updating Parity.  How much space do you need?  As much as you might write at any one time...  Is it necessary?  No, and many people who prefer to have their data immediately protected by the array don't use it for this purpose.

 

Second, it server as a data repository for Plex and other applications.  How much space do you need?  I haven't seen anything recently more than a couple of dozen GB, but I'm not an expert and mine isn't that big yet - but you can ask around.

 

Last, is serves as your application drive for Docker images and applications under unRAID 6.0.  How much space do you need?  You can check in the unRAID 6 and Docker forums here, but I haven't seen a need for more than a couple of dozen GB in my limited experience.

 

So a 64GB drive is smallish but covers most scenarios for Plex and Docker.  120GB is probably more common.  If you want to be able to use the drive as a high speed write cache though, for hundreds of gigabytes of data at a time - then you want something bigger.

Great explanation! I've bumped my SSD up to 120GB, now I just have to sell off some stuff to make it happen. Thanks everyone!