March 28, 201016 yr Hi all, I've finally decided on my unRaid build. The decision to go the unRaid path was already hard work after reading up on options such as WHS, FreeNAS, File server, Out of the Counter NAS, etc... I would appreciate it if anyone can comment on my projected hardware build, some items I already have and one (the motherboard) was only purchased through eBay a few minutes ago. This is the first time I'm going through a fresh server build. The parts are as follows (red = planned, green = already have, orange = ordered/on it's way): Case: CM Stacker (E-ATX, ATX, m-ATX, BTX, m-BTX) Power Supply: Corsair Micro CMPSU-550VXAU Motherboard: Supermicro C2SEE MBD-C2SEE CPU: Intel Pentium E5400 2.70Ghz, 2MB Cache, 800Mhz FSB Memory: Kingston 2GB Kit (2x1GB), PC-10600 (1333MHz) Hard drive: WD 2TB, Caviar Green, SATAII, 32MB Cache, IntelliPower, NCQ <--- For Parity || Existing with data ---> 2xWD500GB, 2xWD1TB My aim is to have a secondary source of data, and in the process, making room on my main PC (gaming) for my next upgrade. Thank you in advance!
March 29, 201016 yr How many drives to you plan on supporting in the future? I run 8 drives on a 380 W PSU - your 550 W would only be necessary if you plan on going for a lot (10+) of drives. Also, do you plan on running unRAID stock or with add-ons? In most cases, your CPU is also overkill - unRAID doesn't need dual core. I would recommend a low power single core CPU, like this one. If you plan on using your server for anything CPU intensive, like VMs or video encoding, then the CPU you posted would be justifiable. Your RAM is fine, and your hard drive is fine. If the hard drive is an EARS model, keep in mind that you will need to install a jumper (that you provide) on pins 7-8 before installing it into your server.
March 30, 201016 yr Your RAM is fine, and your hard drive is fine. If the hard drive is an EARS model, keep in mind that you will need to install a jumper (that you provide) on pins 7-8 before installing it into your server. Is this absolutely necessary? I had been under then impression that this method, or the wdalign application (only runs in windows, though) were only necessary for xp based systems, and that Linux didn't need any extra configuration.
March 30, 201016 yr Your RAM is fine, and your hard drive is fine. If the hard drive is an EARS model, keep in mind that you will need to install a jumper (that you provide) on pins 7-8 before installing it into your server. Is this absolutely necessary? I had been under then impression that this method, or the wdalign application (only runs in windows, though) were only necessary for xp based systems, and that Linux didn't need any extra configuration. It is not necessary as the drive will work in unRAID without it BUT it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you install the jumper when using the drive in unRAID!!
March 30, 201016 yr It is not necessary as the drive will work in unRAID without it BUT it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you install the jumper when using the drive in unRAID!! Is it a performance issue, the same as it evidently is with XP?
March 30, 201016 yr It is not necessary as the drive will work in unRAID without it BUT it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you install the jumper when using the drive in unRAID!! Is it a performance issue, the same as it evidently is with XP? Yes. Some (most) have reported much better speeds with the jumper installed than with it not installed.
