I'm thinking of building my first server. I've read quite a few of the recent threads, and it seems many people are doing the same. Good to know I'm not the only newbie. I'm located in Canada, so that's obviously why my links are to Canadian sites.

 

Already purchased:

CPU : AMD Athlon II X2 240 Dual Core Processor Socket AM3 2.8GHZ 2MB Cache 65W

PSU : Antec Earthwatts 650W Power Supply ATX12V V2.2 EPS12V Active PFC 80PLUS 120MM Fan

 

Goals:

- Cheap! I have the standard "cash flow" problem of being a student.

- Stream mostly video (and some music) to my PS3 while keeping it protected under unRaid's supervision.

- Room for 4+ hard drives with a possibility to expand to at least 6-8 in the future.

- Quiet enough. Fan noise is fine, however anything that would be annoying is a no-no.

unRAID still has the 3 drive free version available.. I'm sure someone will show up & answer your other questions. I'm an Intel man.... 

I'm also in Canada (Ontario) and just went through the process you are now.

If you are outside of B.C., also consider directcanada.com to buy from ( the same owners as NCIX ).  My build was more expensive, however if I was to get the exact same setup from NewEgg.ca, it would have cost me over $200 more ( partially do to their price, but also because of their shipping charges and PST charges ).  Remember, if the company you buy from has no physical presence in your province, you don't have to pay PST.

 

Based on my reading in the forums here , which you also seem to have seen, the motherboard you've selected is good ( for up to 6 SATA drives ).   If you need more storage than that later, the PCIe x16 slot could be filled with a SATA controller card.

 

The CPU you picked, probably like I did, as it was "recommended by NCIX" to go with the board.   And well... NCIX is right.  It works fine.  UnRaid has no issue with either the board or CPU.    When I asked the same question "Is it powerful enough", it was an unanimous "yes".     The CPU's aren't overly worked with UnRaid.

 

Now, where to buy these three items... not NewEgg ( as the Motherboard is "Deactivated" anyways..... ie. Out of Stock ).   As mentioned, I will treat it like you aren't in BC or a province with harmonized taxes, so the prices you see, you have to factor in the saving from not paying your provincial PST rate.

 

One trick with NCIX/DirectCanada.  Once you put the item in your cart, it locks that price in ( even if it changes on the website ).   So, load your carts up now, even if you aren't buying until later this week.   BEFORE you buy, check the price of each item again.  If it has gone down, remove it from your card and re-add.  If its gone up then just leave it be and the lower price will be honoured.

 

Motherboard from DirectCanada:

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11830BD5388&vpn=GA-MA74GM-S2&manufacture=GIGABYTE

$64.11

 

CPU from DirectCanada:

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10360BD0569&vpn=ADX240OCGQBOX&manufacture=AMD

$67.79

 

Case from DirectCanada:

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC2709&vpn=RC-335-KKN1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

$47.15

(this is slightly different model than you picked as they didn't have yours.  this is the Cooler Master Elite 335 Black ATX Mid Tower Case 4X5.25 1X3.25 6X3.25INT W/ ATX PS2 Front USB Audio)

 

I would advice against getting the PSU you picked as it has "3 Rails", so you would need to balance the load across them manually.   If you get a single rail PSU no thought has to be given.

Ex. http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180AC2550&vpn=CMPSU-650TX&manufacture=CORSAIR

$90.42 (after $11 MIR).

You may decide on a different brand, but go with single rail.   If you buy from NCIX, you can get the 750W version of this for less (after MIR).

 

I don't know much about RAM, I just used what I had ( OCZ 2 X 1GB DDR2-800 ).   If you are just buying cheap ram, every retailer has it.  Here is some at DirectCanada made by Kingston:

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=1241185132G&vpn=KVR800D2N6K2/2G&manufacture=KINGSTON

$38.82

 

The total I get, including shipping ($0 as its free ground shipping for orders over $300) and NO PST with a better power supply is:

$319.29 + you can do the $11 Mail-in-Rebate after this for a net cost of $308.29.

 

 

For what its worth, this is what I got for my case ( it has a bit more ventalation options as two fan mounts at the top).

I bought the Coolmaster 590 Case, but it is out of stock at the moment.

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC4309&vpn=RC-590&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

In the future when I need more drive space, I have these drive cages as they make 3 of the drive bays into 4 slots for hard drives.  So, added to the one that's already in the case, I got 2 more, giving me space for 12 drives.  They also have fans on them to help with cooling.

 

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC7312&vpn=STB-3T4-E3&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

$22.43/each

 

 

 

 

EDIT:   Forgot your flash drive comment.   Just go to the Wiki and you will see a list of recommended drives.   I ended up getting this one for $15:

Corsair Flash Voyager Mini CMFUSBMINI-4GB 4GB USB2.0 Ultra Compact Flash Drive

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180DR1466&vpn=CMFUSBMINI-4GB&manufacture=CORSAIR

Hi, thanks for the reply. Firstly, I'm in NS so I've got the HST to factor in.

 

Now my biggest problem, which I'm feeling quite stupid for, is that I already ordered the power supply. I could've sworn it was a single rail! My problem is that I don't know enough about PSUs. From what I've read you have to balance multi-rail systems and I don't know how to do that. Single is supposed to be better, I'm just not sure why. Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with it... Being the cheapskate that I am, I went with a cheaper shipping option so it's not even here yet. When it arrives, should I pay the return shipping & 15% restocking fee, or just live with it? 

 

The CPU is also on its way (same order) but it should be fine so I'm not worried about it.

 

I noticed Newegg discontinued the mobo, which is annoying. They had it for $58.99 with free shipping before it went bye-bye. For that matter, the RAM I had picked out as well. However that's not a large problem, RAM practically grows on trees.

