elmn8r Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I learned about UnRaid less than 24 hrs ago but I'm already excited to put a server together and give it a go. I did a lot of reading in the last day and am starting to formulate an idea for a starter rig. I'd like your opinions on it as I'm sure I'll make some rookie mistakes. The intended use of the server is for a Plex media server/player that will be racked with the audio equipment that feeds my theater. So, it'll need to run Plex Media Server as well as run a VM for Plex Home Theater/Plex Media Player. It'll need an HDMI output to connect to my receiver that runs the theater. I'll probably host another VM or two on it as well as several other Dockers. I think ~20TB will be about all the disk space I will need(famous last words). Here's what I've put together so far: CASE: Norco RPC-2008 SuperMicro 826E1-R800LPV Thanks to StevenD and CyberSkulls! Motherboard: Supermicro X10SL7-F uATX DDR3 1600 LGA 1150 CPU: Intel Xeon Processor E3-1241v3B (8M Cache, 3.50 GHz) BX80646E31241V3 CPU cooler: Noctua NH-L12 Low-profile Quiet CPU Cooler with 120/90mm Dual PWM Fan Power Supply: Athena Power AP-U2ATX80FEP8 20+4Pin 800W Single 2U IPC Server Power Supply - 80PLUS Bronze Included with my purchase of the SuperMicro 826E1-R800LPV chassis. RAM: 2 4 x Crucial 8GB Single DDR3L 1600 MT/s PC3-12800 SR x4 RDIMM 240-Pin Server Memory CT8G3ERSLS4160B 2 x Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Server Memory Model CT2KIT102472BD160B Video Card: EVGA GeForce GT 720 1GB DDR3 DVI/HDM/VGA Low Profile Passive Graphics Cards 01G-P3-2722-KR HDD: I'll start with a couple of WD Red 4TB NAS Desktop Hard Disk Drive - Intellipower SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD40EFRX ADDED 1/25/16 Cache: Silicon Power S60 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive Cables: ?? Ok, that's what I'm thinking so far. Clearly I have a few question marks that I need to fill in. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment
waveworm Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I like your build so far. I would try to go with a bit more Ram if you can. 32gb is a nice place to be. Go with 2 ssd drives for your cache pool. 256gb pool should be good for a few VMs and docker. You can always add more cache drives as you go forward. I don't have any cable preferences. Quote Link to comment
elmn8r Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 Thx Waveworm for taking the time to reply. I had already come to the conclusion that 16GB was not enough. 32GB it is. Quote Link to comment
marcosv Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 How loud is this server going to be? For a server requiring a 800W PSU, I wonder how much heat is going to be generated. Are you looking to use this server to rip blu-ray disks as well? Quote Link to comment
switchman Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 You need to add up your power budget to spec your power supply. I am thinking you are way overkill on the power supply. Quote Link to comment
CyberSkulls Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Those chassis aren't loud at all but they also don't move much air so your drives might run a little warm with the stock fans. This is from experience, I have three of them no longer being used. Quote Link to comment
elmn8r Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 Thx for all the replies. It will not be used to rip Bluray/DVD's. It will be located in an equipment closet so noise will be minimal impact. However, I was planning on replacing the stock chassis fans with Noctua's to calm it down a bit. Sounds like air flow may be an issue though even with better fans. CyberSkulls, do you have a recommendation for a better 2u chassis? Good point on the power needs. I'll re-evaluate... Quote Link to comment
StevenD Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 This would give you 12 drive bays, and all the power and airflow you would ever need. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-SuperMicro-CSE-826E1-R800LPB-12bay-W-O-Rail-/262237553837 Quote Link to comment
CyberSkulls Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 I'm a fan of Supermicro myself as I boxed up all my Norco's due to the subpar quality. So I would also recommend the Suoermicro 826. As in the link above, just replace the guts with your components and off to the races. I had 6 of the 826 chassis but am in the process of switching over to the 4U 846 chassis. Don't let me sway your decision, depending on where you put your chassis, temps may be perfectly acceptable to you. I just know from experience that my drives ran about 5-7 degrees warmer in the Norco that they did in the Supermicro. But like I said, the 2008's are not loud at all. I actually replaced my fans with higher power delta server fans. They were much louder but drives ran much cooler. Quote Link to comment
00b5 Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 What else are you going to use the PLEX for? It just seems way easier to run a client (roku/fire/apple tv/etc) to be a frontend for PLEX, than spinning up a VM just for plex? At that point (running the VM) just use KODI via OpenELEC since it'll just play everything for you, and you don't need to have anything fancy. For the record, I run plex, but its mostly for my iphone. I just use shares and KODI (on raspberry pis) for watching the content around the house. I've just never heard anyone spinning up a VM JUST for a plex front end? Quote Link to comment