March 30, 201016 yr Author How many drives to you plan on supporting in the future? I run 8 drives on a 380 W PSU - your 550 W would only be necessary if you plan on going for a lot (10+) of drives. Also, do you plan on running unRAID stock or with add-ons? In most cases, your CPU is also overkill - unRAID doesn't need dual core. I would recommend a low power single core CPU, like this one. If you plan on using your server for anything CPU intensive, like VMs or video encoding, then the CPU you posted would be justifiable. Your RAM is fine, and your hard drive is fine. If the hard drive is an EARS model, keep in mind that you will need to install a jumper (that you provide) on pins 7-8 before installing it into your server. Excellent, to be honest I don't plan exceeding 6 drives in total including parity. I've got two 500GB and two 1TB I can easily replace with 2TB in the future, growth will be very slow. The parity drive planned will be an EARS drive "Western Digital 2TB Green 64MB SATAII WD20EARS". I'd really like to get the "Intel Celeron Dual Core E3300 2.5GHZ 800FSB LGA775" CPU because it's nearly 40% cheaper than the E5400 but the C2SEE spec doesn't seem to say it's compatible even it's a socket LGA775 CPU. Spec page: http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Core2Duo/G45/C2SEE.cfm. Perhaps the "Intel Celeron E1500 2.20Ghz, 512K Cache, 800Mhz FSB, Dual Core" would be enough? I'm not certain what add ons to install at this point, maybe the UnTorrent Add-on. Aim is just to have the unRaid serve as an additional backup for important files and also unload my main PC of existing drives. The lowest end PSU I can get from the manufacturer I trust (Corsair) is a "Corsair VX-450 ATX 450W Power Supply 120mm fan", that should be sufficient then for 6 drives. Edit: As for the jumpers, I've thoroughly read through the wiki and manual and it recommends installing without the jumpers. Any more feedback confirmation on performance improvements with the jumpers installed? Edit: I might stick with the CPU, the E5400 is the lowest end E5000 series I can find and locally is only $30 more than the E1500 (which is the next lowest down), both have the the same TDP rating anyway and the E5400 might be more useful for me in the future with the extra 1.5MB cache. So new specs: Case: CM Stacker (E-ATX, ATX, m-ATX, BTX, m-BTX) Power Supply: Corsair VX-450 ATX 450W Power Supply 120mm fan Motherboard: Supermicro C2SEE MBD-C2SEE CPU: Intel Pentium E5400 2.70Ghz, 2MB Cache, 800Mhz FSB Memory: Kingston 2GB Kit (2x1GB), PC-10600 (1333MHz) Hard drive: WD 2TB, Caviar Green, SATAII, 32MB Cache, IntelliPower, NCQ <--- For Parity || Existing with data ---> 2xWD500GB, 2xWD1TB Also, would I benefit from 2x1GB DDR3 modules vs 1x2GB module?
March 30, 201016 yr Your RAM is fine, and your hard drive is fine. If the hard drive is an EARS model, keep in mind that you will need to install a jumper (that you provide) on pins 7-8 before installing it into your server. Is this absolutely necessary? I had been under then impression that this method, or the wdalign application (only runs in windows, though) were only necessary for xp based systems, and that Linux didn't need any extra configuration. It is not necessary as the drive will work in unRAID without it BUT it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you install the jumper when using the drive in unRAID!! I disagree, I think it IS necessary. Several unRAID users have reported being unable to copy large files (such as HD movies) to their servers when using unjumpered EARS drives (server crashes, transfer fails, etc.). Until unRAID is updated to work with the advanced format drives, all EARS drives must be jumpered. It sounds like you've got your reasons for wanting the faster CPU, so go for it. Perhaps you will want to explore unRAID add-ons down the line, and the extra CPU horsepower will help out in certain instances. The 2 TB EARS is fine for a parity drive. It's not the fastest drive, but with only 6 drives your parity checks will be reasonably short anyway, less than 8 hours I expect. Plus, in most everyday scenarios, a faster parity drive will only help you if all of your data drives are equally fast. The rule of thumb is that your server is only as fast as your slowest drive. The Corsair 450W PSU is perfectly sufficient. I run a mixture of 8 green and non-green drives on a 380 W Antec Earthwatts. Edit: As for the jumpers, I've thoroughly read through the wiki and manual and it recommends installing without the jumpers. Any more feedback confirmation on performance improvements with the jumpers installed? You must not be referring to the unRAID wiki and manual, because that is definitely not the case. Jumpers are absolutely required on all EARS drives at the current time. Also, would I benefit from 2x1GB DDR3 modules vs 1x2GB module? While technically 2x1GB RAM sticks in Dual Channel mode is a bit faster than 1x2GB, the extra speed won't be apparent in the least in the unRAID environment. I recommend using 1x2GB as it allows you more room for future expansion (up to 4 or 8 GB).