 

I really like the case I had picked out, so I'm hesitant to change. But I'll shop around, there's no rush in picking out the case or RAM. I think I'll order the motherboard soon though, just because I definitely want that one.

 

Lastly, the flash drives are set to be sorted out. Thanks for your suggestion though.

Case selection is up to you.  As long as it can keep your drives cool enough and can hold a lot of drives ( keep future expansion in mind ).

 

Darn HST.  Ontario gets nailed with that July 1st, however that will be the death of the provincial liberal government ( as it has taken down governments in other provinces that have done it ).

 

I don't think you need to go through the hassle of returning the PSU as you would have to pay shipping and re-stocking fee's.

 

I'm by no means an expert on PSU, but if you have 3 hard drives, then I would put one on each rail.  There is probably are more technical way to balance things (maybe something in the bios), but I will defer to the experts for that.

I don't want to over react regarding the PSU, it's just I have absolutely no clue about them so I don't want to be stuck with a terrible one.

 

That case should be fine, it has 4 bays so I can always put a 4-in-3 in there. My only concern is cooling, so I'll likely do some reading about it when I have some free time.

Get the CM-590 case. Spending the few extra bucks will pay off in cooling and future expansion.

 

Forget OCZ Diesel. You can find faster for the same money.

 

I would not worry too much about the PS. I'm using a Earthwatts 380 with 6 drives. Antec PS would not be my first choice but it will fine.

So with the 590 you get 4 drive bays and can purchase 2 more 4-in-3s to make 12 bays in total? Whereas the 310 has 6 drive bays, but can only fit one 4-in-3 for a total of 10 bays in total. So I'd lose a total of two drive bays and I wouldn't have to purchase another 4-in-3. (Did I mention I'm cheap lol)

 

For airflow, my plan is for the drives to be spun down most of the time, so I'm hoping not to have too many fans going because it's not going to be a closet server unless is has to.

 

One more thing, any power supply experts want to explain how I balance rails when that thing arrives? 

One more thing, any power supply experts want to explain how I balance rails when that thing arrives?  Wink

 

You cannot expect to balance rails. Many times there is one for CPU and one for peripherals.

Sometimes there are three and the third one is used for PCIe video cards.

 

To be sure get a single rail power supply or one that advertises sharing power amoung the rails such as the corsair.

For a small system with "green" drives, this should not be much of an issue.

It's more an issue when you start to go over 8-9 drives.

 

 

So with the 590 you get 4 drive bays and can purchase 2 more 4-in-3s to make 12 bays in total? Whereas the 310 has 6 drive bays, but can only fit one 4-in-3 for a total of 10 bays in total. So I'd lose a total of two drive bays and I wouldn't have to purchase another 4-in-3. (Did I mention I'm cheap lol)

 

For airflow, my plan is for the drives to be spun down most of the time, so I'm hoping not to have too many fans going because it's not going to be a closet server unless is has to.

 

Cheaper now does not account for cheaper later. The CM-590 is a fine case when taped up as recommended and 120MM fans put in as recommended.

I do not have any front fans, Only 3 exhaust fans and the drives stay within acceptable parameters (as long as the case is taped correctly and the case is closed).

 

However the CM-590 with the 3 4in3's and front fans will keep your drives very cool

I do think it's better in the long run as you could possibly grow to 15 drives with the proper hardware.

I'm reviving the thread to get more help. I also updated the first post.

 

The next logical purchase would be the motherboard. I've been looking at the Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2, which many people seem to have, however I also read about the HPA problem. In the threads I read, no one seemed to know a solution. Other than that, it looks like a great board to me. DirectCanada also has it for slightly cheaper, but I may buy multiple items, so to combine shipping I may use one or the other.

 

After that, my next issue is the case. Some of the options I've looked at are:

CoolerMaster 310 Elite (6int & 4x5.25inch bays) - $74 shipped @ Newegg

- This was my first pick, but I'm not 100% on it. I should still have the option of adding a 4-in-3 to make 10 drive bays if I really need to.

CoolerMaster 590 (4int & 6x5.25inch bays) - $85+tax shipped @ NCIX - $108 shipped @ Newegg - $98+tax shipped @ DirectCanada

- A popular choice around here, but I dislike that I'd have to buy a 4-in-3 to make my 6-8 bays. I can definitely see the advantages of this case though.

Cooler Master 335 Elite (6int & 4x5.25inch bays) - $66+tax shipped @ NCIX - $79 shipped @ Newegg - $77+tax shipped @ DirectCanada

- Doesn't look as great, but it is slightly cheaper than the others, which is very important for me.

 

As I said previously, price is important because I don't have much cash. I've set aside $250 for the remaining components (mobo, RAM & case) and I really don't think I should spend more (in good conscience). I figure $75 for the board, $40 for RAM and $85 for the case would leave me at $200. Factor in tax and shipping and I should be just under (I hope!). Plus I'll probably be running the free version to try before I buy.

I've been looking at the Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2, which many people seem to have, however I also read about the HPA problem. In the threads I read, no one seemed to know a solution.

 

  http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=3894.msg34327#msg34327

 

The link above is the advice I have been giving, and it is holding up so far.  If anyone finds it to be wrong or incomplete, I'll correct it.

Okay, sounds like it's more of a nuisance than a problem. I decided on the CoolerMaster 590 so I'm planning on ordering it along with the Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2 either today or tomorrow.

 

I'd like to throw in a flash drive while I'm at it. Are either of these any good? Kingston DataTraveler 4GB or Patriot Mini II 4GB.

 

Also, instead of buying new RAM, I think I can steal 2x512MB DDR2-667 from an existing computer and put it the server. That should be enough, or would you guys recommend more?