elmn8r Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 CyberSkulls & StevenD - thanks for the feedback and links on the SuperMicro chassis'. I bought that chassis yesterday after taking a look at it so I'm off and running with the 826. SuperMicro's site says it supports E-ATX motherboards. Do you guys know if the X10SL7-F(micro ATX) will work in the 826? Adapters needed for chassis or power? 00b5 - I'm not all that familiar with KODI. I'll have to investigate further. For the theater, I'm looking for a client that will basically be passthru to my receiver. No transcoding. Some of the clients you mention would require Plex to transcode or do not support the latest audio like DTS-HD, TrueHD, 7.1 etc. Still, I have tried several of them - Roku 4(I have one) for example, won't work with my Marantz receiver yet(HDMI issue). AppleTV not 4k, Samsung SmartTV and Xbox One. All of them have varying UI, stablility, or technical issues. I've had the best experience with the Plex Home Theater client from my Mac Mini so, based on my experience so far, I'm targeting using that client controlled by an iPad for the theater. I will also stream out to various iOS devices and other external clients thru PMS. Music is also a concern. My music is flac files so I need support for them without transcoding to the Marantz. WAF(Wife Acceptance Factor) is also an issue so I'd like a unified UI experience to handle all of it... Quote Link to comment
StevenD Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 CyberSkulls & StevenD - thanks for the feedback and links on the SuperMicro chassis'. I bought that chassis yesterday after taking a look at it so I'm off and running with the 826. SuperMicro's site says it supports E-ATX motherboards. Do you guys know if the X10SL7-F(micro ATX) will work in the 826? Adapters needed for chassis or power? 00b5 - I'm not all that familiar with KODI. I'll have to investigate further. For the theater, I'm looking for a client that will basically be passthru to my receiver. No transcoding. Some of the clients you mention would require Plex to transcode or do not support the latest audio like DTS-HD, TrueHD, 7.1 etc. Still, I have tried several of them - Roku 4(I have one) for example, won't work with my Marantz receiver yet(HDMI issue). AppleTV not 4k, Samsung SmartTV and Xbox One. All of them have varying UI, stablility, or technical issues. I've had the best experience with the Plex Home Theater client from my Mac Mini so, based on my experience so far, I'm targeting using that client controlled by an iPad for the theater. I will also stream out to various iOS devices and other external clients thru PMS. Music is also a concern. My music is flac files so I need support for them without transcoding to the Marantz. WAF(Wife Acceptance Factor) is also an issue so I'd like a unified UI experience to handle all of it... That motherboard should work just fine in that chassis. You may, or may not need a cable or two. Like possibly the cable that manages the front case buttons. But anything you might need will be very minor and easy to get. Quote Link to comment
CyberSkulls Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Since your putting in a Supermicro board, you shouldn't need the front panel adapter cable as it should plug right in. In the event you do, they can be had for about $5 on eBay from legit Supermicro part suppliers. If that's something you need, send me a PM and I'll link ya to the supplier I use and the best offers they have accepted from me The only other cable I could see you needing (as I haven't looked specifically at the board your buying) is a 20 pin to 24 pin power cable. Some of these older 826 chassis have the 20 pin power cable coming off the PDU. Mine did and I just bought the 20 to 24 pin cable. Also like $5 on Amazon. Those fans might be a little loud if plugged directly into the backplane. Not sure how you plan to run them. I would highly recommend you run them off the motherboard and you'll be happy. Mine were pretty quiet till it starts transcoding then the mobo kicks them up as needed. Congrats on going Supermicro but you have also hurt yourself. Why? Cause no you have ruined yourself for all future builds as once you see the Supermicro quality, you'll never be able to go consumer chassis again!! Quote Link to comment
CyberSkulls Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Forgot to add, if your going to actually rack mount it, these are the rails you will want: MCP-290-00053-ON. I wouldn't buy them use as Newegg typically runs coupon codes on these and you can get them for about $64 brand new with free shipping. So about the same as a used set on eBay. These are also the long rail (newer revision) that fully extends the chassis far enough to remove the lid/top while still in the rack. Some of the best rails I have ever used. I use them on my 4U 846 chassis now and work perfectly. Quote Link to comment
TUMS Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Those RDIMM's you have listed will not work with that x10sl7-f board. What you want is unbuffered ecc like this. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148770 Quote Link to comment
elmn8r Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 Thx Cyber for the cable and rail advice. This isn't going into a traditional rack so I'll figure that out when I get the chassis. TUMS - good catch on the memory. Updated... Quote Link to comment
CyberSkulls Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Curious how your build went or is going? Figured by now you would have had time to play with the Supermicro chassis. Quote Link to comment
elmn8r Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Hey CyberSkulls, thx for checking in on my build. I've been collecting parts for the last week or so. All of the parts are in now and I spent some time with the chassis last night removing the old MB and getting the X10SL7F installed. The chassis is nice, REALLY nice. Thanks to all that pointed me in that direction. I think I have all the cabling figured out except... The chassis has a Supermicro SAS-826EL1 back-plane in it. It has two iPass(I believe that's what they are called) SAS connectors on it. I need a cable to connect from that connector on the back-plane to the X10SL7F MB. I believe I need this cable to accomplish this: http://www.amazon.com/SUPERMICRO-COMPUTER-Supermicro-Computer-Cbl-0237L-01/dp/B00G051TTU Can anyone confirm? Also, I'm using WD Red SATA drives in this build and the MB has both SAS and SATA connections. Which should I use on the MB, SAS or SATA? Finally, I also got a SATADOM i100 flash storage drive with the chassis. I don't suppose I can use it for the unraid drive in place of the USB? A quick Google search didn't reveal much... Quote Link to comment
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