Bob, thanks for the input. I'll just take it as a no.

 

Any board recommendations for what I'm doing? I'd like IPMI and hardware passthrough. Needs to support a lot of drives (24+). I don't have that many now, but I'd like the board to be able to take advantage of the case I will be using.

If you were looking 2-3 generations back (I.E Sandy or Ivy bridge then Yes).  But not current - No.  I like my Tyan S5512 and the Sandy Bridge E31230 but that uses more energy then current CPUs (by quite a bit from what I've seen others post).  Maybe garycase has an idea for you that is current.

Thanks! Hopefully he will chime in with some input.

Here's what I've got so far. Slowly making progress.

 

Case: Lian Li PC-D8000

MB: SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7

Processor?

RAM? (Since it maxes at 32gb in 4 slots, I'll likely get a single 8gig stick)

Power Supply?

Cabling?

 

 

I think that covers the major components.

Do you guys think a pentium processor would be plenty sufficient to just run the unraid items and maybe tinker with a docker or virtualization down the road and then if I decide I want to put everything on the system then simply go with an xeon at that time? The board I'm likely going with will have the 1150 socket

 

I currently transcode and do all processing on a mac mini.

Since the Lian Li case has a dual power supply option, should I opt to start with one power supply to run the everything at first (up to about 10 drives) and then after that either get a new power supply to power any drives after 10? Something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

 

Or should I go with a single power supply that will be enough to power everything from the get go (max capacity of the case)?

Update on Build - Building somewhat cost effective for mostly NAS that can also easily handle dockers/vm

 

Case: Lian Li PC-D8000 ($350)

MB: SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7 ($250)

Processor: Xeon E3-1231V3 ($255)

RAM: 8GB - kvr16e11/8 (got it for $30)

Power Supply: CX750M (Modular, $80)

Cabling: 14 Sata Cables and some power cables for the drives

Fans: Picked up a lot of 20 fans 120 and 140mm ($47, found a decent deal)

Added top exhaust fan bracket, may just take the existing plate and make this with some modders mesh: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lian-Li-D8000-2-Dual-140mm-Fan-Panel-for-PC-D8000-Black-/111556015757?hash=item19f941b68d

 

Cost thus far: keeps changing, will update when closer to having purchased all parts (at retail cost, with exception of fans, need to get one hdd too)

 

I still need to go through and make sure everything is compatible with the case I've chosen.

 

Some "cool" builds with the case I've selected: http://www.overclock.net/t/1326857/official-lian-li-pc-d8000-owners-club

 

Digging in to things a little more it looks like most of the 1150 processors want to have 1.5v ram vs the "L" designation which I believe seems to be 1.35. I'd have to step up a couple pentium processors in order to get the 1600Mhz on the memory and you don't get ECC until Xeon processors. Sooo..... I might be back up at the Xeon again. Going in circles here. I didn't really want to spend that kind of money on the processor, but it seems ECC would be a good feature to have for a data and storage server.

 

Now to try and find a decently priced Xeon processor. At this point, I don't really care so much which one it is unless someone has input on that.

ECC is available on i3 CPU's, but vt-d is not.

 

Xeon has ECC and vt-d.

 

i5/i7 have vt-d, but not ECC.

Yes, it seems that way

Thank you for pointing that out! I think I'll end up with an i3 as they are reasonably priced.

Can someone confirm or deny this. Board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182821

 

On board sata connections

4 x SATA 3.0Gb/s + 2 x SATA 6.0Gb/s

8x SAS2 (6Gbps) ports via LSI 2308

 

Are the blue ports on the board the SAS/Sata connections? BLACK Sata 3.0Gb/s and WHITE Sata 6.0Gb/s?

 

If so, then I would just need to get 14 normal sata cables to utilize all existing SATA ports on this board before getting an expansion card, correct?

Can someone confirm or deny this. Board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182821

 

On board sata connections

4 x SATA 3.0Gb/s + 2 x SATA 6.0Gb/s

8x SAS2 (6Gbps) ports via LSI 2308

 

For this, I would need 6 normal sata cables and then 2 SAS to Sata breakout cables, is this correct?

I have this board, and you just use normal SATA cables for all the motherboard connections. If you were connecting to SAS drive bays, you would need reverse breakout cables, but if you are using SATA drives, regular cables all the way.

