First off, I found this forum a few months ago when I was kicking around the idea of building a storage server for all my movies, music, etc. and after reading about unRAID system I decided

it was the best option for my needs.

I am an absolute beginner when it comes to building something like this and have very little experience in selecting hardware parts. I am looking to use this for media streaming using Kodi and possibly plex down the line. Here's a list of the parts that I have found so far and I wanted to get some expert opinions on my selections thus far.

 

• Case: Lian Li PC A76 ATX (Already Purchased)
  
• PSU: SeaSonic 520W 80+
  
• Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X+ BTC FM2+ AMD A88X
  
• CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K Trinity Quad-Core 3.4GHz
  
• Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (x2)
  

 

 

I was going to pick up 4 6TB WD (either Green or Red) hard drives to start with and expand as needed.

 

Will I need a CPU cooler?

Did I miss anything or get anything incredibly wrong?

 

Thank you all, I've learned a lot from just reading the various posts throughout this forum.

 

KC

... Will I need a CPU cooler? ...

"32nm Trinity 100W" - I would say yes.

 

Another thought is about memory. No, there is nothing wrong with your choice, it's just that I would:

1. Choose faster memory - the motherboard supports DDR3 2400, so I would choose 2400, not 1600.

2. Get more than 8GB of memory if I was planning to use Kodi or Plex.

... Will I need a CPU cooler? ...

"32nm Trinity 100W" - I would say yes.

 

It is a retail box and comes with the stock AMD CPU cooler.

I've always been a fan of the AMD processors, but of late I've fallen for the Haswell line from Intel.  These chips and the motherboards that support them do an excellent job of minimising power consumption.  This results in a cooler and quieter system, saving you money directly in electricity costs and saving you money indirectly because you don't have to deal with the excess heat in your home HVAC system.

 

You might want to at least look at a comparable Intel build.  For a server that probably will be running 24/7 for many years, a few watts saved in daily operation will add up to tens, if not hundreds, of dollars over the life of the system.

 

I second pkn's recommendation of 8 GB.  RAM is pretty cheap and it's a lot easier to deal with it now than to upgrade it later.  Also get the fastest you can afford.  I now see that you are planning on 8 GB (the x2 at the end of the memory description).  You'll want to buy a two-pack, which ensures that the two memory units have the exact same timing settings.  Buy two individual RAM sticks may get you units from the same batch but you can't be certain.  Having the same settings ensures better performance on the motherboard, which utilizes the dual channel architecture.  There is typically no cost increase for getting the 2x4GB memory package.

Just took a look at the Newegg comments for the Trinity X4.  This processor does not have a built in graphics unit (APU in current terminology).  The motherboard does not either, it only supports what is in the CPU or if you have a discrete graphics card.

 

If you want to stay with AMD then you'll need one of the A processors such as the A6, A8, or A10.  Or I'm wrong, wouldn't hurt to check on this.

While in the past I purchased AMD procs, if I were building my system today I would go with an Intel solution.  If I was going with an AMD solution, I would look at the AMD A10-7800.  It has better thermal and passmark scores than your selected CPU.  Whatever CPU you select, make sure your motherboard supports it by checking its comparability.