New build for Unraid 6

[SSD]

So I'm looking for a motherboard and keep reading about Asrock H77 Pro4-M however it appears its been discontinued?  at least newegg is out of stock and has been.

 

Anyone recommend a similar board that they're using with unraid 6?  I'm looking to build a new unraid 6 server (basic nas and potentially a windows vm or two (not doing anything crazy, just serving videos to my apple tv).  I have a budget of about $600-$700 (minus drives).

 

The problem with motherboards is the models just turn over too quickly. It may be a matter of a few months after purchase that the MB you used is phased out. And after setting up a server, it can be a very long time before you're ready to set up a different one. I once suggested people list their motherboard in the text just under their avatar picture to help people like you. You may still see a few who do that, including me. If you look you'll see the three motherboards I have used in my three servers, the most recent one (Asrock E3C224-4L) being the newest and potentially still available, but I am not sure. I am happy with it due to the PCIe expansion potential, and given the fact that I already have drive expansion cards, I did not need a lot of extra SATA slots on the MB.

 

Some of the mods and old timers keep up with motherboards and have suggestions, but most people sort of stop monitoring them until they are ready to buy again. Normally it is the people looking to build systems, or having just completed building systems, that have the best information on the current flock of motherboards.

 

There is a Supermicro board (MBD-X10SL7) that has 14 SATA ports that you might consider. A unique advantage of that board is it is the one the LimeTech used in its most recent server production run. (Compatibility is very important, and if you are running on the same MB that LimeTech uses, rather assured). You do pay a premium for the extra SATA ports, but when compared with another motherboard + an expansion card, it is a good value.

[althoralthor]

Thanks for the reply bjp.  I will look at those boards.

 

And I agree on how quickly boards turn over.  Its been about 3 years since i built my first unRAID server and its been pretty much on autopilot.  The only reason i am thinking of building a new one is that this one when i have to reboot, it doesn't always want to boot, and i also want to take advantage of the virtual machine capabilities of 6 (and i think it would be a good idea to have a second unRAID server to backup my data to).

 

 

[HellDiverUK]

I've tried all the various boards, but I have to say Supermicro boards are just so much nicer, especially when used in a Supermicro case (you get the LAN LED, and fan fail LED working).  I'm very pleased with my X9 - works like a champ, the IPMI works well, and it was very cheap.  £100 for the board, and the CPU was used off eBay.  Even power consumption is good.

[althoralthor]

Thanks for the replies all. So I've adjusted my budget a bit 

 

Looking at:

SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182821

 

Intel Xeon E3-1231V3 Haswell 3.4GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1150 80W BX80646E31231V3 Server Processor  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117316

 

Supermicro Certified MEM-DR380L-SL01-EU16 Samsung Memory - 8GB DDR3-1600 2Rx8 ECC Un-Buffer LP  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA5EM2VC2098  Thinking 2 of these for 16 GB of RAM

 

SUPERMICRO CSE-733TQ-500B Black Pedestal Server Case 500W w/ 80 PLUS Bronze Certified 2 External 5.25" Drive Bays  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811152234

 

Then maybe a 6 TB parity drive (and maybe another 6 TB data drive, or a couple of 5 TB data drives...not sure.

 

Is this overkill?  I am literally just looking for NAS services, along with 1 Windows VM (MAYBE another windows/linux VM).  And if it is, anyone have any ideas on how to pare it down a bit?

 

Also, what do you guys think of the case?  I have read some mixed reviews on newegg.