 

The motherboard breaks out the SAS to SATA for you, no need for special cables.

Thanks for the input! I'm just connecting directly to the back of the SATA drives, no special bays. I'll go ahead and get the cables on the build list. Thanks for the quick reply!

This site is useful (http://ark.intel.com/) for verifying features of a CPU you might consider buying. Make sure to check on there before you buy to ensure it has the features you want.

Yup, that's where I've been going.

 

I used this to see compatible CPUs: http://www.cpu-world.com/Sockets/Socket_1150_LGA1150_H3.html

Then double check at the ark.

 

I'm going to get an Xeon processor. I know I've been back and forth, but I can use a VM for business purposes as a backup machine. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. It just hit me this morning. Any particular reason to get one Xeon over the other as far as features go? It seems they pretty much are all the same except clock speed or power consumption. I don't care about the super efficient ones. I would rather have the extra processing power if needed since I'm going to go Xeon anyways.

Verify any Xeon you chose has a GPU in it otherwise you'll need one of those too.

 

Nevermind, the MB has it built in.

Thanks!

The Aspeed AST2400 video would be more then adequate for unRAID.  It probably wouldn't be up to video or gaming but would handle graphic displays that don't need the extra processing power that gaming or video playback does.

Thanks for the input. I have decided to go with the Xeon E3-1220V3 as it has ECC and VT-d. I plan to setup a VM, so I can run basic windows applications and also use it as a backup if my main computer fails for my business (to get me by until a replacement is acquired). I'll likely run a couple dockers for the unraid/streaming setup on it as well.

 

Do you see any other reason to go with a more powerful processor for what I want to do? Other than the Xeon E3-1220V3? I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on the components and get this thing underway.

 

I have not switched to the 1231v3 because it gets benchmarks that quite a bit better and seems to be the best bang for the buck out of the Xeon processors based on benchmark data and the cost in only $54 more (really about $35, but newegg gives a better discount on the 1220).

I have ESXi runing on a E3-1240v1 with 3 to 4 VMs currently.  1 unRAID 6.0, 2 32bit Win7 and sometimes 1 64bit Win7 VM with no noticeable problems - I don't see any pausing in the VMs when I RDP into them for instance.  My 1240v1(SandyBridge) has a 7964 passmark score (http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+E3-1240+%40+3.30GHz).  The E3-1220v3 is 6759 passmark score (http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+E3-1220+v3+%40+3.10GHz).  So the 1220v3 is only 15% slower than my 1240v1 and would likely be much more energy efficient.  The 1231V3 is allot more powerful then mine at 9594 passmarks (http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+E3-1231+v3+%40+3.40GHz) for the same 3.3GHz and would be much more energy efficient as well.

 

So I think either would work well but for $54 more the 1231v3 would give you almost a 30% increase in power over the 1220v3 at maximum load.

Bob, that was my precise train of thought on the processor. For such a gain for just a little more$$ was worth it. With that mentality you can end up at top tier items in a hurry, but the % increase being about 30% just made the decision easy for $50. Next time I upgrade this thing, it will be an entirely new setup. That likely won't be for a LONG time unless it burns down. LOL

Let's talk cables for a minute. Do you guys just recommend getting them at monoprice?

Let's talk cables for a minute. Do you guys just recommend getting them at monoprice?

I have some SFF-8087 forward breakout cables from monoprice.  I have some that are not from monoprice.  I tend to like the non-monoprice ones a little better but I do use the monoprice ones as well.  The monoprice cables are cheaper and do work but the construction of the cables does not appear to be as well made to me.  I do like how the monoprice cables are bundled together for much/most of their length compared to the other breakout cables I have.  But I use both because I need the cables separated to get to all the drives in my Lian Li V2000 case as well as together to allow better air flow.  I have very few SATA only cables in use any more so don't have any preference at all on them.  That will change when I switch from ESXi to unRAID native and I can use the MB ports for more than just ESXi datastore drives.

Thanks for the input. Where would you recommend getting the sata cables then? I should just need normal ones for the onboard sata ports. There are 14 of them on the board I'm using, so That should be all I need for a while. I don't need to get any breakout cables at this time.

How do I know if the power supply I've chosen will fit the case I have also chosen.

 

case: pc-d8000

power supply: Corsair CX705M