Hello all,

 

Going to try out my first unRaid build, and wanted some advice on any issues or problems my build might present.

This is going to be a simple system, starting with 3 drives then moving up some day to 6 or so.

I plan on using for storage, and possibly for some torrent serving, but not much else.

 

I'm going with the following:

GIGABYTE GA-MA74GM-S2 AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128342

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400 Brisbane 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core black edition Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103289&Tpk=N82E16819103289

Transcend 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208353&Tpk=N82E16820208353

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=CMPSU-650TX

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

 

So please let me know if any of you see any no-nos in my configuration, thanks!

No no-no's that I can see.  That power supply is good, but somewhat more than you need.  Otherwise, your system specs look like a good fit with your needs.

Looks good... I would go with a cheaper CPU if you can find one, as unRAID isn't very CPU intensive, but staying with 65W or less is a good idea.

 

Also, I would go for the Antec 300 case over CM you have there: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&Tpk=antec%20300

 

 

Better yet the Cooler Master Centurion 590... it can hold 15 Drives up front if you use 3x5.25 to 3.5in. Bay convertors. It's only $64.99 shipped at Frys right now.

For 6 drives this power supply would be fine;

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

 

The one you posted is a heck of a deal though.

 

Peter

 

If you decide to get that 400w Corsair (which yes is a fantastic deal and a great PSU - I bought 2 in the past month)... try this promo code to see if it's still working EMCLRLN23 . It's an additional $10 off (I got each of mine at that price ~ $30 after rebate). I can't test the code since it's limited to once per account.

Your build looks good - the RAM might be overkill

 

The biggest tweak I wish i would have focused on when i was building my server was the noise.

 

THe fans for my 9 drives were way too loud and I have spent the past several weeks trying different set ups

 

I eventually went with PWM fans and so far it has made a HUGE difference

 

just my 2 cents - good luck

I would go for the centurion 590 and the power supply you've chosen.

Leave your options open. You can fit 9, 12 or 15 drives in the centurion 590 with the right brackets.

 

With the RAM, if you choose 4G now, you will not need to upgrade if you ever decide to use large third party packages.

2GB is plenty, 4GB provides allot of space for caching.

So..  As someone who has toyed w/ UnRaid, and is going to finally make the conversion too...  My gut feeling is to use something old and not too powerful for the machine..

 

I've done tests between Windows RAID performance and Linux Raid performance in the past, and my conclusion was that Linux is so much faster at the RAW I/O, that it doesn't really matter...

 

I'm talking about maybe an Athelon64 3000+ vintage machine with a gig or so of RAM  (can put in more, but is it really used/needed??)

 

Is there really a reason to go big on the CPU / MoBo / Memory speed? 

 

-Steve

The reason to get a more modern setup has more to do with bus issues than CPU speed issues.

 

If you are looking for just a few disks, it really doesn't matter.  But if you are going to expand beyond that, you want PCI-e slots to expand the number of disks without saturating the PCI bus during parity checks.  You also want gigabit networking and not on PCI bus either, is possible.  The final issue is to be able to boot off of a USB disk.  Some older motherboards have a problem with that.

 

I am not discouraging you from using an older motherboard that you own to get started.  It's what I did.  But after a few months of use I decided to upgrade.  An array will transition easily to a new motherboard.

Is there really a reason to go big on the CPU / MoBo / Memory speed? 

-Steve

 

No, unless you want more than about 10 drives, then a higher priced motherboard to support more drives by add-in PCIe cards is a good investment. Run of the mill CPU and ram always works just fine.

 

Use the origional posted motherboard and a 4050e processor and you have the base for a fast 6 drive system by spending $90. It's really not worth spending anything to upgrade an old outdated system. If it doesn't have lots of onboard SATA2 (at least 6 ports) and PCIe slots then it's not worth spending anything to upgrade it in my opinion.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128342

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103672

 

Peter

 

I'd recommend the Centurion 590 case over the 690, since you can fit three 4in3 or 5in3 drive devices into the 590; it may also be cheaper than the 690.