March 30, 201016 yr Author Your RAM is fine, and your hard drive is fine. If the hard drive is an EARS model, keep in mind that you will need to install a jumper (that you provide) on pins 7-8 before installing it into your server. Is this absolutely necessary? I had been under then impression that this method, or the wdalign application (only runs in windows, though) were only necessary for xp based systems, and that Linux didn't need any extra configuration. It is not necessary as the drive will work in unRAID without it BUT it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you install the jumper when using the drive in unRAID!! I disagree, I think it IS necessary. Several unRAID users have reported being unable to copy large files (such as HD movies) to their servers when using unjumpered EARS drives (server crashes, transfer fails, etc.). Until unRAID is updated to work with the advanced format drives, all EARS drives must be jumpered. It sounds like you've got your reasons for wanting the faster CPU, so go for it. Perhaps you will want to explore unRAID add-ons down the line, and the extra CPU horsepower will help out in certain instances. The 2 TB EARS is fine for a parity drive. It's not the fastest drive, but with only 6 drives your parity checks will be reasonably short anyway, less than 8 hours I expect. The Corsair 450W PSU is perfectly sufficient. I run a mixture of 8 green and non-green drives on a 380 W Antec Earthwatts. Edit: As for the jumpers, I've thoroughly read through the wiki and manual and it recommends installing without the jumpers. Any more feedback confirmation on performance improvements with the jumpers installed? You must not be referring to the unRAID wiki and manual, because that is definitely not the case. Jumpers are absolutely required on all EARS drives at the current time. Also, would I benefit from 2x1GB DDR3 modules vs 1x2GB module? While technically 2x1GB RAM sticks in Dual Channel mode is a bit faster than 1x2GB, the extra speed won't be apparent in the least in the unRAID environment. I recommend using 1x2GB as it allows you more room for future expansion (up to 4 or 8 GB). Excellent, the one bad point of the C2SEE is that it only has two memory modules. I might just get a pair of 2GB generic modules and leave it at that. I want this set up to be a 'set and forget' affair, hehe. Also, roger that on the jumpers!
March 30, 201016 yr If you think you will be running torrents on your server, get at least 4 GBs of RAM. However, you can get 2 GBs now and 2 GBs later, they don't have to be a matching pair. Your call.
March 30, 201016 yr Author If you think you will be running torrents on your server, get at least 4 GBs of RAM. However, you can get 2 GBs now and 2 GBs later, they don't have to be a matching pair. Your call. I might as well and get it over and done with, hehe thanks!
March 30, 201016 yr Your motherboard will support the E3300. I went through the same thing with SuperMicro. I have a C2SEA (they share the same bios) and even though they told me it wouldn't work, I popped in a E3200 because I had one on hand. It was recognized and worked perfect. The E3200 with 1 DIMM in the C2SEA drew 22 watts at the wall.
March 31, 201016 yr Author If you think you will be running torrents on your server, get at least 4 GBs of RAM. However, you can get 2 GBs now and 2 GBs later, they don't have to be a matching pair. Your call. Sweet, going to order two cheap generic DDR3 modules now, thanks Your motherboard will support the E3300. I went through the same thing with SuperMicro. I have a C2SEA (they share the same bios) and even though they told me it wouldn't work, I popped in a E3200 because I had one on hand. It was recognized and worked perfect. The E3200 with 1 DIMM in the C2SEA drew 22 watts at the wall. Well, it's nearly 50% savings getting the E3300 over the E5400 so I'll take a gamble and take your word for it Edit: The motherboard has been purchased and hopefully on it's way, that cost me $200AUD roughly. The new parts that I could order now are as follows, I'd appreciate if anyone can verify that I should go ahead with the following: Corsair VX-450 ATX 450W Power Supply 120mm fan $83.00 $7.55 $83.00 Western Digital 2TB Green 64MB SATAII WD20EARS $209.00 $19.00 $209.00 OCZ 2G DDR3 800 PC3 6400MHz Gold Series $40.00 $3.64 $40.00 Intel Celeron Dual Core E3300 2.5GHZ 800FSB LGA775 $49.00 $4.45 $49.00 $381AUD in total, $581AUD in total for the system including the motherboard. This is roughly $100 or so cheaper than I had planned which isn't too bad. All in agreeance?!??!?! Edit: Thanks for your help all! All parts ordered, slight miscalculations on total, about $631 in total for all parts inc. delivery. I'm happy with that. Final specs: Case: CM Stacker 810 (E-ATX, ATX, m-ATX, BTX, m-BTX) 810 Corsair VX-450 ATX 450W Power Supply 120mm fan OCZ 2G DDR3 800 PC3 6400MHz Gold Series Intel Celeron Dual Core E3300 2.5GHZ 800FSB LGA775 Western Digital 2TB Green 64MB SATAII WD20EARS - Parity Drive 2x 500GB WD 2x 1TB WD Next up: Build server then buy unRaid. I'm going to start juggling data around my existing 4TB worth of storage of which roughly 60% are only in use so I'll be starting with emptying one of the 1TB drives and add that first into the array.
April 20, 201016 yr Careful, Supermicro does not support voltage tweaking on memory. You want memory that will operate at 1.5 volts.
April 20, 201016 yr Author Thanks ohlwiler, so excited that my parts arrived today. As for the memory, confirmed it operates at 1.5v by default
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